How To Properly Leverage These Platforms To Work For Your Business

Most successful HVACR business owners understand the need for a professional social media presence. The growing popularity of businesses participating in social media has proven to not only be seen as a benefit by consumers, but now is a consumer expectation of businesses.  However, some owners struggle to fully understand how to properly leverage these platforms to work for their business. It is not enough to simply set up a Facebook Page or send out a tweet on opening day. Neglecting your social presence can often do more harm than good as it communicates an abandoned business channel. Recognizing what these platforms can do for your HVACR firm will help you better engage with your audience and reach new success. But some still wonder, how can I leverage it for my business?

Use It

Many businesses believe that their social media strategy is final once a Facebook Page is created. However, those that avoid regular communication and updates can lose loyal clients and potential customers.

Looking at a blank social media editorial calendar can be intimidating at first, but busy HVACR owners can rest assured that there are many options for posts that can spark conversation among users. Posting relatable current event stories, positive customer testimonials, and company announcements will help increase overall consumer interest. Be sure to mix up the types of posts, both visually and in context, to retain interest and repeat visitors.

Facebook has a “highlight” feature that allows you to identify certain posts as important by giving them more space on the timeline, which is especially useful for displaying visual content. Facebook also has a “Pin to Top” option that can keep a specific post prominently placed on the top of the Page’s timeline for up to seven days – a great option for special announcements. When big changes or recognition occurs within the company, be sure to use these techniques on your Facebook timeline to have the optimal chance at high impressions.

Update It

It is important to use your social media account, but maintaining consistently high interaction and engagement with consumers has proven to be a more demanding challenge for some smaller businesses. The answer is providing fresh and new content on a regular basis. These updates can come in the form of current promotions, staff changes, or new services.

Releasing up-to-date information is important but the messages will be lost if they are posted at the wrong time. Many companies have conducted research to determine the best times to publish content and news on social media:

Twitter:

• DO tweet in the early afternoon on Monday through Thursday (1-3 p.m.).
• DO NOT tweet after 8 p.m. during the week, after 3 p.m. on Friday, or on the weekend as these are low traffic times.

Facebook:

• DO post Wednesdays at 3 p.m. or anytime midweek between 1-4 p.m.
• DO NOT post after 4 p.m. on any day of the week.

These findings are based on the average traffic patterns for the respective social network. Posting to social media at the right time will ensure that your updates receive optimal impressions and visibility to your target audience.

TIP: To stay on top of all your shared content, develop a social media editorial calendar as mentioned earlier. Planning out posts and content in advance will ease frustrations and stress when regular posts need to be created - especially when time is limited.  

Remember to also stay relevant to current events. If there is a national tragedy in effect, refrain from publicly posting about a spring maintenance promotion, for example. Instead, express your sympathies and concerns then continue the editorial calendar a day or so later.

Listen to It

While social media has its clear benefits, it is important to be aware of the potential vulnerabilities it presents to businesses. Because it is a public forum, customers may use social media to express negative experiences or feelings about services. While you may want to delete these posts immediately, try to fight the urge as it may convey that you are hiding something to those that notice the deletion. Stay transparent. There is a lot you can learn as a business owner through feedback from customers and you can apply it to help improve business strategies.

Take a moment and listen to what customers have to say. In most instances, the customer will have ideas about how to fix the problem, perhaps some you may not have even considered before. Understanding and responding to their issues or thoughts publicly helps to highlight your commitment to customer satisfaction and overall good business practices – to features essential for a successful HVACR business.

Evaluate It

A big advantage to using social media is the vast amount of information gained from looking at the analytics, or insights, of your pages. Facebook, for example, provides analytics with your business page - free of charge. The Facebook analytic tool breaks down the number of likes, daily visitors, story posts, and more for better evaluation of your social media activity. Looking into these statistics can help you decide what type of content is getting the most traffic or, perhaps just as valuable, what promotions are not getting the attention you anticipated.

There are also opportunities to gain analytical data from Twitter via external applications. By linking the apps to your Twitter feed, you can gain an inside look into who your followers are, what tweets cause the most engagement, and even the most popular times that you have sent out information. You can then use this information to enhance your overall marketing and communication strategy. 

Social media communication is a concept, that once mastered, can have a significant impact on your HVACR business. Taking the time to leverage the different avenues through regular content and engagement can lead to increased customer satisfaction and effective business strategies. Once considered a mere fad for the younger generations, social media has proven its staying power and positive impact on the entire business world.