As the owner of a painting business, you may not have given much thought to social media before. Isn’t that just where people go to chat with friends and share pet pictures?
If that’s your idea of social media, think again! Platforms like Facebook and Instagram should be part of your marketing strategy, where you connect with customers and even attract new business.
Here’s how to leverage social media and draw in new clients for your painting company.
Learn the Perks of Social Media for Painters
Not convinced that social media is worth your time? Check out the benefits it can offer you:
- Connect with your clients: Customers expect a fast response when they’re unhappy with your service. With social media, you can respond to questions and complaints in minutes. You could even set up an auto-responder to automatically reply to certain types of messages.
- Highlight good reviews: Social media allows you to gather and show off your reviews.
- Save on marketing: You can slash your advertising costs by connecting with social media users organically. When you engage with users, there’s a chance they’ll refer new business to you because you come off as trustworthy. Word-of-mouth referrals are free!
- Narrow in on your target demographic: You can learn about your target audience, including their likes and dislikes. That information could help you refine your advertising strategy.
- Learn from competitors: You can keep an eye on your competition to find out what they’re doing and why it’s working.
In short, there’s really no downside to giving social media a try. Now that you know the perks, here’s how you can leverage social media and make it work for you.
Focus on Just a Few Social Media Platforms
When many business owners start out with social media, they tend to go a little over the top and sign up for every platform under the sun. That’s a quick path to burnout because handling all those accounts takes a lot of time.
If you’re totally new to social media, it’s far smarter to stick to only one or two platforms at first. Pick the ones where most of your customers hang out, like Facebook and Twitter.
Not sure which social media platforms your clients use? All you have to do is ask! Try sending out a survey with your weekly or monthly newsletter. To boost the response rate, consider raffling off a small gift to a few lucky winners.
Post Regularly and Strategically
Plenty of social media newbies think it’s best to post whatever’s on their minds whenever they feel like it. But unless you have worthwhile content to share, posting multiple times a day usually isn’t the smartest idea.
That’s because if you do, users will quickly get sick of seeing your posts in their feeds. Many will unsubscribe, and some might be so annoyed that they’ll refuse to do business with you at all.
Instead of the “quantity over quality” approach, it’s better to come up with a strategic content calendar and post only once or twice a day. Your content calendar will also keep you on track so you’re never at a loss for what to post.
Your content calendar might look something like this:
- Monday: Share photos of your projects
- Tuesday: Answer questions about your painting business
- Wednesday: Post pictures of your team at work
- Thursday: Share a link to a new blog post
- Friday: Highlight your favorite brands
- Saturday: Post a DIY tip
- Sunday: Share an inspirational quote
Check Your Spelling and Grammar
It’s true that social media platforms can be pretty informal, but that doesn’t mean you’re free to post without checking for typos first. Spelling and grammar errors can make your company look unprofessional, so be sure to edit your content before posting.
Take Advantage of Hashtags
You may have come across a few hashtags while using Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Hashtags are words or short phrases preceded by the pound sign (#). They give users a convenient way to search for topics, events, and products.
Hashtags can be very powerful if you use them right. When you include hashtags in your content, anyone who searches for that word or term can potentially find your post. You could even score yourself a few more subscribers (and customers) this way.
Hashtags work a little differently depending on which platform you’re using. On nearly all sites, though, users can see a list of the latest and most trending hashtags on the platform. Try working some of these hashtags into your content and see if your follower count grows.
Link Back to Your Website
Achieving a high search engine ranking for your website can be difficult, particularly if you’ve got lots of local competition. Why not take advantage of the extra traffic social media can bring?
Social media pages often show at the top of the search results, and sometimes they’ll even appear above your own website. It’s wise to take every opportunity to direct users to your site, where they can book services with you.
You should put your URL on your business’s social media pages, of course, but you can add your website to posts too. To get people to visit, include a brief call-to-action message, like “Get a free estimate for your project here” or “Check out our site for more ideas.”
Respond to Reviews and Comments
Lots of people like to use social media as a sounding board for their complaints about a company. Bad reviews from customers can sting, but ignoring them is among the worst things you could do.
By failing to respond to reviews, it looks to customers as though you don’t care. Those customers are likely to spread the word about your business, and not in a good way.
Always respond to complaints as soon as you can. You can even set up an auto-responder program to reply to comments and questions with pre-set answers. Just make sure your answers sound like they were written by a human, not a robot.
Encourage Others To Follow You
If you don’t have a big following on social media yet, start building your network by asking anyone you can think of to subscribe. Friends, family, and even your employees are all fair game.
You can ask your customers to follow you, too. Try enticing them with a message like, “Get access to exclusive discounts when you subscribe.”
When building your network, you might come across shady companies that sell subscribers for social media accounts. This can be tempting, but such tactics are best avoided. These subscribers don’t care about your business and won’t engage with you.
Not only that but buying subscribers is against the terms of service on YouTube and some other platforms.
Don’t Just Promote Your Business
One big mistake that some businesses make is to leverage social media solely as an advertising platform. Users hate it when companies advertise to them incessantly. They come to social media for engagement, not to hear strictly about your latest and greatest offer.
It’s okay to talk about promotions sometimes, but try to limit your offers to one out of every few posts. And if you must post advertorial content, make sure it’s an offer that’s actually compelling.
Share Photos of Work in Progress and Completed Projects
Posting photos of your projects is a great way to catch the eyes of social media users. Facebook is a fine place to share your work, but platforms like Instagram and Pinterest are even better. These platforms are extremely popular with DIYers seeking interior design and home decor tips.
Take photos of your work at each stage to show users what your team can do. “Before and After” transformation pictures are beloved on social media too.
Has your painting team transformed a run-down property into a modern and beautiful abode? Here’s your chance to show off all that hard work!
Post “Day in the Life” Content
Curious social media users will love it when you post “day in the life” pictures and stories of your team in action. This content can also draw in users who might be interested in a painting or interior design career.
Social media content ideas for painters include:
- Tips on how to become a painter
- Fun photos of your team at job sites
- Stories about what it’s like to work as a painter or own a painting company
- Before and after pictures
Be Entertaining
When you come across an amusing photo or hilarious video that your audience will love, don’t hold back from sharing it! This is a clever way to increase engagement without creating your own unique content. Plus, you can piggyback off the success of content that’s gone viral.
Share Industry News
Social media isn’t all about nabbing new customers. You can also use it to make friends with other painters and tap into their networks.
Posting commentary about trends and news can help you connect with other pros in the painting industry. Not sure where to find the latest painting news? Try:
- American Painting Contractor
- PaintSquare
- Coatings Pro Magazine
Track Analytics for Your Posts
Have you ever posted something on social media only to hear nothing but crickets? Getting a poor response can be demoralizing, but the good news is that you don’t have to keep wandering around in the dark, wondering where you went wrong.
Social media analytics tools analyze the performance of content for you. The best ones let you track analytics for several different platforms in one conveniently accessible dashboard.
These tools can help you answer questions such as:
- Which of your posts get the most likes and comments?
- Which platform performs best for you?
- Is it worth it to keep posting on Twitter, or should you try a different platform?
- How much has your follower count grown this month compared to the same time last year?
You’ll find quite a few analytics tools out there, some free and some paid. For the most features, you’ll want to opt for a paid tool. If you’d just like to try a program out to see if it’s helpful, there’s nothing wrong with sticking with a free tool for now.
Some programs also allow you to:
- Track the response and resolution times for your social team
- See how well your competitors are doing compared to you
- Monitor tags and comments to help you avoid public relations problems
- Get industry benchmarks for engagement rate, audience growth, and profile reach
Social Media for Painting Contractors Done Right
Figuring out how to leverage social media for your painting business can be confusing, especially if you have little to no experience using these platforms. If your business could use a helping hand, reach out to Painter Marketing Pros today! Our experts will devise a strategy to help you make the most out of social media.
Call Painter Marketing Pros at (800) 813-4385 or book a free strategy call now.
