10 Social Media Ideas for South African Tradespeople
social media ideas
Industry
7 min
If you’re like me and hear the word "branding," you probably think of big names like Nike or Apple. But here's the thing. Every business has a brand. Even tradespeople.
When someone mentions peri peri chicken what brand do you think of? If it's just chicken, then why did Nandos pop into your head first? That's the power of a strong brand.
Having a strong brand means customers are more likely to pick your business. Why?
Research shows
that when customers feel connected to brands, 57% of consumers will increase their spending with that brand and 76% will buy from them over a competitor.So how can you create a strong brand for your trade business? Let’s find out.
What is a brand?
Your brand is more than just a logo or a catchy slogan. Your brand is everything your customer experiences of you. How you look, what you say, how you act. It’s your company’s personality and the thing that makes you unique from all the other tradespeople in your market.
Coca-Cola has one of the most recognisable logos around the world. Its classic red and white letters, vibrant artwork, and distinctive font have kept our attention for
over a century
and helped them build a multi-billion dollar business selling sugar and water.
Why is a brand important to tradespeople?
- Grow your top line:Are the big national trade business brands better than you? Then why can they charge more? As we learned above, building a trusted, reliable and quality brand influences purchasing decisions. It can help you sell more, at a higher price, to more customers.
- Stand out from the crowd:If you and all your competitors are certified and members of relevant organisations, then what makes you different? It’s a busy market out there. Being easily recognised and standing for something in the market will set you apart from the competition.
- Build foundations to grow:Building credibility and trust in your brand means that you can start to grow bigger than a one-man business. Instead of customers asking for “Jacques” they’ll ask for your brand. From there the sky’s the limit.
Define your brand
Like most things worth doing, defining your brand takes a bit of effort and forces you to answer questions that might stretch you out of your comfort zone. So put the kettle on, sit your team (if you have one) around the table and whip out the brand identity matrix.
Taking the time to talk through and answer these questions will add huge value to how you and your team see yourselves as well as provide great input into all the things that bring your brand to life in the market. Make sure you write down the answers somewhere.
Internal
Mission and Vision
- What gets us excited about our work (mission)?
- Where are we headed, and what inspires us (vision)?
Culture
- How do we act and work together? What are our attitudes?
Competences
- What are we really good at?
External
Value proposition
- How do our main offerings appeal to our customers and partners?
Relationships
- How should we connect with important customers and partners?
Position
- Where do we want to be in the market? What's our intended place?
General
Expression
- What makes the way we communicate different or special?
Brand Core
- What are the main values that define our brand?
Personality
- What human characteristics or qualities describe our business character?
Bring your brand to life
It’s worth repeating. Your brand is everything your customer experiences of you. How you look, what you say, how you act. So now you’ve got a clearer picture of your brand, it’s time to look at how to make sure it’s the way your whole business turns up. It’s all about consistency.
- Build your visual assets:This is what most people think of when they think of a brand. Logos, colours, fonts. Investing in these means they can be reused by anyone across your business. In the same way you want a qualified plumber to fit your geyser, consider hiring a professional with logo and design experience
- Brand your look:Uniforms, bakkies, website, adverts, social media, quotes, invoices, job cards. To your customers, there’s a huge difference between a rusty bakkie turning up and being handed a paper job card versus a branded bakkie emailing them digital job cards.
- Brand your words:Website, adverts, social media, emails, whatsapps, sms. It’s not only about what you say, but how you say it. Your words need to reflect your brand (that you should have defined above).
- Brand your way of work:As a business owner, you need to be the role model of the behaviour you want from your team. It’s your responsibility to ensure everyone on your team deeply understands how they are meant to turn up. Observe them. Celebrate when they do well. Course correct and train them when they miss the mark.
How a strong brand can help you grow your trade business
Building your brand is more than just a logo; it's the difference between being seen as the Mrs Balls Fruit Chutney of the trade business world instead of Pick ‘n Pay’s No Name Chutney.
When you craft your brand with care, it helps your customers know what you are about, choose you, and stick around.