As pool professionals, online messaging and reaching your targeted audience can often be a deciding factor in landing new accounts. But do you know where your audience is and who is viewing your information?
We occasionally see companies trying to go viral on TikTok and spending copious resources on shooting the perfect spot. You may have the right video, catchy song and a great idea — but does it bring in a lead?
The median age of TikTok users is between 16 and 24 years old. This makes up 60% of the platform. Only 26% of the user base is between 25 and 44 years old, and while this group are often homeowners, how many of them have a pool that they use or maintain? Instead of chasing after TikTok views, at Manning Pool Service we structure our social media marketing a bit differently.
MPS focuses on the “big three” social media platforms for home service providers, Instagram, Facebook and Nextdoor. We curate the audiences on these platforms specifically to address the people we want to reach and to obtain the information that will be helpful to our business and our technicians.
Facebook is predominantly used to connect to our existing and new clients in our local area. When a new client signs on for service, we encourage them to follow us on Facebook and monitor our page for important weather updates that may affect service. For example, if a hurricane is looming, we provide information on how to safely secure your equipment. If there is flooding in a certain part of the city, pool service may be postponed or rescheduled. This cuts down on calls to the office line and gives real-time updates for the customer’s area.
Nextdoor
Nextdoor is a wonderful platform to gather reviews from local residents and reach a broader audience in an area you service. This is an excellent place to post specials, deals, advertise a new zip code, or even recommend another home service ally such as an electrician or window cleaning service. We encourage you to constantly check your inbox for new leads or questions from local pool owners.
Nextdoor business accounts are given two free business posts per month. Use them or lose them! They are free and can only help get the word out.
We also recommend that business owners check their recommendations on the app. Word of mouth about your business may already be circulating in a new neighborhood, and a quick reply to a recommendation or request for them to contact you directly could open the door for a potential client.
Our favorite social media platform, by far, is Instagram. Many of our clients do follow us on Instagram; however, the majority of our follows and followers are fellow pool professionals from all over the nation and across the globe. There are many companies that may be in a similar situation to yours that can offer tips or tricks of the trade.
The Instagram pool professional community is welcoming and engaging. It’s a great place to ask for reviews on a new tool or how to approach a tricky repair. We often meet pool professionals at trade shows or IPSSA meetings, and the first question we usually ask is, “What’s your Insta?”
Instagram has served as a source of knowledge for our team. We have made great friends online, and we feel like we know them and share in their achievements.
If and when we meet in the real world, we easily fall into chatting about the industry or congratulating each other on recent big jobs and new accounts. Be sure to follow your preferred pool equipment brands and chemical manufacturers. You’ll get updates on items you need almost instantly.
We highly recommend joining the Instagram pool community. It is usually preferred to keep your business and personal accounts separate when sharing online, and as always, one should be mindful of what they post and respectful of where other companies are in their growth stage. You never know who may lend you a spare sump pump or let you subcontract their tile crew. Happy posting and swim safely!
Quick Tips
Popular Pool Service Industry Hashtags
#poolpro #poolindustry #poolmaintenance #poolrepair #newpoolcontruction #poolcleaning
Great Instagram follows
Facebook page url
After you first make your business profile on Facebook, the URL for the profile will be assigned random numbers. Make your profile easier to find by setting up a custom URL, using your business name, by going to Facebook.com/username.
Visual content
Engagement is important as a way of increasing your social media reach. A study done by eMarketer showed that posts with photos on Facebook saw the most engagement of any type of post and accounted for 87% of total interaction, so make sure your posts include an attention-grabbing visual element.
