Time for another episode of the Handyman Startup Podcast! In this session, I sit down with social media expert, Rick Mulready.
We’ve all been hearing the buzz about social media over the last couple years, and there is no doubt it can be a powerful marketing strategy for businesses of all sizes. Just take a look at Dollar Shave Club, who built a business based on social media marketing almost exclusively.
Social sites like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, Instagram, and the like are reshaping how we think about promoting our businesses and as far as I can tell, they aren’t going away any time soon.
That’s why I asked Rick Mulready of the Inside Social Media Podcast to join me to discuss how us handymen and other home service providers can take advantage of social media to get more customers.
Rick has over 12 years of corporate internet marketing experience gained from working for companies like AOL, Yahoo!, and Funny or Die.
Now, he shares big brand social media strategies with small business owners on his podcast. Social media is what he does. Beyond that, he’s just a good dude. So, I figured who better to share some valuable marketing advice with you!
Here’s what we cover in this episode:
- What social media can do for your business.
- Which social media platforms YOU should be using.
- How to get the most from your social media efforts with a limited time investment.
- How to get more Facebook likes without shelling out your cash.
- Best practices for gaining traction on Facebook.
Additional Resources:
- To Learn more from Rick, visit his site and podcast here: RickMulready.com
- Lowe’s is doing a great job with Social Media. Check out this article to learn from them.
Thanks for listening!
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Comments or Questions
What’s your preferred social media platform? Where do you hang out on the internet? Let me know in the comments below!
Great info. Thanks. But I don’t really think theres many people going to facebook looking for service providers. I just went on facebook and searched for handyman in my area and nothing pertinent came up. I think its good for back linking on but besides that I’m not really sure. I’ve never seen any of my posts on face book come up in google search results. On a side note I did make a short company video on you tube and it showed up in search results the very same day. I’m thinking about making many different how to videos and individual service videos and use them to target specific service searches and towns I want to work in. Whats your thoughts on this? Thanks
Pat,
I see your point about Facebook not showing up in google. You’re not likely to get any organic leads from it. However, it can be a great way to spread the word of your business and integrate with content marketing.
For example, if you were to create those how-to videos as you mentioned (which I think is a great idea by the way) you can promote them through social media to get more views. If you create something worth sharing, then social media can be your ticket to reaching many more people.
Let me know when you have the videos done, I’d love to see them.
Dan, r u making a business page and inviting your friends to like it ? or r u just sharing your business page on your personal wall? I wonder if the paid advertising on facebook is any good? It looks like it may work. They don’t seem to tell you what ur getting for your money though.
I actually created a business page, similar to the one for Handyman Startup. I asked some friends to like it to give it some traction and some of my customers just liked it on their own.
Here is the one I made for Handyman Startup
Handyman Startup Facebook Page
Also, I’ve heard that the paid advertising on Facebook is a huge bang for your buck. I’m actually going to be testing in the near future and I’ll let you know how it works.
def start to see facebook potential. just imported all customers emails and invited them. got website blog tied in so they’ll receive blog posts. already got 2 potential leads. looks good for keeping everyone in the loop.
For me my local HOA Facebook groups (usually private so you’ve got to be invited in) provide a lot of opportunity to chime in on home owner questions and then every once in a while I can drop a special and peeps will call me.
Awesome tip. I never even knew HOAs had Facebook groups. Thanks!
I posted a flyer on our HOA page and we received either a call or a message everyday for a week after the posting from residents looking for work to be done. I had no idea it would be so successful.
I now post a tip of the week and it shows up on the feed of those that “liked” our page. How to videos will be coming soon
The response to my FB has been great. So much so that I dialed it back. What I can’t seem to do is crack the HOA code. Any suggestions (via FB)
Oh by the way. Thank you Big D for doing these intereviews.
ur f book page looks sweet. I may have to borrow some ideas lol
Thanks Pat! My goal was to make it feel like the Handyman Startup Blog but also give it it’s own look.
Dan, I was wondering what the longest period you went without work or a phone call. ive been dead this month. I live in north jersey so I think its the weather. ive made every effort I can advertising. im dominating the web in my area, im all over craigslist, I got signs up at every major intersection in town, I got home advisor turned on, and I just sent letters to every realtor and home inspector in town. I usually get a call a day from home advisor. it sucks when ur not working.
Pat,
. I used to be slow in February and March. In the colder weather, people assume you aren’t working. Plus, they don’t like people in their homes during the holidays or when they are stuck inside as well. I’m thinking of taking the “no new clients” off my outgoing message, as things slow down slightly right around now. After years of being in business, I stay busy enough even with old clients, a couple of years ago, that is when I had the time to add new clients.
. How long have you been in business? Dan has done a great job with promoting himself online. That used to not be the case for people starting a business. When I started, it was pounding the pavement posting flyers. It’s a little different now.
I think in our business of being handymen that You Tube is the way to go, as people love to look at how to videos of how a certain task is performed. Face book and Twitter are also goo to share the links to Vid’s and blog posts to help spread the word. I only have the one video up but plan on getting at least another 10 up in the next 6 months or so.
Hi Dan,
Is your course still up and running? I haven’t seen a lot of comments on your site or on your Facebook page for several years. Just wanna make sure before I decide to purchase. Also, does your course go through how you’re invoicing and getting paid? Using Square or Stripe or similar?
Hey William,
Yes, my course is still up and running with regular new customers going through it. I continually update my courses as well. My Facebook page doesn’t get a lot of comments because I don’t focus there. My course does talk about software that I use.
-Dan