This month’s Roofing Contractor explores technology as it applies to your roofing business. For years roofing contractors have employed the use of various technologies to make their operations more efficient. From the office to interfacing with suppliers and customers, to improving field operations; roofing contractors have adopted new technologies on every front.

The emergence of social media created quite a stir a few years ago, primarily as a way of communicating with an audience of existing or potential customers. Since then, reputation management has become extremely important as information about contractors is now crowdsourced on websites focused on home-improvement contractors. Online reviews are not restricted to the consumer segment, as many businesses engage product reviews before moving forward with new products or suppliers.

Roofing contractors who adopted the use of social media have enjoyed a great deal of success in managing this new-age “word-of-mouth” marketing. The primary focus of their efforts has been developing and maintaining customers. These days, however, finding roofing jobs is less of an issue than finding the workforce to execute them.

Using Social Media to Attract Workers?

This may be a great untapped resource for roofing contractors, but it will only be impactful if you know who your target is and where they spend their time online. This should include the persons/groups who influence them. In other words, it’s time to focus on your potential new hires as if they were a potential customer. 

This isn’t the same as customer marketing. This is workforce marketing. This social media platform should speak directly to the great opportunities that exist in the roofing industry and in your company. It should be an active and important part of your roofing business. And don’t settle for adding a line to your existing website. Create a new social-media presence and put it on the platforms your workers and potential workers use, and in the language they use.

Many of you have done a great job running your social media campaigns in-house, and many have hired firms to handle it for you. Whether you do it yourself or not, you need to develop a profile of the individuals you seek to target in your search.

It’s always been my experience that great roofers hang out with other people who are, or could be, great roofers. They’re a great source for referrals, and they’ll know which social media is used in their circle of influence. And don’t get the idea that roofers or workers you would like to employ don’t use social media. They’re all over it, and the influencers in their lives are all over it.

So, how many of your roofers follow you on social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook? If they aren’t online with you now, they won’t be sharing you with their friends and acquaintances online, so take the time to speak with them about it and invite them to join you.

Having members of your team sharing how great it is to work for your roofing company is bound to be, as Martha would say, “…a good thing.”