Social media is an increasingly important marketing and recruitment tool for construction firms. According to 2024 study from Content Marketing Institute (CMI) and MarketingProfs, more than 90% of B2B marketers use social media platforms (organic) to distribute content, followed by blogs (79%), email newsletters (73%), email (66%), in-person events (56%), and webinars (56%). A 2023 AGC Workforce survey found that 63% percent of firms—up from 39 percent in the 2022 survey—have added online strategies, such as using social media or targeted digital advertising, to connect better with younger applicants. So how can you leverage your efforts to build your brand and attract talent?
Choose the right platform
LinkedIn is the overwhelming favorite social media channel when it comes to B2B marketers. A search of construction companies with listings on the channel reveals more than 23,000 building contractors, 20,000 construction contractors, 6,200 civil contractors, 4,500 concrete contractors, 2,000 utility contractors and 450 site preparation contractors. When asked what channel delivers the best value for B2B marketers, 82% of respondents to the CMI and MarketingProfs survey cited LinkedIn, followed by Facebook (29%), YouTube (22%) Instagram (21%) and X (formerly Twitter) (3%) and TikTok (1%).
PCL Construction, one of the largest contracting organizations in North America, has garnered a significant presence on social media with nearly 410,000 followers on LinkedIn, 40,000 followers on Facebook and 26,000 followers on Instagram. According to Social Media Manager Kayla Sandvig, PCL uses a variety of channels to bring its messages to market, with nearly 25% of content focused on recruitment. She recommends LinkedIn for reaching professionals and but finds Facebook “to be great for targeting specific demographics.” Recently, the company has had success on Instagram. “We’re reaching a bit younger audience that we are not necessarily seeing on Facebook or LinkedIn,” adds Sandvig.
According to Fraser Patterson, CEO of Skillit, a platform that matches self-perform contractors with a database of vetted craft workers, tradespeople are for the most part NOT on LinkedIn. “Craft workers generally don't feel like they belong in an audience of knowledge workers,” he says. “The content, even the format itself, requires you sitting behind the desk to really improve your profile.”
Instead, Skillit relies primarily on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok to reach craftworkers. “We use social media to advertise the Skillit platform and create awareness for skilled workers to get them to sign up,” he says. LinkedIn is used to connect with construction company customers using proprietary insights and data.”
Match the content to the platform
At PCL, campaigns are designed specifically for the platform where they're going to have the best reach based on the demographic. “For me, it’s the content that determines which platform will work best,” says Sandvig. For example, employee spotlight videos profiling a single employee’s career, can be found on YouTube, while short videos are deployed on Instagram. The career instructions campaign on LinkedIn ties into timely holidays and four key personas PCL targets for recruitment: students and interns, professionals, new to construction and skilled trades.
Focus on authentic content and targeted messages
Finding the messages that will resonate with your audience remains key to social media success.
‘I think it starts with messaging, it starts with content,” says Patterson. “The medium itself is of secondary importance. Once you get the messaging right, and you really understand the pain of the construction worker, it's so much easier to create great awareness through these channels.”
“Skilled trades want to know that they are working for a company that values their safety and getting them home safe at the end of every day,” says Sandvig. And while not directly a recruitment push, she’s confident that showcasing completed projects and project milestones also resonates well with craft workers, as do posts centered around community involvement. According to Sandvig, engagement is highest on project-related content.
According to Patterson, Skillit’s proprietary data set with over 100,000 members reveals that all across the nation 92% of skilled construction workers are looking for full-time work with an employer that respects the craft, pays fairly, and offers benefits, career development, and positive culture. “They are really looking for a home for the next few years or even until retirement,” he says. “We see this in the data and hear this sentiment in the qualitative information we gather from our workers’ profiles.”
Authenticity matters. To that end, PCL makes it a point to use only imagery of people who actually work for PCL. Sandvig also believes that it doesn’t have to be all-business: all the time. “People get tired of the same old messages like ‘We're hiring.,’” says Sandvig.For example, an April Fool’s day post on LinkedIn depicting PCL breaking ground on the moon, garnered 52 comments and 36 reposts, as well as several social media awards.
Patterson believes its critical for employers to deliver a seamless digital experience when recruiting. “Those for whom the cell phone is an office, have been pretty much mostly ignored by technology, and by user experience,” he says. “Their expectation is for a completely digital experience. If you’re not doing that, you're losing people to other companies that offer that.”
Get employees on board
Sandvig works closely with the human resources team to promote hard-to-fill roles such as superintendents, estimators, and positions in accounting and finance. PCL will do a targeted special push on LinkedIn for specific markets and utilize brand ambassadors to help get the message out. “A campaign is really most effective when it's coming from an employee or a hiring manager at that local level,” says Sandvig. “People don't want to hear from logos and brands anymore, they want to hear from people.” The company has seen a huge increase in qualified applications as a result of this strategy.
In addition to the HR team sending employees a link to the post, the company also employs Advocacy by SproutSocial which allows the social team to upload content to a portal. Employees have access to the posts and can select those that make sense for them to share.
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