Question

Topic: Social Media

Web/social Media Presence For Flooring Company

Posted by Anonymous on 1/2/2015 at 3:33 PM ET 500 Points
Looking to build/grow Web/Social Media presence for flooring company. Want to maintain and continue to grow commercial clients. Want to increase/grow new residential flooring customers.

This company handles high volume flooring for new build projects (both residential and commercial). Residential business is good but not growing as much as we would like.

For residential, we are aware that our company has a reputation for being "very expensive, or over priced." Flooring as a whole can be expensive, but we believe that we are on par, price wise, with local retailers, however we try to emphasize our customer service- from initial bids, to design and installation, and after care, we take very good care of our customers and try to get jobs done in a timely manner.

Currently, we have a neglected Facebook page, a website ( https://www.menke-floorscapes.com/ ) that we are in the process of getting rebuilt, and an Instagram account. Most of our work comes via word-of-mouth referrals.

Should we build a profile on Houzz.com? If so, do we maintain both Houzz and Facebook? Is it worth it to continue to maintain a FB page for our company? Are there other home remodeling social sites we should investigate? What other tips might anyone have to improve our image in the eyes of residential customers?

Thanks in advance.
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RESPONSES

  • Posted on 1/2/2015 at 4:56 PM Moderator
    In high-ticket, low-purchase-frequency categories -- like flooring, mattresses, automobiles, tires, etc. -- there is a real question about how/when to use social media. At best, it's one way to keep your name and distinctive positioning in front of people who may need what you're selling some day. At worst, it could be a time-sucker for a long time before you can really justify the investment with concrete, measurable results (and an ROI that suggests your strategy works).

    It sounds, from the way you've asked the question, like you have already decided that social media will be a key element in your marketing strategy, and now you're looking for some reassurance that there is a way to make it work for you.

    That leads me to the key question: What does success look like? How will you ever know whether the social media strategy was worth the time, effort and expense? How will you measure the effect of your efforts?

    After all, if you don't know where you're going you'll end up someplace else (to use Yogi Berra's take on the Cheshire Cat).

    My suggestion: Set some clear and measurable objectives -- not fuzzy ones like "growth." Determine how much and by-when BEFORE you start planning. Then figure out the success metrics before you lock-in on strategies.

    Social media marketing can be effective in many categories, but it can also be a time-sucker that never really delivers in others. Make sure you know which one applies to your situation, and how you'll know if it's working before you're 5 years into it.
  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 1/3/2015 at 1:20 PM Member
    It depends on your target audience. If you're trying to build local/residential, work on your Yelp profile (especially if you have a reputation for "high-priced"). Have people describe how wonderful you were to work with and compare/contrast to previous experiences. Houzz can be useful if your local architects / homeowners refer to it when looking for local contractors. FB isn't likely to be your best effort - since there's no ongoing dialogue (it's not a frequent purchase). And definitely measure the existing analytics before proceeding to ensure you're getting the right return for your efforts.
  • Posted by Gary Bloomer on 1/4/2015 at 4:48 PM Accepted
    A few random thoughts:

    1. Yes: open profiles on Houzz.com and Pinterest.

    2. Visit this site and poke around: https://www.socialremodel.com

    3. As for other home remodeling social sites to investigate, here's a list of 100 sites aimed at DIY fans: https://www.christophechoo.com/top-100-diy-sites-for-home-improvement-fanat...

    Well done on revising and de-cluttering your home page: visually there's currently too much going on, the duplicated links at the top of your page are confusing, and once site is revised, you'll have a place to direct social traffic to.

    As for improving your image in the eyes of residential customers, first: stop using social media as a selling tool. Read that again. This is a critical shift in mind view: forget about using social platforms to market anything. That's NOT what social media is for, NOR is it why people use social media.

    Few people use Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, etc., as places in which to shop. Most social media users are not in buying mode: they're looking to browse. Whether they admit it or not, most social media users only use social media for three things: social presence and visibility; social interaction, and social validation.

    Presence and visibility tells the world that an individual user exists, that they want to see what's going on, and that they want to be seen by others as people who want to see what's going on. Presence and visibility are about keeping your finger on the pulse, AND about BEING the pulse.

    Interaction reinforces our deeply felt urges to belong to a clan.

    Validation reinforces our deeply felt urge to be recognized by and to be welcomed by that clan.

    For most business owners social media is a waste of time and effort. You're better off creating articles that you place on your site and that you distribute to relevant sites. You then persuade people to sign up for updates so you can then message to them over time via e-mail.
  • Posted on 1/7/2015 at 11:22 AM Author
    Thank you all for your advice.
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