SmartSKILLS: Digital Isn’t Optional: Digital Marketing Strategy for AEC Firms

By the time an RFQ hits the street, your buyers have already formed an opinion about your firm.

Digital is where that opinion is shaped.

This SmartSKILLS session breaks down how digital marketing actually works in the AEC industry and why it plays a critical role long before business development ever gets involved. It’s not about chasing trends or doing “more digital.” It’s about understanding how buyers research, evaluate, and eliminate firms before shortlists are even formed.

You’ll learn how digital fits into the modern AEC buying journey and how to use it intentionally to build awareness, credibility, and trust at every stage of the funnel.
What you’ll learn in this session:

The AEC Digital Ecosystem, Explained
You’ll walk through the full digital landscape AEC firms operate in and understand how each piece works together:
• Websites as credibility and conversion tools, not online brochures
• SEO and search visibility as early-stage influence
• Social media as brand reinforcement and relationship support
• Paid digital advertising as a scalable top-of-funnel accelerator
• Content marketing as trust-building fuel
• Email as a strategic nurture channel, not a broadcast tool

How Digital Supports the Full Funnel
• How different channels support awareness, consideration, and selection
• Why digital is the fastest and most cost-effective way to reach buyers early
• How digital efforts compound over time when aligned to strategy

This session goes beyond tactics to show how digital decisions influence brand perception, shortlist viability, and long-term positioning. You’ll explore how buyers use digital signals to assess credibility before RFQs are released, why weak digital presence can quietly remove firms from consideration, and how digital supports Account-Based Marketing and business development rather than competing with it.

You’ll leave this session with a clearer understanding of where digital truly adds value, what’s worth investing in, what’s not, and how to confidently explain digital strategy in business terms - not marketing jargon.