Social media has become an everyday part of our lives. We use it to communicate with each other, share details about our lives, post important updates, and entertain ourselves. Another powerful way to utilize social media is to use it for home services marketing. As a home service contractor, you might not think that social media marketing is for you. After all, you might not have products to sell or a storefront to advertise.
Social media is important for all types of businesses for one key reason: it’s where your customers are. Most people spend a significant amount of time on social media each day. That means that if you can become proficient in social media marketing, you can get in front of your audience where they spend most of their time.
If you are new to social media marketing, don’t worry, you aren’t alone. That’s why we’ve created this guide to give you important social media tips for home services contractors. You can use these tips to get started with your own social media journey and deliver great content to your potential clients, which will help you grow your business and increase your client list.
Why is Being on Social Media Valuable?
If you haven’t done much social media marketing in the past, you might not fully understand why it is valuable. It might seem like something that your customers don’t engage with, or you could be uncertain of how your social media account could ever find new business. Here are a few key reasons why it’s valuable for you to invest time in social media marketing.
People Expect You to Be Active
In today’s modern business world, it’s expected that you are active on social media. In fact, it’s more odd when a business doesn’t have a social media presence than when they do. Social media is a low-cost way to increase your brand’s reputation online. When someone searches for your business on a social media platform, they expect to find a profile. Therefore, it’s important that there is a result for their search.
People Rely on Peer Validation
Word of mouth is still one of the most important forms of marketing. Social media allows people to explore your profiles and see what other people are saying about your business. They can see posts that your business has been tagged in and learn what former or current customers think about your business through reviews. Having this peer validation is a great way for potential customers to learn about your business and see if it is a good fit for them.
People Use Social Media for Research
While Google may be the biggest search engine in the world, it’s not the only one. People use social media to discover businesses and research brands just like they do on Google. They might want to see proof of your activity, learn what types of services you provide, see before and after photos, or just figure out what exactly you do. By having social media profiles, you can answer their questions and help improve their research experience.
People Want an Insider View
In addition to doing research and learning about your business, people also use social media to help get an insider view of what it is like to work with your business. They might want to learn about your personality or the people you employ. They might also want to know more behind-the-scenes information about how you operate your business so they can get an idea of what their experience will be if they hire you.
People Want to See Results
A final reason why being on social media is valuable is that people want to see results from their home services contractors. They want to have visual or peer-approved proof that you can do a great job for them and their homes. Potential customers want to see how others have found success with your business, and posting your results or getting great feedback on social media can help prove your value to leads and potential clients.
Social Media Tips
Now that you know a little more about why being on social media is valuable to your business, let’s take a look at some of the most important social media marketing tips that you can use to get started with a new social media marketing strategy for your business.
Post Consistently
The first tip is to make sure that you are posting consistently. Every platform has an algorithm, and almost all of them reward consistent posting and will start to place your posts higher on people’s feeds. It’s also important so that your followers know when to expect new content from you.
In addition to posting consistently, you want to make sure that you are posting visually appealing images and videos. You can be creative and explore different types of content that will engage your audience and deliver a great viewing experience to followers.
Treat Platforms Differently
Not every social media platform is the same, and not all will be the best fit for your business. If your audience doesn’t spend a lot of time on a social media platform, it might not be a good investment of your time to post. Instead, figure out where your customers spend their time and what platforms they enjoy, and focus your efforts there.
It’s also important to note that not all algorithms on social media are the same. Different platforms reward different types of content, and the posts that you make on Facebook should be different from your posts on TikTok. Make sure you know that you are posting the most engaging content for that specific platform.
Respond to Comments and Questions
Social media isn’t just about posting, it’s about engaging with your followers and increasing your audience. The best way to do this is to respond to the comments you get and answer questions. When someone tags your business in a post or DMs you with a question, you should try to respond within a day.
By responding to customers and offering advice or guidance, you can help prove your value to your audience and let them know that you are listening and that you care what they are saying. It’s a great way to win respect from your followers.
Educate Your Community
Another great way to use social media is to educate your customers and provide insights. No matter what type of home services contractor you are, you can deliver important information to followers who may not know the answers to things that are commonplace in your specific field. By providing educational information, you can again provide value to followers.
When people in your community view you as a trustworthy source of information, they are more likely to choose your services over competitors in the same area. That helps you become a well-known and respected name in your community.
Be Authentic
Your social media posts should provide authenticity to your followers. If your posts don’t match the tone and voice of your brand, it might come across as fake. Instead, focus on presenting authentic content to your followers and making sure that you don’t lose track of your brand’s ideals.
While you can definitely plan posts in advance, you want to give the impression that you are just posting as authentically as possible rather than scheduling out or being too corporate in your social media approach.
Set Goals and Be Strategic
The final tip is to make sure that you are setting clear goals and being strategic in your social media marketing. You don’t want to just post randomly and hope for results. Instead, you need to ensure that the time you spend nurturing your social media presence has a positive outcome for your business. By setting goals for gaining new followers or making more impressions, you have a clear endgame to work towards.
A social media strategy doesn’t need to be complex, but it does need to exist to help guide your actions and your posts so that you get the best results.
Attend a Surefire Local Marketing Platform Demo
Being active on social media is important for all businesses, including home services contractors. Without a social media presence, you could miss out on new business and make it hard for people to find your business and learn about what you do. Creating a strong social media strategy and committing to social media marketing is an important part of growing your brand and finding new clients.
However, it can be difficult to track all your social media activity. That’s where Surefire Local comes in. Surefire Local is a marketing and business intelligence platform that can help you get control of your social media efforts. You can post directly from the platform, respond to comments, and update your profile information. To learn more about how Surefire Local can help you improve your home services marketing efforts, schedule a platform demo today.