“A drone today is a bit like what a smartphone was just over a decade ago: a well-known device but widely underestimated in terms of innovation and business potential.”

Drones have been around for some time, but their popularity has grown exponentially in recent years. One industry that has been a leader in taking advantage of what they have to offer is construction. So, one question is, how useful can drone work be on a jobsite? Also, is it really worth it to invest in what might be perceived as strictly a “nice-to-have?”? We’ve identified three reasons why it is worth it: communication, marketing and documentation.

COMMUNICATION

A great way to show progress is to be able to actually show progress. Drone footage, still images, and even 2D or 3D maps of your project can increase the effectiveness of meetings by presenting relevant, up-to-date visuals of topics being discussed. In our modern, remote-work environment where some of your key team members may not be on the jobsite to see things in person, these aerial images can provide clarity that a verbal description simply cannot. This creates a more dynamic and engaging meeting environment: viewers retain 95% of a message when they watch it in a video, compared to 10% when reading it in the text.

Communication doesn’t only happen in meetings, though. Being able to provide a status update without having a meeting to talk about it saves everyone time. Many of our clients use aerial photos and videos to provide key stakeholders with regular updates on progress, allowing meeting time to be reserved for resolving high priority problems and coordinating upcoming work. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. For your next progress meeting, let the pictures do the talking.

MARKETING

Did you know that 93% of businesses gain new customers as a result of branded video content?

Professionally shot drone videos are an excellent way to showcase your company’s work across a variety of marketing channels. Video content can be used to promote projects on social media, edited into longer form storytelling in a presentation or even used in streaming or broadcast video advertising. Whether used to showcase your company’s latest work, create community buy-in on a recent project, procure tenants in a new development or win your next job, the use of video is a powerful medium in telling your story.

DOCUMENTATION

The word ‘Documentation’ has a strong connotation in the construction industry. We document everything from Project Documents to Daily Reports, Specifications to Submittals, because we don’t know what will be important in the future until it is important. It’s a sinking feeling when you know what happened on site, but can’t find the documentation to prove it. While Aerial Photos and Videos serve more purposes than just Documentation, they really are a great tool for providing visual bookmarks for the progress of your project. Couple these aerial images with monthly reports, and now you have a great representation of exactly where the project was at regular intervals. It also doesn’t hurt to make a great impression on your client with striking photos and compelling videos.

WHAT TO DO NEXT

Drone footage is not just a fad, it is a necessity on a jobsite to facilitate productivity via better communication, more efficient marketing and proper and useful documentation. It’s an investment in efficiency and saves time and money. At Gilman we are proud to offer drone services with experienced, licensed and insured operators. Click on the link to set up a free consultation to discuss your unique needs. Let’s get started.