DIY Social Media Marketing For Contractors With Zero Budget

Across the major social platforms, there are billions of monthly active users, and that number is steadily growing. It’s safe to say social media has proven its effectiveness as a marketing option, no matter the industry. 

The home service space is no different. 

In fact, social media marketing can be particularly powerful for contractors. Through social media, you can engage directly with homeowners. It’s an excellent venue for building trust and ultimately winning new customers. 

In this article, we’ll give you the basics of a DIY social media marketing plan. We’ll cover what social media marketing is and some of the best DIY options. We’ll even share our best low-budget tips to help you get started now. 

What Is Social Media Marketing? 

Social media marketing is the practice of promoting your business on social media channels to: 

• Build brand awareness 
• Drive traffic to your website 
• Connect with your audience 
• Improve search engine rankings 
• Increase sales and conversions 

There are several social media platforms to choose from. We encourage contractors to consider Facebook and Instagram, primarily. You could also market your business on Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, or TikTok. 

Social Media Marketing Options 

Social media marketing involves two main types of content: organic content and paid advertising. 

Organic Social Media Marketing 

Organic content refers to the free content you post on social media. This includes text and image updates, videos, memes, stories, and other content to drive audience engagement. 

When you post organically to your social media platforms, you can expect to reach: 

• Some of your followers (refers to “organic reach”) 
• Your followers’ followers (if people share your posts) 
• People following any hashtags you use 

Because organic content is free, it’s great for DIY social media marketing with zero budget. 

Plus, as a contractor, you can use organic content to: 

• Connect with homeowners looking to make improvements to their homes 
• Build relationships by sharing informative and entertaining content about relevant topics 
• Engage clients at every stage of the buyer’s journey with targeted content 

Paid Social Media Marketing 

Paid social media content involves using ads. Through ads, you can target consumers who are most likely to be interested in your services. You can do this either through advertising or “boosting” your organic content.  

Ad targeting helps businesses deliver relevant ads to people most likely to show interest. This is done by looking at data like …  

Demographics 

These include factors such as location, age, gender, occupation, income, marital status, and more. 

Demographics are helpful in identifying the people most likely to engage with your ads. For example, if you’re a roofing company in Los Angeles, California, your ads can target people in that city and perhaps surrounding areas. 

These people are more likely to show interest than people in other areas. 

Interests 

Learning what your target audience views on social platforms can make your ads more relevant. 

For instance, let’s say you’re a landscaping company. You’d likely want to target social media users who view content on home improvement, lawn care, backyard projects, and DIY.  

Behavior 

You can target your ads based on potential customers’ behavior such as past purchases and device usage. This allows for even more focused advertising. 

5 Low-Budget Social Media Marketing Tips for Home Service Companies 

Whether you’re an HVAC technician or a pest control company, you can leverage the power of social media marketing. It’s one of the best ways to establish an online presence. 

Below are 5 DIY social marketing tips to help your serviced-based company grow your business. 

1. Create a Social Media Marketing Strategy 

Before just putting your business out there, you need a social media marketing plan. An effective plan should clearly outline the following. 

• Who your target audience is 
• Your company’s social media marketing goals 
• How you’ll measure the success of your social campaigns 
• The type of content you post 
• How often you’ll post 

2. Choose Your Social Platforms Wisely 

Now that you have a strategy in place, decide which social platforms you’ll be using to grow your business. Think about which platforms will best serve the needs of your business. 

For example, as a home improvement professional, you might consider leveraging Instagram or Facebook to attract an audience.  

Both platforms give you options to use stunning visuals to draw attention. This is perfect for home improvement companies. Before-and-after photos of your work are sure to make an impression. 

Twitter, LinkedIn, and TikTok are also great platforms. But don’t try to get established on all of them. Focus on one or two at the most. 

Prioritize the one(s) where your audience hangs out the most. 

3. Grow Your Audience with Interaction 

Social media is highly effective in part because it creates interaction with your target audience. That’s the trick to building engagement and increasing brand awareness. 

If you’re trying to create interaction, you can do that in several ways. 

• Ask questions in your social media posts 
• Post surveys 
• Offer genuinely helpful advice/tips and ask your audience if they have anything more to add 
• Host a giveaway or offer a prize based on interaction 

4. Engage Viewers with Video 

Video is an extremely engaging medium. You can post videos with little-to-no investment using nothing more than a smartphone. 

Videos add a human face to your brand and encourage transparency with your followers. As a contractor, use video to: 

• Share recent community work 
• Show the  “before,” “during” and “after” of projects 
• Answer the burning questions many homeowners have  
• Demonstrate how to complete a home improvement project, depending on what type of service(s) you offer 

Getting Started With Social Media Marketing 

The tips in this article include multiple ways you can get started with social media marketing right now, today—all without spending a dime. 

It’s worth noting, however, that social media marketing tends to succeed or fail based on two factors: 

1. Consistency 
2. Interaction 

A single post isn’t going to make a huge difference for your business. And if you’re able to get interaction from your target audience but you don’t interact back with them, you’ll lose them. Be prepared to invest some time in social media marketing. 

If you’re looking for a budget-friendly way to promote your home services business, social media is worth consideration.