5 Ways to Engage Plumbing Customers On Instagram

Like all service providers, plumbers can benefit greatly from using Instagram to market their services. However, unlike many other popular social networking platforms, Instagram requires visual content for every post users makes.  

You can caption each one, but you'll be limited to using only those brief descriptions. This means that attracting an audience on Instagram can be difficult at first because what works on other platforms rarely works on Instagram. How do you create visually dynamic content for your plumbing company?

Fortunately, our experts on SEO for plumbing companies have five surefire strategies you can use to engage your customers on Instagram.

Are you ready to find out what they are? Let's get started!

1. Leverage Instagram's Geotargeting Features

As a plumber, you know better than anyone how important it is to serve the people in your area. After all, you can't service customers in New York City if your business is based in Miami.

Therefore, it is essential to utilize Instagram's geotargeting features. By using Instagram's geotargeting capabilities, you can market to nearby individuals.

To do this, you'll need to let Instagram use your Wi-Fi signal or the GPS on your phone to figure out where you are. Once you do that, the platform will know where you are posting from automatically.

After that, you can set the tags you want to use by clicking the "Add Location" button on the "New Post" screen, which you can do after you've finished the first step. When you finish this step, people who live close to your tag will find your content easier. There are geotags for the following:

• Individual businesses
• States
• Cities, towns, villages, or counties
• Neighborhoods

Most of the time, the last two will be the most useful for plumbing businesses, but the state tags might come in handy depending on how far you're willing to go when someone calls.

Do some experiments with a few of them, and then look at the results to see which one worked best.

2. Turn Your IG Stories Into Highlights

Instagram Stories are a popular feature of the app because they let people make posts that look like collections and disappear after 24 hours. This is great because it gives you an alternative to your main feed where you can post more casual and relaxed content.

Many businesses are turning to Instagram Stories to show their customers what it's like to work there. However, using your Story content as a marketing tool for longer than 24 hours is better. This is an excellent use for the Highlight feature.

In your "Highlights," you can find old IG Stories that you think are particularly important.

To add an old IG Story to your Highlights, simply go to your profile page, and tap the menu icon in the upper left corner.

Select "Archive."  

In the upper center, click "Stories Archive" and look for the story you want to add to your Highlight.

Click the lower left corner icon that says "Highlight."

Then, simply click the "New" icon to create a new album in which to post the Story you've chosen as a Highlight. You can give your Highlight album a name but remember that you can only use 15 characters.

When finished, your Highlight album will be displayed in a special section just below your name.

If you do this with an already-posted Story, people will be able to view it after the initial 24 hours have passed.

3. Use Stickers In Instagram Stories

Stickers on Instagram can be used for more than just decorative purposes. They can also be used to encourage engagement between you and your followers, thus drawing them closer to your brand.

Once you've added at least one photo to your story, you'll see the sticker option under the happy face icon in the Stories menu.

There are many helpful ones, but some of the most important ones for plumbers are:

• Question stickers: Using this sticker allows you to pose a question to your followers and invite them to respond.
• Poll stickers: This sticker encourages your followers to choose between two options and display the results once they've responded. ‍
• Quiz stickers: This sticker allows you to test your followers' knowledge with a short multiple-choice test. You can also use them in the same way poll stickers are used for questions requiring more than two responses.

However, you don't want to overuse these tools. Remember to avoid attaching them to every post that you create. Consider which Stories you've posted will produce the most discussion from your audience.

If you keep track of how many people react to your stickers each time you use them, you'll have a better idea of when and where you should include them in the future.

4. Post More Videos And Reels

Even though the main point of Instagram is to share photos, it can also be used to share videos.

Video posts get 38% more interaction than photo posts, which is exactly what you're looking for. On top of that, the Instagram Reels feature gets 67% more engagement than standard Instagram videos.  

This means that video content is crucial if you want to attract customers to your plumbing company. If you haven't made many videos before, don't worry about coming up with content.

On some parts of the site, you can post videos that last up to an hour, but most of them are between 15 and 60 seconds long. On the other hand, Instagram Reels can be up to 90 seconds long.

With Reels, you can record and edit together music-accompanied video and photo clips, then share them on their Feed, Stories, and the Reels explore page.

Short Instagram videos and Reels are equally as effective as longer videos in attracting followers.

Don't know where to begin? Here are some ideas for videos about plumbing:

• Show your audience what you can do by revealing a typical day in the life of a plumber.
• Use any available drain or sewer cameras to record and share videos that the public would never see otherwise.
• Show how the object in a photograph (such as pipes, valves, fittings, etc.) looks from different angles or while it is in use.

5. Target Instagram Likes and Saves

Engaging content is great, but content that keeps your followers interested over and over is excellent. Instagram lets users bookmark posts so they can view their favorite photos and videos whenever they like.

With an Instagram business profile, you can access analytics in real-time. You know how your posts and ads perform best. As a bonus, you will learn how your audience responds to the content you share with them.

Having an Instagram post saved is an excellent indicator of your plumbing customers' interest in your business, and it will help you reach more people with your messages.

Do everything you can to make this happen often. Here are some things that could lead to more IG likes and saves:

• Take some pictures highlighting the aesthetics of plumbing and enhance them with a photo editing program to make them stand out.
• Make some informative updates that your readers can return to for further reading (think about content like an infographic showing different ways to unclog a drain).
• Take advantage of the carousel function. For example, bathroom remodeling photos could be posted on a carousel so that people can look at them all at once and share them with others who may be considering a similar project.

Start Engaging Your Plumbing Customers On Instagram

Knowing how to make your plumbing business stand out on Instagram doesn't have to be complicated. Just like SEO for plumbing companies, you need a combination of following best practices and trying new things to see what works.

With this advice, you can create posts that will pique your audience's interest and, hopefully, lead them to hire you the next time they need a plumber.

If social media isn't your strong suit, you can delegate this task to Digital Resource's digital marketing experts. We can guarantee growth not only on your Instagram account but also on other social media platforms using our tried-and-true social media marketing strategies.

Contact us today for a free consultation.