Maximizing Your Social Media Presence: Tips For Small Home Service Businesses

Maximizing Your Social Media Presence 1

With everything you have to do as a home service provider, social media may be the last thing on your mind. After all, aren't Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and other platforms for young people with a lot of time on their hands? Absolutely not. Social media evens the playing field for small businesses, making it possible to compete effectively with large companies without spending your entire marketing budget in a matter of weeks. If you're ready to transform your marketing strategy, keep reading to learn more about social media for contractors and how you can use it to attract more customers.

How Contractors Can Maximize Their Social Media. Sign up with CraftJack.


Leveraging Facebook To Connect With Customers And Showcase Your Work

These days, Facebook isn't just for catching up with high school friends and keeping tabs on your family members. It's also an essential tool for marketing a home service business. If you're not already using the platform to promote your business, set up a profile right away. Include the name of your company, a link to your website, a list of services offered, and as much contact information as possible. Make sure you include a physical address, as your Facebook profile may come up in local searches, increasing your visibility.

Once you have an account, post new content regularly. The great thing about social media for contractors is that you don't need to be an expert writer with the ability to produce thousands of words per day. You can post a link to your website, create a short post about your latest project, let people know about new services, or provide valuable tips to the people in your target audience.

When using Facebook for contractors, don't forget to include photos. Buyers generally don't need a photo of a pencil or a notebook to know if they want it, but they want to know if a home service professional does quality work. You can prove your competence by posting before-and-after photos and explaining exactly what you did to achieve the customer's desired result.

Facebook Advertising

If you have a limited marketing budget, advertising on social media for contractors is the way to go. What makes Facebook's advertising tools so helpful is that they allow you to deliver your ads to a carefully selected audience. When ads aren't targeted correctly, they reach people who have no interest in the advertiser's products or services. Facebook prevents this from happening by allowing you to define your audience according to their interests and demographics.

When you set up a Facebook ad, you need to have an objective in mind. These objectives should be linked to the stages in your sales funnel. Remember, a sales funnel represents the buyer's journey. At the top of the funnel, potential customers have little information about your business and its services. As they engage with your content, they move through the funnel, making it necessary to adapt your marketing approach.

You may want to use the following objectives when using Facebook and other forms of social media for contractors:

  • Awareness. Awareness-related objectives focus on letting potential customers know what you offer.
  • Consideration. At this stage, customers already know your business exists. They may need more information about your services or your reputation. Your objective may be to drive traffic to your website or have someone sign up for your email list.
  • Conversion. Now your potential customer is ready to choose a service provider. At this stage, your objective is to close the deal. You may want a prospect to request an estimate or sign up for one of your monthly service packages.

Building A Strong Instagram Presence Through Visually Stunning Content

Once you master Facebook, it's time to start exploring the benefits of Instagram for contractors. Although you can post text on Instagram, the platform is designed for photos and videos. That makes it critical to create visually stunning content that helps potential customers understand the following:

  • You have the skills needed to complete a variety of projects in your niche.
  • You produce high-quality work.
  • Your business is a reputable one.

One of the easiest ways to put Instagram to work for your business is to post before-and-after shots every time you complete a project. A side-by-side comparison makes it easier for potential customers to see if your skills are a good match for their needs.

Instagram Stories

Instagram also lets you create Stories, which combine multiple photos and videos into a single slideshow, making it easier to communicate a specific message with your content. Another benefit of using social media stories for contractors is that you can post many photos or videos without worrying about overwhelming your audience. If you plan to use the Stories feature, make sure you have high-quality photos and videos. Don't post anything that's blurry, has poor sound, or doesn't showcase your business in a positive light.

IGTV For Contractors

Instagram did have a feature called Instagram TV, which was a standalone app designed for long-form content. However, this was integrated into the main Instagram platform under Instagram Video.

Instead of producing one-off videos, consider creating your own series to give audience members information about your area of expertise. If you're a roofer, for example, a series about how to choose the right roofing materials, maintain a roof, and prevent storm damage can help people in your target audience maintain their homes. Providing this information also positions you as a trusted expert who has customers' best interests in mind.

Maximizing Your Social Media Presence 2

Utilizing Pinterest To Showcase Your Services And Inspirations

Pinterest is more than just a digital bulletin board. It's a place where people go to discover new trends in industries like fashion, home improvement, beauty, and food. Pinterest is also a highly visual medium, making it even more important to have quality photos available to market your services.

If you're new to Pinterest for contractors, one of your first steps should be to create multiple boards. A board is a collection of saved pins that focus on the same thing. For best results, make sure each board has a keyword in the title. For a landscaping company, a good board title might be "Landscaping Ideas for New Mexico" or "Best Fall Plants for Zone 3." When you create a pin, you also have the chance to write a description. Make sure you include relevant keywords to make it as easy as possible for people to find your content.

Here are a few additional tips for using Pinterest effectively:

  • Use vertical images whenever possible.
  • Add a link to your description to improve your site's SEO.
  • Share pins on your blog.
  • Make sure every pin is relevant to the board it's posted on.
  • Embed pins on your website to help visitors find your Pinterest content.

Maximizing Your Brand's Exposure Through Twitter

You can't discuss social media for contractors without mentioning Twitter. Although the platform is going through some growing pains, it's still useful for marketing a home service business. The platform allows business owners to purchase several types of ads, making it easier to expand your reach and increase brand awareness.

If you're interested in Twitter for contractors, your best bet is to experiment with promoted ads and follower ads. A promoted ad is a tweet you purchase to make your business more visible. These ads appear in several places:

  • Search results pages on Twitter
  • Twitter's mobile and desktop clients
  • User timelines
  • Targeted user profiles

Follower ads are designed to suggest your profile to people who aren't already following you on Twitter. They appear in search results and user timelines, along with the "Who to Follow" section on the platform. Using follower ads can help you grow your follower base and make more Twitter users aware of your business.

Exploring Emerging Platforms Like TikTok And Using Them Effectively

When you think of social media, you may not immediately think about TikTok for contractors, as nearly half of the platform's users are under the age of 30. But if you dig a little deeper, you'll see that 41% of TikTok users are between the ages of 30 and 49. People in this age group may be buying their first homes, remodeling to accommodate the birth of a new baby, or looking for ways to make their homes more livable. That means TikTok is one of the most valuable forms of social media for contractors.

TikTok is a little less formal than other platforms, so try to have fun with your videos. It's also important to keep them short. Unlike Instagram Video, TikTok isn't designed for long-form content. Users expect each video to get to the point quickly.

Utilizing Live Streaming On Social Media Platforms To Create Engagement

One of the top social media trends for contractors is using live streaming to connect with audience members. Instead of recording a video ahead of time, you'll "go live," letting you interact with potential customers in real-time. Live streaming is especially helpful for contractors because it's something that can be done on the job site — with your customer's permission, of course. Tell people about your current project, show off a project you just finished, or hop on a live to share valuable tips about your area of expertise.

Optimizing Your Social Media Strategy Based On The Latest Algorithms And Updates

Social networks use algorithms to determine how to rank content. This is why what you see on Facebook is completely different from what a friend or family member sees when they visit the site. Everything is ranked according to your interests and how likely you are to interact with it. To optimize your content accordingly, follow these best practices for social media for small home service businesses:

  • Make sure your content is highly relevant to the people in your target audience.
  • Post on-trend content.
  • Pay close attention to hot topics in your industry, and make sure you cover those topics in your posts, videos, and live streams.
  • Encourage users to comment on your content or share it with their friends.
  • Publish content when people in your target audience are likely to see it.

Taking Advantage Of The E-Commerce Features On Social Media Platforms To Increase Revenue

If you want to make more sales, consider using shoppable posts on social media. A shoppable post lets users click and make a purchase without leaving their platform of choice. This has several benefits, such as an improved user experience and increased brand loyalty.

When it comes to small home service businesses and social media, shoppable posts work best if you offer a monthly service package. Potential customers may not want to order $5,000 worth of renovation services without learning more about your company, but they might be willing to order a monthly landscaping or home cleaning package. If you want to use this marketing method, come up with a clear offer and give users a reason to trust you over the competing firms in your area.

Measuring ROI for Social Media Contractors

If you're going to spend time on social media for contractors, you need to know that your efforts are paying off. Some of the most common ROI metrics include clicks, likes, shares, comments, and conversions. If you're not getting as much of a return on your investment as you'd like, don't be afraid to experiment with new platforms or types of posts. Sometimes, tweaking your keywords or audience parameters is all you need to see a boost in engagement.

Once you have a social media marketing strategy in place, partner with CraftJack to find high-quality leads in your area. Our leads are prescreened to ensure every person you contact has a need for your company's services.