Shelter is recognized as one of the basic necessities of humans, which is perhaps why the roofing industry continues to thrive. It covers services essential to helping maintain your shelter’s purpose – which is to put a roof over your head – quite literally. The thing about roofs is that they are your primary protection from the elements as they cover you from rain, sunlight, and wind. Because of this, they are bound to suffer from wear and tear.
In order for you to continue benefiting from your roof, and by extension, your shelter, you need to make sure that your home covering is always in good working condition. This is where roofing businesses come in. Customers rely on these companies for various things, from offering replacement and maintenance services to doing repairs helpful installments.
Now, if you are a roofing business owner, you know that there are a number of businesses offering similar services – 100,624 in the United States to be exact. This makes it necessary for you to take on a more proactive approach in promoting your brand and service so that you can make your company stand out from the competition. If you are looking for ways to ramp up your marketing campaign, you might want to take a look at what social media has to offer.
The Roofing Industry Market
The Roofing Industry MarketBefore we delve into the benefits of using social networking in marketing your brand and your range of services, it is important to have a clearer understanding of the industry you are in. Let’s take a look at some facts that can help put things in perspective.
As mentioned, there are more than 100,000 companies in the roofing industry, including yours. The industry employment is at 253,756 with the market size of a whopping $48.1 billion in 2020. This shows just how in-demand roofing services are. In fact, in the span of five years from 2015 to 2020, the US has recorded an annualized market size growth of 2.2%.
This shows that the roofing industry in the country has increased faster than the economy in general. In terms of the market size in the construction industry, the roofing sector is ranked 17th, while it is the 211th largest in the country.
According to research, the sector benefits from construction spending on the municipal level and is expected to increase this year. However, the current public health situation has reduced the sector’s ability to grow this year, especially in light of decreasing disposable incomes, which affect private individuals’ spending on home improvements, including roofing. Commercial clients also experience a decrease in profits, which also affects their demand for roofing services.
The sector is also suffering from unsteady profit margins. Overall, the market size of the roof contractors’ sector is expected to drop by -4.4% this year.
The Role of Social Media in Your Roofing Business
With these challenges stemming from the current public health issue, it is imperative for company owners to find ways to boost their business. Social media, an important aspect of digital marketing, offers an opportunity to keep your business afloat and to contribute to the overall strength of the industry.
If you are wondering what role does social networking play in doing so, here’s what you need to know.
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Almost Everyone has One
Research shows that 79% of the United States’ population has some form of social networking profile in 2019. Out of the 328.2395 million people in the country, this translates to roughly 250 million users. The best thing about this is that the 2019 figure actually shows a 2% increase from 2018 figures (77%). During the same year, there were 3.5 social networking users across the globe. The projected number of users in the US by 2023 is 257 million.
Knowing this, you know you have an audience when you decide to extend your online presence from your website to social networking platforms. The question now is this: what platform should you use? According to the same research, Facebook is the most popular site among residents of the US with 2.32 billion accounts. YouTube and WhatsApp take the second and third places with 1.9 billion and 1.5 billion users respectively. Twitter and Instagram are both pretty popular, as well.
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Aiding in Information Dissemination
So, the numbers are pretty convincing, but you might be wondering what you would do on these platforms once you choose to extend your presence toward social networking. One of the main things about these networking sites is they let you post content to your feed. There is a variety of content types you can upload including texts, photographs, and videos, which means that you have the advantage of uploading varied content to capture the interest of your audience while also promoting your brand and range of services.
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Providing an Easier Form of Customer Support
Traditionally, existing and prospective customers get in touch with you and your staff through phone, mail, and walk-in visits. Technology has expanding communication lines to more options such as call and text through mobile, as well as emails. With such platforms, your customers can also get in touch with you through means that are more convenient and accessible to them such as direct messages, comments, and mentions.
The combination of all these means alerts you of concerns, feedback, questions, and other similar communications in a variety of manners including real-time notifications. When handled efficiently, this allows for timelier responses and a more satisfactory customer support experience.
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Monitoring Your Online Reputation
Because your customers can easily communicate their concerns to your company, you can get real-time feedback. Take Facebook, for example. Your business’ Facebook page lets your current clients post reviews and ratings directly to your page. They can also comment on your posts should they have remarked about the type of services you provide. This lets you see how your company is doing in terms of reputation.
Now, you know that there are good and bad reviews, which can influence prospective customers’ decision to work with you. You will be glad to know that you can address these reviews using your social networking accounts. When you receive good reviews, customers always appreciate it when you acknowledge their patronage.
Things can be much different when you receive bad reviews. The best thing you can do about such feedback is to acknowledge their rating and see how you can improve the situation. Offering promos can also help. This is a form of online reputation management, which can work only when you know how to expertly handle such reviews.
How to Use Social Media to Boost Your Roofing Business
Now that you know the benefits of using social media for your business, you might be wondering how to use it to your advantage. Check out these simple yet useful tips.
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Share Website Content
When you launch a business, one of the first things you get is a website, where you can place relevant details about your company and services, as well as other informative materials such as blogs and guides. With the right content and search engine optimization technique, this can help you land on search engine results pages.
To boost the chances of your customers finding your website, you can use your platform accounts to direct them to it. Posting links to website content complete with interesting captions, photos or videos can encourage them to visit and browse your site.
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Use Every Feature to Your Advantage
Keep in mind that these social media platforms are not only for sharing content but also for business purposes. These come with analytics and report generations tool for business page owners, which helps them monitor audience engagements including visits, comments, reacts, and shares. This is a great way to further track the effectiveness of your social networking activities.
Some platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram let you use paid ads to advertise your brand and services. Other features you should explore include live videos and stories.
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Connect With Other Businesses
Looking at the name ‘social networking site,’ it is apparent that these platforms are designed for networking. If you think you can only use your account to connect with your target market, then you will be thrilled to know that it can also serve as a means for business-to-business (B2B) networking.
Now, this has something to do with how you manage your brand and your reputation. Remember, no company wants to associate themselves with another company that is perceived negatively by the public. With the use of social media, you can attract suppliers and commercial clients. You can even get the attention of a potential investor, which can pave the way for the expansion of your business.
The Bottom Line
The roofing industry, and the entire economy, may be facing challenging times. With the help of social media and other digital marketing strategies, you can continue promoting your advertising and public relations activities in a manner that is accessible to your customers.