National Lumber's Blog

We can talk forever about how social media can be very good for business, but how does it help you as a contractor: builder, remodeler, painter or otherwise? Here are some big reasons why Facebook, when used correctly, can be a great resource for not only getting leads, but keeping your past customers happy and giving them a way to reward you by liking and commenting on your social material!

1. Loyal fans mean repeat business

The best thing about Facebook is that it’s social, meaning that if you have satisfied past customers, it’s definitely worth getting them to like you on Facebook. It also can’t hurt you in getting repeat business, the lifeblood of many contractors. Loyal customers can help you more on Facebook than on a traditional website simply by giving you real, live testimonials. Ask a few of your fans to submit photos of projects you did on their homes! Before and after photos are especially good!

2. Show, don’t tell

As we’ve said previously, project photos are perhaps the best sort of testimonial you can have! In-progress photos are especially interesting. People will remember photos of before, during, and after portions of projects. It doesn’t help just to post “We do x, y, and z. Call us today!” That isn’t memorable. It’s one thing if you have a loyal customer base that you can always count on. Say work is slow, and you suggest doing like projects for your fans, perhaps make a little special or coupon just for Facebook fans. That’s okay. But make sure that only about 1 out of 5 posts is “selling” based.

It’s okay to post occasionally that you have snowplowing services or do little handyman jobs that you wouldn’t ordinarily advertise. If you want to show that you do bigger things like additions or kitchen & bath remodels, show pictures. This is far more effective in the long run, because if someone’s not looking for a remodel or such now, they may remember seeing the great work you did on a previous project and you’ll be at the top of their list when they need work done!

3. Easy to update

Having a traditional website is great, but how often are you able to get it updated? Many websites out there are several years old, and in the world of search engines, that means more than likely you won’t be found. For many contractors, a lot of website traffic is based on word of mouth and from business cards. Having a beautiful website is great, but having Facebook to supplement it is even more important. Facebook is a lot easier to update than most websites, unless your website is blog based and you can add to it whenever you want.

Even if you have a Blogspot or WordPress based website that you can frequently update, you still want to work with Facebook. If you frequently update a blog on your website, you can post updates to Facebook about your new posts! But if you’re not really a blogger, Facebook is still pretty easy because as long as you post photos, provide quick status updates on current projects, and interact with fans who post on your wall, your fans will see you in their timeline. Staying in front of your customers is important, and what better place than Facebook to do just that!

4. Get Found!

Facebook pages are indexed in Google if you have over one hundred fans, so people searching for your service in your area can find you more easily. It’s important when you create your page to set the location, as this definitely helps in search. Also, every page can have a custom URL, which is easy to share. This is incredibly useful, so even if you have a website, you can potentially show up twice on the same search results, once for your website, and again for your Facebook page. Also, the more places you can post a link to your Facebook page, the better. Facebook pages can become your most useful advertising method.

Just search Facebook for other contractors to see what they’re doing and connect to them to keep up with the sort of material that they post. The networking is the best part of what Facebook has to offer; see what works for other people and adapt it to your own business!

If you need assistance, here’s a great guide to help you create a good Facebook fan page made just for contractors!

If you create a Facebook fan page for your business, be sure to like National Lumber on Facebook. We’ll like you back!