Engage With Potential Customers on the Social Media Platform They Use Most

Social media can be an exciting territory for contractors looking to promote their businesses in a relatively inexpensive, but impactful, way. But it can be equally overwhelming with the abundance of social platforms available, as well as the nuances involved for marketing on each one.

If you’re new to marketing your business socially, Facebook is a great place to start. It’s an easy-to-use platform that provides several features for connecting with potential customers locally and nationally. Or, if your business is already active on the platform but not seeing much return, there are simple ways to begin improving your activity today.

Read on to learn simple tips and advice on how to effectively promote your roofing business on Facebook.

Why Focus on Facebook?

It’s important to note why it is relevant to establish and maintain a presence for your business on Facebook.

First and foremost, your customers are already active on the platform. Facebook continues to be the most popular social media platform, as cited by the Pew Research Center, where 79 percent of online adults have a profile. In fact, the number of Facebook users is more than double the number of people who use other social platforms, such as Instagram (32 percent), LinkedIn (29 percent), Twitter (24 percent) or Pinterest (31 percent).

Plus, establishing and maintaining a Facebook page can also be beneficial in driving visitors to your website. In fact, search engines tend to reward businesses with a strong social following through higher organic rankings. In other words, the more people who are engaged with your company on Facebook, the better odds your business will show up sooner in a potential customer’s search results for a local roofing contractor.

Further, the platform is also a great way to create a sense of connection with your internal team. For instance, Facebook can be used to showcase your company culture, share news and engage with your own employees—especially if you’re a large contractor with multiple locations.

Useful Strategies to Grow Your Page

Profile setup: Building a solid foundation of followers begins with setting up your profile correctly. Be sure to set up a Business Page instead of a personal Facebook page. This way, current and future customers can “like” your page, or become a fan, and keep up-to-date on the latest news from your company.

Also, it’s important to have a profile image and cover art (the large image at the top of the page), as well as complete details about your business on the “About” page, including a description of your business, location, contact information, services offered, hours, website and more.

Tip:

If you already have an existing account that was set up as a personal profile, you can convert it into a business page at facebook.com/business.

Content sharing: Once your page is set up, it’s time to start sharing content. Begin with one or two posts per week, and then gradually start increasing your posting schedule as you gain a more established following.
Think of Facebook as an extension of your website to tell customers more about your business in an inviting and personal, but still professional, atmosphere.

Looking for content ideas? Think about sharing your knowledge and expertise: your project work! Take before-and-after photos of projects that showcase a new roof installation or repair. Or if it’s a long-term project, document it each day with photos or videos that explain the installation process you’re undergoing, the products you’re using and more. Make sure you have your customer’s consent before posting details or pictures about any project.

Also, do you have a company blog on your website? If so, share out individual posts with a “teaser” on the details the article contains, along with a link back to the specific post. This helps to establish your credibility as a knowledgeable professional, but can also help to drive potential customers back to your website to learn more. If you’re still working to set up your company blog, another option is to publish a “Note” from the left sidebar of your Facebook business page. This long-form Facebook post is a great alternative while you work toward setting up your blog online.

You can also consider sharing links to blog posts from a manufacturer whose products you use. They often provide helpful blog articles with tips and advice for both contractors and homeowners—so you may even find something of value to you in the process!

Lastly, you can use your page as a way to share positive customer testimonials in the form of photos and videos. Again, it’s important to ensure you first have your customer’s consent before sharing their testimonials. Be sure to also encourage your satisfied customers to submit their own Facebook reviews for a job well done. These reviews allow them to share their experiences and rate your performance directly on your Facebook page, which can help facilitate future business and leads.

Tip:

Facebook can also be used as a means to share company promotions, special holiday or seasonal incentives, and events you may be hosting or attending.

Page promotion: As you start to proactively post useful content, you’ll begin to establish a following on your page. However, there are also several paid promotion tactics you can use to increase your page’s reach and engagement.
One popular paid tactic is a pay-per-click (PPC) campaign, which is a form of advertising where you pay a set amount each time someone clicks on an ad you’ve produced. Determine what you would ultimately like users to do, and create a post or simple ad that prompts them to take that action. For example, you can drive homeowners to visit your company website, provide their contact information for a free quote, like your Facebook page, download a coupon and more.

If you have a particularly interesting post that has been performing well on your page (maybe it has received a lot of positive comments, for example) and you’d like it to reach even more people, consider “boosting” or sponsoring that post. This means putting a set amount of money behind promoting a post, say $100, to expand its reach. Geo-targeting, or selecting a specific audience and geography you’d like to reach, helps amplify your message to the right people—your targeted customers.

Tip:

Avoid using text in your images for paid posts or campaigns. Facebook guidelines reduce the reach of these images as the system considers them too “spammy” or ad-centric and cluttered. In many cases, image text could prevent your promotion from running entirely.

Highlighted Contractor Examples

Wondering how to apply some of these strategies? Learn more from a couple of roofing contractors who are part of IKO’s ShieldPRO plus+ Contractor Program and are already successfully using them on Facebook:

Chad’s Roofing, Gilroy, Calif.:

  • Frequently posts project testimonials and before-and-after photos, along with job site videos that explain roofing processes to homeowners.
  • Consistently responds to questions/comments posted on the page.
  • Uses Facebook (and linked Instagram account) to promote business rather than a traditional website.

Able Roofing, Columbus, Ohio:

  • Collects and displays several homeowner reviews on its Facebook page (more than 50 at the time of writing).
  • Shares links to blog posts on the Able Roofing website, which include helpful tips for homeowners related to home improvement, trends and renovation projects.
  • Promotes company news and local events, as well as national holidays.

If you’re looking to grow your leads and engage with future customers, using these strategies on Facebook is a great place to start. Also, be sure to check out the IKO blog for even more helpful business tips and advice!

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