I admit that, while this blog has a related Facebook Page, it is not leading edge. I?ve spent more time developing the relevant Construction Marketing Ideas Linkedin.com group. However, there is increasing evidence that you should elevate the importance of Facebook in your marketing strategies, especially if you are reaching consumers. And I wouldn?t ignore it if your space is purely business-to-business.
But how do you get started and what are ?best practices?? Here, things are still somewhat murky, but I?ll advocate you look in the direction of peer rather than so-called expert guidance unless (a) you are ready to pay for really top-notch talent or (b) you have a particularly astute and connected family member who can guide you along.
(While I can claim leadership and even expert status in the blogging sphere, I simply haven?t been able to focus enough energy and time on other social media including Facebook and Twitter to be an expert in these spaces, at least yet.)
For peer guidance, consider your relevant trade associations or this contractortalk.com thread started by Peck Drywall and Painting in Florida.
If you?re not on Facebook, you should be. I just hit 500 Fans (Likes) on my Facebook business page today. I?ve completed several jobs for people that have become fans on my page. I also have become the go to guy for Drywall and Painting for all of my fans and they will also recommend me to their friends and families. It?s a great word of mouth tool for any business. You can also post photos and vidoes of your work, which is like a portfolio for fans to see. and mark your favorite business pages in your area (hopefully they will mark your page as favorite which shows you as an expert to all of their fans). And it?s All for FREE! But wait, there?s more. As an added bonus, Facebook ranks highly on Google and all of the top search engines. You can mark your business page as Public, and the search engines will pick up on your content which the search engines see as keywords. Then every once in awhile throw a link to your website up and Facebook will submit all of the content from your web page to the search engines and that post will also give you a back link to you website which the search engines score highly on their website ranking list.
You can of course also research books on the topic, but I?m afraid they may become dated quickly.
Publishers Que Biztech (quepublishers.com) for example sent me a review copy of Justin Levy?s book: Facebook Marketing: Leverage Social Media to Grow Your Business
Consider instead reviewing sites such as Peck Painting and Drywall or Patrick Nagle?s RemodelBuddy.com. And if any reader here wishes to help me informally in ?redeveloping? my Facebook page to a more state-of-the-art example, I?ll be happy to publicize your rework guidance advice in future blog postings and grant you credit as the Facebook expert for Construction Marketing.
