By now, all businesses know that social media is integral to a successful marketing plan. There are several platforms you can use to grow your firm. In this article, we will start with Facebook and explain how you can use it to expand your footprint and get more projects for your California contractor’s business.
Set Up a Facebook Page for Your Business
Set one up if you don’t already have a Facebook page for your contracting business. Here’s how:
Sign up on Facebook: First, sign up for a personal Facebook account. If you already have one, great. Sign into Facebook and click on the “Create a page” button. It’s located in the upper right corner of the personal profile tab. This page will be linked to your personal Facebook account.
Create a Page: Include the name of your business and the type of business page from the various options. You would select “Local Business or Place.”
Add Photos: Add a profile picture, which is a smaller picture used to indicate the owner of the business page. Most businesses use their logos for brand awareness. The cover photo reflects what your construction business has to offer. If you are a roofer, select an image with a great house roof or various photos to show the extent of your work and skills.
Add a Username: The username is typically the same as the business page name unless someone else has already used it.
Include a Page Description (About Us): Tell people about your business, your services, your experience, your skills, and the type of customers you serve (residential, commercial, public entities). This is the first impression visitors will get from your page, so convey your unique selling proposition.
Adjust Page Settings: Here, you can choose various options to manage your page, including adding the business’s phone number, physical address, and website address.
Include a Call-to-Action Button: Allow visitors to learn more about your business with various call-to-action options, such as “Visit Our Website.”
Start Posting on Facebook
Regularly posting content to keep your Facebook page fresh is critical. Here are several ideas for keeping your page current to build brand awareness and trust, engage your audience, generate leads, and help drive more clients to you.
Showcase your work and brand by posting before-and-after photos of your latest projects. Photos help bring your work to life and inspire others who require construction to imagine what is possible. These photos may include a new roof, a kitchen or bathroom remodel, landscaping work, etc. You can provide a brief description of the work you did. Just be sure to keep any client information private.
Post photos of your team and what they contribute to your business, emphasizing your customer-centric approach and commitment to your clients. You can also welcome a new employee to the organization by posting a photo with a brief bio about him or her.
Add photos of projects and organizations you participate in outside of business hours. If you and your employees help a local charity, share pictures and information about the charity.
If you or your business was featured in the local paper, share a brief blurb about the feature with a link to the article.
Highlight reviews to help build your brand reputation. Everyone is looking for a great contractor!
Post articles of interest you think your social media visitors would like to read about. For example, share upcoming events in your local community.
Write articles in the blog section of your website. (If you don’t already have a blog, set one up on your site to begin uploading articles.) These articles can cover DIY home projects, provide in-depth looks at your recent projects, discuss construction trends, review the materials used in roofing, etc. If you can include videos in the blog and on Facebook, great. Videos engage users and are great for SEO (search engine optimization) to help you rank high in Google search results. Provide a blurb on Facebook with a link to the blog article on your website. You’ll drive traffic to your site, where people can learn more about your services and projects.
Consider running Facebook ads. The key is in crafting ads that will resonate with your target audience. You need to pinpoint your audience and determine your budget to see if this marketing tactic is worthwhile for your business.
Ensure you include a Facebook icon (as well as your other social media platforms) on your website so people can easily click on the icon and like and follow your business page.
Most importantly, designate someone in your organization responsible for your social media and managing your Facebook page. The key to success is to generate ongoing, relevant, and authentic content. If you don’t have someone on your staff who can do the work, plenty of freelancers and companies can generate and manage your social content.