In the wake of COVID-19 and social distancing, people are relying heavily on social media to communicate and gather information. While social media channels should always be a key part of your communications portfolio, now more than ever, your social media presence has the potential to truly help your business thrive. (Don’t have a business Facebook account yet? See the instructions below to set one up. Now’s the time.)
How should you be communicating with your customers on social right now? Here are a few thoughts –
- Educate them on what your company is doing to maintain health and safety during this unprecedented event.
- Explain why it’s important to keep up their yards from the environmental and public health perspectives.
- Remind them that their yard is a sanctuary where they can take in fresh air, get active and relax while safely maintaining social distance
- Showcase the services you offer that will benefit them.
- Thank your community for their support and ongoing business.
- Post a short video offering community support or sharing your current status.
To boost visibility, make a list of all of your services and include them as hashtags at the end of every post. Examples include:
#lawncare
#mowing
#pestcontrol
#treeremoval
#irrigation
#landscape
For COVID-19 specific posts, include hashtags such as:
#wegotthis,
#wereinthistogether,
#helponeanother
#staysafe
Sample Social Posts
Here are some sample social media posts to share with your customers during this unique time:
For Businesses in States with Shelter-in-Place Orders
- With the State of <state> stay-at-home order currently in effect, what does this mean for <business name> and the services we provide our customers? As part of the green industry, we are considered an essential business for our contributions to the health and safety of the communities we serve. <Business name> will remain open to provide you with <services>. We are adhering to strict safety and hygiene practices to make sure that our customers, our staff and our families all stay safe and healthy. Please message us here or call at <phone number> for all of your <hashtag services>.
- The outdoors is a healthy escape, and your yard is your soothing social distancing sanctuary. Keep your lawn safe and healthy. We’re here to help. <contact info> <website contact form> <hashtag services>
- A properly cared for lawn and yard have enormous environmental and health benefits for you and your neighbors, pumping oxygen into the atmosphere, helping purify the air around you and protecting water sources from unhealthy runoff. We’re all in this together – let us help you keep your yard safe and healthy. <contact info> <website contact form> <hashtag services>
For Businesses Forced to Close Under Their State’s Guidelines
- <insert company name> will be closed starting <insert date> and will re-open as soon as the “stay at home” order is lifted. Thank you for your continued business. If you have any questions regarding your service or just general <insert services> questions, contact us at <contact info> and we will answer you as soon as possible at <insert contact info> We hope you all stay safe and healthy. <Company Name> looks forward to seeing you all soon. <hashtag services>
- In light of COVID-19, we will be shutting down our services until <insert date>. Once the stay at home policy is lifted, we will resume production immediately. In the meantime, thank you for your continued business and be sure to stay safe and healthy. Most importantly, thank you to all of our essential workers for everything you do.
General Post Ideas
We are all in this together.
Thank you to ALL essential workers. #healthcare #lawenforcement #trucking #shipping #postal #grocery
Ask your followers to share a photo or video of themselves making the best of the stay at home policy. To help boost engagement, consider making it a contest – best photo or video gets a one-time free service or discount.
Share a happy or uplifting photo. Puppies, kittens and babies are always popular!
Share before and after photos of past services.
Humor is always welcome. Share a funny meme about being stuck at home or getting bored.
If your business is temporarily closed, share tips or articles to help customers maintain their lawns or landscaping until you’re back in the field.
Share an uplifting article or post. Share an article about the importance of keeping your lawn and landscaping healthy and tended.
Offer ideas on some fun yard games to play with your family during social distancing.
As a thank you, offer gift certificates for your services to essential workers or the elderly who cannot maintain their lawns.
Communication is Key
Most importantly, keep sharing. The more you share, the higher your visibility. Not only does this put your name and brand in front of existing and potential customers, but it creates a sense of trust that you are there for them even in uncertain times.
Looking for more help with social media? Visit realgreen.com/marketing-tools/digital-services to find out how our Digital Marketing capabilities can help.
Sample Image Posts
Here are some images to include in future posts:
Need Digital Services?
If you have further questions on any of these, please reach out to us so we can help you at realgreen.com/marketing-tools/digital-services.
Set up a Facebook Business Account
Here are step-by-step instructions on how to set up a Business Account on Facebook:
- Open your Web browser and type in Facebook.com. From there, click the “Create a Page” link under the “Sign Up” button
- Click the “Artist, Band or Public Figure” icon under the Create a Page header. A drop-down list appears prompting you to choose a category. Scroll through the list and select the category that best describes your business.
- Enter your company name in the “Name Field” and click the check box next to “I agree to Facebook Page Terms” link. Read the Facebook Pages Terms page before signing up for your professional Facebook account. If you click the “Facebook Pages Terms” link, a pop-up window appears so you can review the terms before continuing.
- Click the “Get Started” button.
- Click the “I already have a Facebook Account” link if you already have a personal Facebook account and want to link it to your professional one. If you choose to use your personal account, just enter your email username and password, then click “Log In.” If you want to create a new professional account or don’t want to link to your personal one, click the “I do not have a Facebook account” option.
- Enter your email address in the “Email” field and then enter a password for your account in the “New Password” field if you are setting up a new professional account. Select the Month, Day and Year of your birthday in the corresponding drop-down lists.
- Enter the security caption words displayed in the “Security Check” box in the “Text in the box” field. Enter the text exactly as it appears in the box and use capital letters, spaces or symbols as indicated.
- Click the “I have read and agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy” label and then click “Sign Up Now.”
- Launch your email software or log in to your Web mail inbox. Open the email message from Facebook with the subject “Action required: Confirm Your Facebook Account” and then click the activation link inside the message to activate your account. Facebook redirects you to the page where you can continue setting up your professional account automatically.
- Click the “Upload from Computer” link after creating a new account and confirming it to upload a profile photo. Your company logo in jpeg format would work perfectly for your profile photo.
- Browse to a folder on your computer that contains an image you want to use as the profile image for your professional account. Highlight the image filename or thumbnail and click “Open.” Wait a few seconds for Facebook to upload the image and display it in the preview box. Click “Save Photo” and “Next.”
- Upload a cover photo. This might be yourself in front of your service truck. Another example might be a before and after photo of service, or a nice landscape or home exterior photo.
- Enter a short description of your professional practice or business on the “About” page in the box with the label that reads, “Please provide some basic info about Your Name” — where “Your Name” is the name you used to create the professional account. Enter information about areas you service, services you offer, certifications etc.
- Make sure to enter your company website address in the small box provided for that purpose. Click the “Save Info” button. This will drive up customer traffic to your website.
Request Digital Services
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