FM Marketers Beware!

10/23/2017 BY Tim Rowe

Why your Facebook advertising is wasted in the FM market

From personal experience and market research I can tell you that Facebooks ads are not an effective way to convert FMs into buyers. A couple of reasons for this...

First and foremost, Facebook ads don’t work in the FM market. Facebook may be the “go to” media for 15-year-old girls but it’s not the top choice for FMs. In fact, research shows that Facebook is not even among the top 6 information sources for FMs. Think about it; how many VPs of Facilities do you know who are active users of Facebook?

Market research bears this out.

Building Operating Management magazine’s 2017 Role of the Building Owners and Facility Managers Study found that only 9% of facilities decision makers use social media (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter) to learn about products & brands for future purchase. This is up from 5% that the magazine reported for FM’s use of social media in 2015. But it’s still a far cry from delivering the ROI your marketing budget demands.

If you want a better use for your marketing dollars, I suggest you look elsewhere. Here are two suggestions based on findings from Building Operating Management’s FM research.

Consider adding print to your marketing mix. Trade magazines (believe it or not) are the #1 source used by facilities executives to learn about products & brands for potential purchase. 81% of FMs turn to print for products and brands.

A second option is Google AdWords. It ranked 2nd in Building Operating Management’s study with 70% of FMs saying they use search engines to gather information on products and brands.

By the way, click here if you’d like a copy of the 2017 Role of the Building Owners and Facility Managers Research Report.

Facebook has a role in B-to-C marketing, but not for marketers looking for FMs. You may get a lot of eyeballs at a cheap CPM. But keep in mind that many of those eyeballs are those of teenaged baby sitters in Peoria, Portland, Philly and Phoenix. Not the market looking for heating and cooling solutions for their 22 dorms and 14 academic buildings

Looking for more information on FM marketing? Email, InMail or call me.

todd.kotlarek@tradepressmedia.com

414-228-7701 ext 577