Marketing in the A|E|C: A Sit Down with Digital Marketer & Media Strategist Stacey Holsinger

By Gaby Camilli

Stacey Holsinger, CEO and Founder of Steel Toe Communications, is an award-winning, digital marketing and communication consultant for the AEC industry. With over 15 years of marketing experience with general contractors, subcontractors, and engineering firms, Stacey is an expert at helping firms leverage their media platforms in order to establish credibility within the industry and build stronger relationships with clients and employees alike.

What inspired you to start your own firm? 

Like many others, the pandemic forced me to reevaluate my current situation. It was a combination of always hearing from my peers, “You know you should really start your own business,” and me finding the courage, time, and strength to do it. For a long time, I was not convinced that contractors would want to hire a remote marketing consultant since this industry offered little to no remote opportunities, but that has changed. The encouragement and support I have received from the people in this industry have been overwhelming.

What differentiates Steel Communications from other communication consultancies?

I continue to do my homework inside and outside of the industry. Besides having a formal college education and receiving my master’s in marketing management, I’ve been involved in several industry associations over the last 15 years. I’ve had my boots on the ground by touring a number of projects, warehouses, and fabrication shops. I am involved in peer groups and attend yearly conferences outside of the industry to see what information I can pull in to help contractors succeed.

Why is marketing so important in the A|E|C industry?

If you can’t be found on the internet you don’t exist. If you don’t make noise, no one hears you. People want to work with people they know; you can’t afford to be anti-social on social media in 2021.

What marketing trends are you most excited about in our industry?

I love that people are exploring and investing in their own personal brands in order to leverage opportunities for their companies and position themselves as industry “influencers.” Construction business owners are also becoming more transparent, whether its sharing lessons learned and best practices or giving us a glimpse into their daily lives; we are seeing firms utilize social media platforms to make their brands more personable and relatable.

What common faux pas do you see A|E|C firms specifically making in regards to their marketing strategy? 

Ego-centric marketing. “We are the best because…” Many industries have adopted a customer-centric marketing approach, which is designed around the customers’ needs and interests, rather than the firm’s differentiators. Many firms have also adopted a cause-marketing approach, which enables companies to increase profits while bettering their communities. Further, the efforts that firms take regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion internally are often not acknowledged or reflected in their marketing material. I have also seen firms fail to incorporate a video strategy, or even include video at all into their marketing campaigns. My goal is to provide examples and educate business owners on the benefits of these strategies.

What social media platforms do you think are the most important to invest in from a business development standpoint? From a recruitment standpoint?

For business development, LinkedIn hands down. If you approach LinkedIn with an intentional mindset, investing time and energy into it for the purpose of networking and relationship building, you will indeed find great value in the platform. After years of learning the platform, I’ve made the commitment to fully engage with LinkedIn in 2021, and in just four short months of effort, I now average 1-2 leads per week. LinkedIn has also enabled me to collaborate with people all over the United States, and even in the UK and India. We share best practices and help each other grow our businesses. Clubhouse would be my next recommendation. Business Owners are raving about it, so add that to your list to check out! For recruitment purposes, I recommend LinkedIn for office roles and Facebook and Instagram for field positions and possibly even Reddit.

As you know, our industry is going through a talent shortage, how can firms better use their social media to enhance their recruitment efforts?

Marketers must work closely with the Human Resources team to collect data and advertise appropriately. My ultimate goal would be to partner with an organization where we create mini day-in-the-life videos instead of reading job descriptions. Your marketing efforts should help candidates understand the value in working in this industry and more specifically for your firm.

What would be your biggest piece of advice for an A|E|C firm that is looking to enhance its marketing efforts but doesn’t necessarily have a large budget to do so?

You can find free or inexpensive tools, but you still need to invest in time. I usually tell my clients, “If you are everything to everyone, you are nothing to no one.” Define your goals, evaluate your team and resources, and figure out what is going to work with your budget by creating a marketing plan.

For firms that are thinking about hiring an external marketing consultancy, what questions should they ask during the interview process?

Hire someone that knows the industry. Ask for references; they should have experience dealing with other contractors. If they don’t, they might be upselling you on marketing efforts you don’t actually need, and that won’t be effective.

What is your all-time favorite marketing campaign?

The Dove marketing campaign, “Real Beauty” in 2004 focused on building self-confidence in women and young children. It was real, authentic, and diverse. It was a very much, “It’s about time,” moment for me. A close second one would be Progressive Insurance “Turning into my Parents” campaign. When campaigns don’t feel like marketing, but rather evoke emotion, in this case, laughter, that’s when marketing is genius.

Whether you want to utilize your marketing tools to enhance your business development efforts or support your internal recruitment initiatives; it is imperative that your internal and external messaging is intentional, consistent, and reflective of the ethos of your organization.