Social Media is a complete waste of time

That title isn’t to just grab your attention. That’s exactly what many clients tell me everyday. Because Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites need the care and attention of the person the interaction is with, the owners themselves. I teach people what they need to do, then turn it over to them to do.

Social media and online discussions aren’t meaningless, but it’s easy to get swallowed up in the enormity of it all. But if you can limit yourself to keywords or topics in your own particular service sector, then you should find the experience compelling. Since when is talking to people about what you do for a living a bad thing?

If you can have a quality conversation with someone, who cares if you are doing it in a Starbucks or in your PJ’s? How do I know? Because I bet there are a few of you reading this post who said having a website was useless 5 years ago, and now you have one. Guys like Greg at Bergen Decks, Chris at Magic Pools and Justin at Lone Star are all online everyday making their presence known to other contractors, clients and customers.

Now, if you don’t have the time to get into the fray, I offer this little bit of advice. There is no magic bullet, but over time, with a little experience under your belt, the amount of time required to manage your business online will decrease. At the end of the day it comes down to this: If you don’t want to eat your lunch, someone else will. So get to work. And if you need help getting started with social media, then realize you have to get started somewhere soon. Social media isn’t going anywhere, are you going to stick around with it?

About Darren Slaughter

Darren built a successful offline marketing business for contractors using marketing and advertising techniques before moving to a completely online business model. The result of that move — DarrenSlaughter.com —... Read more

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Jobsite communication: Watch your email tone

We all know how communication can be tough on a jobsite.

Often times you can’t hear all the words someone is saying, but you can see their face and body language.

If you aren’t dealing with customers through email right now, you probably should be. Here’s something you need to think about before hitting the keyboard: tone. I’ve had times where I thought someone was being rude to me, or where someone thought I was angry at them, all because of the tone of the email. I’m not just talking about ALL CAPS, there are other ways to change your tone. Here’s an interesting thread at ContractorTalk.com that addresses it.

About Joe Sainz

Joe Sainz (Google+) is a union carpenter with experience in concrete construction, landscaping, carpentry and electrical mechanics. In his current role with the accessories group of Bosch Power Tools-North America, he’s... Read more

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Online advertising tips for contractors

Online Advertising Trends

According to a recent survey, 47% of all small businesses know they are not effectively presenting their companies online. And 58% of those businesses generated no sales from their online campaigns last year. How did you do? Do you even know? Scary right?

Why advertising online works

While print advertising still works for many contractors, and there is a place for radio and television, online marketing is a measurable, cost-effective advertising strategy that creates real value with quick results.

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