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Whether you have a social media program or are just starting one, there is no shortage of advice about everything you supposedly should be doing, and no shortage of gurus who claim expertise across every industry and customer base.
It does not work that way. Like any good marketing effort, social media has to start with the needs of your customers, and construction distributors, rental stores and contractors have different habits than customers in other industries. There is an easy place to start: figure out why, where, what and when, in that order.
Contractors consume content on their phones between jobs.
This is a two-part question. First, why should social media be part of your marketing at all? Because your customers are exposed to it almost daily even when they do not think of it as work. Embedded videos of construction equipment are all over the internet, and every one of them lives on a social platform. If you are not creating and posting that content, your customers are watching someone else's machine during their research.
Second, why is your existing effort not getting much engagement? Contractors are not usually early adopters of the latest technology, and while most are talkative in person, few spend their day chatting online. They consume content. They rarely contribute it. Set your engagement expectations accordingly.
One more point. Social media cannot replace the marketing tactics that have worked in this industry for years. It is one piece of a larger effort that surrounds a potential customer with helpful content and steers them your way when they are in the buying cycle.
New platforms appear constantly. Your job is not to be good at all of them. It is to identify the one or two where your customers actually spend time and do a good job there. Trying to be an expert everywhere usually means being an expert nowhere.
A good social effort in construction starts with a focused content strategy, and that starts with the question: what do our dealers and customers want from us? The answer is to be informed, educated and entertained.
About what? Ask your sales team what questions they get asked over and over. Write them down, then answer them with a mix of text, images and video. Post the content on your website, pitch it to the trade media and share it on the right channels, keeping in mind that some content performs better on some platforms.
Timing is the most neglected part of the conversation. Desk-bound marketers forget that most contractors are not in front of a screen between 8 and 5. Content posted mid-morning on a Tuesday may never be seen. Mix up the time of day, watch what works on each platform and use a scheduling tool to post outside of business hours.
Do not be intimidated. Understand the basics, build a plan and try something. If it does not work, try something else until you find the mix that fits you and your customers. If you would like help, visit our ‣ page.