Been tossing up whether social media is right for your business? Georgia gives you a run down on the benefits of using social media as a tradie and some of our top tips to nail it!

Clients want to pick a tradie they can trust, not the first company that pops up by chance. Hence why word of mouth referrals are the biggest source of new business for trades. But, as more people move online our behaviours are changing. Nowadays customers rely on a solid online presence as an indicator for the quality of a company. Which is where social media comes into play.  

Once social media was a 'nice to have' but now, it is a necessity to keep up against your competition. Social media platforms give you the opportunity to build a strong customer base and promote your brand. Other methods of advertising are rarely able to attain the same speed, reach, and engagement as seen on social media.  

Your social media accounts can act as a one-stop-shop for potential clients. Where they can see your existing customer base, testimonials, projects, and who is on your team. Being perceived as trustworthy and able to deliver a quality service is what really matters.  

Additionally, Google search will rank your company higher in results if it sees you have complete and consistent social media profiles. Active social media pages also open up the doors to new clients and partnerships as well as furthering your relationship with your existing clients. 

Social media is sometimes seen as a big scary place, but when you understand it a bit better and use it correctly, social media is a hugely valuable and easy-to-use business tool.

To help you on your way to mastering social media we put together some of our top tips for tradies social media.  

Here's our tradies guide to social media:   

Important info  

As mentioned earlier, people are beginning to use social media as their main platform for research on companies. The biggest opportunity you have as an owner is to get on these platforms and display your basic info. Your logo, phone number, email, address, all the things people need to get in contact with you.  

What is your message? 

Nutting out your key messaging is super important for your social media pages as your content should reflect that. If your main selling point is your services, you may use testimonials, case studies or share your guarantees to show your customers how trustworthy you are. Another selling point is quality, if this is your focus then your pages need high quality imagery and videography. 

What platforms to go for? 

People often believe that going big is the way to go, and aim to jump onto all platforms. Our advice is quality, over quantity. Based on the messaging you decided above and your target audience, you should choose your platforms accordingly. We lean towards Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn as they have high numbers of users, but don't be confined to the norm, TikTok is a very powerful marketing tool if someone in your team can commit to it.

Call to actions 

When your posting online it is important to remember your end goal – get clients. Including a call to action in you content is super powerful as it tells your followers what you want them to do. It might be calling your office team, checking out more of your projects on your website, or simply following your page.  

Engagement  

Engaging with your audience is crucial. This will hugely increase your pages success as well as boost your client relationships. Interacting with your customers on your page such as replying to their comments or liking their content shows you care about them – which is what all customers want at the end of the day! You can go a step further and ask them questions through your page, or respond to their common questions and provide solutions to their problems.  

Build a community of trades 

Throughout our time working with tradies, we have noticed the value in social media for networking within the industry. Interacting with fellow trades online is a great way to build solid connections, whether its future work or simply a mate in the industry who may be able to provide advice or a listening ear. In our opinions, this is a super valuable tool for the trades industry to network and grow your connections.  

If you need help getting clear on your social media messaging and strategy, get in touch to set up an intro call with our team marketing@sidekit.nz 

Georgia, Client & Marketing Manager.