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APRIL 2015 PRO INSTALLER
PRO NEWS
www.proinstaller.co.uk
Sarah Ball, Communications Director at PR and
marketing specialists in glazing and construction,
Balls2 Marketing, focuses on Facebook for her
second Social Media column in Pro Installer.
Facebook for business
Facebook is a great
place to do business.
It’s another way to engage with customers
and potential customers.
People who use Facebook can check you out,
and see whether they like
what you do. It’s free and
really straightforward to
set up a company page.
You will need a personal
page so if you already
have one make sure your
privacy settings are set
how you want, or set up a
personal profile with just
the basic information to
get you started.
‘It’s free and
straightforward’
1. SET UP
From your personal
page there’s a dropdown
menu at the top right,
click “Create a page.” If
you have a showroom,
trade counter or somewhere customers come
to, click local business
or place. If it’s an HQ or
internet business choose
company, organisation or
institution. If you have
multiple showrooms set
these up separately and
also create a brand page.
Then just follow the
instructions. Add in as
much detail as possible
and choose photos that
fit the boxes. You might
find it easier to upload
them from a phone
or tablet.
2. GET LIKED
You need 30 likes to
get the reporting from
Facebook, so it’s worth
getting these out of the
way first. It doesn’t matter who they are. So just
ask friends, family and
people who work with
you.
The number of ‘likes’
your page has, is linked
to the number of people
who see it. So it’s always
good to go for more.
3. POSTING
Choose how often
you’re going to post. We
suggest 2-4 times a week.
A frequently updated
wall is always good for
people checking you
out. Videos and photos
get noticed most, so use
them wherever pos sible.
Take photos or video
clips of the outside and
inside of your premises,
and if they are willing,
people who work with
you.
Testimonials are really
powerful. Take a photo of
an installation and post it
with a comment from the
customer, with their permission. Photos of jobs,
deliveries and products
are also good. The way
to test whether it’s OK
to post something is to
ask yourself if you would
say it in front of a
customer.
4. MONITORING
Keep the notifications
settings set to let you
know if anything is posted to the page. Because
it’s easy to use, people
will like, share and post
comments. If it’s a good
comment, the sooner you
can say thank you, the
better. If it’s a customer
that you need to deal
with because something’s
gone wrong, do it. Pick
up the phone and resolve
the issue. Then when
you’ve sorted it reply:
We have just done this, is
everything OK now? This
gives them the opportunity to say something good
about you.
If it’s something that’s
not appropriate you can
hide comments.
5. BOOSTING POSTS
Facebook is a great way
to get noticed by potential customers. People
trust their Facebook wall,
and they can check you
out first. Boosting posts
means paying to have
your message delivered to
their wall. First choose a
post, or create a Facebook
advert, and then you can
decide on your audience.
You can select the location and even the jobs or
interests of people you’d
like to see your post, then
choose an amount of
money and time you want
it to run. It’s a great way
to promote special offers,
open days and product
information.
www.facebook.com/
Balls2Marketing
Company presents its biggest
ever charity cheque
The team at industry-leading PVCu
giant, The VEKA UK Group, were delighted to present The Royal British
Legion with a cheque for £5100, the
largest amount the company has
raised in a six-month period.
Each year, the company chooses two charities to focus on for a six-month period each.
In the second half of 2014, all fundraising
activities were carried out in aid of The
British Legion.
Head of Human Resources, Gabriela Hammond, explains: “We were very proud to do
our bit for such a valuable cause, especially as 2014 marked 100 years since Britain
entered the First World War.
“We were able to raise our biggest charity
contribution to date via a number of events.
We held a sponsored golf day, Operations
Director Paul Armstrong did a sponsored
slim, we sold pin badges and wrist bands,
we had a ‘wear it red’ day, Network VEKA
held a collection at the AGM, a number of
us took part in a 5k Poppy Run, we sold
cakes, we had a Christmas jumper day
and made a charity contribution instead of
sending Christmas cards. We even fined the
managers for any reports that were submitted late.
“Everyone really pulled together to support the British Legion and we were thrilled
to be able to present a cheque for £5100.”
This year, for the first time ever, The VEKA
UK Group will be dedicating a full year’s
fundraising to a charity close to its heart:
The Encephalitis Society.
Helen Mason (Community Fundraiser for Lancashire) and Tom Norris
(Burnley British Legion) collect the cheque from The VEKA UK Team.
Online support helps
tradesmen run their
business efficiently
Saint-Gobain Glass UK
has launched SGG LIVE,
a powerful new online
tool to empower users
of its products with a
wealth of technical,
marketing and specification support.
SGG LIVE is a business
support hub designed for
Saint-Gobain Glass’ direct
purchasing customers, their
customers and architects
and specifiers. Membership
of SGG LIVE is available
via an online application
form and special invitations
have already been sent to
many with access logins to
preview.
Craig Dodsworth, Head of
Marketing for Saint-Gobain
Glass, said: “It is vital in an
industry as fast-paced as
ours that our customers all
have instant access to all
the information they need
to make decisions quickly
and run their business more
effectively.
“SGG LIVE brings together a range of tools that are
instantly available, whenever the customer wants them,
wherever the customer is,
all entirely free of charge.”
Among the resources available to SGG LIVE members
are technical assets like BIM
objects, acoustic calculations, mechanical calculation forms, performance
tables and glass processing
support as well as a range
of innovative apps. It will
also enable customers to
order samples and literature seamlessly and access
extensive digital marketing
support among many other
features.
SGG LIVE members will
also be able to request
training sessions and CPD
seminars, all of which can
be 100% tailored around
their individual needs.
Craig Dodsworth concluded: “This very versatile
and innovative resource is
another way of ensuring
that our valued customers
and partners remain at the
forefront of the industry
through providing their
customers and other supply
chain members with unrivalled support.”
For more information visit
uk.saint-gobain-glass.com