Turning the Camera Around: Share Your Business Story
When most contractors think about content, they think about showing off their work products – finished paint jobs, fresh new roofs, pristine remodels, and the like. And while that is a primary concern of your potential customers, there is another type of content that you should be developing – the type that tells your business and your story. Not the work that you do, but the people that make up your company.
Share Your Business Story
Turn the camera around and share your business story. Tell the world who you are and why you do what you do. Let's go beyond the contractor selfie and talk about a few easy ways to generate some content that helps to humanize your company and pique the interest of potential new customers.
Showing Off Your Experienced Employees
A "Meet The Team" or staff bios page is a great way to humanize your company and lessen the anxiety of new customers. By its nature, hiring on a contractor to do work on your property is stressful. In the majority of cases you're allowing a stranger into your home or business.
Having a "Meet The Team" can help ease that stress slightly – it allows customers to have an understanding of who your staff are, the skill sets that make them good at their job, and maybe even learn a little about their personality at the same time.
Take some pictures of your staff, get some basic background information that can be shared online, and develop your "Meet The Team" page. Aside from showing off the people that make up your business, your staff pages can also make great content for social media.
Sharing Life Events of Your Employees
Your staff are people, just like the rest of us. And one way that you can share your business story is to share the story of the people who make up your business.
Whether it is birthdays, weddings, or even the welcoming of a new family member (furry ones included!) – sharing the life events of your employees in your online marketing efforts 1) helps to show the employee they are valued 2) reminds customers that your staff are people like the rest of us, and 3) creates great engagement on social media.
Capturing Candid Moments
Whether it's on a lunch break or a particularly impressive looking work moment (like a roofer backlit by a sunset), not every picture you take of your work has to be of your final work product. Taking pictures of your employees working safely and skillfully on a job site can look more authentic than a staged "after" picture.
Documenting Employee & Customer Interactions
One thing that all contractors should do on every job is shake the hand of the home or business owner of the property they are working on. You're being welcomed into someone's private space so permission should always be granted for taking work related pictures – but ask if it is okay to get pictures of your employees and customer together. A customer review, when paired with a smiling, happy client can look great and makes for good content for your website and online marketing presence.
And it doesn't have to stop with the people customers. I've seen some contractors take pictures with family pets when they get to a job site and share that content on social media – and there is nothing that motivates the internet to act more than cute animals.
Showcasing Your Office Staff
Not all home improvement and services businesses have a front office staff or a physical location for the public to see. If you do, you should show it off. There isn't anything wrong with a one or two man operation that works from the home and has a single work vehicle – that type of working arrangement is incredibly commonplace for the contractor industry.
But, having a professional business storefront or place of work operations can make you stand out for the same reason. Share pictures of your physical location, add them to your Google My Business Listing, and add those pictures on your website's "About Us" section as well to showcase your office and office staff.
About Chris Lonergan
Chris Lonergan has over 12 years of contractor marketing experience with Footbridge Media. With a background in web design, print design, content creation, and online marketing, Chris is focused on providing quality marketing and business solutions in the construction and service industries - helping small business owners to more efficiently manage their companies and grow their operations.
Chris Lonergan has previously contributed to and/or been featured in PM Magazine (Plumbing & Mechanical | Contractors x Engineers), theNEWS (ACHR - Air Conditioning | Heating | Refrigeration), Service Roundtable's blog, inPAINT Magazine, the SMB Marketing Agency Show, and the Green Industry Podcast. Chris is also a past SGI/CertainPath breakout session presenter.
