A Tiny Bit of Research Can Dramatically Impact Social Shares and Drive Sales
While many small businesses are abandoning Facebook, I’m always intrigued when I see something unexpected happen there for a client. Believe me, unless they’re paying to promote posts… I don’t set expectations too high. One of my clients is a family-run roofing company that serves central Indiana. They’ve been here for decades and have an incredible reputation.
Recently, a hail storm hit Greensburg, a city just outside Indianapolis. My client has been doing business in Greensburg for decades, and the marketing and sales team went out full force to service customers and get the word out to neighbors who may have damage to their home’s roof or siding. The team told me about the trip and sent many photos my way. I’ve never been to Greensburg so I wanted to ensure that we sprinkled any mention of the city with some local information to build a better relationship with the folks there.
When I looked up Greensburg, I was intrigued when I saw it described as the Tree City. The trees in question weren’t the forests nearby; there is actually a tree growing at the very top of the Decatur County Courthouse tower since the 1870s! After a little more digging, I read an article that the trees were removed once and still grew back. I worked with Jana, their marketing director, on crafting a short blog post on the visit… and it blew up!
I have their publication hosted on WordPress and integrated to publish their social media feeds. So let’s recap… a published post on a Facebook page. All the experts will tell you that there’s no way a post like that would get any type of traction on Facebook, right? Wrong!
Come to find out, there’s a bit of a controversy with the trees. Many natives believe the trees were large-tooth aspens, a claim supported by the Smithsonian Institution. However, a more recent study by Purdue University foresters has shown that the current tree is a mulberry. A debate on the tree broke out on the Facebook post, engaging over 50 people!
Not all the comments were great – some trolls hit the conversation, too. However, faithful Amos Exteriors customers countered most of the negative remarks – making the company look even better! When the post took off, the Sales and Marketing VP, Chris Sheets, saw the opportunity and instantly boosted the post. His boost resulted in the 2,500 person reach expanding to another 5,800 Greensburg citizens, with 175 of them clicking back to the site for more information.
Best of all, Amos Exteriors was able to schedule a handful more roof inspections.
Research Drives Results
We research every article we publish on every client’s site. Research has impacted our customer’s content, search, and social media marketing. Of course, I wanted to drive local search attention with this post by defining some geographic landmarks, the zip code, and even some cultural works. However, while researching the city, I found a fantastic little story to share. Add the photo with the smiling team, and it’s the perfect combination – bringing it all together for folks to discover on Facebook.
Don’t abandon Facebook yet… work a little harder on unique content, and you’ll see the results you want!
