Many painting companies and general contractors use social media channels like Facebook and Instagram to reach new customers, but some focus too much on their own interests and forget that prospects are seeking evidence of their skills and trustworthiness.

When it comes to deciding what to post, one general rule overrides all others: whatever you post, make sure it has value to your audience. To help you make a bigger impact with social media, here are four pieces of posting advice to help you give customers more of what they’re looking for.

1.) Show completed projects. Your skill level and expertise are best demonstrated by showing what you can do with photos or video. Project before-and-after pics, projects in progress and completed projects are essential. New customers want to see what kind of quality they’ll get with your services, and the more you show them, the better.

2.) Let your customers speak for you. You can list every credential and qualification in the business to try to sell your services, but reviews and testimonials provided by happy customers create a level of trust you can’t inspire on your own. If you have a customer who says you were prompt, did great work and your price was fair, that is often all a prospect needs to give you a try.

3.) Share tips, tricks and expert advice. Every contractor knows the DIYer who calls for service after they’ve tried and failed to paint or build something themselves. Why not offer them a few tips to help them be more successful? Sharing advice and expertise helps establish your credibility, and it can lead DIYers directly to your services when they get in over their heads. Tips can be simple one-sentence posts or link to longer blogs or videos that live on your website.

4.) Show involvement in your community. Being active in your local community is an excellent way to communicate your company’s values and culture. Showing your involvement on your social channels has many benefits. First, you are encouraging others to get involved and invest in the people and places where you want your business to grow. Second, posting names and faces allows potential customers to see your business as a group of real people instead of as a faceless entity. Sharing your community involvement can also have the bonus benefit of helping recruit new talent by building your reputation as a good employer that’s invested in its community.

Getting started

One of the biggest challenges to creating a successful social media strategy is being consistent. Many companies start out strong, then get sidetracked when work gets busy.

To avoid this pitfall, start with a simple social media plan. Decide how often you think you will have time to post (once or twice a week is fine) and create a calendar. Then plan the topics you want to post about each week. If you’re bigger than a one-person operation, designate one dependable employee to be in charge.

Finally, make time in your schedule every month or so to explore new topics to add to your posting calendar. You can also use this time to assess which posts are getting the most attention, so you can adjust your topics for greater interest moving forward.

Make a plan. Be consistent. Offer value. Follow these tips and you will be surprised what social media can do to strengthen your business.

Ashley Luke is a Senior Product Manager, Shurtape Technologies, LLC, parent company of T-Rex^® Brand