The Power of Social Media

Q: How has the company adapted throughout the pandemic?

A: Fortunately, we had decided to take a conservative approach to our projects prior to the pandemic. Instead of going for more projects, we decided to work with what we had. Even before the pandemic, we had noticed that there was an oversupply of office space, especially in Monterrey, that was never going to be leased. For us and our investors, it was more important to improve the value of our existing projects rather than increase our portfolio. If we had been ambitious and had gone for more projects, we would have had our hands full with projects that we would not have been able to rent or sell in today’s market.

Q: What are the key areas that need to be improved in Mexico to boost the construction industry?

A: First, the country needs people who are committed, hardworking and have the ambition to create world-class projects. Mexico also needs to increase its investment attractiveness as a country. I believe that a proper company structure translates to investor and bank trust. The majority of real estate projects are financed by banks and investors, meaning that a project that lacks that adequate structure will find it very difficult to attract capital. When a project has the necessary investment, it translates to value and job creation, which ultimately boosts the construction industry.

Q: What are the major trends in the construction industry and how are they impacting Grupo DAGS’ performance?

A: We have seen a huge boost thanks to our social media exposure. I believe that one of the most important and relevant pillars of the company is social media. It is a truly innovative strategy in the construction industry that requires a lot of planning and is quite challenging to maintain. Nevertheless, I am passionate about social media marketing, as draining as it might be. Every single company in the industry should have their own social media platform.

Q: What are the challenges of managing a social media marketing strategy and what are the potential benefits?

A: On the one hand, the company’s brand can gain significant exposure through social media, which now is pretty standard. On the other hand, the head of the company is exposed on social media, which is something that companies do not tend to do. You are not going to see a steel company’s CEO explain the steel processes and the logic and science behind their materials on Instagram. You may see some content here and there, but very few posts.

Presenting your brand on social media is not challenging. You hire a communications specialist and put a design and marketing plan behind it. What is challenging is for the leader of the company to expose himself or herself to social media. Companies have left this phase unexplored for the longest time. The presence of a company leader on social media instills a sense of trust that no social media marketing campaign can achieve. But it can be quite draining. You also expose yourself to potential social media criticism. You need to be prepared to show that your own personal life has the same values that your company does. It takes you out of your comfort zone and you can potentially put your company’s name and work at risk if you are not prepared for it. Nevertheless, if you do manage social media correctly, people will see humility, your projects, your sales, your company’s success as well as your own, which ultimately translates to sales and rentals, as well as land contributions.

This strategy has worked for us. We have been able to team up with other construction companies because they know that our name translates to trust. People may think I am the face of the company but there is an entire team behind our projects. I focus on the commercial side of the business. In fact, people have contacted me through social media and most of my sales are through Instagram. People tend to think of LinkedIn as the right platform to properly connect with companies and close businesses. In all the time I have been working in this industry, I have yet to make a single sale through LinkedIn. The power of a social media platform depends on how you use it.

Q: How should construction companies with an online presence tackle social media criticism?

A: It depends on the type of criticism we get. As I previously mentioned, you need to be prepared to take the heat of social media and that means being subjected to targeted criticism. In those cases, where negative posts are being made, specifically with bad intentions, your best course of action is to ignore them. Most of the time, they are looking to use your social media’s strength to boost their own. On the other hand, if there is a valid criticism of a project we are developing, that helps us identify the issue and work on a solution. We do not see social media criticism as an issue, we see it as a way to find better solutions and increase the project’s value.

Grupo DAGS has more than 20 years of experience in the real estate sector. The company has developed a wide variety of projects, including commercial buildings, maquiladoras, offices, commercial and residential projects.