I have a secret the Builder doesn’t like me to share. When I first started with this blogging caper, and dabbling in social media, he thought it was a waste of time! Me, I had an inclining it was going to help us grow our business, but honestly I wasn’t sure after all, is social media a business tool?
Is Social Media A Business Tool?
The short answer to this question is yes, of course it is. Social media has changed the way consumers shop, and this includes how they come to make one of the most important decisions they will make, to build or renovate their home. How it works as a tool is where the crucial information is at.
Facebook is used as a search engine, most often our first point of contact with a business is on their Facebook page, if you don’t have a presence, where are you? How many times, have you searched in Facebook for a name of a business near you? How often do you look there for feedback and for recommendations? If you are not on Facebook, guaranteed your competitors are, and that’s where the business is going to go.
Instagram has grown in popularity over the years to becoming one of our most used phone apps. It’s where I spend nearly all my social media time, and that is simply because it’s nice. I get a little tired of the negativity I find on Facebook, so I choose to spend my time scrolling Instagram even know I understand for the most part it is a highlight reel.
Instagram allows you the opportunity to show snippets of your daily life, and in a business sense, it gives your potential clients the time and space to learn who you are and what it is you do. Consumers want to know who they are working with, they want the opportunity to learn about you before they contact you. Social media, especially Instagram gives them that opportunity in their own time and with no pressure.
Pinterest can be a great place to showcase your work, and invite your potential customers on to your website. It’s an awesome space filled with beautiful images that have the potential to show off your best work. But what if you don’t have any images of your own? You can share others by pinning them to your boards.
For example, if you were an electrician, you could have boards showcasing different lighting styles, this still represents the type of work you are able to do, and can engage your potential client enough to have them follow you to your website, where the sale process begins. The same could be said for a plumber, plasterer, painter, in fact any business at all.
Pinterest is somewhere clients go to find inspiration, be a source of inspiration and knowledge and gain trust before you even begin your sales process.
My disclaimer here is that we don’t use Twitter other than to automatically share my blog posts. This form of social media was never engaging to me, but for those who do use it, it is very addictive. Again a great source of knowledge and an opportunity for you to share more about who you are and what you do. Another lead generator, to bring the clients to your website.
Quite simply, social media is a crucial part of your business and a social media plan should be developed and adhered to. Business is as much about who you are as it is about what you do. Social media gives us the opportunity to share both of these, in a simple, fun and engaging way.
How many social media accounts do you have? Which is your favourite?
Nicole xx
