Whether you’re a total novice or a pro at using Facebook, YouTube, SnapChat or Twitter, social media can still help your business.
Here’s how four green industry pros are using social media to grow their businesses.
Barbi Holdeman, Pond Gnome
Favorite Platform: Facebook
Barbi Holdeman began using Facebook years ago when it was a new and promising way for clients to connect with her and husband’s business, the Pond Gnome.
After some trial and error and reading lots of marketing blogs, she’s learned how to engage clients and fans on The Pond Gnome Facebook page.
She posts to Facebook daily and changes up her post types, depending on the day of the week. Their most popular posts are on the pond builds they feature for #ThrowbackThursday.
“People really enjoy seeing before and afters,” she said.
Pond Gnome has a YouTube channel they use to answer common pond questions, and Barbi blogs regularly for the Pond Gnome website, but they plan to continue using Facebook as a way to increase awareness of their business and grow their brand, she said.
Barbi’s Tips
Ralph Biezad, Pondscapes Az
Favorite Platform: Facebook Live and YouTube
A few years ago, Ralph Biezad began using his phone to record video notes for himself about the materials he needed for a project.
“Or when I’d go on a consultation, instead of writing all these notes down, I started documenting them on videos,” Ralph said.
Eventually he started sending videos to clients, to show them what was going on with the project. He got such a great response, he began posting his videos to YouTube. Now his Pondscapes YouTube channel has more than 2,250 subscribers and continues to grow.
This year, he also began using Facebook Live to reach even more people with his videos.
“I’ll do live videos about the project we’re on, what we’re doing and where,” said Ralph.
It’s been a good way to show people how they operate as a business and it has helped them gain new business, Ralph said.
Ralph’s Tips
Johnny De La Mora, A R Landscaping
Favorite Platform: Yelp
As Johnny De La Mora’s landscape business began to grow, he decided to put Yelp’s ad services to the test.
Yelp had already been giving him some traction since his friend had introduced him to it about six years ago.
“It’s been great. My reviews and my revenue have improved,” he said.
On the A R Landscaping Yelp page, he can add photos to showcase his business and work and responds to reviews his clients leave. But he mostly likes that Yelp is where a lot of people go to find businesses and services, compared to other social networks.
Johnny’s Tips
Jason Williams, Sonoran Landesign
Favorite Platform: Instagram
Instagram has helped generate lots of likes for Sonoran Landesign’s picture perfect landscapes.
The landscape company uses their Instagram account most often, followed by Facebook and Houzz, to showcase their work.
Jason Williams, Landscape Division Manager, has taken the lead in taking photos of Sonoran Landesign’s work and posting them to their Instagram account, which has grown to more than 600 followers since May of this year.
He believes the Instagram efforts can lead to new clients, and he’s already found it useful for reaching out to realtors, builders and high-end clients, and for showcasing the quality of their work.
“It doesn’t hurt to try things like this as it takes little resources and time, and the potential to find new clientele is decent,” Jason said.
Jason’s Tips
Looking for more business inspiration? Connect with Ewing for more tips and ideas: