We know your business is fun and exciting to YOU, but how can you show that to your customers? How can you grab their attention on social media, specifically on Facebook?
Lucky for you, Facebook is the perfect place for you to market your business, especially for contractors! In this blog, we’ll give you our top 8 Facebook Tips for contracting businesses that actually work. Are you ready?
1. Before & After Photos
Let your work speak for itself. Most service-industry businesses acquire new clients with word-of-mouth referrals. What better way to let your work speak for itself, than with a picture showing a complete transformation?
Our thoughts exactly.
You’ve seen the social media trends lately...the 10-year challenge, How it started/How it’s going, etc.. It grabs the attention of the audience quickly, while telling multiple stories at the same time.
By providing a ‘before and after' set of images, you are proving to your audience that you do what you say you’ll do, and that you made someone’s current situation buch better than it was before. You’re ensuring your value.
We know you’re not social media experts, so if you’d like a guide to help organize your content, it’s yours!
2. Timelapse videos of work
What’s a timelapse? We’re so glad you asked.
A timelapse video is a specialized technique that can be used by the average person, and can even be done on your iPhone if you do not have a professional camera.
This allows the action taking place in the video to appear much faster than it is in reality. Kind of like a “fast-forward” experience, but much more visually pleasing to the viewer.
An example of this would be in nature documentaries when they show clouds moving at a rapid speed.
This is a great example of a timelapse being utilized for a construction company.
Timelapse Key points:
- The video is filmed over long period of time
- It is a fast-motion playback
- Can be either created from a series of still shots or video footage sped-up
Useful apps:
- Timelapse calculator
- Timelapse app
Here are 15 timelapse apps that are getting quite a bit of attention this year and will make your life a whole lot easier if you want to get into the timelapse game.
3. Pictures of the team/owners of the business
People connect with other people.
In our digital age, it can be easy to forget that there are people behind screen-names, email addresses, text/direct messages, etc..
The loss of human connection has been very apparent in the recent struggles with social norms or even common courtesy and respect when conducting ourselves on social media. Cyber-bullying has presented itself to be a bigger problem than most could have expected and many truly judge a book by its cover, or should I say, by its social media profile.
This is why being “human”, or “real” on social media is so crucial for businesses, now more than ever.
By having pictures of your staff/team, creates an automatic rapport with a prospective or current client. It gives the audience immediate insight to who they will be speaking to, who will show up at their door, or who will be handling their money. And if you can add fun facts about your staff/team, or hobbies they are comfortable sharing, that’s even better! This will allow more connection to happen.
If “Suzy” loves to fish and she sees that the accounting manager is an avid fisherman, there is already common ground before any business is done.
Our trusted friends at Sprout Social explain that when customers feel connected to brands, they are more likely to:
- 76% will buy over a competitor
- 68% will recommend a brand to a friend
- 64% will be loyal to that brand/business
- 57% will spend more money with that brand
- 38% will still shop there after a bad experience
Which leads us into our next topic, personal photos.
4. Personal photos
Social media is all about people telling a story. Whether that story is about the lunch you ate that day, the workout you just finished, the client you just helped reach their goals, or the project that your business is currently working on.
Consumers don’t just want the finished product, they want the beginning, middle and end. In addition to that, they want the “behind the scenes” or “what if” scenarios. All of which are part of your story.
But, how do you get ‘behind the scenes’ on a brand? Look at your people.
Did you know that 70% of customers report feeling more connected when a business’ CEO is active on social media? (Sprout Social)
And that 65% of consumers feel more connected to brands that have a strong presence on social media? (Sprout Social)
In order for you to build that connection, try first by highlighting a blog your CEO wrote on LinkedIn, or a funny picture that one of your employees posted that would give your audience a good chuckle.
Become friends with your employees and start making friends with your audience. Wouldn’t your ‘friends’ much rather see a real picture of your life, versus only seeing the perfect family picture? ..The answer to that is yes!
Get personal. It doesn’t have to be too personal, but just enough to give insight on your character, sense of humor and interests.
And this would be the perfect segway to chatting about team intros and bios!
5. Team Introduction posts (facts about the owners)
A team introduction post will showcase the people on your staff and highlight the humans behind the brand.
As we mentioned in the previous section, 70% of customers report feeling more connected when a business’ CEO is active on social media. This would mean that the audience wants to know who the person running the company is.
What do they like? What other brands do they support? What do they do outside of work?
In addition to the CEO, every person on your team matters. Each person has a specific role and responsibility and moves the needle of the business in some way or another. Each person contributes to your brand and has an opportunity to connect with your client.
Team introductory posts are always intriguing because oftentimes they are unexpected by the audience and it gives some “behind the scenes” information that they didn’t have before. Pretty sweet, huh?
This builds a bridge of connection that could lead to your reader trusting your company and becoming a loyal customer. Or continue being one. Allow your team members to write some fun facts about themselves.
In a study done by Harvard University, researchers found that when a person shared personal information, it leads to activity in the ‘reward’ areas of the brain. Researchers also found that people enjoyed sharing those personal details if they knew that others were listening.
What better way to encourage your employees, bring content to your website/social media, and peak the interests of your audience!? There’s no downside to this.
Start organizing your content now!
6. What makes your business different from others?
If you have a business with employees who are comfortable with posting on social media, this is a great opportunity to get the word out about what makes your business stand out from the rest.
Do you support a charity? Play baseball as a team every month? Give bonuses just because? Send your employees congratulatory flowers when they have a baby or get married?
These are things that employees would probably love to share about, and that could separate you from other businesses.
Do you send your clients gifts on Christmas? Or give them a complimentary service?
Be proud of what differentiates you from the rest, not ashamed.
7. Testimonials
92% of consumers looking to purchase who are in the “consideration” stage, will read online reviews and testimonials before making a decision. (Vendasta)
92 percent?? Yes you read that correctly.
This means that if you want someone to hire you, you’ll need great testimonials and should be easily accessible, making the purchasing process the easiest it can be for the client.
Whether your testimonials are on Google My Business or taken by video, you need them. Word-of-mouth is extremely powerful as well as helpful.
So this begs the question, how do you get more reviews/testimonials?
You can add a link into your email signature that directs your clients directly to Google so they can drop a quick and easy review.
After you finish a project that went wonderfully, don’t hesitate to ask that satisfied customer to leave you a Google review. You can even send them a “before and after” picture of their own project to remind them of what it looked like before they were a satisfied customer.
And finally, ask if your customer would be willing to answer a few simple questions on camera of why they enjoyed your service so much. Testimonials are great content for social media marketing and perfect to post on Facebook.
8. Videos of your process
The process is important. It shows your client what they should expect if and when they hire you. It gives your audience another aspect of the “behind the scenes” and gives them insight into your company.
This also helps you set the standard of a timeline and what the client can expect from you as a contractor.
Conclusion
(is your brain overloaded yet?)
Nothing about your business is cookie-cutter, mold-fitting, and your marketing strategy shouldn’t be either!
As a contractor, we know that marketing can be intimidating. That’s why we are here to walk alongside you and help every step of the way. The Social Brand knows your business is not cookie-cutter and we know your uniqueness as a brand. People and results matter to us, and we connect the two.
We believe people are the foundation of business. You, your team, your customers or patients. Everything is about the connections we form, the impressions we give and the value we offer to one another. We will help you craft your brand’s first impressions to convert people into customers or patients. We want to see your business take off!
