Facebook and social media advertising

[JasetheMace]

So I want to know if other engineers get much work from social media/ in particular facebook.
Is it worth advertising on or is it a price war on there with everyone wanting lowest price.
I have had a few enquiries with it always ending in "too expensive".
We are at the top price range for our area but I will never get in a price war.
Just wandering if it's worth putting more effort in? Are there good customers on facebook or just the ones looking for cheap.
Again with insta and Twitter we find that we get a lot of interactions but no direct sales. I would love to hear others views/ experiences

 

[AMGasServices]

In our industry the best advertising is the word of mouth/recommendations.

I personally think social media is a waste of time because you’ll get loads of leads but no jobs. No point wasting your time tbh.

 

[Rob Foster]

We are building a facebook presence but it takes ages to get to customers. Basically it relies on people sharing your info with other people. Probably 999 out of 1000 are not intrested or want your service but once the tipping point is passed then like minded people start to share your message with other like minded contacts then business will come thro.
It demands a lot of input but can be done while watching the telly in the evening. Rebecca does our facebook and usually maintains it when on train or bus and on her frequent flights to Norway i believe. Younger people use media and some are buying homes now so it will grow, these people like quality and will consume Quality plumbing and heating services esp. if its backed by endorsements

 

[Riley]

I don’t agree with any of the webpage leads or social media advertising I think it is just the race to the bottom in terms of price which is wrong on the trade and are giving unrealistic expectation to even more unrealistic people

 

[Millsy 82]

I used to always see them on the local pages asking for a plumber I replied to all of them and they usually went with dodgy Dave from the pub who charges £15 for every thing.

 

[Last Plumber]

Word of mouth is best of all. It may not create the volume of customers quickly but the quality of custom is as good as it gets and if you look after them, they are loyal.
I do not use any social media as I view it as the 'Devils Spawn' but that is down to my own old fashioned views.

 

[Murdoch]

I tend to find the “worst” enquiries come from the internet and the “best” from word of mouth.

Having a website is essential as a lot of customers can be suspicious of trades people they don’t know, and even with word of mouth referrals some like to check you out first.

As for paying for advertising ..... if you do your job properly, it shouldn’t be necessary

 

[Millsy 82]

As for paying for advertising ... if you do your job properly, it shouldn’t be necessary

So your saying I dont do my job properly? 😱😱😱

On the Facebook plumbing sites advertising was always one of those subjects you knew were going to be worth a read. Because you always knew that someone was going to say "I dont have to advertise because I'm good at my job" they never seem to mention the fact that they have been running for several years and have built up a good client base they are just awesome at the job. 😉

I advertise I have to advertise. Why? Because times are changing people dont want to wait for something, the amount of times I lose jobs because fred can do a full central heating system next week is getting more and more people just phone around because most people want it now not in 4/5 weeks. I have my regular customers that will happily wait but these people are a dying breed.

 

[Murdoch]

So your saying I don't do my job properly? 😱😱😱

lol - no, not at all

Maybe I should have written once you are established

That said I do some local targeted advertising in printed media to supplement my existing client base and referrals........

 

[townfanjon]

depending on the amount of your FB friends you could use the “ asking for recommendations “ part .
My local pages are always full of people asking for plumbers , sparkies, plasterers etc .
What seem to happen, is wifey is at home on FB , somebody asks for a recommendation and she puts in my husband is a whatever .
I dont use it but its free and your name does get mentioned, so advertising of sorts .

 

[Murdoch]

on a local community website we have, people often ask for recommendations ......... what follows are:

1. I can do that .......
2. My husband / wife can do that .....
3. My partner can do that .........
4. person "A" recommends somebody
5. person "B" recommends somebody



and the first 3 are not recommendations ..............

 

[Millsy 82]

on a local community website we have, people often ask for recommendations ... what follows are:

1. I can do that ...
2. My husband / wife can do that ...
3. My partner can do that ...
4. person "A" recommends somebody
5. person "B" recommends somebody



and the first 3 are not recommendations ...

Then dodgy Dave from the local does it for £20 cash.

See it all the time makes me laugh I have mates tag me in them every time and never ever get a job from them they are the kind that wants a cooker fitting for £20 cash "I wont say anything to taxman" no but it's written on a public page on Facebook you tw@t! 😕

 

[Millsy 82]

lol - no, not at all

Maybe I should have written once you are established

That said I do some local targeted advertising in printed media to supplement my existing client base and referrals....

Its alright mate I've got thick skin. Lol.

No that's right though once your established then you dont have to advertise as much but the ones on Facebook are so up their own backside they are point blank "I dont have to advertise because I fit Worcester and I'm a God"

 

[Scott_D]

I get some small jobs on Facebook
It can be handy because you can request pictures, give a price and they take it or leave it.
No time wasted going to quote if they don’t want to pay more than £2.50 for a boiler service.

 

[Rob Foster]

The local friendly approach on FB is great, its a bit like the apple pie approach...Uk Apple Pies which is anonymous or
Grandma/Mrs Tweedys Apple Pies made in a rustic barn locally with locally sourced organic ingredients.
Rob Foster aka centralheatking

 

[JasetheMace]

Wow, some really good opinions here, I am under the belief (as someone else mentioned) that word of mouth is dieing. With the likes of aldi and pound stretcher making people more wary of every penny they spend and with all he money saving shows, word of mouth is dieing and the whole 3 quotes is winning. I regularly have people say "my usual plumber......" he cant be their usual plumber if they are calling me? Plus as mentioned before everyone wants everything today! I have a customer who had an extension, the kitchen isn't ready to move into, the worktop, electrics and tiles aren't even in but she wants the old kitchen removed! Another good point is the price war, seen a few people post for outside tap and actual plumbers quoting £40 including parts! Absolutely no point in doing the work for that!
Finally I have noticed a lot of people posting the whole job including parts shouldn't cost more then £50, otherwise you are being ripped off! Not only well under pricing things but also putting cowboy on the customers mind. All that being said though! Surely there are sensible people out there, plus does it form part of the research from the customer, when they research who they will use, do they check out the work on facebook? Do they check facebook and website and other places to make sure that the business is genuine and not a pop up shop?

 

[Murdoch]

The bottom of the tank is infested with cash monkeys ........... best avoided.

 

[Rob Foster]

The bottom of the tank is infested with cash monkeys .. best avoided.

The official term is the 'churn' business starting undercutting established outfits for a short time and packing in within year cause they are making no lolly. Then being replaced by another under cutting new outfit...often the work is poor and any guarantee void. Maybe its time ALL plumbing outfits should be registered etc.
Rob Foster aka centralheatking

 

[Millsy 82]

Maybe its time ALL plumbing outfits should be registered

Problem with this is it usually adds to the running costs of the people who try to do it right and the cowboys carry on without and can undercut even more.

 

[hammers4spanner]

Rather see builders registered than plumbers tbh