3 Ways to Increase Sales Using Social Media

When was the last time your home improvement business got a lead from social media? Social media is a powerful tool that you shouldn’t overlook when you’re trying to boost business. Whether you want to pick up seasonal customers or simply capture new leads, the vast network of social media websites has made it easy to increase sales using social media.

However, the social media industry can be difficult and sometimes intimidating to manage. This is especially true with so much noise going on in those spaces. But don’t fret — here are three ways contractors can use social media to increase sales:

1. Share Images of Your Work

   Visual social platforms have consistently increased in popularity over the last half a decade. In fact, Instagram averages over a billion active users each month. Not surprisingly, Facebook bought the image app for $1 billion in 2012.

   Pinterest, which uses images to direct users to web pages, engages around 431 million active users per month.

   When it comes to Facebook, posts that feature images can have an 85% interaction rate, and the likelihood of it being shared increases by 35%, making the addition of an image a fairly simple way to get your brand in front of more eyes.

   And then there’s Houzz. Houzz is an extremely visual social media website that connects homeowners and home improvement contractors. Essentially, it’s a “Facebook” for the home improvement industry. You can not only show off your work, but create “look books” to share with your customers, and have a place for homeowners to leave reviews. Research has shown that 78% of consumers trust reviews as opposed to advertising, which makes it an invaluable resource to help grow your business.

   Since social media is designed to be consumed quickly, take time to show your work rather than just talk about it. Share the quality of your work and excite potential customers about your current projects through watermarked images blasted across popular image-sharing sites.

   Keep your smartphone with you and regularly post project updates to Instagram and Twitter.

   Finally, share polished photos on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest that represent your best or specialty work. Image editing programs let you edit your image and offer simple, user-friendly tools to make small changes. This includes color enhancing, watermarking, and cropping to help you boost the quality and shareability of your images.

2. Use the Right Social Media Platform

   Not all social media sites are equal. The popularity of many social platforms shifts daily, and you don’t need to be on all of them to see a return on social media marketing efforts. In fact, it’s probably better to be an expert at 2 or 3 as opposed to trying to reach an audience across ALL platforms.

   When deciding which platforms you want to invest your time and money into, first think of your audience. For example, if you do high-end kitchen remodels, you aren’t likely to find potential customers on a platform that skews towards a younger demographic.

   Check out what your competitors are doing on social media so you can get a better idea of what content is resonating and the audience they’re trying to reach.

   Facebook is considered the most versatile of the platforms. It can support multiple kinds of content, such as images, external links, reshares, etc. This makes it a great place to get started if you’re just beginning to build a brand.

   Another bonus to using Facebook is its deep well of audience data. You can find out important demographic information from the Facebook users that follow your business page. This includes gender, age, most active times online, and even users’ other interests. This can help you target your social media posts for when your audience is online and create the type of content they’re most willing to share.

3. Reshare Popular Posts Throughout the Day

   Get the most bang for your buck by resharing popular posts. Resharing content at different times during the day can help you reach multiple audiences and get your useful content read by more viewers.

   You can share fast-paced media, such as Twitter posts, multiple times and more regularly.

   You don’t want to bombard your customers with too many posts. Use a calendar to spread out the posts over a two-month period, sharing a single post three times instead of one. This will help you garner a bigger audience of potential customers.

   For the most success when resharing posts, reframe your content each time you share it by changing the headline, updating the picture, or providing new information that will catch a potential customer’s eye.

Grow Your Business On Social Media

By using these three social media tips, contractors can master their social media presence and increase sales. Online efforts account for the most referrals to your website. This means that, although the social media industry can be intimidating, it’s worth taking the time to understand.

Find your future customers online and increase sales using social media. You can also get additional marketing tips for free from your dedicated Regions|EnerBank relationship manager when you join a loan program. Fill out the form on this page or visit our website to learn more.