More than ever, social media is an effective way to gain more clients and build a following for your business. Over 1 billion people use Instagram every month and 81% of people who use the platform do so to research products and services. So here are some guidelines on how to gain potential customers to engage with your construction business so that these relationships can convert to clients in the real world.
1. Explore the Platform and Look at Other Construction Social Media Accounts
The first step to creating your own social media plan would be to look at construction accounts that are already on Instagram. There is nothing like entering a new arena where you have no idea what the expectations are. To learn more about what people are already creating, search for ‘construction’ in the search bar to find related posts and accounts. Take note of the kind of language construction accounts use, what photos they post and what you like and dislike.
Being clear about what you want and what lines up with your business ethos can act as a guide as you plan what photos or information to post. For example if you love the helpful tips other construction businesses give to clients on how to care for their home or roofs, maybe you would like to think of what advice you can give clients in your posts.
2. You Already Have a Client Base, Capitalise on it
One of the awesome things about having strong professional relationships is that you already have an audience who want to connect with you online. Search for the profiles of past and current clients and make sure you give them a follow. Current clients will want to follow your account to see updates on their projects or to see what kind of work you’ve done in the past.
3. Understand What Makes Your Business Unique + Create Content That Appeals to Potential Clients
After taking a good scroll through other construction content and photography, you will start to get a good idea of what people are used to seeing and what they would like to see. It is helpful to get in the shoes of your clients. What would they like to see from the company that is building their house/apartment/doing work outside their street? What would show future clients that your company executes beautiful designs and follows code? What makes your team different from other companies offering the same service? Think about these questions and let them guide the sort of content you create.
4. Follow Hashtag Tips and Keep a List of Relevant Hashtags for your Business
Hashtags help to widen the reach of your content. Over the years there has been a lot of debate about the best way to use hashtags, but here is what has worked for us. You are able to use up to 30 hashtags on a single post but we would recommend keeping it simple. It has been shown that using more than 11 hashtags has been the most effective, so start there and then experiment with more or less and see what works best for you. During your search for other construction accounts take note of what hashtags they use and write them down, then you have a starting point on what you can use as well.
Try to alternate between using hashtags that have a large following and niche ones. When you click on hashtags you will see that some have millions of posts and some have thousands. For example, #construction has 18.5m posts but #constructiondetails has 9.5k (at the time of publication). Using popular hashtags could get you a burst of likes, however, niche tags will help you remain visible for longer.
5. Good Photography is Crucial
We are in an age where everyone has a camera on their phone and around 95 million photos are posted to Instagram every day. The positive side of this is that you most likely have resources right at your fingertips. You can learn to take quality photos with just your phone. This also means you need to be sure you are posting quality photos that showcase how amazing your construction work is in a competitive environment.
Photos ultimately tell a story about who you are and the culture of your business. If you have ideas for photos and content but are not sure about how to accomplish them, speak to us here at Wolfe Wise Creative and we can start a conversation about how we can help you execute your ideas.
Bonus Tip: Keep your Audience up to Date with Frequent Posts
The unspoken rule is that you should post consistently but not flood your followers with content. Though this might seem difficult, the rule of thumb is to post once a day or 3 times a week when your followers are most likely to be on their phones. By developing a consistent flow of content you are more likely to establish a following and gain traction as consumers can rely on you to keep them up to date with your projects and thoughts.
...
These were six ways to start or elevate your social media game. Let us know if you have any questions as we are happy to answer them at michael@wolfewisecreative.com.au. Did any of these resources catch your fancy? Let us know if there is any area of photography or social media marketing you would love us to cover.
Learn More About our Photography Services
Want to learn more about our Commercial Photography Portfolio Page?
Click the button below to see what we've been working on ...