The sheer choice of different advertising platforms can be slightly overwhelming, but if you are interested in maximising your business’s reputation then you need to be aware of all the different ways that you can be promoting yourself. Most pest control companies already know that they should be advertising in online directories, as well as local newspapers and community magazines – perhaps even sponsoring local events. You should never miss an opportunity to get your name out there. Something that a lot of pest control companies tend to overlook is Twitter – as it is commonly thought that this is for social interaction only. However, Twitter is a valuable business tool too, and it should not be discounted when you’re thinking about ways to advertise your business. Here is how to get involved:
Set Up a Profile
Your first job is to set up an account, and this is as easy as entering your email address, choosing a password and setting up a basic profile. At this point, it may well be worth reading a couple of tutorials on how to use Twitter as you get the hang of it, taking into account any etiquette that you may need to know. Make sure that you include a short strapline on your profile detailing what it is that you offer and where you are based.
Get Following/Followers
Twitter is all about getting followers, and following other people. Firstly, choose five people that you interact with in a business capacity – these could be suppliers, competitors and clients. Find them on Twitter and make sure you ‘follow’ them – this is as easy as pressing the blue button that says ‘follow’. Your next step should be to see who they follow, which you can find very easily on their profile. Twitter is not like Facebook in that you don’t need to be friends in real life in order to follow people. Follow anybody that your associates follow – you may feel like you’re stalking them, but don’t worry, it is perfectly acceptable to follow people that you don’t know on Twitter. The more followers you get (followers are people that follow you back), the more people you can engage with.
Regular Tweets
Once you are up and running on Twitter and you have a few followers, it’s time to start tweeting. Make your tweets relevant and brief (you will be made to limit your tweets to 140 characters) – and you can tweet as much as you like so don’t be shy. Once a week, tweet a link to your blog which should contain useful information based on issues around pest control so that you begin to look like an authority on your subject. It won’t be long before word starts spreading and your followers start increasing in numbers.
Keep your updates professional and relevant to your business (although a little social banter is fine too) and you will soon find that more and more people start to hear about you. Cash in on this by offering regular promotions to your followers and it won’t be long before your customer numbers start to double!
Author Bio:The author of this post, Nancy Baker, is a freelance blogger who often writes for Peregrine, a reliable pest control agency offering clients services including mice control. She enjoys sharing her experiences with her readers through her articles. You can also follow her on Twitter @Nancy Baker.
