How I Do It: Building A Social Media Brand

Social media is ubiquitous at this point and there are always new platforms rising and falling. You might think it’s not worth investing your time in your social media brand with things constantly changing. Or you might have tried social media branding on some platforms like Facebook but haven’t had the time to make a concentrated effort.

Check out what some other landscaping companies have to say about the process and their advice on the matter.

“For any landscaping company looking to strengthen their social media presence, I would stress the importance of not getting discouraged,” says Candice Keating, director of marketing & communications for LandCare, based in Frederick, Maryland. “It takes time, consistency, and a dedicated team to build a strong brand on social media.”

What Platforms to Focus On

What your goal is and the audience you’re trying to reach will often help determine which social media platform will work the best for you.

“Our goal is to use those platforms which will provide the best connection to the audience(s) we are trying to reach,” Keating says. “Our team is truly in tune with the unique structure of each platform. For example, Instagram is extremely visual, so we understand that messages shared on this platform need an eye-catching photo and a shorter caption, or post, to accompany it. 

Mike Haynes, president of LOVING, based in Gastonia, North Carolina, says he’s big on mastering one thing before moving on to three or four. However, they’ve learned with social media, while the content is consumed differently, it’s often the same content. 

“Obviously you’re not going to put a graphic on TikTok just like you’re probably not going to put a graphic on YouTube,” Haynes says. “So, I think understanding what platform is what, we have kept the focus on what are the platforms and what are we trying to get out of it.”

Jacqueline and Abbigail Stuebs, co-founders of JAR Landscaping, LLC based in Athens, Illinois, say they have been focusing on Instagram as they’ve found it is a great place to connect with other industry professionals and businesses.

“We do have a YouTube channel, which we originally started so we could personally document our growth, but we quickly found that others enjoyed the videos and we thought it was a great platform for sharing our personal tips and tricks, while also showing our work,” says Jacqueline Stuebs. “Facebook has been our primary platform for advertising to our local community and it’s been a great way to communicate with our existing clients.”

Keys to Success

LandCare started including social media in their marketing efforts in 2015 after their rebrand while JAR Landscaping actively began using social media platforms in 2018.

Haynes says they decided to focus on social media when they wanted to improve their branding and make it clear what their company is about. No matter when or why you decide to start social media branding, the important thing is starting.

“Start where you are,” Haynes says. “I think all too often things are made too complicated. For us, I have organizations that I look up to. It doesn’t mean that we copy everything that they do, it simply means that they give us vision. They give us ideas.”

Make sure you are intentional and consistent with your postings. Make sure the posts are aligned with your goals and you are posting regularly.

“Consistency separates winners from wannabes,” he says. “Social media looks really, really easy on the surface, but it’s a pretty complex game.”

LOVING plans out the upcoming month’s post and what they want to focus on such as a client spotlight or a hardworking team member. They encourage their team to send in stuff randomly as well so they can share spontaneous posts.

“We want to have agility,” Haynes says. “We want to schedule, but then we also want to make sure we’re in the moment. So, we do a monthly schedule. Time is the biggest thing that allows the creative juices to flow. Saying ‘hey, I want you to be super creative, make sure you get it to me by five’ doesn’t work. So, if we can give the creative side the vision where there’s a month or so to plan, we think the quality of the content that comes out is much greater.”  

JAR Landscaping opts to schedule content during the off-season and during the work season, they take it day by day.

“Oftentimes, the posts on Instagram are spontaneous pictures we took while out and about or on the jobsite,” says Abbigail Stuebs. “We like to keep everything authentic and genuine. For YouTube, we will take notes of what type of content we want to create, but normally it is just what is happening that day.”

Both Haynes and the Stuebs sisters stress the importance of being authentic, as often people can see through posts that are insincere.

“Don’t overthink it and don’t try being similar to everyone else,” says Jacqueline Stuebs. “What works for one person or business, may not work for you. We think staying as genuine and as real as possible is the key to creating a strong social media brand. It is okay to be different. Just stay true to yourself, and don’t lose track of your goals and your purpose. And always remember that you can accomplish anything you set your mind to.”