Last month we took a look at how you can and should use social media to promote your commercial painting business. We focused on Yelp, Facebook and GooglePlus, and touched a little on Instagram and YouTube. But today we’re going to dig deep into visual social media and visual content as a means to market your services. Painting services very naturally lend themselves to visual media because clients will naturally want to know how your work looks. Providing would-be customers with this visual evidence is bound to drum up more business once they see the impressive results of your work!

Using social media to promote your painting business
Image source: Jason A Howie via Flickr Creative Commons.

If you’re worried that you need a professional photographer to show your work, think again. A good digital camera and an eye for layout are all you need to take your own images. If you’re not confident of your own skills, you can probably find someone in your organization or among friends or family that has a good eye for photography. You should snap before and after photos of all your commercial projects, as well as shots of your jobs-in-process, so potential clients can clearly see the scope of work you can do. These images serve as testimonials of your quality services.

Here’s a look at the image-based social media sites you can use to promote your painting business and how to use them:

Instagram is a great place for business marketing
Image source: JAMoutinho via Flickr Creative Commons

Instagram

Set yourself up an Instagram account, connect it to your Facebook and use it conjunction with your Twitter account, as well. Caption the images with succinct and catchy phrases, and also with hashtags. You can hashtag your company name, a paint style, your region and other relevant things that are trending. This is a great way for clients to check in on your activity, so make sure you’re documenting current jobs or past jobs that you’re especially proud of. In addition to posting images that promote your company, post other images that are funny or compelling (but always appropriate) – such as candids of your workers on the job, or fun activities occurring around your company office – to widen your appeal and reach, while also providing a personal touch. For more tips, check out the Instagram for Business Blog.

Pinterest is a great place to market a painting business
Image source: marci.terrett via Flickr Creative Commons

Pinterest

This site has grown far beyond being a treasure trove of interesting images of crafts, décor and foods populated mostly by women. Set yourself up on Pinterest and organize a few pinboards, where you can collect images and links from around the web of various inspirations and ideas. You can set them by paint colors, types of architecture you’ve worked on, interior and exterior trends, etc. You can also add boards that link out to useful articles – on the dangers of lead paint, unique paint jobs, or current news in the painting industry. Pin cool photos of your own work and make sure to add the Pin It widget to your website so your images there can also be pinned and shared by other users. You’d be amazed to see how far-reaching a re-pinned image can be, meaning your company’s work could be spread far and wide. Check out the Pinterest Business Blog for more tips.

Tumblr is a good social media fit for painters
Image source: buyalex via Flickr Creative Commons

Tumblr

Tumblr is a microblogging platform that is heavily image driven, and it’s easy to set up an account to promote your brand. Post images relevant to your business and then tag them with Tumblr’s suggested tags. You’ll need a little bit of text to go along with it, so you can give a bit of background on each image – for example, if you’re tackling a particularly challenging project, post images of the process with some description of each step for the clients who might want to follow along. If you want to play on Tumblr, you’ll need to follow others and be active to get shares in return, so search around for other paint companies that you can network with. But be creative – in addition to paint companies, you can follow landscapers, interior decorators, and other businesses that could be related to your work. The more people and businesses you follow, the more likely they’ll follow you back and spread your images! Check out an array of businesses using Tumblr to see how you can use this great visual social media tool.

Social media is a great tool to promote your painting business, but to make the most of it, remember you need to act and interact regularly. Think of social media as a community that you must participate in to attract attention and make a splash. To read about more great ideas for affordably marketing your commercial painting business, click here.