Use social media to your advantage

Through social media, you can raise awareness of your brand and reach new audiences, all for free, said Allison Tozzi of marketing company imre. You can highlight your business and your values/propositions, she said at LANDSCAPES 2017, hosted by the National Association of Landscape Professionals. Using contact information, you can drive people to connect with your business and then you can stay in touch with past customers.

“When you’re trying to navigate this space, there is so much clutter and they’re always changing. Instead of trying to join every channel, narrow down the choices that are going to help you make the biggest impact on your business and fit the goals you’re trying to achieve,” she said.

Here are her tips for Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Facebook

• It’s a common place people look when they want to learn about or find a business.
• Pages are an easy way to get your content seen by others since users will see when someone likes or interacts with your content.
• Facebook makes it easy for customers to contact you.
• It’s important that someone regularly checks and reviews and messages as Facebook will rate how responsive your business is. “It’s important to make sure your customers know that you’re listening to them,” Tozzi said.

Twitter

• You can provide timely business updates, tips, tools of the trade and respond to customer inquiries.
• Many people use Twitter to get timely news and updates in a quick, digestible way. News stories and sports are king on this platform for this reason.
• Many also use this platform as a way to get in touch with business or brands they use. “They really expect you to be answering,” Tozzi said.
• You can use this platform to show projects as they’re happening. “It’s a really great way to tap into the nature of this channel,” she said.
• Besides giving updates on your business, Twitter is a great place to answer customer service questions and create conversations with your customers.
• It’s important to consider if you have the time and resources to participate in Twitter’s fast-moving conversation. “People really do expect answers quickly and they’ll be angry if they don’t get them,” she said.
• Like Facebook, people can direct message, tag you in a tweet or reply to your content. You need to be able to respond in time.

Instagram

• This is more of a lifestyle platform.
• Visuals really matter here. Unlike the other channels, the first thing you see is the visuals, not the copy so visuals matter here more than on other platforms.
• Instagram is a good choice for a business that wants to visually highlight a portfolio of work instead of price or service offerings.
• Unlike Facebook or Twitter, people can’t easily publicly re-share things you post on Instagram so it can be more challenging to grow a following. So make sure to hashtags to make sure you show up in searches.
• Customer service isn’t as important here but it’s still important to check in at least once a week.
• “Keep in mind that you don’t need a fancy camera or a photoshoot. You can use the phone in your hand,” Tozzi said.

Creating content

You want to have a balance of content. You want to make sales but that can’t be everything because people will get bored and leave.

Focus on things like the success of your business, going above and beyond for your customers and the impact you have on your community.

Planned content

Look ahead to see what services, deals or other promotional activities you have coming up. For example, in the fall, remind people that you offer leaf removal.

Unplanned content

If you have an unplanned post, be sure to ask: Will my customers care about that? Do I have all the information I need to post about it? Will this interfere with anything I have planned to post?