You’ve no doubt heard of social media. Whether it’s Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or one of the many others out there used to connect with friends and family. Social media is a huge part of everyday life, with people sharing images, videos, updates, and everything else in an instant. With more than three-quarters of the UK’s population using social media, it’s important that you do the same for your trade business. You can make the most of these platforms to get in front of your target audience and advertise your trade.  

Social Media uses both paid and organic strategies to boost your business. Organic use of these platforms allows for shares, reviews, interactions, and competitions and creates social proof. With paid social media you are able to reach wider audiences through targeted paid ads, ideal for those looking to reach a mass market. Keep reading to find out more benefits of using social media, alongside some top tips for how to utilise it for your business. 

Benefits of Using Social Media For Tradesmen? 

The list of benefits of using social media for business is endless. It can be used in many different ways and is both a free and paid tool that should certainly be taken advantage of. Here are some of the benefits associated with it, browse below to see why you should build a platform for your trade business. 

Builds Brand Personality 

A brand’s personality is crucial in today’s market. To stand out from the crowd, you must be easily recognised. Social media provides a great way to interact with existing and potential customers whilst getting your personality across. It allows the opportunity to interact with people, whilst being human and displaying your competence and professionalism at the same time. This can be whatever you choose it to be, but make sure you’re consistent. Communicating through social media in a specific tone of voice will help you stand out, all whilst becoming recognisable within your trade.

A social media presence places you in the public eye and with this comes brand awareness. With so much of the UK now using these platforms to browse endless newsfeeds, this is where you want to be. 

A staggering 70% of small UK businesses and 90% of large UK businesses all use social media, meaning you must do the same if you want to compete! 

Manages your Reputation 

Now, reputation management is closely connected to your brand’s personality. By using social media you are able to quickly deal with any problems or complaints and resolve them quickly. Your customers are able to tag you in posts and leave reviews, allowing you to manage your reputation in a positive way. Reviews and positive engagement will also help to keep your reputation high, the more people know about the good work you do, the more likely they are to use your business. 

Helps Increase Website Traffic

Your social media presence makes customers aware of your brand, meaning they will go further to find more information – usually on your website. This will increase site traffic and potentially drive more sales. You can also create campaigns that will help drive people to your site, things like competitions, door designers, case studies, and more have all proven effective in this area. 

Check out your Trade Competitors 

With so many businesses now using social media to interact with customers, showcase their work, and post regular updates, this is the perfect way to see what your competition is up to. You can check out their posts, reviews, and customer interactions to see how they operate – this will help identify what you’re missing or what to do more of! 

The Different Types of Social Media Platforms 

There are tons of social media platforms, all of which have pros and cons. The one you choose will depend on a number of factors – these consist of things such as: 

• Your target audience 
• The kind of content you’re posting 
• What you’re looking to get out of social media 
• The type of business you own 
• Your post frequency 
• The area you operate in

It’s important to be aware of the points above as it can help determine what will best suit your business. To help get you started below shows a list of the most popular social media platforms and the type of audiences they attract. 

Social media platforms for interacting with others: 

• Facebook
• LinkedIn 
• Twitter

These are primarily used to interact quickly with others. They mainly focus on status updates, comments, reviews, or contact information for businesses. 

The biggest audience for LinkedIn is people aged between 29 and 34 (Statista.com), with the main focus being business professionals looking to network. For Facebook, the users also tend to be between 25 and 34, with the highest percentage of these users being male (Statista.com). 

Media Networks

• Instagram 
• YouTube
• Snapchat
• TikTok

Media networks are mainly used for sharing different forms of imagery or video based content, creating a visual place for users. They are popular among influencers and brands with strong aesthetics. These networks provide an excellent platform for anyone in the trade as you are able to showcase your work through images and videos – a great way to keep customers engaged. Plus, videos get 1,200% more shares than written content, making it an appealing medium for user interaction! 

Forum Networks

• Digg
• Reddit
• Quora

These social media platforms are mainly for users to ask and answer questions quickly. Generally, they are used by the public for selling goods, posting local ads, community questions, and more. People go to these sites when seeking local builders in their area, providing a great opportunity to communicate with them instantly. 

There are several other great social media platforms, many of which have different features and benefits. It’s best to have a good look around to see what’s out there, but for those in the trade, we would recommend using platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and forum networks. You are able to interact with customers and potential leads through Facebook, showcase your work through Instagram and make yourself known on forums. 

The Best Ways to Use Social Media for Tradesmen

As there are many different forms of social media, there are also multiple ways in which it can be used to benefit your trade. From advertising to recruitment, below shows a breakdown of the methods that can be utilised on social media to help boost your business and attract customers. 

Advertising

Facebook is great for advertising on social media. They have options to run paid ads through their site which can help boost visibility, potentially attracting new customers. You can tailor your ad to reach an audience in a specific area, or set your advert time to reach customers at a time of day that it’s most likely to be seen – this could be lunch hour, after work, or whenever you see fit! 

The best way to utilise these ads is by using video content, showcasing your work, and/or case studies, this will all help create social proof. Another way to make the most out of paid advertising is through retargeting. Filter your audience to those who have already interacted with your brand, this could help give them an extra push or reminder of your work. 

Another benefit of Facebook paid ads is that you are able to spend as much or as little on them as you like. You get to set the time it runs for, how far it will reach, plus many other factors – all ensuring you remain within budget.

As mentioned above, social media is a great way to advertise or send out paid ads. They provide a place for businesses to reach out to potential customers, all of which are in a specific demographic. 

When deciding to work with influencers or brand ambassadors, you are widening your business to a larger audience. Influencers usually have a significant following, so any work you do with them puts your brand out to all of their followers – another great way to advertise and produce sales!

Engaging with Customers

As previously mentioned, one of the benefits of using social media is the opportunity to engage with customers. Being able to create a tone of voice and communicate in an informal way, all whilst allowing quick responses – helping the customer get a feel for you and your trade. 

It’s important to remember that although social media provides an excellent tool for brand/customer engagement, if you aren’t consistently using it or don’t reply to customers, this may attract negative attention, giving you a bad name. One way to avoid this is by having your notifications turned on, this way you will know when someone has tried to interact with you, providing an opportunity to respond quickly. 

Recruitment 

Social media is also often used for recruitment. Once you have gathered a decent following, your account will become populated with others in your trade. This means that you’re open to people who are working within the same industry. Whether they come to you for work, or you go to them, social media provides the perfect place to interact with others, making the recruitment process much easier. 

Top Tips for Tradesmen

Now you know all the benefits of social media, here are some more top tips to help get you going. From choosing the right platform to sharing reviews, everything listed below will help get you started. 

Encourage Customer Engagement

Once you have set up your social media account, you want to encourage communication with your customers. This can be done by replying to comments and messages and always responding to reviews – good or bad! 

Make sure you always keep an upbeat, light tone on social media. This is your chance to paint your business in the best light possible. Deal with any issues in a diplomatic way and make sure that your audience knows they can always engage with you through these platforms. 

Not only does this help make your business appear friendly and helpful, but you will also open yourself up to positive word of mouth. Once other users know that you’re easy to reach, this creates a positive relationship between you and your customers. 

Make the Most of Video Content

As mentioned previously, video content has a huge success rate for brands on social media. With more people sharing this media, the more likely you are to be seen. Things like reviews, testimonials, features of your website, showcasing projects, and announcing competitions are all great for producing video content for social media.  

Share Visual Content

People use social media for a break, they like to see what others are up to and what’s going on in their area. If you post something that is text heavy, it’s unlikely that users will read it – often they keep scrolling. 

Adding visual content such as images and videos makes your social media page more appealing and increases your chances of user interaction.  

Share Reviews

Reviews on social media are a great way to show a true representation of a brand. By sharing these on your page, you are able to display what others think about your business, allowing for some of the best advertising. 

Even if some of your reviews aren’t as good, as long as you respond and manage these effectively, you are still showing your brand in a positive light. After all, this just adds extra authenticity to your business! 

Summary

We hope that after reading this article you are now armed with all the information you need for using social media to attract more customers. These platforms provide a great way to interact with others, all whilst building a strong brand and reputation. 

If you work in a trade and want to drive more new business in your local area, we offer a range of skills and years of expertise to help you do just that. We cut all the jargon to make things simple for our clients, making the whole marketing process as easy as possible. So get in touch for more information and get started today!