‘Real Estate Weekly’: Most architects, engineering firms lag behind on social media marketing

According to a recent survey by national consulting firm ZweigWhite, architecture, engineering, planning and environmental firms are behind the rest of the business world when it comes to using social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter to market their services. Just 15% of the firms participating in the survey report using social media to reduce their reliance on “traditional” marketing methods, and 29% of firms say they don’t use any social media at all. Steve Maher, principal of Ritter Maher Architects, says he’s not surprised. “My competitors, especially here in Baton Rouge, they just don’t do social media as much,” says Maher. “I’d guess it’s just lean times and they don’t have the resources to dedicate to it now.” Like many design firms, Ritter Maher doesn’t have an employee who focuses solely on social media—or even a marketing director. Maher handles most of that himself. “I’m on Facebook personally and Twitter professionally, and I just try to keep up with my clients that way,” Maher says. “But I know we could do more, and I do feel pressure to keep up with the bar they’re setting on a national level. These large national firms, they have some phenomenal marketers out there.” Click here to access the full story and read the complete new Real Estate Weekly e-newsletter. —Steve Sanoski