There are a lot of opinions when it comes to social media.  Commonly these opinions turn into truths…and contractors end up taking them to heart.  We’re here to help you sort these myths out.

#1) Social media is a fad.

We’ve heard this over and over again.  And it is simply not true.  In 2012, local business searches increased 67%!  All the more reason why you must keep your business pages current, and make sure you are considering SEO.

#2) Anybody can put together a social media campaign

Yes, your daughter or nephew is probably very social media savvy.  However that doesn’t mean that they understand how businesses are run, how to create a strategic communications marketing plan, or keep the integrity level high.  This is the front door of your business for many potential clients.  You want to make sure your best face is facing forward.

3)  I don’t want negative reviews!

We’ve talked about reviews in the past, and having a few negative reviews is OK!  As long as the vast majority of your reviews are positive, people understand that you can’t please everyone all of the time.  If a negative review does pop up, be sure to address the issue so other customers understand your concern.  This is also a great way to learn what your business does right, and what you can improve on.

4)  Nobody is going to read what I post.

You’d be surprised how many potential clients are researching your business right now.  Many of them want to make sure that you’re current with industry trends, see projects that you have completed, and get a feel for your personality and business model.  You don’t need to use social media to only talk about what you’ve done.  Post about vendors in the area that are doing great things, reach out to old customers, comment on questions viewers post.  This will make your company feel like a community rather than just a business.

You don’t want to be left behind, and miss out on the huge influx of new customers searching the web for your contracting business.  Create a smart, well-thought out social media marketing plan, and publish immediately.  Every day you’re not using social media, is a day you may be missing out on customers.

Want to be a member of your client’s team rather than just a vendor?  Social media can help.  By implementing a few easy strategies to your social media marketing campaign you can develop deep and positive connections with your clients.  All of which will lead to a healthy business relationship for years to come.

Let me help you.

Since you’re already using social media to market your business, keep your eyes open for opportunities for you client.  Maybe you find a hole in the marketplace that your client could easily fill.  Or maybe you see a job posted that would be a perfect fit for their business.  Either way, your client is sure to be grateful for the suggestions.

Tip:  If you’re already using (which you should be) Google Alerts or Social Mention, you can easily perform routine checks for your client.

Network.

When perusing Facebook and twitter see if there are any areas of service your client can provide to your connections.  A referral can turn a regular customer into a loyal customer; who will be more than happy to return the favor.

Celebrate their accomplishments.

Is your client celebrating a grand opening?  Having a sale?  Perhaps they’ve having their 10 year anniversary.  Whatever the accomplishment is, be sure to promote them on your twitter, Facebook and company webpage.  Your client is sure to appreciate the shout out, and you’ll be gaining greater exposure.

Don’t be shy!  Be an ambassador for your client, and you’ll quickly be viewed as a shining member of their team…and many others.

When it comes to your website, many home services contractors have been left hanging high and dry with a “dead site”. But what exactly does this mean?

Your businesses website is suppose to act as a 24/7 sales person, that is working around the clock, to attract visitors, and convert them into long lasting leads for your business. If this does not sound familiar to you, then it is probably because your company has fallen victim to the many website development scams that are occurring within the local business marketing community.

We have been there, and so have many of our clients. So, what does it take to have a killer website that increases your traffic and converts visitors into customers?

Give your contractor marketing strategy the push that it needs with Killer Landing Pages That Boosts Leads. On our exclusive webinar presentation, Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2011 at 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m, we will hand you the tools and strategies your home improvement business needs to jump-start your website and maximize lead generation.

Reserve your seat today.

This step-by-step webinar will give you an insider’s look at how to:

• Optimize your site for the popular keyword search terms and phrases your top prospects are searching for;
• Create a website structure that is guaranteed to convert visitors into your marketing funnel;
• Apply online tools and measurements to optimize and track your site’s conversion to optimize performance.

Want to find out more? The success of your business is one click away, so gain access NOW!

https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/177196786

Aside from the tried and true tactic of building high-quality, content-based backlinks to your website, contractor marketing experts are always looking for ways to leverage social proof to get more leads online. Social proof sounds a lot like “everyone else is doing it” and includes everything from testimonials to “likes” and “follows” on social media sites. Like getting a referral from a friend, social proof helps people feel a lot less nervous about doing business with someone they don’t know directly.

Social search is a newish development that could be important for contractor marketing purposes… unless it tanks.

What is social search? It’s the brainchild of the marriage between Bing and Facebook. The union between the two made it so Facebook searches incorporate Bing’s search results. Now the pair will turn that around the other way and make Facebook data appear in Bing’s search results. Integrating with a user’s social connections, this will make it so the search results are influenced by the “likes” of your network.

In other words, with this contractor marketing setup, data will be gathered from your friends and connections and show up when you go looking for products and services online. If you’ve got a friend who’s made any opinion of a product or service public, it’ll show up when you search. It could be the ultimate in personalized search.

Or people could hate it.

Feedback from the field varies widely. Some users say this contractor marketing enhancement will make it even easier for excellent businesses to succeed. As they gather raving fans, they position themselves to become even more popular. Others say this is SEO equivalent of “The New Coke” and that people will demand a return to relevance-based search results.

One guy said, “My friends are morons! Why would I want to follow their recommendations?” A little harsh, but he brings up a good point. People have lots of different reasons they might “like” a business on a social network. Maybe they’re related to the owner, maybe they’re a paid marketer trying to help a client, maybe someone hacked their account and went nuts one day “liking” like there was no tomorrow. There’s no guarantee a “like” means anything at all. There’s a lot of room for crazy stuff to happen and completely skew the search results.

So what should you do? Be prepared either way:

• Keep going with SEO – build high-quality relevant links by distributing great content.
• Build your social network presence – encourage your contacts and customers to “like” your pages and content.
• Don’t forget to incorporate the highest form of social proof – testimonials. A powerful testimonial is heavy on credibility. A video is the best, audio and a photo next, text and a photo next. Never, ever fake a testimonial.

We’ll have to wait and see what happens with social search when it is incorporated with contractor marketing, but if you stick to proven strategies and dip a toe into what seems promising and new, you’ll be covered.

So, a question for you – would you be more or less likely to try a product or service based on your social network’s input – or would it have no effect at all on you?

No matter if it’s a basement that needs rebuilding, a bathroom that needs to be built from scratch or if it’s a plumbing job that demands an expert contractor, it’s a problem a contractor can help to solve.

Despite the current economic hardships we’re facing, people still need to maintain their homes and so the work is out there, waiting to be found. In order to make sure your business is one of the first that people come to, try these contractor marketing sources for contractor leads and fill your sales funnel now:

• Lead Generation Agencies
  It’s a little old-school, but one option for getting qualified leads is to speak to a lead generation agency, companies that offer affordable leads for all kinds of businesses. Most often, they are very explicit in stating what the needs and wants of their clients are. This means that you’re able to save time and energy by cutting out communications with uninterested clients.
• Lead Generation Agencies PLUS
  There are other lead generation firms that will go further and provide only potential clients who are able to pay for the services you will perform for them, because these agencies carry out credit assessments beforehand. As well as this, most major lead generation firms have account managers who can help you any time you need it. These contractor marketing agencies will usually work by first assessing what your wants and needs are, and then once they have set a profile for the type of customer you want, they will begin their search.

One perk of using this kind of contractor marketing service to generate contractor leads is that most agencies won’t charge you anything for invalid or low quality leads, so you really are getting value for money.

However, anytime you involve an agency to feed your business leads, you automatically do three things: increase your expenses, decrease your follow-up speed, and possibly put you in a race and price war with your competitors who might have purchased the same lead.

One simple way to avoid that – and one you should start working on immediately – is to create your own lead generation system online. Since the majority of people now turn to the Internet to find the products and services they need, building an online presence is one of the best investments you can make in your business. By creating a simple, professional site, you can do your own lead generation for a tiny fraction of what you’d pay any contractor marketing agency for contractor leads.

Build and promote your site right, and you can easily become known as an expert in your trade, generate a constant stream of hot leads, get your customers the information they need to make buying decisions, and drastically boost your profits. You’ll have complete control over the leads you generate… and if you get too many to serve, maybe you could sell them to a contractor marketing agency!

Key Steps and Tips for Optimizing Your Twitter Bio to Generate a Massive Following

Not only has Twitter become one of the most influential social media networks, but it has also become a major search engine for many individuals. The Twitter bio for your page is extremely important to the way in which your business markets itself within this enormous social media platform. Here are some key tips and tools to generating leads and followers in 160 characters.