Did someone say free janitorial marketing for your cleaning business? Indeed. The question is whether or not you’re taking advantage of it.
Social media is a funny beast. You can find valid, expert information on pretty much any subject. You can find funny memes and ridiculously talented dancers and singers. And while there’s a large share of unpleasantness, it’s also a place where we can find our professional communities to trade ideas, share tips, and ask questions. But janitorial marketing? There’s actually not that much.
I know. Social media might seem like it’s for “the kids” and not really your target audience. According to the Pew Research Center, however, the number of adults who use social media has doubled in the past ten years. Sprout Social points out that more than half of U.S. adults visit Facebook several times each day, and “74% visit the site at least once a day.” They also mention that roughly a quarter of U.S. adults use Twitter.
Instagram and Youtube are popular, as well. What you won’t find a lot of on these platforms, however, is competition for your janitorial marketing efforts. That’s right. For whatever reason, social media is light on commercial cleaning companies. Not that it’s missing entirely, but it’s not crowded, meaning there’s room for you to show up in people’s timelines and news feeds.
Ah, but there’s more to it than just posting away on Facebook. Let’s do a walkthrough and see what there is to the job.
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How to make your janitorial marketing come alive with social media
Alright, just gonna lay this out there: No one cares about your marketing. Don’t worry; it’s not you. No one cares about any marketing. Sure, the Super Bowl ads get some office conversation, but that’s a different field altogether.
What they do care about is how you can solve their problem. And they care about how well you do it, how responsive you are, and whether or not they can trust you to do the job. They need someone to clean a messy office. They run a retail shop, and their cleaner stopped showing up. They’re opening a dental office and need a commercial cleaning company that’s familiar with HIPAA regulations. Your janitorial marketing needs to solve those issues.
Alternatively, people want entertainment. And yes, you can do that with your business social media feed. In fact, you can entertain and simultaneously solve problems. Here’s one example from Too Green Cleaning in New Jersey.
The post is cute, lighthearted, and they make it clear in the text that when it’s time to clean, they’ve got you covered. Let’s look at some other tips to breathe some fresh air into your janitorial marketing.
1. Use the power of social proof. The golden arches, the universal sign for McDonald’s Hamburgers, are very recognizable. Obviously, McDonald’s has a much larger advertising budget than most of us, but way back in the day, they used the power of social proof to help sell their burgers. Along with the arches, they had a short phrase underneath the McDonald’s name that said over 1 million hamburgers sold. That changed to 100 million, and eventually, they just went with “billions and billions.” The point here is that by bringing your attention to the fact that other people like their burgers, you probably will, too. You can do the same with janitorial marketing. All those nice comments can turn into social media posts that prove other people love your work. Just be sure to ask permission from your clients first.
2. Be yourself. There’s nothing wrong with being “real” on social media. Let people in to see what you do and what motivates you. This example, from First Class Commercial Cleaning, in Louisville, KY, is very personal, but business owner John Disselkamp is quick to credit his team with the success of the business. This humble sincerity clearly hits the mark, as the post has dozens of comments and likes.
3. Engage. The whole point of social media is to be social. You don’t have to be a salesperson, either. Just comment on local events or share local news stories. Boost other businesses you like by liking and replying to the things they post. Just keep it in line with your values. If you’re a green cleaning agency, you’ll confuse people if you praise the new business opening up that only sells chemical cleaners. Oh…. and don’t say anything negative about your competition.
4. Be active. Along with engaging, make sure you’re active, as well. It’s not uncommon to find commercial cleaning companies that only post a few times each year. And then they’re almost always about a sale. You don’t have to post every day, although you could. Do, however, try to post at least once or twice a week. On the flip side of that, don’t spam your followers, either. You don’t want them to get irritated and unfollow you. There’s no hard rule on how much is too much; just be reasonable.
5. Show off – a little. Before and after posts can be an excellent way to showcase your work, but do so sparingly. And to get the most impact, stick to photos that show drastic differences between the two. Sometimes you may see a big contrast in person, but that doesn’t show up in pictures. Save those for something else or delete them. You want it to be very clear that the work you do is incredible.
The great thing about janitorial marketing on social media platforms is that it will usually only take you a few minutes, and the return on investment is phenomenal. Even if you only get a few calls here and there from your efforts, you’re essentially using free advertising to get a commercial cleaning contract. That doesn’t seem like such a bad deal!
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