The Importance of Social Media in the Remodeling Industry

Why is social media important for the remodeling industry?

At Areté, we have two sides – design and remodeling. Interior design seems to take precedence when it comes to social media because people want to see the finished product more so than the remodeling process. Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest have really popularized interior designers and other creators that specialize in home design, and many people turn to those platforms for resources that will help them design their own homes. However, showcasing the remodeling side of projects can be just as fun as the interior design side. I try to do a good mix of both with our Instagram and Facebook pages.

Our main goal is to build a brand that’s identifiable within the Chicago market. It’s working because people are starting to recognize our logo, and we see people refer to photos on our website or Instagram page. We’re getting more clientele because they see our work on our social media channels.

Social Media Apps

What makes branding so important?

It’s important for clients to recognize your brand. You want to be consistent with your company’s logo, colors, fonts, slogans, and profile photos across all your social media channels. Scheduling posts also has a lot to do with brand awareness. When you are consistent with a schedule, your audience becomes familiar with seeing your posts and anticipate them. You want to be recognized and desired – that’s what branding is all about.

Areté’s branding is also reflected throughout our website. We like to use our social media posts to bring people back to our website. You want a post to tease the audience with a bit of information and have them click on a link back to your website to get the rest of the information and photos. It drives more traffic to our website where a potential client can click around and learn more about Areté, what types of projects we take on, and the different suppliers we have used. It also increases their chances of sending an inquiry.

How can social media be a powerful tool for advertising?

Areté utilizes Facebook ads more than GoogleAds as our primary source of social media advertisement, but both are great advertising tools. I found Facebook ads have greatly improved our lead generation and website traffic. However, a big part of being successful with Facebook ads is being able to budget properly and allocate enough resources into your ads to make people stop scrolling, click on your post to learn more, and take them back to your website.

Compared to Instagram or TikTok, Areté has found Facebook has more of the target audience we’re seeking, which is a luxury clientele. Currently, our audience for most of our Facebook ads is split between men and women who are aged between 45-55. Facebook ads help us pinpoint our demographic living in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs like Highland Park and Winnetka.

Is a company’s website just as important as any other social media?

Absolutely. If your website isn’t reflective of your business and the ideal outlook of your business, it’s a big setback for your company. Your social media can look beautiful and informative, but if a potential client clicks on a link back to your site that loads slowly, has few updated photos, and reads poorly – that’s a big turnoff, especially if you’re going to target a luxury clientele.

Social Media Kitchen Remodel

When trying to gain a social media following, what can a company do immediately to start that process?

Something easy and fast a company can do is get on a schedule with your content. Posting frequently on your social media pages around the same time each day shows that a company is up to date with trends and cares about showcasing its work to its followers. Social media algorithms thrive off of consistency, so maintaining a content calendar is key.

Other ways to gain a consistent social media following are by interacting with your followers, building a local community of connections, and receiving inspiration from other creators within your niche. If you see something is working for a creator that you look up to, study their strategy and try to mimic the same trends they use. You can also use trending audios with short video clips to push your content out to an even further audience. Social media trends move very quickly, so it’s important you stay up to date on what’s new so your followers enjoy your content.

What kind of trends do you see in social media for home remodeling?

Currently, video advertisements are really, really popular – and very effective. I think a lot of that has to do with the influence Tik Tok has brought to the social media industry. Something I’ve noticed with Instagram Reels and Facebook Watch now is that videos are getting shorter and shorter. Currently, the sweet spot for the length of a video on Tik Tok is around seven seconds or less – just because people have short attention spans and want to learn information quickly so they can move on to the next thing. If you don’t catch the consumer’s attention right away, they’ll just continue to scroll on by.

How important is using hashtags on social media posts?

Hashtag strategy is very important in the social media industry. Areté follows certain hashtags on our Instagram page, which makes it easier for us to view content that utilizes those hashtags. When you add hashtags and certain keywords to your posts, it’s more likely those posts will be pushed out to other pages following those specific hashtags, as well. It’s a great way to grow an audience.

It also falls in line with following creators who are in your niche. You see the ideas they are posting, and you may see yourself putting your own spin on it with your own projects. It’s good to keep up with your industry through hashtags. Audiences also use it as a search tool. If someone were to look up #Chicagoremodeling, they could very easily find one of Areté’s posts or videos.

Arete Instagram

What are Areté’s social media goals for this year?

We’re working on being an online educational tool for other professionals within our niche. We want to start making more informative posts about supply chain issues, pricing, interior design trends, and other topics that people we work with take an interest in. We are constantly looking for realtors, architects, and interior designers to connect with for referrals, and if these people look to our content as a reputable educational tool they can use, we could gain their trust and their business. I think social media is a fantastic tool to make those connections.

How important is Pinterest to the remodeling industry?

With interior design, Pinterest is huge. Interior designers love when clients come in with a mood board they created because it typically makes their decision-making process much easier. We currently don’t stay up to date on Pinterest as much as we should as a company, but our interior designers use it individually as a resource all of the time.

How important are sending out Electronic Newsletters?

They are very important when it comes to brand awareness and growing your circle of business. Areté sends out a monthly E-Newsletter to past clients, other contractors, interior designers, and likewise people in the remodeling world. It normally spotlights a recent project, features a testimonial, and gives updates on industry news in our area. You can really make it anything you want, and it does not have to be too long either. We prefer to keep ours around one to two pages.

Monthly E-Newsletters are a simple way of elevating your direct marketing. You can find templates online and fill them with any information you’d like. They allow you to directly reach clients you’ve worked with in the past, other professionals in the industry, and new clients. It’s just another great way to get your company’s name to pop up on someone’s phone screen and stay connected to your clientele.

Arete’ Renovators has been building and remodeling homes and condos in the Chicago area since 2002. Call us at 773-610-4551 to discuss your remodeling ideas.