A new study carried out by a leading business insurance website has revealed that 42% of self-employed workers within the construction industry rely heavily on social media sites when it comes to advertising themselves and scouting for new business.
The team at www.constructaquote.com polled a total of 2,958 self-employed construction workers aged 25 and over. Participants were evenly distributed across a range of different construction trades and had worked within the industry for at least seven years.
Respondents were initially asked if they have successfully set up any social media pages to advertise their business and services, with just over two fifths (42%) stating that they have done so. Of these participants, the majority (91%) use Facebook to advertise their services, with 24% using Twitter, 14% using Instagram and 9% using YouTube. Of those who use social media to try to secure new clients, the average length of time dedicated to updating or checking their dedicated work pages emerged as around 40 minutes per day.
Of the 58% of self-employed construction workers who admitted to not using any social media in order to advertise their professional services, the majority (68%) claim that they do not have the time to dedicate to setting up and maintaining pages, with 21% confessing that they are not confident enough with the technology to attempt to create an online profile.
Lyndon Wood, CEO and creator of constructaquote.com, said: “As a self-employed individual, using various social media pages to build on a brand and extend its reach and reputation to a new audience is an extremely effective means of marketing. Not only is it cost-effective in terms of set up, but it can also prove to be a great way to showcase your skills and the praise you’ve received from past clients in the form of reviews.
“The fact that three fifths of those polled in our study are not yet using social media to engage with potential clients and commissions could highlight how many workers are wary of how business pages on Facebook and Twitter work. This assumption could not be further from the truth, and I would hazard a guess that if those three fifths of respondents took the leap and started advertising their skills and services on social media, they would never look back!”
