There’s no doubt that the rise in new home sales is causing the building materials industry to boom. However, that doesn’t mean you should give up on trying to reach new leads. Instead, optimize your digital marketing to best reach your ideal customers.
One common area where a lot of building materials companies struggle is with growing a social media presence. For some, finding the right cadence for creating content, posting, and following up can really be a struggle.
The good news? Lead generation through social media is actually a lot easier than you might think. Here’s how building material suppliers can use social media to increase sales.
1. Choose the Right Social Media Platforms
For obvious reasons, not every building material company’s social media plan needs to include a ton of different social media platforms. Find ones that best correlate to your target audience and focus your efforts there.
A good rule of thumb is three to four different social media accounts where your ideal end user is currently at. Keep in mind that it doesn’t mean that you need to sell directly to these people for this to be a good method.
For example, you could run a few Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest campaigns talking about all the different ways someone could use your product during home improvement projects. While the people that see it won’t likely buy directly from you, they could purchase from your biggest wholesale customers. In the end, this still gets the word out about your brand and positions your company as a trusted industry leader.
2. Create Content People Want to See
In addition, building products brands need to create and share social media content that people want to see. How do you find the right topics to post about? Think about your end user’s biggest pain point.
Then use that information to craft genuine, informative, and engaging social media content that your audience truly wants to consume. For example, blog posts about various products or different applications are always a good idea.
3. Have a Social Media Marketing Strategy
The other thing that building materials companies need to have to thrive on social media is a solid social media marketing strategy. Just putting a few different posts up on a platform and hoping for the best isn’t going to cut it.
Instead, have a plan and an editorial calendar planned out. Know what you’re planning on promoting from one week to the next and try to sync your posts across all channels for better cohesiveness.
4. Respond to Customer Service Inquiries
For building material companies, social media is also an ideal place to respond to customer service inquiries. How is this done? By using automation within Facebook Messenger.
Give customers the chance to reach out and ask questions or troubleshoot issues with your product. Automated customer service bots can take care of a lot of the FAQs or transfer the message to your in-house customer service team for follow-up.
The end result? Customers that are pleased with your efforts and want to continue to look for your brand the next time they’re starting a project.
BONUS: Have a Successful Social Media Strategy with These Platforms
Now that we’ve covered the basics, you want to ensure your building materials company has an omnichannel digital marketing strategy. This means not focusing just on one or two social media platforms, but spreading your efforts around to several.
Here’s our favorite picks with a few ideas on how to use them.
- Facebook: This is sort of the gold standard for all digital marketing. Add posts with information for product end-users, as well as content that contributes to the building and renovation industry as a whole.
- Instagram: Believe it or not, building supply companies can use Instagram as a great way to spread education and product use information.
- YouTube: Demonstration videos and troubleshooting tips are always an excellent way to increase brand recognition and position your company as an industry leader.
- Pinterest: This visual search engine is a good way to drive people back to your website or blog with further info about your product catalog.
- LinkedIn: This is a social media platform that’s a little different. In this case, you’ll want to use it to connect to wholesale buyers on a more B2B angle.
Conclusion
Using social media as a lead generation tool for building products companies is definitely easier than you might realize. By keeping the tips we’ve mentioned above in mind, you can work to achieve better brand recognition and increase both retail and wholesale sales. Best of all? Social media is super cost-effective.
Do you need additional assistance growing your social media or other digital marketing strategy? Our team at ER Marketing can help you get the job done. Please contact us today for details.
