In this article, I want to discuss a lead-generation method that is surprisingly both effective and inexpensive to implement: Facebook.
Why Facebook? One reason is its immense popularity and the number of active users who visit that platform regularly. According to business data platform, statista.com, Facebook has roughly 2.89 billion monthly active users as of the second quarter of 2021. That makes this social network the biggest one worldwide. I know your only interested in your little corner of the world, and not the whole world itself. But shouldn’t you at least attempt to be visible in a space where 2.89 billion potential customers are active regularly? I would vote “yes”.
Some quick ground rules to get started. First, I would advise creating a separate “Page” for your business to keep your personal posts separate from professional posts. This will help keep posts about all the great work you’re doing apart from one’s of you bonging beer with your college buddies etc. Posting to your work page regularly is also critically important, and remember, pictures and videos work well to generate “shares”, “likes” and more people willing to view your posts. Don’t be afraid to ask family, friends, associates, neighbors, or anybody to “Like” your page. This will make any post you make visible on their timeline, increasing the chance they will “like” or “share” it on their page, which in turn makes it visible to all their friends.
What to post? You are only limited by your own creativity. Posts could include “Before & After” pictures of jobs, pictures, or videos of you, or your crew working on a job, an article on “What to Look for When Hiring a Contractor”, funny “bad contractor pictures” you may come across on the internet, etc. The options are unlimited. Ask friends and family if their neighborhood has a Facebook page. Many neighborhoods do as a place for people who live there to go to when needing a product or service. Join those groups to make your posts visible there. I know many salespeople who ask every customer they do work if they are satisfied with the job. If/when the customer says they are, they ask them to make a post to their Facebook page and tag them in it. They “Like” the post and now it’s visible to everybody in their network. Your goal should be to get your name, and what your business does out there on the platform consistently. Post regularly, get creative, use humor, don’t take yourself too seriously, and most importantly, have fun with it.
Most people will agree that a referral is the best lead you can get. But a close second place may go to organically grown Facebook leads. They are “warm” leads, although there may be no relationship between you and prospective homeowner to start, they may feel like they know you, because they’ve seen your posts pop up in other people’s timelines. Another benefit to these types of leads through Facebook is the cost … they are free to you. Spending 15 to 20 minutes a day interacting on Facebook could drive a fair amount of leads to your business and not cost you a penny. How does that sound?
