Is "TWITTER FOR MARKETING" Worth My Home Improvement Firm's Time?

Using Twitter To Attract Clients

Twitter is the second largest social media site in terms of users, so its general relevance is not a matter of question. Twitter boasts some impressive statistics, and companies of all sizes and types find success using Twitter to market their products, build a brand and even handle customer service issues. But the social media marketing best for home improvement service providers in particular? Well, that’s not Twitter.

Don’t get me wrong: That’s not to say that you shouldn’t have a Twitter profile or that it can’t be valuable. Plenty of architectural firms, landscape architects, and design-build firms do well on Twitter. But in a highly visual field where referrals and networking are crucial, it is not the first priority. 

If you're the owner or marketing director of a home improvement company, with limited time, the single-best way to use twitter is to promote your blog articles with linkbacks. Publish an article and share it on Twitter every month for a year or more. Blogs are evergreen content that increase the visibility of your website in search and promoting them on Twitter will result in visits and linkbacks that will also increase your sites visibility in search engines. 

The Social Media Marketing Best For Home Improvement Companies

If your firm has limited time for social media, focus on social media sites like Houzz and Pinterest first. These sites are smaller, but they still have enormous reach. And they’re much better suited to the field of architecture because they are visual in nature.

Houzz, a social network focused exclusively on residential building, design and remodeling, attracts some 46 million unique visitors per month. The audience you want to target is browsing here, not on Twitter, for design ideas and inspiration. Those in search of architects look here, too. Still not convinced? Talk to architects who have Houzz profiles about their experiences. They’re finding new clients on the site.

Pinterest has an even larger following, over 70 million at last count, and like Houzz, it’s a great fit for a visual field like interior design and architecture because it’s made up of images and videos. Pinterest is not exclusive to building and design - pinboards cover about every topic imaginable - but home-related topics are always among the most popular. This is another place where potential clients are finding architectural ideas and inspiration.

While Houzz and Pinterest offer the social media marketing best for architects, LinkedIn should be your third choice. With active participation, you can establish yourself as an industry leader among clients and peers.

Wait...I Do Have Time for Twitter. What Now?

In that case, go for it. If you have robust Houzz and Pinterest profiles, and you’re active on LinkedIn and Facebook as well, there’s no good reason not to join Twitter. Here are some tips for using it correctly and making the most of it:

• Be sure to differentiate between your company’s profile and your personal profile. The company profile should focus exclusively on company business and industry news (although you want to inform and entertain). Employees of the firm have greater liberty to mix professional and personal subjects, so that they keep it PG. If an employee tweets about the company just once, assume they’re now representing the brand.

• Build an impressive network of followers by following other industry professionals, clients, people in related industries and the like. In many cases, they’ll follow you back, which opens the lines of communication. You can also take advantage of Twitter advertising to grow your following, just don’t pay for advertisements until you’re in the habit of regularly posting interesting and useful content.

• Speaking of content...the quality of your tweets will make or break you on Twitter. Think about what colleagues and clients want to know. Share tips, post links to useful articles and post photos of impressive projects.

• Hashtags allow people to search Twitter for posts on specific topics. Always use hashtags so that users can find your content. You can go general like #architecture #InteriorDesign or #Landscape or you can be more specific like #greenbuilding (or both). Just make sure the hashtag is relevant to the post.

• Don’t look at Twitter as merely a vehicle for self-promotion; that doesn’t sit well with users. Make sure you’re using the “retweet” feature to share interesting content that was posted by the people you follow.

• Ideally, you want to post several times per day. And if you’re just starting out on Twitter, try to budget an additional 15 minutes per day to work on improving your profile, attracting new followers and sharing content from the people you follow.

About Michael Conway and Means-of-Production

I'm the owner of Means-of-Production, a full service marketing firm that builds Squarespace websites for built environment firms. I design sites that help you get found online, attract better prospects, and capture leads. If you need help with a Squarespace site that you're working on click here to view my calendar and schedule a call. I am a Squarespace Specialist and Authorized Trainer. Together we can build a website that attracts the right clients and grows your business.