Social Media Tips for The Anti-Social Contractor (Part I)
There are lots of people out there who hate using social media. Some people have no interest in sharing personal business, children, dietary needs, etc. But, you do have to understand that much like any other business opportunity, you market where the people are. The people are online, on these social media networks.
They are there, and thus your business should be there as well. So, much like every new technology that comes about, when it comes to marketing, you need to utilize it, even if you really don't want to!
While we can't make posting to social media fun or interesting, we aim to provide you a few simple ways to manage your social media company page without having to fret. Though "being personal" is always the best option, this series will give you an automated way to manage your social media presence with minimal effort.
Most home improvement company pages, like Facebook, are boring. They have low engagement, because all they do is ramble about themselves or industry specific news. What you may find interesting, your clients likely do not.
Another problem that is being seen is that many home improvement contractors are just simply posting one continuous sales pitch, which will cause people to really avoid your company. Not only is this type of social media perceived as a crass attempt to sell your services, it can actually tarnish your online reputation.
Provide information to your audience that interests them and they will engage with you. Avoid sales tips and industry information, but instead engage your audience with what they want to hear and find out about.
Listed below are enough ideas, information and tips to keep your social media campaign current and up to date and deliver maximum interaction with your audience.
The 3/3/3 Plan
- 3 posts
- 3 times a day
- 3 hour increments
For social media, it is suggested that you post on your networks a minimum of 3 posts per day in 3 hour increments. This way you are posting morning, afternoon, and evening, when people may be looking at their own social media page.
We have found a list of sites and information that can help you post throughout the day and still not have to reveal any personal information.
Listed below are some ideas that you can use for your first post of the day:
- Day of the Year - There are many sites out there, but for some reason someone decided that each day of each year is dedicated to something or other. This is a good idea to simply post what that day is, along with a photo, and ask your audience what they are doing for the day. (MAJOR TIP: Whenever you post something, always end the post with a question) A good website for finding out the Day of Year is www.daysoftheyear.com
- What Happened Today - A brief post on the history of the day. Provide information of what happened on that actual date. You can use all the major events, some obscure ones, or even ones that pertain to your location or industry. A good website for finding out historical days is www.historynet.com/today-in-history/
Of course if you don't even want to bother with this, you can always let Footbridge Media handle your social media marketing!
About Aaron O'Hanlon
Aaron O'Hanlon is the CEO and Co-Founder of Footbridge Media, a digital marketing agency, specializing in the contracting industry. It is his mission to create awareness of marketing online to the home improvement industry and to educate, inform, and assist contractors in taking over their own online presence.
