The prefab and modular housing category continues to promise sustainability and affordability for our homebuilding channel.
It has even attracted cultural icon and influencer, Martha Stewart.
Which creates an opportunity for us to leverage best practices in how home and building brands earn credibility.
In a space long dominated by large – often indistinguishable players – a modular construction newcomer – Hapi Homes chose to borrow trust in its influencer marketing.
After all, audiences don’t follow brands. They follow people they trust.
A Category Ready for a Consumer-Level Brand
Prefab is not new. Yet its value is becoming harder for the industry to overlook… especially as traditional builders confront rising costs, labor shortages, and structural inefficiencies.
Hapi Homes is part of a new wave of companies that understand something powerful:
Builders compete on scale.
Prefab can compete on brand.
Where the largest homebuilder brands remain secondary to on-site curb appeal – until a buyer is deep in the process – Hapi Homes is moving upstream.
Aiming for national homeowner-level recognition.
Long before someone ever steps into a sales office.
And that is why its Martha Stewart partnership matters.
Providing the brand with something every emerging category needs: Instant familiarity. Instant credibility. Immediate permission to be taken seriously.
Not because of a logo. But because of her.
Borrowing Trust is the Force Behind Influencer Marketing
Martha Stewart brings decades of design authority, lifestyle influence, and cultural recognition. She carries “trust” that prefab – as a growing homebuilder category – has missed.
In that sense, Hapi Homes is tapping into the very same dynamic shaping influencer marketing today.
Strip away the buzzwords, and influencer marketing in our channel rests on a single, compelling principle:
Trust transfers:
- When a contractor uses a construction solution on YouTube
- When a designer integrates a product into their project
- When a respected builder calls out a detail or installation advantage
The trust they’ve earned in their audience enagements… transfers to the brand they highlight.
For many homeowners – and increasingly for pros – creators and subject-matter experts have become the lens through which audiences evaluate new products.
The messenger validates the message.
And in construction – where professionals still hold final say – that validation can make or break adoption.
Why Influencers Matter in Building Products
While consumer categories embraced influencers years ago, building products are now in their own turning point for three reasons:
- Trust is earned peer-to-peer.Audiences act on recommendations from voices they already follow. Micro-influencers often have deeply loyal communities that treat their insights as practical guidance.
- The medium fits the message.A TikTok jobsite walkthrough.A LinkedIn design discussion.A long-form installation review on YouTube.Influencer content feels native to the platforms… where specifying pros and building owners are already researching.
- Momentum compounds over time. Influencer content gets saved, shared, resurfaced, and revisited. Unlike traditional advertising, it keeps working long after the initial sponsored post.
Most importantly, professional influencer programs reflect the same authenticity that makes the Hapi Homes program resonate: a highly relevant person placing their reputation to align with the brand.
Influencer Marketing and User Generated Content
Organic photos, reviews, and project documentation remain among the strongest trust signals for building product brands. The promise demonstrates real work, real results, and real performance:
When delivered in an integrated product placement program, results include:
- Control over messaging and accuracy
- Higher production value
- Access to specific professional segments
Choosing the Right Influencers: Quality Over Quantity
While “follower counts” provide a baseline for consideration, the most important metric is: Does this creator influence the audience that actually decides, based on:
- Strong engagement… not just unvetted numbers
- Alignment with contractors, designers, architects, and even installers
- A tone that feels like a natural extension of a brand
- The ability to explain… rather than merely promote
Influencers who understand the jobsite – and speak from real experience – often outperform larger, more polished personalities who may lack technical depth.
The Takeaway
Influencers don’t replace pros.
And they don’t substitute for other marketing channels.
But when recruited well – and supported with clear guidance and best practice programs – they become the bridge between homeowner interest and professional adoption.
Turning awareness into confidence. Confidence into specifications. And consideration into installs.
Download our EGuide, “Influencing the Influencers” to learn how to:
- Earn credibility
- Overcome hesitation
- Expand reach
- And build lasting trust where it matters most
If you’re interested in shaping an influencer program that reaches vital audiences – strengthening the trust behind a broader building product sales & marketing strategy – we’re here to help.
Email Steve at sk@kleberandassociates.com to continue the conversation.
