Promoting your contracting business via Facebook

If you haven’t yet dipped into the world of Facebook to promote your contracting services,  it may be time to start experimenting.

Why Facebook? For one, Facebook offers a niche platform to tap into your clients’ social circles. It’s a long-held notion in marketing theory that people like what their friends like; they vote how their friends vote; they buy what their friends buy; and, as a recent study from the Pew Research Center confirms, they read what their friends read.

People are also more engaged with businesses they encounter on Facebook, says Barbara Munshaw, owner of the Munshaw Group in Ottawa. The former owner of a cement company in Thunder Bay, Munshaw now specializes in helping businesses understand social media marketing.

Facebook doesn’t have to replace other means of communicating with your customers. But in this multimedia world, says Munshaw, it is an essential part of your marketing plan.

“If social media is not part of your marketing strategy, you will be penalized,”  Barbara Munshaw  “It’s not just about your website or online presence, but even banks now, when considering the net worth of your business are assessing your marketing strategy — including online.”

Most people avoid Facebook because they think it’s just for kids or that it’s dominated by women. So you may be surprised to know that there are more users over the age of 40  — including men — than there are teenagers on Facebook.

Munshaw offers a few tips on getting started:

1) As with any type of marketing, tap into why you’re using Facebook. Is it to stay in touch with clients, sell products or offer advice?

2) Decide what you’re going to post on Facebook. Munshaw recommends avoiding the top-down sales approach. Instead, think about sharing articles and stories that will help your potential clients.

3) Create a business page in Facebook (not a personal one, or it will be shut down). With a business page, you can keep an eye on things like who’s checking your posts and when.

4) Once you’re up and running, take the time to post relevant content — like how-to articles and community events — but don’t forget to post on other people’s pages too.

“Putting your business on Facebook is like going to a party,” says Munshaw. “You’re not going to go and stand against a wall and hope people come to talk to you.”

If you’re stuck at any point in the process, Munshaw says sitting down with a consultant for one hour will give you everything you need to use Facebook well. Munshaw, for one, offers her time for half the cost of most generic social media workshops, which she says often do more to confuse new users than to help them.