Few tips on social media marketing for construction contractors
Construction contractors are real hard men who used to do things instead to write about it. But times change, local markets change, COVID-19 has changed lifes, and now contractors need their business to change. Unfortunately it isn’t enough simply to rely on word of mouth in a local market, which includes a 200-mile radius around an office.
As a construction contractor, you should look at some things that help you to invest in social media marketing to keep the lights on.
What is social media marketing?
Social media marketing is the use of social media platforms to connect with your audience to increase sales, and which involves publishing great content on your social media profiles, listening to and engaging your followers, and analyzing your results.
As you can see, there’s no rocket science here.
People look to social media platforms to be entertained. So, if you want to get customers you should use such social media as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and others.
We all know that construction contractors are great speakers when they speak with potential customers. All that you need, then, is to write about these things on social media as well as you speak about it. You can do it professionally and emotionally, as in real life.
Choose who will do social media marketing
It seems as if it is a good idea to hire your high school kid to create and publish content on social media. But, in reality, it is a bad idea.
You need to create the content. You are the professional, experienced boss. Even if you don’t know about some things, it is easy for you to ask workers, suppliers, or just a best friend.
The high school kid can help you create videos, process photos, and perhaps even check grammar and spelling.
Also, you can engage a digital agency to hire social media marketing professionals. You will need the time to communicate with the agency because it doesn’t know about the specifics of your business. So, you should help it create content and give it information about customers.
On the other hand, agency specialists know about many nuances of social media marketing and content marketing. In this way you can avoid many mistakes and misconceptions. So, it can be a way to save time and money.
Pro-tip
You can combine two ways to optimize resources. You can do many things by yourself and also work with a marketing agency that provides social media marketing services. This cooperation would bring great benefits for you because you can get the full range of web services as web design, website development, website search engine optimization, digital marketing, etc.
Choose a social media platform
To choose a social media platform, you first should know which platform is popular with your target audience. So, you need to identify your target audience through research.
The research will ask many questions. FIrst, you will know if social media is the best fit. Possibly it would be better to use other marketing tactic: to invest in redesign of your website or do something else.
To reach the right client, you must know who that is from a demographic and behavioral perspective.
If your audience uses a few social media platforms, you should access your resources. For a small company, it is better to use the one platform because social media marketing takes time.
Pro-tip
Begin by researching competitors. Do they use social media marketing? If they use social media actively, you will be able to identify their weaknesses. If they don’t use social media marketing, it can be an opportunity for you, provided that your audience uses social media.
In any case, social media is an additional web presence that can garner some customers.
Create a content
You must create engaging, client-centered content to share on social media platforms.
How can you create this content?
Use your knowledge about your customers, their needs, pains, and gains. At F5 Studio, we use The Value Proposition Canvas. You can engage with other people throughout the organization to determine appropriate content. You can read the forums or ask suppliers. Your main goal is to create content based on client requests.
It will take time, but it helps you determine topics. Use your experience, real cases, photos, and video. Be useful and transparent to differ from your competitors. Imagine what you would say to a real person and would want to explain. Most people don’t understand why this work is worth much. You can help them understand what you do and why they need to choose your company.
So, your content must inspire, entertain, educate, and spur to action.
Pro-tip
Create a content plan. You should experiment with content to find effective ways. You must post regularly because social media platforms use algorithms to show your content in the user feeds.
Be social
While social media has changed communications, the basics remaining arenot much different than 30 years ago.
Provide quality content. You avoid people who talk the talk but don’t walk the walk. Your followers do the same.
Please answer questions even if these questions appear very awkward or stupid. Be polite and professional. Handle complaints. Comments and answers are great way to build relations and manage your reputation.
Show people your personality, but be yourself. Authenticity is your incredibly valuable asset, at no cost to you.
As a good listener, you will get more information about your customers. Use this information for better targeting of your communication.
Use hashtags. It is very important for your readers and your brand. You can read multiple examples that show the Do’s and Do Not’s of using Hashtags on social media, you have a chance to do better.
Pro-tip
In a difficult situation, seek the advice of outside experts in social media marketing. Social media is a great way to attract people, but one mistake can ruin your efforts.
Review results of social media marketing
Which content working for you? How many customers have come through so far? You need to know how social marketing works for your business purposes.
It is a really difficult task, especially for the initial phase, that takes several months. Many business owners leave social media marketing at this stage. Sometimes it makes sense because social media marketing doesn’t work in all situations. But, for many companies, social marketing can work.
So, you need to correct mistakes and move on. You need to be patient to win.
Pro-tip
You can see many abandoned corporate accounts in social media. It seems so bad. Some potential customers can visit abandoned accounts and they will think that the business has closed. If your social marketing fails, delete your corporate accounts.
Few final points
Social media marketing requires time, money, and additional effort. So, it is risky.
The construction industry has increased in sophistication. You must have Internet presence to be on the radar with outside companies? You need at least to have digital marketing tools. Social media marketing can help you attract clients and may save your business during a recession. So, you must make a decision. Are you in?
