3 Ways Tradespeople Can Use Social Media To Boost Credibility and Business-Part 2

by | Sep 23, 2009

Today we are continuing an article by Nicky Jameson on how Tradespeople can use social media to generate new business.

Yesterday, Nicky talked about establishing trust with consumers. Today she will cover building a positive word of mouth and how to establish yourself as an authority.

2. Use social media to build positive word of mouth

Whether you are involved in social media or not, people are already talking about you. They are discussing your services and your brand for good or worse.  For tradespeople, it’s even more crucial when people are discussing your industry.

How many times have we heard what to us seems like the “experience from hell” listening to a friend’s home renovation story? As consumers who will probably need to use a tradesperson in the future, we cross our fingers and silently thank our stars we’re not the victim… then we wonder how we go about finding a great tradesperson ourselves. The problem is that the “rogue traders” ruin it for the thousands of honest, reputable tradespeople.

If you as a tradesperson have a blog, are on Twitter or have a Facebook page, contribute to a tradesperson’s forum or use another social network, that’s a big help for us and a big advantage for you. First, we search online to see what people are saying. If we like what we find, we’re likely to call you… and when you do a great job, we spread the word…. On Facebook, on Twitter, in our other social networks. In fact, we don’t wait until someone asks us, we’ll generally tell our friends via Twitter, Facebook, forums etc… because our friends trust our recommendations. They in turn share our positive experience, and word of mouth spreads.

What’s more, those recommendations stay online indefinitely. Of course, it can work both ways. The adage that one unhappy customer tells 9 other people has huge implications when you bring in the social media mix. Overall, though, social media is an opportunity for you to take advantage of exponential word of mouth.

3. Use social media to establish yourself as an authority

While not every builder is going to be a Mike Holmes, as a tradesperson you probably have helpful tips and information your clientele (present and potential) need.

You have the answers to questions like:

  • How do I hire a tradesperson?
  • What questions should I ask the tradesperson?
  • How many estimates do I need?
  • How do I know the tradesperson can do the job I want?
  • Should I ask for credentials?

With Social Media, it’s easier than ever to create and distribute valuable content for your clients.

Here’s an example:

Pete loves the idea of social media. He has a home construction business and over the years has noticed that people ask the same questions over and over again. He found out he could do video so easily he did a short video on just one of the topics people were asking about and posted it on YouTube and posted a link to his website.

He was overawed at the result. Over 500 people accessed the video in 2 days and clicked back to his website. The response was so good that he decided to do a series of short videos, answering the top questions people asked, and even asking people to submit their most pressing questions.

He had phenomenal results. Pete now does a regular video tip every other week, uploads it to YouTube and his website, and has got some good business from it, because people click his link and go to his site. Best of all, he’s established trust and is seen as an expert standing by his audience.

You can video to share tips and valuable information with your clients. People can watch and share your video with their friends who can then share them with their friends. Thanks to the power of social media tools and social networks, your video and content can go viral in less time than you might think.

Social media gives you almost unlimited opportunity to expand your relationships with fellow tradespeople and your customers. People do business with those they like and trust and using social media extends your ability to establish relationship and trust.

Nicky Jameson is an online Copywriter who specializes in improving B2B websites. She’s also a blogger on using social media for business. Nicky blogs at http://nickyjameson.com and her website is http://copywritingstudio.com

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