Social Media: Why it Should be Part of Your Marketing Plan

Many people choose not to use social media in their personal lives for a variety of reasons. But while it can be a distraction or seen as unnecessary in your day-to-day life, there is a definite case to be made for using it in your remodeling or custom home-building business to attract new customers and build a larger audience for your work.

I often hear from professionals in the residential construction industry that they don't think they need a social media presence for their residential construction companies because the majority of their work comes from "word-of-mouth" referrals and not from digital marketing efforts.

However, relying on word-of-mouth marketing alone isn't a predictable method of filling your pipeline, which is why you should be using a social media marketing plan as a part of your overall marketing strategy for your residential construction business. 

Why Your Remodeling Business Should Use Social Media

Social Media can actually play a crucial part in driving awareness for your company, generating new leads, and improving overall business because, along with a website or blog posts, they help increase your online presence.

Social Media platforms allow potential clients to see how "established" you are, view your work, and determine if you're what they're looking for before they take up your time with a phone call or in-person meeting.

In many cases, it's their first interaction with you and your business; without it, it's harder for new clients to find you.

Social Media Doesn't Replace Other Construction Marketing Efforts

I always say we aren't selling cheeseburgers - meaning it's unlikely a single post on Instagram or your company's Facebook page will result in a booked client, the same way that seeing an ad for McDonald's makes you hungry.

But social media posts are an opportunity to share your story through your own lens - and make that personal connection with people.

Using different social media platforms doesn't mean that you don't need a website or other marketing strategies, but building out social media profiles is another way to help your business reach a wider audience and meet people where they're at in their remodeling or custom home-building journey.

10 Reasons Why You Need a Social Media Strategy

While you might not be interested in social media accounts for your personal life, here are ten reasons why it's critical for your residential construction business in today's market.

1. It Builds Brand Recognition

While the number of likes, posts, or social media followers you have truly has nothing to do with who you really are, it is, unfortunately, a metric by which people judge. Now I'm not saying to focus on growing a huge Instagram account at the detriment of other marketing efforts, but it's important to recognize that social networks, much like Google searches, are often a starting place for people beginning their journey. 

Ensuring you have updated social media profiles helps potential clients get to know you and build "Know, Like, and Trust."

2. It Appeals to All the Ways People Research Online

Despite our best efforts to funnel people toward a specific online destination, like your company website, people will still default to their natural tendencies when it comes to online searches.

For example, I get found in several ways: on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Podcasts, Webinars, and Google. Being visible on multiple platforms has been essential to my business growth, and the same goes for your remodeling or custom home-building business. The more places people have an opportunity to find you, the better your chances of filling your pipeline.

3. You Get to Tell Your Story

Residential construction is a very personal business. People want to know WHO will be in their homes and who they will be working with. A social media marketing strategy lets you tell your stories and share a bit about yourself and your team.

If you're not doing this, you're missing an opportunity to capture people's interest and continue building that 'Like, Know, and Trust.' Plus, according to Google Analytics, "Our Team" pages tend to rank as the second-highest page on construction business websites. 

4. You Can Share Your Portfolio

As a business owner, you know that sharing your work is a crucial part of generating new business. Social media platforms give you another place to share images of finished work.

It's a chance to showcase your construction services, build excitement for potential clients, and engage current ones. It also provides you with a resource to send clients to see different design styles and can help them provide you with valuable feedback about how they'd like to see their project take shape.

5. You Can Highlight In Process Photos

Many builders may think that social media pages are only for finished photos, but there is a big opportunity to share informational content of in-progress work to help connect your value to your price.

Part of the process of helping potential clients understand why they want to hire a contractor based on skills and not just on price is to show the quality of the work you do. Using your different platforms to highlight and talk about how you work helps them understand why it's important to select a builder with the expertise and experience to do the job right.

6. It Encourages Long-Term Nurturing

97% of the market is NOT ready to build today, but that doesn't mean they won't be in the future. Even though it may not seem like it, people at all stages of the buying cycle are following and watching. For example, some of you reading this are current or former clients who followed me on social media for some time before reaching out. Social media marketing efforts allow you to be in front of those potential clients without realizing it, and a large part of your business can come from those efforts.

7. It Improves Your Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

The internet is all about being "found," and one of the best practices to do that is to ensure that the content you put online uses specific keywords and terms people are searching for. It's called SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, and while it's usually thought of only for your website, it applies to all your online marketing efforts. Search engines like Google also look for social media profiles that use keywords and display them in Google search results. Having social media channels that target these keywords and link back to your website or another conversion page increases your chances of connecting with potential clients online.

8. It Attracts Potential Teammates 

When you were looking for a job and came across an ad, what was the first thing you did? Googled the company, right? The next step after that is to hop on Instagram and check out the company's feed. By using social media channels to show your team at work on the job site and share their feedback either with video or by static posts, you are offering a glimpse 'under the hood' into your business and to the team a prospective candidate would be working with. 

9. It Helps Forge New Professional Relationships

Suppose you're looking to expand your trade partner network. Social media can be a great way for potential trade partners to see you, your team, and your work - and reach out because they see you run a tight professional ship. It also allows you to check out their work on their social channels and pre-screen them based on their content. Many General Contractor-Trade Partner relationships are built on social platforms, and it's the quickest way for you both to get to know each other.

10. You Can Share Client testimonials

Social media allows you to amplify client testimonials and provide potential clients with "social proof" about your work. If potential clients see people like themselves leaving testimonials about your work or see visual representations of the type of project they're looking for, they can identify with this and will be encouraged to connect with you.

The Bottom Line on Social Media Marketing

Social media is an important tool for reaching and engaging with other social media users who could become potential customers. That means using pictures and video content to promote your residential building business to your target market.

That could look like sharing posts about:

• Team member spotlights

• Client testimonials

• Finished projects

• Team member testimonials

• Current projects

• Holiday posts

• Team training and events

• And much more…

The important part - and this is where most people struggle, is ensuring that you have a strategic plan in place for optimizing the type of content you want to share, the audience you want to speak to, and the ultimate goals for your messages, like community engagement, or converting new leads.

Then that plan needs to be converted into a systemized approach for content creation and sharing to ensure that your posts are consistent and that you stay relevant and in front of your target audience(s). Because no one wants to be staring at their phone every morning wondering, "What should I post today"?

That starts with adopting the mindset that social media has value for increasing brand awareness and familiarity. And, while many of us find it a distraction or painful to navigate, it's important to consider the long-term value it offers your brand when it's done right. 

If you're looking for help with your marketing strategy, including how to systemize your social media workflow, then click below to book time with me to chat.