Total Landscape Care Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/113381
business bests Sean Adams, owner of Lawncaresuccess.com, helps landscape business owners market their businesses more effectively and profitably. He says a solid marketing plan is the key to engaging audiences and growing your business. "After all, you know who your customers are, how they think and where they get their information," Adams says. That's why your company's first impression comes from your web presence and jumpstarts a relationship that's engaged across all media channels. But even if you are connected, are you as connected as you could be? Is your webpage updated daily? Do you engage clients on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Pinterest, Tumblr, Instagram and Houzz? Is your message consistently branded across all of the channels? Here are five tips for giving your social-media presence a redesign. Branding 1 Having a recognizable, cohesive style across all of your digital properties is a good way to get current and potential clients to notice and remember your company. For Jason Cromley, co-owner of Hidden Creek Landscaping (hiddencreeklandscaping.com) located in Columbus, Ohio, rebranding his business started with their logo. Residents can now see their green, circle logo featuring a tree and creek on their trucks, uniforms, Facebook page and LinkedIn account. Cromley says he knew the rebranding was a success when a new client said, "Wow, we see you everywhere." He has watched his business grow since the rebranding, and he credits the unified image for the 70-percent increase in sales. 2 Feeding the blog While most landscape owners have embraced the digital age and include blogs and social media on their webpage, many fall short by not updating with frequent, relevant, lively content. Ila Barot-Oldakowski, marketing director for System Pavers (systempavers.com), located in Santa Ana, California, says she schedules her 2 0 To ta l L a n d s cap eC are.c om TLC0313_BusBest2.indd 20 social-media engagement across their various platforms. "We update two to three times per day on our social pages," she says. "We try to use relevant news such as updates on weather and extreme conditions such as wildfires and landslides." They use in-house staff to post on Twitter, Facebook, blogs, newsletters and photo-sharing sites. One of their popular promotions is the search on Facebook for the "Ugliest Front Yard." The winner receives a makeover, and the contest generates huge reader response, nearly 6,000 "likes," that results in new customer leads and enhanced company reputation. They also have themed Facebook content such as "Feedback Fridays" and "Tuesday Tips." 3 Know your audience The wide range of social-media choices can be daunting, but the key is to target the medium of the audience. For the younger, upscale market, you have to be everywhere, and it's imperative you keep up with the trends. Right now, the hottest sites are photo-sharing ones such as Pinterest and Instagram, and of course Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr continue to soar in popularity. Scott Reister, owner of TG&R Landscape (tgrlandscape.com) in Charlotte, North Carolina, believes his best marketing tool is his company's reputation for creative excellence. "We've been in business for 22 years, and the best way to get the word out is through other customers." Blogging Brings Results Studies have shown regular blogging results in a 55-percent increase in website visitors, and companies that blog have 97 percent more inbound links than those that don't. They also generate 88 percent more leads per month than companies that don't blog. Source: HubSpot, State of Inbound Marketing Lead Generation Report M A R C H 2 013 2/21/13 5:54 PM