Social Media in the Precast Industry

Finding Your Spot in the Algoritim 📌

Social media is a valuable tool for the precast industry. It creates the opportunity to showcase projects, share industry insights, and engage with customers. Today, it has become a common business practice to have a social media presence. It's about meeting your customers where they are… which is on social media.

70 percent of people who follow brands on social media have explicit plans to purchase from them (soon or in the future)—and 59 percent have already purchased from the brands they follow, according to social media management leader Hootsuite's 2024 Social Media Consumer Report.

Consumers are also turning to social media as alternative search engines; 31 percent of consumers use social media to find answers to their questions.* Users want unfiltered reviews about products. But beyond that, people want to learn more than product offerings and want to see who your brand is.

*The Way People Search the Web is Changing: 4 Stats Marketers & SEOs Should Know

How to Get the Most Out of Social Media 📢

Show off those projects Consumers want to see examples of how your products have been used for projects similar to theirs. Beyond your website, social media is a great place to show off the work that you’ve done. Share images and videos of in-progress and completed projects to showcase the quality of your workmanship and the versatility of the products you carry. Then, potential customers can peruse your social media accounts to see project examples, the customization of your products, and get inspiration for their own projects.

Networking on the network Social media can be used to expand your network in real life and digitally. You can explore possible partnerships and collaborations, and even gain advocates for your business when they post about your products and tag you in the posts.

A way to think of people posting about your products or services is like a testimonial. If their following sees a post about how efficient it was to install your product or how good it looks, then they could be more inclined to reach out about also using what you produce. Social media holds the power to increase demand. This concept trickles down to homeowners as well- they can see a project installed locally in their area and want that same product in their backyard.

Engagement on Social Media: The Fundamentals 📲

Where to connect with your customers: Engage with specifiers and engineers on platforms like LinkedIn and Meta (Facebook and Instagram) by sharing content that emphasizes the advantages of precast concrete and participating in relevant discussions. If users see that you’re active on social media, they’ll know that they can send you messages with questions and that you’ll respond on the app. It opens your business up to more communication and to provide support.

User generated content (UGC): If you’re a manufacturer, social media allows you to also see your products in action. End-users often share photos and videos of completed projects. This gives you an opportunity to request to use that content in your own advertising, or just simply share them to your own page so people can see more of your products.

People like to connect with people: Not only does social media create the space to post pretty pictures, but you can also feature the people behind the business. Customers want to see personality. They want to know who is creating their products and what their values are. Highlight your staff and what is happening behind the scenes at your plant or dealer yard. Your audience will build relationships with you through your profiles and feel a deeper connection to your team.

...Okay, Now What? 🤔

Social media can be as involved as you want it to be. You can choose to invest in a social media manager or scheduling software, or spend money on advertising or boosting posts. But you can also keep it simple and inexpensive while seeing results by managing it yourself.

It’s best to start with the basics:

• Decide what platforms you want a presence on or that fit your audience(s)
• Set up your accounts
• Make sure that your profile pictures, cover photos, and any details are consistent across profiles
• Create a bio that quickly summarizes your business
• Post weekly, bonus points if you post several times a week *Video is being favored by most platforms and you’ll reach a wider organic audience simply for posting a video. Next is what's called “carousel” posts, which is multiple photos
• Use at least a handful of hashtags* (#) in your posts *A hashtag is used to identify content on a specific topic. Example of industry hashtags are: #precast, #concrete, #retainingwall, or #hardscapes
• Tag the location and other relevant accounts
• Add some personality to your posts by including emojis in the captions
• Include the appropriate links in your “about” sections
• React and respond to comments or messages you receive
• Engage with similar accounts, businesses, or people you know

Taking these steps will help boost your content and become discoverable to those not already following you to grow your profile organically. Organic social media is a zero-cost channel for advertising your company and enhance your brand awareness.

Logging Off 👋

By leveraging social media, precast companies can increase brand awareness, build credibility, foster relationships with clients and industry professionals, and ultimately, drive business growth.

Looking for more general information about effective social media practices? Consult trusted resources like Hootsuite and Hubspot. These are subscription-based platforms, but each offers a wealth of free information, lots of it tailored to individuals just beginning their work with social media. Contact us if you’d like to learn more or would appreciate tips from fellow precasters.

Exclusive for Aster Brands Manufacturers: Login to each respective brand secure site for more social media resources.