Social Media Approaches for a Pest Control Company

[brianspatterson]

Hi Everyone, I am working with a pest control company that is looking to branch out into social media.  Their primary goal is to connect with their existing customers to improve retention.  The secondary goal is to potentially pick up new clients.

With that said, I wanted to see if you all had some ideas on things that they could tweet/facebook about on a regular basis?  Posting about bugs on a daily basis gets pretty boring.

I know Rand has been talking a lot lately about not being so narrow, so maybe we should talk more about general home improvement?  Any thoughts or ideas?

Thanks!

EDIT:

I should clarify that this is a company that has maintenance plans.  You don't call them only when you have a problem. You sign up with them, and they treat your property every 3 months, or whenever you call.  Only about 2% of their customer base is one-off phone calls to fix 1 problem and never come back again.

I don't think their existing customer base will have any issues with Liking them on Facebook or following them on Twitter. The initial plan is to incentivize them to do so, but once we get the like/follow, we want to continually be in front of them with interesting content, contests as Jay suggested, etc.

[EGOL]

"I am working with a pest control company that is looking to branch out into social media.  Their primary goal is to connect with their existing customers to improve retention."

I don't think that the average person is looking to link up with and stay connected to their bug guy about  bed bugs, rat droppings and flea problems.  They want a bug guy who will fix that problem silently and get out of their space ASAP.  If bug guy can do that then they will call him if they ever have another problem.

My message to people would be that we fix your problem quickly and with minimal visibility.

Posting about bugs on a daily basis gets pretty boring.

ABSOLUTELY!

I would go with informative content that people can share when conversations arise.

[jfeitlinger]

Brian, I would recommend creating a strategy that focuses on engagement with current customers. Prospective customers who then land on their social profile, such as Facebook, would then see ongoing conversation with current customers that will build instant credibility.

For example, you could suggest a Bug of the week contest - post a picture of a crazy bug and ask customers to name the bug. The customer with the right guess gets to give 1 friend a free month of pest service. That way the friend will become the referral source and address both your goals in 1 contest. To get current customers aware of the promotion create a 1 page flyer that posts 1 of the contest bug pictures and include a picture of the winner and quickly explain the contest. Asking the field team to make current customers aware of the Facebook contest will increase current customers to become fans of the page and help increase awareness to their friends as well.

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[Matt-Williamson]

Hi Brian,

I think EGOL is pretty much spot on with the fact that your average person won't want to stay connected with their pest control guy other than using them to discretely fix a problem. However I have seen examples of other pest control companies using games and creating characters to help educate customers and keep them interacting with their brand - but this is still a sensitive area.

[EGOL]

Matt,

What do you think about humorous video?  That would be great for getting links and attention... but would that attract customers?

[Matt-Williamson]

EGOL,

I think humorous video would be a good idea for spreading the brand and I would expect it to work on a subconscious level (as with most marketing the psychology behind it is important)  - if people need a pest control company and a decent viral video campaign has made an impression on them then they should remember the brand. When remembering the brand rather than the term this should hopefully influence their search i.e for the specific company rather than the generic term - do you agree with my thought on this?

[brianspatterson]

This is great; I especially like the idea of giving 1 free treatment to a friend - that is clever

[EGOL]

Thanks Matt!  That makes sense.

[Thos003]

First off, social media for pest control companies isn't nearly as sexy as social media for a taco stand. So any ideas of glitter and glamor are going to be as helpful as a rainbow colored unicorn. Just wanted to get that off my chest before diving in here.

How I see social media as a pest control guy:

1- Maintaining conversations about interesting pest control subjects.

2- Building relationships with current customers.

3- Building relationships with current employees.

On Facebook after establishing a fan base you can use paid advertising to friends of fans, using fans as endorsements. But don't expect huge returns here. It's more building awareness and trust. You will most likely not see Facebook as a last touch for sales. And it's hard to track the first touch.

Funny videos can build links, but I wouldn't consider them great for building trust. I prefer the class nerd image over the class clown image. Nerds are allowed to make jokes, but your know for being smart, not for being funny.

Lastly, check out http://www.familyownedpestcontrol.org we have just launched this lead sharing network, no cost to you.

And if you want to guest post on blogpestcontrol.com I could probably get you in.