Stay visible online without having to think about posting every day
Referrals are still one of the best ways for tradies to get new work. But a recommendation doesn’t always lead straight to a phone call and a job being booked in anymore.
Someone might ask for a builder, plumber or electrician in a local Facebook group and get a lot of names. Or a friend might recommend you, then there’s a good chance they’ll look you up online before deciding who to go with.
That’s when your online presence needs to be active and doing some of the work for you.
If you’ve got recent jobs, current posts and photos of you and the work you do, it helps build trust and gives them a better idea of who you are and what your business is like. If you last posted six months ago and another tradie in the area is regularly sharing their work, your competitor is easier to check out and choose.
The problem is that when you’re busy on the tools, social media is usually one of the first jobs to get pushed aside. You don’t have the time, you didn’t become a tradie to come up with content, and half the time you probably don’t even know what to post.
You’ll probably be pleased to hear there’s no need to post every day. It’s more about having a simple plan to collect content, turn it into posts and schedule it.
Use the platforms your customers are on
You don’t need to be on every platform.
For some local tradies, a lot of their work is already coming through Facebook.
You’ll see posts asking for recommendations in local Facebook groups. People love to share their good experiences and the business they trust and want to recommend. Being part of those groups also gives you the chance to answer questions and get your name known in the areas you work.
Instagram can work well too, especially if your work is visual and you’ve got plenty of photos to share.
Choose the platform your customers use and that you’re comfortable with, because you’ll be more likely to keep it active.
Make collecting content for socials part of your job
The easiest time to get good content is while you’re actually doing the job.
Take some before photos, a couple halfway through and some final shots when you’re done.
The part that often gets missed or just doesn’t happen is organising those photos properly. Set up a folder in Google Drive or OneDrive and call it something like Social Media Content. Then you can add the photos as you go and keep them separate from your personal photos. If it’s just you handling the content, even a separate album on your phone is better than having it all mixed in together.
Add a quick note with the type of job, location, what the customer needed and anything worth mentioning about the work. That gives you, or whoever handles your social media, enough information to turn it into a post later.
Turn what you already have into posts
Another mistake tradies make when it comes to posting? They think they need to come up with a brand-new idea for every post.
Then it all becomes too hard, and they give up.
Think about jobs you’ve already done, questions that customers ask, a quick tip, or even the dog that hung out with you on your last job. People love those pet posts! They show a bit more of the person behind the business.
When you’ve got your images and information in one place, you’ll find it so much easier to pull together posts. It also means you won’t be trying to come up with content at the last minute.
Scheduling can really help with getting content out too. Tools like Meta Business Suite let you set up Facebook and Instagram posts ahead of time, so you’re not trying to do it all at the end of a long workday.
You don’t need to post every day
Don’t post for the sake of posting. Even one or two posts a week is enough to keep your page current and show people your business is active.
Think about what’s realistic for you to do and stick to it.
Don’t spend an hour on a caption or fiddling with a graphic because it doesn’t look perfect.
The aim is to keep your page up to date and give people a chance to get to know you and your business, not to make every post perfect.
Need help keeping your social media going?
If you know social media is something your business should be doing, but it keeps getting ignored, it might be time to hand it over.
Shadow Administration helps tradies just like you create and schedule social media content.
You’ll have your own Virtual Assistant working with you to keep your business visible, while you get on with the work you actually want to be doing.
