Editor's Note: CSI is pleased to publish this blog from Chad Rebholz, founder and CEO of Insulpedia.com. If you have an idea or opinion you would like to share with your colleagues in the construction industry, please contact CSI Content Strategist Peter Kray at Pkray@csinet.org. He would love to help publish your thoughts.
If you have experience in the construction industry in any role, you are valuable. You have a perspective to offer that can benefit owners, architects, engineers, contractors, materials suppliers and tradespeople.
Sharing your insight by contributing to the CSI Blog will help educate others, and can also add value to you, and your employer’s, personal initiatives.
Generate Credibility
The Construction Specifications Institute is a highly respected organization in the construction industry. They have a reputation that precedes them, and that reputation is important for them to uphold.
The content that you submit, and which is approved for publishing to the CSI blog, generates instant credibility for you, your message, and the organization you represent. Share that post on social media, and you'll be amazed at the level of engagement compared to post from your own company’s website.
Increase Exposure
The recognition and visibility of the CSI brand is vast. It extends deep into all elements of the construction industry. CSI has over 3.5k followers on LinkedIn, 2.8k on Facebook and 7.6k on Twitter. The association’s email subscribers are likely much higher than all of those combined.
Most individuals or organizations in the construction industry don't have that kind of exposure. Even if you did, CSI’s following is unique and highly concentrated with active construction industry professionals such as architects, engineers and industry leaders.
Improve SEO
The concept of contributed content has grown immensely in recent years. The reason it has is because it produces a mutually beneficial relationship.
Guest authors adding content to the CSI Blog are putting more bait out there for search engines to pick up. Additionally, when an author links to other websites in a blog post and visitors click those links, the CSI Blog gains more “domain authority” as a hub for valuable information.
Conversely, guest authors benefit when blog visitors click the link in their bio or any other links that invite readers to view the site they represent. Search engine optimization professionals refer to this as a “backlink.”
Much of the content we read from sites like Forbes.com, Entrepreneur.com, etc. has been contributed by individuals seeking the benefits detailed in this article. My confidence in the concept lead me to launch my own website that welcomes guest content related to mechanical insulation specifications.
Conclusion
Technology has changed the way that we learn. Attention spans are shorter than ever before because of the short articles that we read throughout the day. We all benefit as more experts offer input, guidance, and opinions in small increments.
I recommend for your own sake to take advantage of CSI's invitation to participate in their blog. Look for other blogs that offer the same opportunity. It’s a great way to gain credibility, get your name out there in new places and draw more attention from people interested in what you do.
Chad has devoted over 15 years to specification development in the piping and mechanical insulation industries. Most notably, he began his career with Victaulic Company and later joined Johns Manville Industrial Insulation as a Specification Specialist. There he became a Certified Insulation Energy Appraiser under the National Insulation Association. Chad most recently held the role of Vice President for Buckaroos Inc. an industry standard for insulated pipe support systems.