Social suggestions

For any home service business, connecting with customers is vital in order to keep them coming back.

And a great way to nurture that connection is through social media. During Jobber’s Jobber Summit, a panel of home service business owners weighed in on all the ways companies should be utilizing social media to reach new customers, engage with current customers and promote their business.

Panelists for the discussion included Adam Chapman, CEO of Pad Pal; Jeff Thorman, creative director and host of Home RenoVision DIY; and Alyssa Armstrong, CEO of Alyssa’s Cleaning Company.

All three panelists urge business owners not to wait a moment longer before diving into the world of social media. In fact, Armstrong says she was busy making content before she even launched her business.

“I was creating the content first on TikTok and saw that there was really a demand for cleaning, and that really inspired the business,” she says. “I then got other social media platforms because the more content you put out, the more people in your local area are going to see you.”

Chapman agrees, saying there’s no downside to being active on social media.

“Social media had been the number one secret for home service businesses,” he says. “When I started out we had very little in the budget, so posting on Instagram and those platforms was a good way to build up our reputation online.”

WHERE TO POST. The first step in getting the most out of your social media posting is determining which platforms to utilize.

“Your social media should correspond with your ideal demographic,” Thorman says. “Think about who is your customer. If you’re looking to do a service-based business with an older demographic, you’re going to find them on Facebook.

“If the fish are already in a barrel, you might as well go fish in that barrel,” he adds, also mentioning not to just post on your personal favorite platforms.

Chapman suggests starting with simpler platforms like Facebook and Instagram. You can reach a wide audience, and you can benefit from cross-posting as the two platforms are owned by the same company.

Armstrong adds it’s also important to consider what you want out of your posting.

“All the socials offer benefits in a different way,” she says. “I think TikTok is good to possibly get a viral video and a ton of views on your stuff, and Facebook is good for finding people more locally. Instagram is really good for local people too, but also for connecting with the people who follow you.”

WHAT TO POST. After deciding which platforms to use, the next step is ironing out what kind of content you’ll be posting.

“Short form content is king,” Chapman says. “That’s absolutely been a big one for us. You do want to have multiple forms of content on your page, but in terms of attracting followers, good short-form video is best.”

Armstrong also prefers short videos as she feels they keep someone’s attention better.

“My audience scrolls quickly,” she says. “I think videos that are kind of controversial do well. Nothing crazy, but people like to debate about their favorite things. They will go to bat for that product in the comments and comments get engagement.”

On the other hand, Thorman primarily posts on YouTube. His videos are much longer, sometimes spanning hours.

“Our best content is 2.5-3 hours long,” he says. “Our biggest thing is you want the person watching the video to have a positive emotional response to it… so every time they see you on their feed, they get another positive dose of that happy emotion.”

MAKING TIME FOR CONTENT. Any business owner will tell you there’s not enough time in the day, so how are they supposed to spend their very limited time making, editing and posting videos on social media?

The panelists say the best thing to do is be efficient and create a bank of content you can fall back on.

Armstrong is doing something unique in order to stock up on video content.

“I offer my clients 10% discounts if they allow me to create content while cleaning for them,” she says. “This kills two birds with one stone. Not only am I making money cleaning, but I’m creating content, too. Also, you can create multiple videos out of one large video. You don’t have to create 10 different videos at 10 different times.”

Chapman says repurposing content is also helpful.

“If you have a tight schedule, but you have the budget for it, I recommend paying for help and for having someone come in to film,” he says. “If not, film everything you can and store it.”

Chapman adds after the workday, instead of wasting time consuming content, you should be creating it.

“The downtime you spend sitting on your phone and scrolling, start using that time to be editing videos or putting together (Instagram) Reels,” he says.

Thorman also stresses to take the time to post on socials. He suggests getting on a schedule for posting regularly.

“Don’t wait to start creating your content,” Thorman says.

Chapman agrees and recommends going to sign up for each platform now to ensure your business’s name as a handle even if you don’t plan on posting just yet. This way, it’s ready to use when you want to start.

HARD WORK PAYS OFF. So now you’re posting on multiple platforms and posting regularly. How does one take those social media followers and convert them into paying customers?

“Make sure to send them to a landing page with clear information,” Chapman says. “Get their name, phone number and all their information. Ideally, that’s going into a CRM and you have some sort of way to do the legwork on the backend, whether that’s automated or a salesperson calling the leads and closing the deal.”

Armstrong says she’s gotten a great deal of customers after they saw her work transforming other’s living spaces.

“Before and after videos do really well,” she says. “It’s a great way to show people what you do.”

All three panelists say the best advice is to continue posting regularly, because you never know when that follower will be ready to turn into a customer. You want to stay in front of them.