Social media is a great way to make your voice heard.
Advertising, sharing your brand, what you do and how you’re better than the competitors, these are all ways of “speaking out” in social media. However, what about listening? The great thing about social media in comparison to “old school advertising” is that it is a two-way conversation. Social media listening is just as important for your business as advertising.
So, what exactly is listening in social media?
In simple terms, social media listening is discovering what your current and potential clients are saying on social media about your home inspection business. Then, you turn this information into specific marketing strategies that will help you get your product or service to the most interested potential customers. This way, you can optimize your investments in acquiring new customers. To be honest, it’s no different than listening in day-to-day conversation.
For instance, in a local restaurant you may here some conversations between customers like “I love their steak here! It’s the best in town.” And a response from another customer states, “Yes, but their broccoli is mushy… way overcooked in my opinion.” The restaurant owner then would take this information and see that the broccoli hasn’t been selling well and how to improve it. As well as how they can push their steaks because it’s a local favorite. This type of conversation is all over social media and it’s about YOUR business.
Read reviews and respond.
Look at comments on your posts and respond. Whether it’s a negative comment or a positive comment. Customers like a response. If there’s a negative comment, think about what can you do to fix the problem, and respond accordingly. If there’s a positive comment, thank them for their comment. These are just simple things you can do as a small business owner to engage with your customers. We all want to be heard. As a home inspector, listen to your clients, what do they want that you’re not providing, how can you improve upon what they already love about you?
Discover new leads.
One of the greatest ways to sell is to “not sell”. You do this by developing a relationship and social media is a great place to do that with potential customers. Reach out, make connection, share helpful information, and even stories of your own. This will help establish your company as the best resource when it comes time for the customer to decide who to go with for their next inspection.
Social listening tools
There are many social listening tools and programs out there to help you track metrics. The purpose of this article is mainly to make you aware of how you can organically listen on social media. However, if you are interested in any of these programs here a few you might want to check out:
- Hootesuite – You can use Hootsuite to set up social media streams that monitor conversations, keywords, mentions, and hashtags.
- Audiense – This app allows you to identify any audience—no matter the size. It creates reports that tell you what the audience is discussing, what they like, and even how they think and behave.
- Adview – Adview is tailor made for Facebook and Instagram ads. You’ll be able to take a look at the analytics behind your Instagram and Facebook ads to see which one is getting more engagement.
Just remember, social media is a powerful tool that you can use to enhance your business. Speak out on social media…. And don’t forget to listen.