Long gone are the days when businesses provided information through advertising, brochures and the Web and then waited for the phone to ring. Not only have marketing and ad budgets been slashed to the core, but today’s consumers seek and receive information in a completely different manner - they want to research, receive, participate and engage in information sharing with an emphasis on connecting to those whose opinions they trust. The good news for savvy remodelers is that this technology has opened up a whole new way to market your business, providing a new set of cost-effective, highly targeted marketing tools to attract customers.

The Power of Connecting         

For remodelers, recommendations can be the lifeline to new and repeat business and that’s what makes social media a perfect outlet for the remodeling industry. Social networking is all about connecting – connecting with friends, business colleagues, interested parties, neighbors and hundreds of thousands of groups with shared interests.

Although social media encompasses a wide-ranging and ever-growing group of social networking tools, each is driven by users and designed to help people with common interests connect and share information. If you’re a fan of Chick-fil-A, you can join over one million other fans on their Facebook page. Get a kick out of Shaquille O’Neal? He’s got a Twitter account.

That same technology is available to you to create awareness for your business, develop personal and real connections to potential customers and employees, tap into resources, and engage with people who have an interest in what you do. Through online and mobile social networking tools, you can interact with your core audiences in a personal way no brochure or newspaper ad could ever achieve.

Using Social Networking Sites

There are a wide range of social networking tools available to you – from Facebook and MySpace, to YouTube and LinkedIn.  Each has distinct advantages and challenges, but through understanding what each tool is and how it might work for your business you can decide which will help you attract new customers. Here’s a quick snapshot of a few of the leading social networking tools to consider.

Blogs - Blogs are Web sites with regular commentaries about projects, events, issues, and news of interest to readers. You can create and maintain a blog on your Web site or separately to provide information, resources, links, videos, photos, and all types of information that you want to share with readers of the blog. Although it can become time intensive, blogging can be a great avenue for sharing your ideas and showcasing your work. Check out this kitchen remodeling blog as an example: http://www.kathysremodelingblog.com/kitchens/

Twitter – Twitter, an online method of instant communication, acts like a mini-blog, with 140-character submissions (called “tweets”) and real-time conversations about topics of interest.  You can tweet live from a project, share photos and videos, become a source of “expert” information, and even engage in conversations with customers from the internet or your mobile smart phone. Need an example? Check out @akrenovation (http://twitter.com/AKRenovations) – they have nearly 3,000 people who follow their tweets on everything from great paint choices to news of the day.

Facebook/MySpace – While primarily designed for personal use, these social networking sites are rapidly gaining favor with businesses.  By creating a fan page, people can choose to follow your updates and interact with you. Fan pages allow you to post project photos, ask for comments on a project, post realtor recommendations, and even get feedback and share thoughts. You also have the ability to send email messages to fan Facebook mailboxes and communicate directly.

LinkedIn/ActiveRain – These sites are designed primarily to connect business contacts. More business-oriented than Facebook and MySpace, these sites allow you to network and generate new business leads or identify employees for recruitment. ActiveRain, for example, operates the largest and most active social network in the real estate space, allowing you to connect to a key referral source.  

YouTube/12 Seconds – These sites, and others like them, are online video sharing Web sites where users can upload and share videos.  Do you have a great new project that just has to be seen to be believed? Got a specialty you want others to know about?  With just a hand-held video camera and a few hours of your time, you can create a videotaped virtual tour of the project along with homeowner interviews and post it all on the Web.  This allows potential clients to view you work and hear an endorsement from satisfied homeowners.

Flickr is a Web site where visitors share photos at www.flickr.com. Snap shots of projects under construction or completed, happy homeowners, and employees who deserve a pat on the back can all be posted and shared with others.

These are just a few of the social networking tools available to remodelers and some simple ways you can use them.  Once you decide which are right for your business, there is a wealth of information on the Internet to guide you through the set up process. With a little creativity, you’re social media marketing will be building your business and engaging customers and fans you never know you had.     [ return to top ]