How to make authentic social media connections

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Social media is all about connecting with people. For pest management professionals (PMPs), their connections may be prospective or current customers.

To attract people to your company’s social media platforms, figure out a way to stand out and have fun. Bring more of yourself to your social media, says Corey Perlman, CSP, owner of Impact Social Inc., Roswell, Ga., and author of two bestselling books on the subject: eBootCamp! and Social Media Overload.

GET CREATIVE. “There are fun ways to get spontaneous and different with your social media marketing,” he says. For example, a cockroach statue in front of Solutions Pest and Lawn in Roswell has become the town’s beloved mascot, thanks to social media.

According to Perlman, residents dress up “Larry the Cockroach” and snap photos with him. He is so popular, in fact, he is now included on a list of the city’s hotspots. “Larry is part of the community,” Perlman adds.

To help your company stand out, brainstorm ideas with your entire team. Take advantage of the talents and skills your employees have and your competitors do not. Enlist the help of staff members who are familiar with the social media platforms your company uses. Ask them to help create some fun marketing campaigns for your company.

“You will get a lot more engagement if you don’t phone it in,” Perlman says. “Try to get above the noise to be a little bit different and unique.”

HUMANIZE YOUR BRAND. Create social media posts about your employees. Show off the people who are doing the work for your company. The more you share about your employees and your community, the more people will relate to, and want to connect with, your company.

BE CONSISTENT. Once you commit to using social media, keep it up. Strive to make your company visible. Creating a social media content calendar for your company is an effective way to accomplish this.

“This is such a huge part of keeping everybody on the same page and making you more efficient and effective with your marketing,” Perlman explains.

He recommends creating categories of content for every day of the week. Examples include:

• Motivation Monday, which could be general words of wisdom or calls to action — such as scheduling mosquito control services before summer is in full swing.
• Testimonial Tuesday, which could showcase a satisfied customer who gave a good review to a technician or a review forum. Ask everyone at your company to support this marketing effort by getting and sharing testimonials.
• What-to-Film Wednesday, which will allow you to incorporate more video in your marketing and social media.
• Thank-You Thursday, which offers an opportunity to thank your customers, the local businesses you work with, and your community partners.
• Fun-Fact Friday, which could feature interesting information about insects, or the work your staff performs.

If your entire company knows what will be posted each day, everyone can get involved and help support the person or team in charge of social media. And there’s no excuse for those at the top not knowing what is being posted on their company’s social media platforms, because “that’s your brand,” Perlman stresses. “That is the lifeblood of your business.”

MEET REGULARLY. Monthly meetings to discuss content for the calendar will result in a more effective and efficient digital marketing campaign, and shows the company is committed. Plus, knowing when it’s time for mosquito services or service renewals, for instance, can be a game changer.

“You need to have monthly meetings around your digital content calendars so you know what’s going on with social media, and your social media marketing team knows what’s coming up,” he says.

Take a close look at your social media content and ask yourself what could be done to shake it up a little bit, recommends Perlman.