Turf Pride Lawn Care, based in Mentor, Ohio, has a new strategy in 2023 for boosting business.
The company, which offers a variety of lawn care and pest control programs, is making waves on social media to try and entice a new clientele.
President Dave Petti says he hopes to see the new initiative really take off this month.
“Sales are a little slower this year than last year, but I think the temperature and the weather really plays a part,” he says. “We’re anticipating having a really good April though. We sent out over 30,000 pieces of direct mail. We’ve got postcards and Google Ads running too.”
Petti says his son, a recent college graduate, has also joined the Turf Pride team to help take the company’s social media presence up a notch.
“We’re actually on TikTok now,” Petti says. “Though I don’t even know how that works, we’re getting a lot of views and followers from that. We’re running Facebook ads as well.”
Petti adds the motivation behind the social media emphasis stems from wanting to connect better with the community they serve and reach potential new clients.
“It’s something we’ve always kind of lacked,” he says of social media. “There are companies out there that do it for you, but it all looks the same. It’s not genuine.
“We wanted to give customers a clear picture of our company and a feel for us so they could put a face to the name and all that,” Petti adds. “I think social media is a good way to do that.”
Having a smaller team of 17 employees running eight routes, Petti says there hasn't always been time to prioritize social media before.
“I’ve never had the time or expertise to do it before in the proper way,” he says.
But now that his son’s on board, Petti says they’ve got a whole slew of ideas in the pipeline.
“We have a lot of projects for social media planned,” he says.
For example, Turf Pride wants to show the true ramifications of slice seeding a lawn in the spring.
“We can’t put our pre-emergent on it then,” Petti notes. “So, we will follow the process and show how it’s not as effective if you do it in the spring as opposed to the fall.”
Petti says the company’s social media posts will be a healthy mix of fun videos and educational content.
“We want it entertaining and educational,” he says. “It’ll be like 60% educational content and 40% just entertaining. The TikToks tend to be more just for entertainment.”
The videos usually feature the same few employees who are comfortable and eager to be on camera — something Petti says is important to respect.
“We’ll go on a route and get some footage of them treating a lawn or doing certain things. There’s a couple people who team up to work on them,” he says. “We make sure the people who want to be on camera are and can do it. Some do not want to — like myself.”
For any other lawn care companies looking to improve their social media presence, Petti’s advice is simple.
“Always do more,” he says. “Consistency is key. Along with knowing when to post and how often.
“We try to keep a consistent brand image,” Petti adds. “And we want to direct people to something, most likely our website, where we try to convert leads. But really, it’s more about keeping your name out there for when they get your piece of direct mail or email, they recognize you.”
And Petti adds it’s important to try out the latest social media platforms, and not get stuck on stereotyping them.
“It’s not just kids on TikTok,” he notes. “Your customer is on TikTok, so you should be there.”
