5 Ways to Grow Your Solar Business with Facebook

The solar industry faces some unique challenges, which means effective marketing is more important than ever. Increased equipment costs caused by the recently imposed tariff, combined with fierce industry competition, makes snagging new customers increasingly difficult. Luckily, you can give your company an edge by using Facebook. You need a Facebook strategy that can produce results without requiring hours of your precious time. You can get these results by taking five simple steps on your Facebook page.

1. Interesting Posts: Of course, you want to post, with permission, pictures of your happy clients and their homes and businesses. After all, you want to make sales and providing examples of your work is essential for a successful Facebook page. But constantly trying to sell something can turn off your followers. You need to work on posting fun and interesting material as well. It shouldn't be puppies and kittens all the time, but give your followers links to local stories and don't be afraid to provide a little (non-offensive) humor. Your Facebook page should be entertaining as well as informative. 

2. Getting Likes: Following the first step makes this step much easier. When someone likes your Facebook content, it means they are actively engaged, which is your goal. If people skim and leave, you have probably had little or no effect on them. Even likes on those puppy posts can help create a positive impression in the minds of potential clients. Invite people to like your content. Respond to their likes by posting more of the same type of content. Likes equal potential sales. 

3. Facebook Contests: One way to increase your Facebook likes is to hold a Facebook contest, which is easy to do. You can offer a prize and then invite people to like the post to earn an entry. People who enter will often have that entry post on their own page, attracting more entrants for your contest.

For your solar business, you could offer a discount on services, but you get be more creative and give away some trendy, popular prize, like the latest tablet or iPhone. After the contest ends, people will keep coming back looking for the next one.

4. Cross-Promote: You can drive Facebook traffic by cross-promoting your page on your other social media accounts. If you haven't developed Twitter or Instagram accounts yet, you can post a link on your web page. Make sure the link leads to a particularly fascinating Facebook post. If you send out emails or even flyers via snail mail, include a reference to a discount that can only be found on your Facebook page.

5. Add Video: While most people associate videos with YouTube, Facebook videos also routinely go viral. For your solar business, it's fine to post videos particular jobs you've done. But you should not stop there.

Videos can be a great way to increase engagement on Facebook.

Instead, broaden your horizons by taking video during community events. If you are participating in the Homecoming parade, take a short video highlighting your float and the local marching band. In fact, you can easily use Facebook Live to share videos in real time—giving people stuck at home the chance to "be there" too. You can use your own phone to take these videos. The entire process takes little time, and soon your page will be the place to go for special local content.

Using your Facebook page to effectively grow your solar business doesn't require much time, especially if you share the duty with a trusted employee or partner. Do directly promote your business, but remember to make your page fun and entertaining. Everyone likes to do business with friendly companies that are invested in their community.