Social Media

Is Social Media Worth It? Why Social Media Doesn’t Work the Way You Think for Remodeling Businesses

June 25, 2013 by Ryan Paul Adams

This may be the most controversial post I have written to date and all the marketing gurus out there are going to chastise me for this, but I am going to say it anyway "social media doesn't work for remodeling contractors...at least not the way you think it does!"

"About 61% of small businesses don't see any return on investment on their social-media activities, according to a survey released Tuesday from Manta, a social network for small businesses. Yet, almost 50% say they've increased their time spent on social media, and only 7% have decreased their time." (Source: USA Today)

What? Social Media Doesn't Drive ROI? But That's Not What All the Experts Told Me!

If anyone told you that social media would be a big driver of new prospects and leads for your remodeling business, they are dead wrong. Yet most small businesses continue to invest more and more time and money into social media. Social media doesn't drive ROI directly and should not be used as a core lead generation strategy. It just doesn't end up working the way you think it does for lead generation.

And no matter what the experts are telling you, it's really hard to track exactly what you are getting for a return from social media, believe me, I have tried. You need to invest in marketing that can produce a measurable result and social media just isn't that medium (we will talk about Yelp in a minute).

"Just thinking that Facebook alone will send droves of customers to your doorstep is a mistake a lot of people make," she says Stephanie Schwab, CEO or Crackerjack Marketing. (Source: USA Today)

Social Media IS Necessary But Not the Way You Think It Is

Social media is NOT worth your time or money if you are spending more time or money on this vs. doing any other marketing. That part may be obvious to some but for others, if you are delaying implementing a direct mail campaign, paid search, or SEO strategy because you don't have the time/money, stop your social stuff today and move your money into something that will produce results.

Everyone has something to sell and I want you to be wary of those who are selling just social media related services as a way to generate new business. Social media is to be used as a compliment to your other marketing. You do need social signals, especially in the post Penguin 2.0 era, and having updated information on your social profiles and some posts from time to time do help ensure your profiles aren't a ghost town.

Dream of Going Viral? Don't Bet Your Life On It

By now, we have all heard of content going "viral" online. For most remodeling businesses let me be the first to tell you that you are probably never ever going to have something you produce go viral. It just isn't going to happen unless it involves something crazy or controversial and I wouldn't recommend you investing a lot of time into fabricating something like this just for a local remodeling business. If you are seeking national exposure, maybe this is worth considering, but not for the local business. Going viral with a video or post should not be something you should focus on when marketing your remodeling business. It is not something you can count on and build a predictable marketing system around and those types of marketing concepts should have little value to you.

Where Should Remodeling Businesses Invest in Social, If At All?

Traditional social media marketing efforts like sharing content, writing cleaver posts, connecting with other people in your community (engagement efforts), re-posting content, etc just aren't going to do much for your business.

Instead, focus on reputation marketing (getting reviews), visual media (images and video) and blogging.
Reputation marketing is probably going to produce the best return on your investment. While I personally don't consider reputation marketing as the same as social media, others do and I suppose for this discussion we can too. Getting reviews on sites like Yelp, Google +, Citysearch, etc are extremely important. Share those reviews on your social profiles for some easy social signals and to build an awesome web presence. Spend your time and marketing budget making your review profiles perfect vs. anything else you do in social media.

I am a big fan of visual media for the remodeling industry. Showcasing your work with images and building high quality image galleries on sites like Pinterest, Instagram, Flickr, Google +, Facebook, Houzz definitely helps give some juice (if optimized correctly) to your online marketing and will help you close more deals.

Video is also great and getting some client testimonials shot with your smart phone after each project is huge. But keep in mind that people tend to read and scan images and copy online vs. watching a video, especially when it relates to a local business. I still like video and getting videos posted on YouTube and some other video sharing sites can not only drive direct leads, but it does help you look good! (Take a look at this study by Mike Blumenthal).

Blogging is also worth continuing with and is a great way to get new content on your site. Search engines love sites that are updated regularly and having new blog content with an RSS Feed(Really Simple Syndication) is an easy way to accomplish that. Consider mixing in local content and current events in your market with content related to the service you are selling. This is probably going to be the best way for you to get additional social signals on Facebook, Twitter, and Google + by sharing your latest posts.

Social media is a time consuming and often expensive marketing channel. Be careful how you use it and don't let it consume all your time and marketing budget, especially if you are delaying doing other marketing that can produce a return. Focus on social strategies that will help improve your reputation, showcase your work, and help position you as the clear leader in your market. Investing a ton of time reposting, engaging with fans and followers, and trying to be cleaver won't help you grow.

Need more help growing your remodeling business? Take advantage of all the FREE resources I have on www.RyanPaulAdams.com and download my "3 Killer Ways to Grow Your Remodeling Business" today.

Filed Under: Social Media Tagged With: Facebook, Google +, is social media worth it?, social media marketing for contractors

6 Steps To Increasing Sales With The Help Of Social Media Marketing

September 30, 2012 by Ryan Paul Adams Leave a Comment

Social media can be confusing. It's something you do to communicate with customers, but can social media actually increase sales and grow your business? The answer is absolutely, but there are a few things you need to do to get there.

Assuming you have already identified your sales goals and target audience, here are 6 tips to help you grow your sales through SMM (social media marketing).

1. Choose social media outlets
Social media profiles like Facebook and Twitter allow you to share short posts and link to articles and share photos. A blog allows you to write industry articles and share your expertise with an audience. Look at your target audience and consider their needs and habits. Use these factors to determine how to proceed.

2. Blog & converse with customers
Starting a blog gives you a platform to share your collective expertise. Sales experts and business executives can share their insights and knowledge that will interest and inspire their audience. But writing great content is worthless if you aren't getting people to read it. It is imperative that you promote your blog. Encourage commenting and respond back. Share your post through other social networking sites and promote it everywhere you can. Email signatures, business cards, invoices, Twitter & Facebook are all places to share your blog.

3. Create Social Profiles
You need to determine what social profiles you are going to create. You need to consider what profiles your target audience is using. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, SlideShare and YouTube are a must for most businesses and a great place to start.

4. Make press releases work harder
Press releases are typically used to spread the word about company news. However you can do more with them. Incorporate your keywords into your press release and add credibility by referencing your sources and quotes. Content should be compelling and well written. Once you have a finished product promote it everywhere. Post it again on your blog and link back to your site. Also share the press release with social media. Encourage others to share it. As long as you've used an interesting topic people are likely to help you spread the word.

5. Incorporate social media everywhere
If you are using social media to increase sales you really need to get it working hard for you. Put Twitter and Facebook share buttons an all of your business articles and web pages. If people are sharing your content and site with others they are really expanding the reach of your message. RSS feed buttons should be in place on your blog and easy to find. The easier it is for people to keep up with you the easier it will be for you to make the sale.

Also, start incorporating your Facebook Fan Page and YouTube URL’s into your offline marketing as well. A lot of Fortune 100 Companies no longer even advertise their direct website in television commercials and focus primarily on Facebook and YouTube to where they want to drive their traffic.

6. Evaluate and adjust
With any marketing strategy there will be things that work well and things that need work. Google Analytics is a good place to start measuring success. Additional tools like bit.ly, Klout, Social Mention, Addictomatic and HowSociable will help you get the big picture.

These tips can help you create a complete social media strategy. There is power in information sharing and your social media marketing plan can help bring great success to your company.

Filed Under: Selling, Social Media

Find Your Social Voice Before Launching a Social Media Marketing Campaign

September 27, 2012 by Ryan Paul Adams Leave a Comment

Social media marketing is something that makes a lot of business owners nervous. There is some concern about the kind of feed back they will receive from their audience and unsure how they should speak to them.

Every social media marketing campaign needs to have a defined voice. The voice used in the social media world should reflect the same feeling your company uses for your website, any written materials, email campaigns, press releases and any other document by your company. It is important for your marketing to have a cohesive feeling throughout and all are intertwined.

In the event that several people participate in your social media marketing campaigns you need to make sure they all understand how best to represent the voice of your company.

For some companies it may make sense to allow all employees or executives within the company to participate in the social media posts. If they will be sharing personal reflections and interests in the business and industry they should sign their name to the posts. This allows for the writing styles to differ but the overall voice of the company should be upheld.

Allowing employees to participate in the social media marketing can help increase the content on your social media profiles. It is very important to create a social media policy document that outlines what can and can’t be said when representing the company online. The best social campaigns we have seen are typically those that have several voices contributing to the conversation – from marketing to sales to upper management and even your IT department.

The point of SMM is to expand your communications with your audience. Simply advertising the benefits of using your business and it's services is not enough. Pushing your company will not get your any followers. When employees point out their recent industry findings, ask for customer feedback/opinions and share industry news it can make for a really interesting and vibrant social media page.

However you handle the social media marketing in your company keep in mind the voice behind your brand and carry that through your SMM efforts.

Filed Under: Social Media