5 Social Media Content Ideas for Service-Based Businesses
Ever heard of the Know, Like, and Trust Factor? Those are 3 keys to a buying decision, so it’s important to build those up in your content, no matter what industry you’re in!
As service providers, we know that people have been or are wary of, being burned. Unfortunately there are many people out there who are charging outrageous prices and providing shitty work, or even no work at all.
So, it’s up to us (pats on back) to educate our audience and provide proof that we can do the work, and do it well, as well as relate to them on a human-to-human level. Ultimately this will all help lower the barrier and mitigate some of the perceived risk of hiring someone like us.
Here are some ideas for creating social media content specifically for service-based businesses. Use these in your Instagram stories or posts, as well as Facebook, Linkedin, or blog posts - wherever your potential clients are, you can use these to make a deeper connection with them.
Before & Afters
Who doesn’t love a good before and after? No matter what industry you’re in, if you provide a service, nothing comes close to showing the transformation you provide for your clients more than these.
The ‘before’ does a few things: It shows what life looked like for your client before you showed up, which is probably a similar place or position your potential clients are in right now! It’ll also create a connection, showing them that it doesn’t matter where they are now when it comes to the problem they’re facing - they can have amazing results, too.
Of course, the “after” images show the amazing results you’ve given your clients. Pictures are worth 1,000 words, right? They show the transformation and give potential clients some eye candy while they daydream about the transformation they can have with you, too!
2. Meet the Owner
People like doing business with people, not companies. Humanize your business by giving people a face to the name, and introduce yourself to potential clients. It doesn’t have to be all-business, all the time, either. You can include things people may not know about you, or some of your favorite things outside of the business.
Quick tip: make sure people can see your face in the photo you choose! I’ve had a lot of clients (especially general contractors or trades business owners) send me photos of them wearing sunglasses or dirty, worn out hats. Love ya guys, but the point of this is for people to see a real person!
Also, I get it if you wear your favorite hat everyday, but for the sake of people getting a good first impression, don’t use a photo of you in your old work shirt or hat. I’m not saying you need to dress up or get all fancy, you just want to build trust and represent the quality of your work in the best light that still feels like you.
3. Client Spotlight & Successes
This is a total win-win. You can create social media posts that are all about your awesome clients, what they do, and the results they got working with you. You can also include why they came to you for help, and what they were looking for. Doing that will help other potential clients (similar to the “before” part of the before-and-afters) see people just like them, in similar situations, have amazing results.
What does that do? It builds your credibility and builds trust that you can walk the walk.
Not to mention your clients will gush about working with you, makin’ you look preettyy damn good. Cause it would just be weird if you said those things about yourself, right?
4. Mistakes to Avoid
Here’s where you can separate yourself against your competition! You can show your expertise and authority by equipping your audience with the tools and knowledge to make the best decisions possible when dealing with your industry.
You can address frequent questions or common concerns by telling people what not to do, and what they should be looking for when it comes to hiring for the service you provide. This will educate them more about your services and alleviate some fears at the same time,.
Not only that, but you’ll build trust. It shows you genuinely want to help people, whether it’s with your company or another, and that you know your stuff.
For example, if you provide construction services, what are some things you can tell people to look for when hiring a contractor? On the flip side, you can think about why people do hire you over other people and use that to come up with some of these.
You can advise people to not make the mistake of hiring a contractor without a Yelp page with reviews. Or educate them on when they should or shouldn’t be expected to pay for materials, or work, and what the laws are in your area, so they know what red flags to watch out for.
If you’re a coach, you can create content around mistakes made before and after hiring a coach.
What should people be looking for when hiring a coach? What do people tend to expect compared to what they actually should expect once they do? Maybe they go into a coaching program thinking the coach will actually be doing the work for them, when in reality they need to take accountability and do the work themselves.
5. Behind the Scenes
This is a cool one, because it allows people to get to know you and your business on a deeper level. You can take a photo of your desk, take a video what you’re working on for the day, or a current project, and having a look at your client process.
Another take on this is to take photos or videos in the field. So if you’re a wedding planner or wedding vendor, let’s say, you can give your audience a sneak peek of setting up or getting things prepped for the event.
Pro tip: Make sure to tag the location and other vendors there to expand your reach!
Or, if you have a team you can do the same of them working hard and serving your clients. If you provide construction services, take a photo of the guys cutting custom pieces, or laying down tile, painting, etc.
All of this will help your audience see how you do business and what their experience will be like if they work with you.
Hope you enjoyed these! And remember - don’t overcomplicate this stuff. It doesn’t have to be perfect - just get it done and get it out there!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: KATIE BRIMMER
Hey! I'm Katie. I help service-based business owners just like you create stunning websites & smart marketing strategies designed to help you stand out online so you can start turning visitors into paying clients and take your business to the next level.