Feature

4 Ways to Grow Your Social Media in 2024

Marketing is an imperative part of any business. Print ads and flyers to referral programs and social media – they all play an important role in growing and maintaining a thriving business. Social media, however, stands alone in a special category of digital marketing. It goes beyond informing potential customers of your services. Social media provides a way to regularly showcase your work, share positive reviews, and allows others to easily recommend your business through a simple tag or mention. In other words, it both attracts and retains customers (and even potential employees!).

Perhaps you are new to social media marketing or it hasn’t served you well in the past. Social media is like dating. You have to put in the work, show up in a desired way, and don’t make it all about you. Follow these tips for success in 2024.

1. Pick Your Platform & Stick to It

You don’t have to be on every platform. In fact, it may do you a disservice if you spread yourself too thin. It is best to pick one platform and stick with it until it is successful, then you can consider adding a second platform. Which platform should you choose? Take these two factors into consideration:

1. Who is your audience?

Facebook or YouTube may be your best platform for homeowners that are 25 years or older. Instagram tends to be slightly younger with the top demographic being 18–24 years old. The TikTok demographic is even younger at 15–19 years old.

2. What is your skillset and comfort zone?

If educating your clients and being in front of the camera feels natural to you, then YouTube may be your best platform. If you enjoy taking stunning photos and simple videos, consider Facebook or Instagram.

Facebook is great for local businesses for many reasons. Local groups can easily tag your business when someone asks for recommendations. You can support other local businesses by engaging (Liking, Sharing and Commenting) on their posts in hopes they will do the same. If you go this direction, lean into square or horizontal video or multi-image post types. Multiimage posts are wonderful for before and after jobs.

2. Be Consistent

Posting too much or too little can greatly impact the success of your page. Post too much and it can turn off your audience. Also, if your posts aren’t garnering a lot of Likes/Reactions, Shares or Comments for a long period of time, the algorithm will devalue your page, which causes less people to see your posts in their timelines. Post too little and you’ll also be devalued by the algorithm for having an inactive page. Remember, it is like dating and no one likes to be bombarded or ghosted.

Aim to post once a week with your top content. Maybe you took five photos and one video the week prior. Look at them with fresh eyes and decide which piece of content has the highest quality and best highlights your work. Avoid checkmark posting, which is publishing any photo or video you took to simply check the task off your list. Each post should be the best representation of your business.

What about hashtags? Hashtags can help you reach more people, however, hashtag effectiveness varies by platform. Due to privacy settings, hashtags on Facebook are not very useful. Although, three to five hashtags on Instagram or YouTube can be very helpful in expanding your reach. Consider using a mix of branded hashtags (#yourbusinessname), local tags (#townname) and industry keywords (#lawncare).

3. Stop the Scroll

Your biggest hurdle on social media, aside from the stingy algorithms, is the speed with which people scroll through posts. According to Statistica, the average person scrolls through nearly 11 inches every five seconds on social media! Reduce those thumbs whizzing past your post by doing the following:

Use high-quality photos and videos with a fresh perspective. There are numerous YouTube tutorials on how to take better social media photos and videos that are worth a watch.

Draw people in with captivating and easy-to-read captions. People are drawn to tips and hacks, unique viewpoints, and personal stories. Aim to keep your captions one to three sentences long. Here are some examples to tweak and borrow:

• It’s crabgrass season! Try this one trick to avoid a season of weed pulling. (tip with aspirational photo)

• Senior couple finds newfound joy at home after this yard makeover. (storytelling with before and after photos)

• We helped these homeowners grow and maintain grass in their mixed sun yard. (unique viewpoint with a video explaining creative problem solving)

4. Engage & Reward Followers

Remember our dating analogy? No one likes when you talk about yourself nonstop. This is one of the most common errors people make on social business pages. Avoid talking about your services and work 100% of the time. Instead, make sure you are publishing engagement posts at least 40% of the time that encourages comments and shares. Here are some examples:

• Spring will be here before we know it. What spring flower do you love seeing pop up in your yard?

• We want to know – what type of grass do you have in your yard?

• When it comes to lawn care, what do you struggle with the most?

• It is mushroom season and dog owners need to be aware of these common poisonous varieties. Please share to help protect our pets!

Another way you can engage with your audience is through surprise offers and giveaways. Reward users with a giveaway (eg, free hedge clipping) or discount in exchange for something easy. Try one of these ideas:

• Tell us one thing you love about your yard, and we may surprise one random comment with a special offer. You must live in (insert service area).

• Comment with a photo of your family enjoying your yard and some lucky commenter may get a special surprise from us! You must live in (insert service area).

• Our last engagement tip: Reply to direct messages, answer questions about services, and thank people for a positive comment. If someone takes the time to message or comment, you are expected to acknowledge with a Like or reply. No one likes being ignored!

Social media may not be at the top of your priority list, but utilize the above tips to garner more leads, nurture relationships and showcase your work. Just an hour a week can create the consistency you need to be successful on social media.

We want to see your efforts!

Be sure to use #TCNC in your posts or tag our Facebook or Instagram.

Be sure to use #TCNC in your posts or tag our Facebook or Instagram.

Terms to Know

Algorithm: a set of signals and data that makes decisions about what posts people want to see

Platform: social networking sites, such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok

Hashtag: a keyword or phrase following # that curates pieces of content to a specific topic

Content: any post (photo, video or text only) on social media

Tag / Mention: @ followed by an account name connects users directly to a person or business social media page

Photo and Video Tips

• Keep the light source behind you so it shines on the subject.

• Have a focal point.

• Take photos from several different angles.

• Check your background to ensure nothing inappropriate or unsightly distracts from your focal point.

• Use the right format for each platform. Square or vertical is usually a safe bet.

• Clean your camera lens.