It’s estimated that seven out of ten Americans regularly use social media. These statistics demonstrate just how important social media has become in people’s lives.
Not only do we use it to connect, but we also rely on it to provide us with business recommendations. The reality is that if your business isn’t using social media, you’re missing out on a huge demographic of potential customers and clients.
Unfortunately, many businesses don’t know where to begin when it comes to using social media to grow their brand. In this guide, we’ll break down some tips for utilizing this important digital marketing platform.
Why Should You Use Social Media for Your HVAC, Lawn Care, or Plumbing Business?
If you’re an HVAC, lawn care, or plumbing business, you might view social media as just another thing to worry about. However, the reality is that tons of benefits come when you invest in your business’s presence on these sites.
For starters, it can help you reach potential customers who otherwise wouldn’t know about your business. We learned earlier how the majority of the population currently uses social media.
As such, this type of marketing allows you to engage with them where they’re at. A strong social media presence also increases your brand awareness. For those who don’t know, brand awareness is key to achieving sustainable growth for your business.
When people know and trust your brand, they’re much more likely to share it with people they know. Lastly, social media can help you understand your customers better.
Not only do you get to interact with them on it, but many sites also provide you with free demographic information about who’s interested in your brand. If you engage with people correctly, you can build lasting relationships with your customers and clients.
Pick a Platform
The first step to growing your social media presence online is choosing social media platforms for your business. The right platform for you will depend specifically on the product or service you’re offering.
For example, if you’re an HVAC company, you’ll probably benefit more from a generalized site like Facebook than a more niche app like TikTok. However, you shouldn’t be discouraged from expanding to TikTok even if it doesn’t necessarily fit your brand.
For example, let’s say you’re a plumbing company. You might be able to make helpful TikToks or Instagram Reels that solve common plumbing problems.
If these become viral, they can increase the visibility of your business and establish your credibility as an expert in the field. However, it will require you to produce relevant content for your target audience.
Develop an Editorial Calendar
Once you decide on a platform and strategy you can begin planning a social media schedule. This type of editorial calendar is essential for staying on top of any marketing campaign.
You want to post enough to keep people interested, but not too much to the point where you oversaturate feeds. An editorial calendar helps keep track of when to post, usually three to five times per week depending on the content you’re posting.
It can also reveal valuable insights like what time of the day and week your customers or clients are most likely to interact with your brand.
Follow the Latest Trends
If you want your posts to be effective, you need to be watching for social media trends. Using certain types of audio, meme formats, or similar trends can contribute greatly to certain content going viral.
A viral social media post isn’t something you can plan. However, by following trends, you can greatly improve your chances of getting them.
Use Social Media Ads
Multiple social media sites, from Facebook and Instagram to X and TikTok, have ad options for businesses and influencers. If you find that your social media presence isn’t getting much organic traction, these can be great tools for growing your followers and interactions.
Different businesses can benefit from different types of ads on different platforms. However, for HVAC, lawn care, and plumbing businesses, we usually find that Facebook ads give you the biggest bang for your buck.
Ideally, your initial ads should give your audience a better idea of who you are and what you can offer them. But from there, you can begin diversifying different types of Facebook ads.
Invest in the Right Social Media Tools
Your digital marketing strategy can be optimized through the use of social media tools. These apps, like Sprout Social or Hubspot, work great as social media management tools.
You can use them to organize and schedule your posts so your social media brand is entirely coordinated. However, it’s important to remember that they also go beyond simple management.
They can also provide invaluable analytics. Not only do these help you get to know your audience better, but they can offer insights into overall market trends. If you want to learn more about some of the social media tools we recommend, make sure to check out this guide.
Work With a Digital Marketing Company
Often businesses want to save money by handling their social media posts themselves. However, there are a lot of reasons why you might want to consider hiring digital marketing services to do this for you.
For starters creating social media content takes a lot of time. And if you don’t have the experience or knowledge, there’s no guarantee that your content will even be effective.
A digital marketing company’s expertise helps take the load off your plate. They’ll find a strategy that works best for your specific needs.
Ready for the Social Media Presence You Deserve? Contact Optic Marketing Group
We hope this guide helped you learn how to use social media to grow your business online. Here at Optic Marketing Group, we know that the key to connecting with audiences on social media (or any form of digital marketing) is storytelling.
That’s why we work closely with you to develop a story that conveys the heart of your business. Then, we create a strategy that connects this story with your target market. So contact us today to learn more about how we can help grow your business.