Keep up with Facebook changes to build a stronger advertising campaign

Social media has truly taken the world by storm, and for those of you who are thinking about utilizing Facebook as a strong marketing outlet for your Plumbing or HVAC business must take note of the most effective ways to launch your campaign. A well done Facebook page can help generate leads, calls, and additional revenue for your business, but you have to know how to get their intricate system working in your favor.

Tips for advertising on Facebook

Facebook has recently created a new algorithm that is meant to make their social media site more user friendly. However, this change could have a negative impact on companies looking to gain more reach through Facebook advertising. Here are some extremely useful tips when looking to pull in the most views, shares, and return visits to help increase your bottom line for your Plumbing or HVAC business...

Although post likes and comments are still favorable they will no longer have the impact they once did and are likely not to appear on the newsfeed of your friends’ pages. Businesses looking to show up on multiple news feeds must entice people to share their posts by creating content people love in order to gain more views. You can also invest in what is called Facebook Sponsored Stories, which will ensure more newsfeed outreach on each post that someone has deemed captivating enough to like.

Create relevant posts

Relevant topics that are currently trending are another way to attract more potential customers for your Plumbing or HVAC business. Say for instance that winter has ended and the dreaded spring-cleaning has just begun. Homeowners may want to even renovate their property in order to kick off the season with a fresh new look. Perhaps someone is considering remodeling their kitchen or bathroom, and you are the company to call for these services. For an HVAC business springtime also means allergy season, which you could then correlate into a post about air purifiers. The trick is not to directly promote your company, but to give people something they find interesting or helpful.

Eye-catching pictures and short videos are also good to implement into your Facebook advertising strategy, but it helps to get a thorough understating of what your target audience is interested in. Facebook has the ability to categorize users into several different brackets including age, gender, interests, what they do for living, and their location. For plumbers or heating and cooling specialists location plays a large role in your business, due to the fact that you are only servicing a number of different areas around your community.

Interact with your viewers

You want your fans to interact with your posts on a consistent basis; so one thing is for sure you must be continually interacting with them. You can go overboard with posts, and if they are sloppily put together and hold no real value then you are wasting both your time and your viewers, and could eventually end up losing their attention altogether. Ask questions that will give people a chance to comment, use a quote that users can relate to, and a short block of engaging content goes a long way. You might even want to host a contest that ends with one contestant winning a particular discount, product, or service.

Tie in current events or things that are specific to the area you live in to help generate more buzz. As long as people continue to view your posts and you are constantly on their minds, Facebook can produce a nice amount of traffic to your website, which will hopefully turn into inbound calls and an endless number of sales.

Even links to other relevant pages that fit with your industry can give users another reason to visit you. If you provide credible and relatable links, people will go to your page as the hub for all of their information.

Make your posts fun

The point is to make your posts fun for users. No one wants to like, comment on, or share a post with friends that simply says, “Is your toilet clogged? Call John Doe Plumbing for service.” Also, Facebook will simply see this as a promotional ad and penalize you accordingly.

A bit of humor or a unique anecdote are nice ways to spark more interest. Believe it or not, there are a lot of facts about plumbing that could draw people's’ attention. Did you know that the Egyptians coined the phrase “The House of Horror” when referring to the bathroom? This simple statement followed by a humorous meme that delves into a frightening visit to the water closet could certainly generate more views.

For heating and cooling professionals there are a number of things you can mention. One example is, that before air conditioners existed people used blocks of ice to cool their homes. When the first AC units were put on the market, output ratings were determined by how much ice would be needed to measure up to the same cooling power of the particular system. During the ice bucket challenge you could have had a field day driving more people to your company page. Still, there will be many more opportunities to get your services in front of a wide range of Facebook users.

Some Plumbing & HVAC companies have even incorporated their pets onto their website. Well, we all know just how big pet videos and pictures are on Facebook, so this is certainly a tactic you can use to draw more attention. Everyone loves a grumpy cat, a high-fiving dog, an absentminded sloth, or a loquacious parrot. Now, just provide a post of them holding a plunger or shivering during a harsh winter due to a broken furnace and you’re golden. You may even want to train your parrot how to squawk out your company motto. Follow it up with a clever hashtag and you will get even more reach.

Popular hashtags can get a lot of hits, so it is important to look for current trends that may be applicable to your business and are worth mentioning through the use of a short phrase. This can extend your influence beyond just Facebook and all the way to Twitter and Instagram.

Holidays, events, and celebrations are a great thing to talk about as well. If you can intertwine some facet of your company with a particular occasion more people will be apt to read it. Wish your potential customers a Happy Thanksgiving, send some Christmas cheer, or celebrate Earth Day by stressing the need for clean water and how it associates with optimum plumbing. These are just a few ideas to get you going.

The times that you send out your posts also plays a role in how many views you will get. There is a tool called Facebook Insights that allows you to take a better look at when most of your fans will be scrolling through their newsfeed.

Beef up your Facebook profile

While there are so many different things to remember when it comes to making the most out of your Facebook marketing strategy for your Plumbing or HVAC business, profiles can be a very big deal. Make sure that your business profile is as detailed as possible; it will help improve your ranking and establish you as a more credible company. Additionally, take the time to occasionally update your cover photo, this gives people that impression that you are truly active in the Facebook community and are there to stay.

Companies that are involved in particular groups or organizations that other people may want to join should also be represented on Facebook. If you donate to a specific charity make sure to get it out there and see if other people want to contribute. This will not only help you to get more views, but illustrates that you are a company who cares about its people.

It is also important to note that Facebook now has a new application called Facebook Hello, which makes it easier for users to contact a particular company for goods and services. This convenient application will display your hours of operation along with a button where people can simply click to call your business directly.

Endless ways to boost your business

The possibilities of Facebook advertising are endless. It has become an essential addition to other marketing strategies for any company looking to generate more traffic to their website, increase their inbound calls, and convert those calls into sales. Ask any customer that you serve to become a member on your page, this will help you to continually remain on their minds, so when they are in need of another service you will be the first one they think to call. For prospective clients, reel them in with fresh and innovative posts and you will surely see a positive outcome for your efforts.

Now it is time to map out your Facebook marketing plan and get the ball rolling. I hope you have found this article to be helpful and encourage you to integrate these social media strategies into your Plumbing or HVAC business. Good luck!      

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