5 Social Media Tricks That Work for PDR and SMART Businesses

• Marketing Mindset
• Show, Don’t Tell
• Re-target
• Respond
• Research Competition
• Stories and Case Studies

This is not another “how to do social media – 101” blog post. Social media marketing for businesses is nothing new. Even if you are currently doing social media marketing for your business, there are always a few tips or tricks to improve. Plus, there are a few ideas you can learn from other professionals. That’s what this post is all about. 

Even with the immediacy of your content getting “posted” instantly on social media, results don’t happen overnight. It takes building a reputation, or rather, a “following” to establish yourself as a relevant source on these various networks. 

Approach your social media marketing with the right mindset

When business people think marketing, they wonder, how do I get my brand in front of everybody so that they will want to use my company? With an on-demand service like PDR, you can’t simply market to everybody, including people who do not need dent repair, and suddenly make them want to buy PDR. Instead, you need to figure out how to market to the smaller pool of customers who are currently in need of your services. Just think about how you search for on-demand services you use like a plumber, an electrician, or even a lawyer? That is how people will be finding you. 

The key is to be the company you want to be when you do get found by someone in need. How do you determine if a service provider is worthy of your business? What do you expect to see on their social media feeds? Whether you’re a hail chaser, a tech at a shop, or a SMART business owner, establishing yourself as a knowledgeable and trustworthy source online is the key to success. Doing so on social media platforms will help you reach new customers, boost your online presence, and improve your engagement rate. 

We looked for social media tricks that work for people working in the PDR and SMART repair industries. Check out what we found: 

1) Show People What You Do, Don’t Tell Them 

Dent repair is a pretty visual subject, wouldn’t you agree? Pictures speak volumes, and social media is more of a visual platform than a text-based content platform like a blog. It is easy to get into the weeds during the day and forget to take before and after photos. But a constant steady stream of completed work shows you are busy, and busy implies in demand, which means quality work. Within seconds of going on your page, a customer will already know if they want to contact you for your services. This is based on how you present yourself online, which comes down to the visual content. Your social media pages are a representation of your brand and what you offer professionally. Any business can talk big about what they do, but if they don’t show it, it’ll be hard to earn a customer’s trust. 

Some examples are what you can show are: 

• Previous repair work 
• Your team 
• Before and after photos 
• Products or systems you use in the repair process (for example, paint brands, specialized tools, chemicals, coatings, or even business systems like ReconPro or MTRX). 

You want to have a variety of posts showing the different services you offer, which allows people to see you’re a knowledgeable, in-demand, reputable business. 

2) Better Advertising 

Targeting is good, re-targeting is even better. When businesses spend money on ads, they often neglect to spend money on re-targeting. How many times have you checked out a company, then moved on to something else and forgotten about them? Retargeting will fix that. Once they have visited you online, you can have your ads show up over and over for a period of time. This is called re-targeting, and it is very effective, especially for the short attention span we all have today. 

Targeting ads on Facebook allows you to target broadly by region, age, interests, demographics, and even job title. It’s helpful to build and test a Facebook ads program that you can quickly deploy during hail season so you can target the affected areas. These people will require PDR or other SMART-related repairs, and you can be there to help. Unfortunately, there is no way to target specific people needing paintless dent repair. But you can re-target those that have visited your social pages and even your website. 

You can also do targeted advertising on Instagram by sponsoring your posts. These sponsored posts will appear as Instagram stories and posts that can direct people to your page or your website, depending on what you choose. 

3) Interaction With Immediacy  

When customers comment or ask a question on social media, there’s an unwritten rule stating a business should always respond. A 2018 Clutch Consumer Survey showed that 83% of customers think a company should respond to them within 24 hours or less. Acknowledging and responding to a customer’s question or comment helps them to form a relationship and build trust with you. This interaction is also the perfect opportunity to educate customers about the repair services you offer and the work you’ve done. 

4) Check Out Your Competitors 

One of the best parts of social media is the ability to see what your competitors are up to without them knowing. You can easily do this by seeing what they’re posting, how they respond to customers and their overall performance with how often their posts receive engagement. With so many SMART repair businesses and PDR techs out there, how does your brand presence compare or differ? Your competition may have a technique you’ve never thought of that you can turn around and work for your business individually. 

5) Make Case Studies From Customer Repairs and Reviews 

What better way to boost your social media following than by highlighting past repairs and reviews? Getting a great review is always beneficial. But it is more educational to learn the backstory of what happened, how you went about the repair process, and how the customer picked you over your competitors. Perhaps someone was stuck at work during a freak hailstorm and ended up getting tons of dents on their car from the hail. They didn’t know what to do or where to go, so they researched “hail dent repair near me.” Your business’s Facebook page came up, showcasing repairs of similar experiences. The customer saw you had tons of experience and liked seeing photos of the tools for the repair. They gave you a call, and you answered. 

As you do repairs of unique customer situations, take a few moments to ask your customer a few questions about their decision-making process. Ask them why they picked you and for permission to share the story on your social media. Bonus if they will give you a quick testimonial on the spot with a video you can quickly shoot and upload on your mobile device.

This is what digital marketing on social media is all about. When you provide real examples, it’s easier for a customer to believe a business or individual. Especially when it comes to any repair service. 

There are several other ways SMART business owners and PDR techs can use social media to boost their business. It’s all about finding what works for you and connecting with your desired audience by showing them why they should choose you.