5 Ways to Use Social Media To Grow Your Lawn Care Business

I’m sure by now you’ve heard of something called ‘Social Media’.  It’s basically a type of website that’s been built that allows people to interact with other people. Sites like Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, and LinkedIn are just some of the more popular sites, but there are TONS of social media sites across the web.

One of the questions I get quite frequently is, “Isn’t this stuff a waste of time for growing my lawn care or landscaping business?”

While these sites can be a huge waste of your time, if you understand their intent and utilize them properly, these social media sites really can be a powerful way to attract new prospects, interact with your existing clients, and ultimately grow your lawn care business.

Here are 5 suggestions for putting social media to work for your business:

1. Understand that in the social media world, selling is against the rules. No one joins a social media network because they want to be sold to. In fact, selling in the social media world is completely against the rules.  However, providing good, quality information is actually acceptable and in many cases, appreciated.
2. Be an active participant. You can’t simply join the party and then hang out by the punchbowl.  If you’re going to join the social media party, you’ve got to become involved and interact with everyone else. If people can’t get to know you and learn about you, how could you ever expect them to want to do business with you in the real world?
3. Focus on providing good, quality content and information. Again, because selling is against the rules in the social media universe you should focus on providing quality information that your social media mates can benefit from.  Sure, it’s okay to post random tidbits of info about your personal life (in fact, you should be personable) but be sure to sprinkle in an occasional bit of advice or useful information that will showcase your expertise and knowledge.
4. Identify your target market. Just as you should offline, one of the very first steps you should take is to identify your target market.  People that live within your service area, or people that have similar interests, or even people within the green industry.  Remember, the more you target your market the easier time you’ll have crafting a message and offers that appeal to them and motivate them to take action!
5. Social media is just ONE tool in your toolbox. Just as there isn’t a silver bullet for marketing your business offline, there isn’t a single online method that will result in a flood of new business.  You should look at social media marketing as just one way to generate leads and convert customers online.

As you look for ways to continue growing your business and strengthening relationships with your existing customers, social media is a powerful, emerging way for you to achieve your lead generation and customer acquisition goals.

Yes, it can be a confusing world at times, but as long as you set goals for your social media activities, stick to your plan, and focus on these 5 suggestions, you’ll soon become a social media rockstar and your business will benefit as a result!