Effective Social Media Tips For Small Businesses

Of the people who use social media, 54% use it to look up companies and find out more information. It makes social media an important part of promoting your business and finding new customers.

But social media can be a full-time job in itself - I should know. I’m Dave and I’m the Social Media Manager at Found. I’ve got 8 years of experience as a social media professional, growing the brand awareness and customer base for various businesses.

It’s why I want to share some of my tips to make using social media easier, and I’ll use examples from our socials to show you exactly what I mean.

What social media should you use?

I’ve found that Facebook, Instagram, and Tiktok are the places where there is high use and engagement from tradies. It depends on where your audience is, and what you have to show them.

Facebook is great as so many people use it, and you can show the pictures of your craftsmanship, people can comment, get your contact information, and if you’re already using Facebook, you're already familiar with how it works.

It’s the platform that is most set up for businesses, like yours, given its search function and multiple post formats.

What should you put on your Facebook business page?

There are three main things to put on your Facebook page:

1. Your contact information

You want to make sure that people have an easy way to contact you. This could be through making sure your information page has your contact number or posting links with your posts on how people can get a quote.

2. Post content of you on site

Before and after, progress pics, short 30 second videos of your team, this will bring to life your work and let people know exactly what they could order from you.

If you’d also like us to feature you on our socials, let me know here.

3. Reviews

People want to hear from other people. Both on Facebook and setting up a Google Business account for reviews means that you have somewhere to direct people, and it’ll help when people are searching for your business.

You can also use quotes from the reviews for your posts on social media. An easy way to post that also shows in someone else’s words how good your work is. Testimonial posts are a great way to show potential clients why they should choose you as their tradie of choice.

Do I need permission for on-site photos?

I’d recommend that you flag with your customers that you’ll be posting photos. On some sites, they might be keen to be tagged or to be sent photos of the progress. 

If it’s a photo of your work, you’ll want to make sure that no key identifiers are in the photo unless your customer has consented. This includes address, name, etc.

I know it’s obvious but it’s worth saying time and time again. Make sure that everything in the captured pictures or videos is following worksite safety guidelines. The last thing you want is a comment about that.

How often should I post on social media? 

The magic question isn’t it?

Posting 3-4 times a week is ideal but it’s not always possible. Remember it’s better to post than not to. Don’t worry about the artistic angle. Think of how you would present your work to a customer and use the same thing when you write your post.

Try to use video as much as possible as it is king on social media. Videos will always be the priority when it comes to both the algorithm showing your content and people stopping to view your posts. And I mean videos of any kind.

How do you know what’s working on social media? 

Million-dollar question.

The main way you’ll see it working is that you have a growing audience, people who are following or commenting on your page. 

But remember, all good things take time, don’t expect every post to go viral. Your social media is still where people go to check you out, so think of it as proof of your work. Ask new customers how they found you and if it was from social media. If you are looking to go viral, then I would suggest exploring TikTok although, given it’s not the easiest platform to navigate, I don’t think that potential clients would use it when researching your business on social media.

Any tips on the best kinds of things to post?

Variety is the spice of life! This is to test what your audience likes to see. If something has more likes, comments, or views, try and post more of the similar thing.

Show your face in your posts. Selfie videos are a great way to put a face to your business and they don’t have to be high quality. With just a phone you’re able to show who you are and it makes it more real. People want to know you and trust you, and no one will explain your work better than you.

Should you use hashtags? 

Yes. 

Hashtags will help new people find you who are outside your audience. You’ll be able to see relevant hashtags when you type in the ‘#’ but also explore them for yourself and find the most relevant ones.

Should your team post?

Yes.

Teammates sharing content can really increase reach and engagement. Make sure they’re tagging you and that you are also tagging or reposting them.

You don’t need to put many rules down, as they’re your team, you’ve hired and trust them, now you can encourage their posts. Make sure they tag your business in their posts, this will make it easier for you to share it. The only things would be to make sure you protect your customer’s privacy and that no derogatory or disrespectful posts are put up. 

Make sure to use face to face opportunities

When talking directly to your customers, ask them to follow you or ask them to write you a review. It’s the best way to grow your audience or get reviews, rather than following up with them later.

That’s it for now! 

You can check out Found’s Facebook or Instagram social media.

See more information on all things concrete on our Tradies Hub.