This is a guest post by my friend Randy Patton of Patton Services, a commercial roof coating contractor working with White Roofing Systems. I couldn’t think of a better person to ask to guest post here when it comes to social media and contractors. Randy is EVERYWHERE online and has the marketing chops needed to promote his business and brand properly. In short, he knows what he is talking about! So without further ado, Herrrrrrre’s Randy!
Why Social Media for Contractors?
It starts with WHY NOT? It’s a free way to market IF done right!
Most contractors don’t understand how, what and why, so they do nothing. I am going to break this down into 3 parts, starting with “why”?
First you need to understand “why” are you on here, is it to market for your business or to just keep in touch with friends and family? Actually you can do both!
But lets talk about marketing!
Marketing on social media like Facebook is the most cost effective way to reach your customers. If you look there are over 500 million users on Facebook alone not to mention the other sites like Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn.
What would it cost you to reach just a few hundred customers in other marketing avenues? I know I have spent thousands of dollars on advertising a year in doing the “old” marketing ways. Social media is the new billboard of the highway!
Now, more than ever, people are making their purchases based on user reviews and what other people are saying about your company. And if you still don’t think that social media is going to catch on then you need to pay more attention because people are buying from what others are saying on the net and it’s happening every day!
For all my contracting friends out there that think social media sites are a fad……..
They’re not, and you better get used to it because this is how people are communicating today!
The sooner that you realize social media isn’t just a bunch of kids sitting in front of their computers the sooner you’ll understand the opportunity you have to move your contracting business to the next level. Social media gives you an opportunity to engage with people who are actively seeking your product or service.
This gives you a real chance to showcase your work, while strengthening your brand to those who are listening to the conversation, as an expert in your field you can become what’s known as the “expert” of your trade online.
In part 2 we will share the “how” in doing this.