It seems that every homeowner or apartment renter needs to call a plumber at least once, so you would think every plumbing professional would be flush with work—but it's not always the case. The issue is that there can be so much competition in the industry that it's necessary to stand out to draw in customers. Social media and local search engine optimization can be the answer. You can bring in more customers from multiple demographics with catchy Facebook posts and attention-grabbing Instagram stories.
Here are the benefits of social media, tips for competing with major companies, and some content ideas to get you started.
Compete with the Major Companies
Focusing on local SEO and social media can be incredibly effective for your plumbing business for many reasons.
One of them is that you’ll be able to communicate with customers and get immediate feedback so you can make smart adjustments to your business model. Also, when you use social media, you can save a bundle on your marketing costs, which may be essential if you’re a new or smaller plumbing operation with a limited budget. Smart links will also draw potential customers to your strong business website so that you can show off past work and your array of plumbing services.
With all that said, perhaps the most essential reason to put effort into your online presence is that it can help you to compete with the major corporations that often take a large portion of the customer base. Since many major plumbing agencies, from Roto-Rooter to American Residential Services, are large and sometimes nationwide organizations, many customers will call them first because they know their names. To compete, you can use social media and local SEO, which is when you market directly to the customers in your area so they’ll call you first instead.
One way to improve your local SEO is to create online listings. You can start with one of the most popular, which is a Google Business Profile. This profile will show the important details of your company, including your services, hours of operation, contact info, and more, so when customers look for a plumber nearby, they’ll see your company appear in their search results. Get enough new clients, and your business immediately becomes more competitive.
You can also improve your local SEO by adding keywords on your website that correspond with the cities where you do business. Keywords could include things like “affordable plumbing Chicago” or “toilet repair Seattle.”
Set Up for Success
A search online will tell you that the average time that people spend on these platforms is about two and a half hours, you should also put focus on social media. However, you need to learn to do it right.
Since they all differ, deciding which social media site is best for your business is the first step. Many people still use Facebook, so you should maintain a presence there, no matter what. After creating a post, you can use Facebook Ads to promote it to a specific audience, such as homeowners in your town. Another option is Instagram, which is more picture-oriented. If you have ideas for visual marketing, that may be the best place. You can also share videos on YouTube and short updates on Twitter.
Once you pick a platform, you need to put serious thought into your social media marketing strategy, starting with setting realistic goals. You could aim for a certain number of followers or new customers you hope to gain each month, but make sure you don’t make the goals too lofty, or you could miss them and feel discouraged to continue.
Then, sit down and come up with ideas for posts. Add them into a content calendar so you can ensure that you have something to say on a recurring basis. Share content every week, track each post to see if it gains traction or followers, and then move forward by sticking with similar content while mixing in something new when it comes to mind and see if it works.
Social Media Ideas
When it comes to the exact type of content you’ll add to your calendar, you have many options. One idea you should consider is making your company the go-to expert for all things plumbing. You can do that by creating posts that give tips and advice on all sorts of plumbing problems to prove to the folks out there that you can do it all. Share videos of your associates fixing leaking pipes, provide advice on how to conserve water, give money-saving tips, and more. At the end of each post, share a link to your site so customers who see it can contact you without fuss.
Another idea is to show photos and videos of jobs that you have completed in the past so customers can see how great their project will look if they hire your company. Make sure to always get permission from the homeowner before you do so. You can also share posts featuring your employees with their families to prove that your company has a human side and is not only about making money. That way, customers can form an emotional connection that could lead to a phone call.
While you’re searching for ideas, you can also look to your competitors or those major companies that seem to have so much success and see what they do on social media. You shouldn’t steal their content but use it as inspiration for your posts and tweak the ideas to fit your business.
All of this is to say that if you’re on the fence about whether using social media is necessary for your plumbing business, there should be no more confusion. If you’re not part of the online conversation, you can be easily forgotten. Advertise where the customers are, and your plumbing company could see great success.
Sam Bowman writes about people, tech, workers, and how they merge. He enjoys getting to utilize the internet for the community without actually having to leave his house. In his spare time, he likes running, reading, and combining the two in a run to his local bookstore.