Social media tools gaining acceptance among builders ? Professional Builder survey

This article first appeared in the PB August 2011 issue of Pro Builder.

While most home-building professionals remain skeptical of social media as a viable sales and marketing tool, the adoption of websites like Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube for business use among builders continues to grow at a healthy pace, according to a survey of Professional Builder readers.

Seven in 10 (70.2 percent) building industry professionals that responded to our survey last month said they use social media tools for business purposes at least once every few months — up from 59 percent in 2010. Furthermore, the percentage of builders who visit social media sites daily for business use increased from 9 percent in 2010 to more than 15 percent this year (Chart 1, below).

Which sites are they visiting regularly for business? LinkedIn and Facebook are by far the most popular tools. More than half of respondents (52.9 percent) said they use LinkedIn for business, while 42.2 percent use Facebook. YouTube and Twitter were also cited, as were BuzzTown, Contractor Talk, Flickr, Google+, Plaxo, and Yelp (Chart 2).

Builders are using social media for a host of reasons — including for conducting market research, improving customer service, and managing their online reputation — but brand building and engaging new and existing customers are seen as the most viable business applications for social media (Chart 3). As one respondent put it: “Our customers expect us to be on social media. They don’t necessarily buy because of that, but if we’re not on these sites they believe that we’re somehow not up to date.”

Return on investment, or lack thereof, remains the biggest complaint among builders with regard to social media. Understandably so, builders are hesitant to dedicate staff time and resources to monitor and update numerous social media accounts, especially if there’s a slim chance of it leading to sales or potential sales.

But as one respondent stated, builders shouldn’t view social media as a silver bullet, rather a piece of the marketing puzzle. “Social media is only one component of a comprehensive marketing plan. How much a part of a company’s marketing efforts should go toward social media is directly related to whether their target demographic is active in social media. Ours happens to be the primary demographic for active, engaged, knowledgable users.”

Methodology and Respondent Information

This survey was distributed on July 6, 2011, to 86,054 Professional Builder readers. No incentive was offered. By the closing date of July 20, a total of 206 eligible readers had responded. Sixty-nine percent of respondents identified themselves as a single-family home builder; 11.7 percent designer/architect; 3.4 percent multi-family builder; 2.9 percent systems builder; and 13.5 percent “other.”

1. ADOPTION OF SOCIAL MEDIA
How often do you visit social media sites for business purposes?
2011 2010

Daily 15.1% 9%
Several times a week 15.6% 17%
Once a week 10.7% 8%
Several times a month 11.7% 9%
Once a month 4.4% 6%
Less than once a month 12.7% 10%
Never 29.8% 41%

Base: 205 (2011), 335 (2010); Professional Builder, July 2011

2. POPULAR SOCIAL MEDIA SITES
Which social media sites do you use for business purposes?

LinkedIn 52.9%
Facebook 42.2%
YouTube 16.7%
Twitter 14.2%
Plaxo 5.4%
Contractor Talk 2.9%
MySpace 1.0%
Other 12.8%

Base: 204; Professional Builder, July 2011

3. TOP BUSINESS APPLICATIONS FOR SOCIAL MEDIA
What is your primary business application using social media?

Build our company brand 34.3%
Engage new customers 29.4%
Engage existing customers 27.0%
Market our homes/developments 18.6%
Manager our online reputation 18.1%
Conduct market research 14.2%
Follow up on leads 11.8%
Improve customer service 10.3%

Base: 204; Professional Builder, July 2011

4. USE OF MEDIA-MARKETING TOOLS
Yes, my company utilizes the following media tools:

Website 74.0%
Facebook fan page35.8%
E-newsletter23.4%
Twitter account19.8%
Company blog 17.7%
Print newsletter14.4%

Base: 204; Professional Builder, July 2011

5. DRIVING BUSINESS WITH SOCIAL MEDIA
How much of your business do you estimate is coming from buyers you’ve reached through social media efforts?

More than 50% 2.1%
26% to 50% 3.7%
11% to 25% 9.9%
5% to 10% 13.6%
Less than 5% 70.7%

Base: 191; Professional Builder, July 2011

6. SOCIAL MEDIA AS A SALES TOOL
Please indicate the extent to which you agree or disagree with this statement: “Social media sites are critical tools for marketing and selling our homes.”

Strongly agree 12.3%
Somewhat agree 23.2%
Neither agree nor disagree 35.9%
Somewhat disagree 12.8%
Strongly disagree 15.8%

Base: 203; Professional Builder, July 2011

7. BRAND-BUILDING POWER
Please indicate the extent to which you agree or disagree with this statement: “Social media sites are critical tools for building our company brand.”