For a home service business, having skilled technicians and providing quality work are essential. But those things alone don’t guarantee that homeowners will find you or trust you enough to call.
Before hiring a roofer, plumber, electrician, HVAC contractor, remodeler, or other home service professional, homeowners often do their homework. They search online, read reviews, visit your website, check your social media profiles, and ask friends or neighbors for recommendations.
That means your reputation matters just as much as your visibility.
Public relations (PR) helps build credibility and strengthen your reputation. Social media helps you get that reputation in front of more people. When you combine PR and social media together, you can create a stronger local brand that homeowners recognize, trust, and remember when they need your services.
PR for a Home Service Business: More Than a Glossy Image
Public relations, or PR, is about keeping your reputation looking good in the eyes of the people and neighborhoods that actually matter to your business.
When it comes to home service businesses, PR doesn’t have to be costly. We’re talking local news coverage here, not national headlines. Just think about getting your business out there in the community, maybe partnering with local causes, getting your name out on a few sponsorships, or snagging a nice award or two. And of course there are always opportunities to team up with other businesses that share your values. Create some educational content that shows off your expertise, whether that’s just writing up a series of blog posts or hosting a regular video spot.
Ultimately, your goal is to give potential and existing customers more reasons to trust your business.
By getting PR right, you’ll also make sure your message is coming across the way it’s meant to, whether someone is on your website, scrolling through social media, or flipping through the local paper looking at your ads.
PR Strategies That Work for Home Service Businesses
- Build relationships with local media. Your average local newspaper, news website, and TV station are always on the lookout for a good story. And your area of expertise is exactly the kind of thing people are interested in hearing about. So if you’re knowledgeable about storm damage, frozen pipes, energy efficiency, home maintenance, or the latest in remodeling trends, let them know. There’s a good chance they’ll put you in the paper.
- Get involved in your community. Sponsor a local sports team or donate your expertise to a good cause. People will start to associate your company with the area you serve, which is basically what you want.
- Share your expertise. Write a few educational articles, do an interview, run a workshop or two, or give the odd presentation. It’ll make people think of you as a genuine authority, rather than just some contractor trying to just sell a service.
- Promote awards and accomplishments. Did the business get certified by an industry body? Did you win some local award or hit an anniversary milestone? Or maybe a manufacturer gave you a nod of approval. These things add up to third-party evidence that your company is trustworthy, established, and actually knows what it’s doing.
PR gives homeowners the reassurance they’re dealing with a proper, local business that knows its stuff and cares about the community they serve.
What Is Social Media Marketing for Home Service Businesses?
Social media offers a way to stay top of mind and develop relationships with homeowners before they need your services.
Social media channels such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube can help you show off your work, answer common questions, and give a sense of what it’s like to work with your company.
Home service businesses can really benefit from social media because your work is so visual. Before and after photos, videos of projects, and behind-the-scenes content can show potential customers what you do a lot better than just telling them.
Social Media Strategies for Home Service Businesses
- Show your work. Share completed roofing jobs, kitchen remodels, new siding installations, landscaping makeovers, or HVAC upgrades. Explain the homeowner’s problem and how your team solved it.
- Educate homeowners. Answer the questions customers ask you every day. When should you replace your roof? Why isn’t your air conditioner cooling properly? What causes low water pressure? How do you know when windows need replacing? Helpful content builds expertise and gives people a reason to follow your business.
- Show the people behind the company. Introduce employees, celebrate milestones, and share photos from jobs or community events. Homeowners aren’t hiring a logo. They’re hiring people they need to trust in and around their homes.
- Engage with your local community. Engage in local Facebook groups and other community channels when relevant. Concentrate on being helpful, not on constantly selling your services.
- Use targeted advertising. Social media advertising can help you reach homeowners within your service area based on location and other targeting criteria. This can be particularly helpful when promoting seasonal services or specific offers.
Why PR and Social Media Work Better Together
PR builds credibility. Social media expands its reach.
When the two strategies work together, one marketing activity can generate content and visibility across several channels.
For example, your company could donate labor and materials to repair the home of a local veteran. That community project could result in local media coverage.
But the opportunity doesn’t end when the article is published.
You can share the story on Facebook and LinkedIn, post photos on Instagram, add the coverage to your website, and include it in your email newsletter. One PR opportunity becomes multiple pieces of marketing content.
This integrated approach can provide several important benefits.
Get More Value From Your Content
When you finally start tying all your marketing efforts together, you can finally stop feeling like you’re constantly starting from scratch.
A media interview can easily be repurposed into a snappy social media post. A community event can yield some really great photos and videos that you can use again and again. And a helpful educational article can be broken down into bite-sized tips that are perfect for Facebook or Instagram.
Rather than treating every marketing channel as some completely separate activity, you create one really solid piece of content and then adapt it to suit the different audiences and platforms that are out there.
Make Your Local Brand Stand Out
Homeowners don’t just pick the first contractor they find. They’re more likely to go with a business they’ve got some history with.
Seeing your business mentioned in a local news story does wonders for your reputation. When that story gets shared on social media, it just cements the idea that you and your team really know what you’re doing. Homeowners searching for a contractor are likely to feel like they already know you when they see your company’s name pop up again.
Public relations does a world of good for credibility. But with social media, you can take that a step further and keep your message out there for much longer.
Strengthen Your Online Reputation
You don’t build your reputation in one place.
When homeowners come across your company, it’s usually through a combination of Google reviews, Facebook comments, maybe a local news story or two, or even a recommendation from a friend. It’s all these hints that add up to create a sense of who you are & what you do.
PR and social media can help you actively shape that image in a big way.
Sharing stories of happy customers, responding to feedback in a decent and timely manner, and showing up in the community can all go a long way to making homeowners feel confident in choosing you.
Making PR and Social Media Work in Harmony
You don’t have to create some elaborate campaign to get PR and social media playing nice together. Sometimes the best opportunities are right under your nose.
Take the time your company just won an industry award, for example. Just throw up a simple statement or nudge a local reporter to feature it. Then hop onto social media and share the good news with your customers and employees, show off the new award on your website, and maybe even take a moment to thank people.
When you’re already working a community event, make sure to let social media know beforehand. Take some great photos and videos during or after the event and tag the people involved. If the event makes it into the local news, be sure to share it too.
Seasonal topics are another great place to find opportunities. If you’re a roofer, take the chance to give a local journalist advice on how to prevent ice dams before a big snowstorm. If you’re an HVAC company, you could offer some tips on keeping homes cool during a heat wave. Or if you’re a plumber, you could give a quick rundown on how to prevent pipes from freezing before it gets cold.
When an expert from your company gets featured, social media can help keep that exposure going and reach even more people long after the story first breaks.
It also doesn’t have to be a one-way street. If you pay attention to what your customers are asking on social media, you might just find a bunch of ideas for your blog posts, videos, media pitches, or even some educational resources. And your social following can provide a wealth of material for your PR and content marketing efforts.
Build a Brand Homeowners Know and Trust
Home service marketing isn’t only about generating leads today. It’s also about building a recognizable local brand so homeowners think of your company when they need help tomorrow.
PR helps establish your credibility and reputation. Social media keeps your business visible and gives homeowners a chance to see your expertise, your work, and the people behind your company.
When you combine the two, you can make every story, accomplishment, community event, and piece of expert advice work harder for your business.
The goal isn’t to be everywhere. It’s to consistently show homeowners that your company is knowledgeable, trustworthy, and active in the community you serve. When the need arises, you’ll have a much better chance of being the company they remember and call.
