Social media marketing for contractors doesn’t have to be rocket-science.
And you don’t have to waste an hour every day posting random updates to Facebook.
The truth is, most contractors are using social media all wrong. Today, I’m going to explore some ways contractors can actually start seeing some results from their social media profiles – without wasting a bunch of time or spamming your audience over and over again.
After reading this article, you’ll learn:
- Why social media marketing doesn’t work for most contractors
- How to use social media effectively without wasting a bunch of time
- How to automate the drudgery of posting to multiple platforms
- What kind of content you should be posting to generate leads
Doesn’t that sound better than randomly posting to Facebook when you finally remember to?
What Contractor Social Media Marketing Really Is… And What It (Probably) Isn’t
First, let’s talk about what social media marketing for contractors isn’t.
In all likelihood, social media marketing is not a cost- and time-effective way for you to market yourself as a contractor. And here’s the truth: it probably never will be.
Why? It’s simple. You’re a contractor. You work with your hands and build things.
You’re not an influencer who spends their time with their nose stuffed in their phone checking likes, retweets, and mentions across all the social media platforms.
If you were – sure, social media marketing would be a great lead generation strategy.
But you’re probably not, so it isn’t…
… at least, not the way you’re trying to use it.
For contractors, here’s what social media marketing really is:
It’s a touch-point. That simple.
The reality is, not everyone is going to become a lead as soon as they stumble upon your business. For that matter, not every lead is going to buy as soon as they get in touch with you.
Social media marketing provides touch-points to stay in their minds.
3 Ways to Use Social Media Marketing
Now that we know what contractor social media marketing is and isn’t, let’s talk about some ways you can use it in your business to stay in front of prospects and leads alike.
We’re not going to reinvent the wheel here – frankly, it rolls fine as it is.
But we’re also not going to spend all our time trying to get clients with a medium that was never designed as a direct-to-consumer sales platform.
Here’s what we’re going to do:
- Focus on the social media platforms that matter most
- Automate as much of the posting as possible
- Discover topics to never run out of ideas
If you have an hour a month, you can have a reliably effective social media presence.
1. Focus on the platforms that actually matter.
Is your target audience on Twitter?
Are they browsing YouTube trying to find the best plumber in the area?
Probably not.
You know where they are? Facebook and Google. Maybe Instagram.
[porto_blockquote]
Google doesn’t have a social media platform per-se, but you can post updates to your Google Business Profile the same way you would on Facebook. I highly recommend it.
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Like I said… we don’t have to reinvent the wheel. And you don’t need to waste time posting the same message to a dozen different social media platforms.
Do two or three really, really well.
Facebook. Google. Instagram, if you’re in the design/build space and have something to show off.
2. Automate the process.
Ever heard of Buffer?
It’s an online platform that helps you schedule and cross-post to multiple social media platforms at once. And guess what? It’s free to use if you only use three platforms.
Your social media marketing just got a whole lot easier.
Carve out an hour each month to write and schedule your social media posts on Buffer. I recommend posting at least once a week, more if you have the time (and ideas!) to do it.
Then, sit back and let automation work for you :)
3. Social media marketing ideas for contractors.
Now that we know the platforms we want to post on and have a way to schedule and automate the process, lets talk about what you should actually be posting.
Here are some sample social media post ideas for contractors:
- A day in the field: show your crew hard at work on a new project.
- Before/after pictures: show the quality of your craftsmanship.
- Project progress posts: keep your timeline up to date with what you’re working on.
- Team member spotlights: highlight a hardworking member of your team.
- Share your blog posts: put that website content to good use.
- Give helpful tips: answer common questions about your industry.
- Memes: who doesn’t love a good meme?
- Controversial news: not for the feint of heart; your mileage will vary.
Those ideas alone should yield dozens and dozens of social media posts.
Whatever you do, just keep on posting. You’ll attract a larger audience, your profiles will become more active, your business will look busier, and heck – even Google might show you some love.
Be Smart With Social Media Marketing
You’re a contractor, remember?
You don’t have hundreds or thousands of followers on social media platforms. You don’t have your nose in your phone 5-7 hours each day liking, sharing, and commenting on Facebook.
Start marketing your contracting business on social media the right way.
- Pick a few social media platforms to target
- Use Buffer to schedule and automate the process
- Make posts that are useful, interesting, funny, or endearing to your brand
That’s about it.
If you’d like, we can do all the hard work for you. Just book a free strategy session to see how we can take charge of your social media marketing – and build you a lead-generating website to boot :)
