Social media for plumbers is critical!
If you’re a homeowner and you need plumbing services, chances are one of the first places you’ll check in your search is on social networks.
We see it all the time.
Someone has a clogged drain or a broken pipe and needs help from a local plumbing business ASAP.
Chances are they’ll search Google, and read reviews, scan plumbing company social media pages, or ask their friends for suggestions.
That’s why, if you want more business, you don’t only need an excellent and Plumbing Specific SEO optimized website, you need a solid social media presence.
In this post, we’re going to share a few tips, tricks, and needs exclusive to plumbing social media.
If you follow these six steps, we promise you that you’ll see results in not only communicating with current (and prospective customers), but you’ll increase your reach, build brand awareness, and manage your reputation.
Ready? Let’s go!
Step 1: Know your target audience.
Social media is just like all other marketing services. It’s all about what your customer wants and needs.
By knowing who you want to communicate to, you’ll have a better understanding of how, when, and where to engage with them and see greater success in your social media campaigns.
Come up with the persona of your ideal customer. Write it down if you need to. Ask yourself some questions like:
- Are your potential customers individuals, or are they businesses?
- Where in your service area do they live and work?
- How old are they?
- What is their financial situation?
We realize that these questions may seem obvious, but the answers help you choose a social media platform to create posts and fine-tune your messages.
Step 2: Pick the right social media platform.
With plumber social media, where you broadcast your message is almost as important as the message itself.
Each social media platform has a purpose. Each one has a different personality and user base.
While you can often post the same content on various outlets, you will probably have to make some tweaks due to the differences in the platforms.
If you’re not sure what kind of content you need to generate, be sure to read our ultimate guide to content marketing for plumbers.
Here are some items to keep in mind:
- Twitter has a 280-character limit, so it’s ideal for plumbing companies to frequently share quick tips and ideas.
- Linkedin is an excellent tool for networking-minded people who already have a fair number of business customers who rely on them for advice and recommendations. Also, Linkedin users tend to be wealthier and are much more likely to hold college degrees.
- Facebook allows you to post a variation of content and is more geared towards community building. It is typically the best place to reach middle-aged to older users, such as baby-boomers, which is suitable for a plumbing company, as those are the groups more likely to own (or rent) a home or an apartment. They’re also more likely to own their own business.
- YouTube is the best place to share how-to videos. We’re sure you’ve probably tackled a DIY project at home recently, and we bet you watched at least one video on how to do it. Plus, Google owns Youtube, so search engines crawl and index the videos on there as well. These videos give your website an SEO boost and help you rank higher on search engine results pages.
These are just a few of the hundreds of social media platforms at your fingertips. But before you start creating profiles on them all (which we suggest you do at some point), you should decide where you’ll be the most effective, and master them.
Step 3: Share timely and relevant content.
Give those that follow your profiles a reason to stay connected to you.
Share a variety of quality content.
It’s been proven that people pay more attention to posts that contain images or videos, so try to incorporate visuals into your posts.
Not only are there different types of social media posts, but there are different goals of them.
Plumbing company social media posts can educate, engage, or promote.
That’s right! You don’t have to be shooting for sales all of the time. Instead, provide value to potential customers.
Educate
When you create educational content, not only should you give your followers valuable information, but this helps establish you as an expert in your field.
So think about how you can meet the needs of someone who either are looking for a plumber or will be.
What kinds of questions do they ask?
Blog posts on your website, how-to videos, or lists of tips are good ways to approach these industry-related topics.
We’ve prepared 10 creative plumbing blog post ideas to help you get started.
If your business isn’t blogging, you need to stop what you’re doing and get started now! Learn why business blogs are so productive.
Promote
Promotional social media posts are a great way to share current deals, publish pictures of your work or business, post customer testimonials, and announce your current sales and specials.
Always include a call-to-action (CTA) to give your customers a way to get in touch with you.
This CTA could be a link to your website, an invitation to get a special offer, signing up for your email list, or a click to call button.
Read our article to learn how to create a compelling CTA.
Engage
Your social media posts can also entertain your followers and show your plumbing business’s personality.
Depending on your brand persona, either show your company as fun, serious, or no-nonsense, whatever matches your brand.
Emphasize your unique selling points.
Consider using fun facts and motivational quotes. You don’t always have to be pitching sales.
If you want to be known as a family business, share personal success stories, spread holiday greetings, or showcase your team members (from plumbers in the field to student workers answering the phones.)
Step 4: Post frequently.
Large corporations and plumbing powerhouses spend millions of dollars yearly tracking when and how often they should post on their social media profiles.
As a small or mid-sized business, you probably don’t have that kind of marketing budget, and that’s ok, just focus on consistency and quality.
Sharing one quality and interesting post is better than sharing four mediocre ones.
Posting every other week is better than barraging your followers with ten posts one week, and none for the next six.
Figure out what works best for your plumbing company, make a plan, and stick to it.
Step 5: Consider using paid advertising.
Social Media Marketing is the practice of using paid advertising to allow you to reach followers by strategically targeting specific groups of people more effectively.
Although posting on your social media sites is generally free, they all have options for paid ads (Pay-per-click advertising), boosted posts, or another premium option.
If your budget allows, consider employing social media marketing (SMM).
With SMM, you can reach people who aren’t your current followers, and even segment your ad’s audience by demographics, interests, gender, age, and other factors.
Track your results
Let’s make a plumber comparison.
You go out to a local business and fix a leak. Now, you could perform a hydrostatic test to verify that your repair was effective.
You use data to make sure your repair worked, right?
You should do the same with paid advertising on social media platforms.
The good news: most platforms allow you to see how effective your paid or boosted posts are by showing you various metrics, including how often people see them and how often people click on them.
If you find that you’re not getting desired results, you can tweak your posts to be more productive.
Social media ads tend to be inexpensive to buy and create, so feel free to experiment. Do some A/B testing to learn what methods work better and what ones don’t do so well.
For more in-depth suggestions on building out social media advertisements, social media automation experts Hootsuite has an excellent article. While you’re there, check out their social media posting platform, it’s an industry standard among small businesses and social media marketers.
Step 6: Remember to Be social.
The most important way for your plumbing business to have success at social media is, get this, being social.
Share and like posts by other users, creating content that will engage customers and start a conversation.
Pay attention to online messages, and answer any question that your followers may ask.
Join groups online (community groups, industry groups, you name it!) and join in on the conversation.
Remember, this provides value and establishes you as a plumbing expert in your community.
By remaining socially focused, your plumbing company will get the most out of your social media accounts.
Whether you’re sharing holiday photos on Instagram, demo videos on Youtube, or going live on Facebook, stay social.
Whether you’re using traditional posts or investing in paid advertising, stay social.
A plumber that maintains its social media profiles will improve its relationships with current customers, connect with new ones, and see more overall success than one who doesn’t
So let’s hear from you!
Which social media profiles do you think are best for your plumbing business?
What are you going to try first, traditional posts, or are you jumping straight to boosting your posts?
Let us know; we’d love to hear how it works out for you.
Or if you need to hire a professional company to handle your online marketing for your plumbing business, contact us or fill out the form below; we’d love to discuss how we can help.
