Social Media for Tradesmen: What Actually Brings in Work

Most advice about social media for tradesmen is written by people who sell social media. Post every day, film reels, build a brand. Meanwhile you're on a roof in the rain and the last thing you want at 8pm is to think of something witty to say about guttering.

Here's the honest version. Social media rarely brings in the emergency call: when someone's boiler dies, they search Google. What it does do, if you use it properly, is win you jobs through local word of mouth, reassure people who are checking you out, and keep past customers remembering your name. That's worth a little effort. It isn't worth hours a week.

What social media does and doesn't do for a trade

That second column matters. A Facebook page someone can only find if they already know your name isn't a marketing plan. It's one useful piece of one. The searches that bring in steady work happen on Google, which is why I'd always set up your Google Business Profile before worrying about Instagram.

Facebook for tradesmen: the one most worth doing

If you only do one platform, make it Facebook. Not because your page will go viral, but because Facebook is where local word of mouth happens in a lot of the UK. Village groups, estate groups, "Sheffield recommendations" type groups. People ask, neighbours answer, and the same few names come up again and again.

A Facebook business page does three useful things here:

• When someone tags you in a group, there's a proper page for people to land on, with your reviews, photos and number.
• When someone looks you up before ringing, they see a business that's real and active.
• Customers can leave recommendations, which are another form of social proof.

Use a business page rather than your personal profile. It keeps your family photos away from customers, it gives you business features like a call button and messages, and it's free.

How to set up a Facebook business page properly

Facebook moves its menus around every so often, but the steps to set up a business page have stayed roughly the same. You'll need a personal Facebook account to create it; the page itself is separate.

1. Create the page

   In the Facebook app or website, open the menu, go to Pages and choose to create a new page. Use your real trading name, exactly as it is on your van and your Google profile.

2. Pick the right category

   Choose the closest match to your trade: Plumber, Electrician, Roofing service, and so on. You can add more than one.

3. Write a bio that says what and where

   "Gas Safe plumber covering Rotherham, Maltby and Wath. Boiler repairs, servicing and bathrooms." Plain words beat slogans.

4. Add your contact details

   Same phone number and email as everywhere else. If you work from home, you don't have to show your address; add the areas you cover instead.

5. Add a profile picture and cover photo

   Your logo or a clear photo of you for the profile picture. For the cover, your van or a good finished job. Not a stock photo of someone else's kitchen.

6. Add a button

   Set the main button to "Call now" or "Send message", whichever you'll actually respond to faster.

7. Post a few jobs before you invite anyone

   Three or four before-and-after posts, so the page doesn't look empty when people first visit.

8. Invite people and ask past customers for recommendations

   Invite friends and family to like it, then send past customers the link and ask if they'd recommend you. Same principle as Google reviews: ask while the job's fresh.

Then link the page from your website and your Google profile, so people can move between them.

Facebook groups for local work

This is where most of the actual jobs from social media come from. "Can anyone recommend a decent roofer in Chapeltown?" gets a dozen replies within the hour, and the person asking often rings the name that comes up most.

How to do well in local groups without being the bloke everyone mutes:

• Read the rules first. Many local groups ban adverts, or only allow business posts on one day a week. Break the rules and the admin removes you, and admins talk to each other.
• Join as yourself. Most groups let you take part as a person. Be a neighbour who happens to be a plumber, not a plumbing company shouting.
• Be helpful when it's not a sale. Answer the odd "is this normal?" question about a dripping overflow or a tripping fuse box. It builds more trust than ten adverts.
• Ask happy customers to tag you. "If anyone in the village group ever asks for a sparky, I'd be grateful if you mentioned me." A tag from a real customer beats anything you could post.
• Respond fast. When you're tagged, reply quickly and politely, with your number. The first decent reply often gets the job.
• Never argue. Not about prices, not about another trade's work, not about anything. Screenshots last forever.
• Don't fake it. Getting your mates to recommend you under fake names gets noticed, and in a local group it'll follow you around.

Instagram for tradesmen: worth it for some trades

Instagram is a photo and video app, so it suits trades where the finished job looks good: kitchens, bathrooms, landscaping, driveways, joinery, plastering, roofing. It's much less useful for a plumber whose best work is a new valve under the floorboards.

If your work is visual, it's worth having:

• Switch to a professional account. It's free, and it gives you a contact button and basic stats.
• Post before and afters. Same angle, good light. That's the whole content plan.
• Use the location. Tag the town (not the customer's address) so local people searching the area can find your work.
• Use highlights for each service. "Kitchens", "Bathrooms", "Reviews". People who find you can browse the type of job they want.
• Short videos of the process. A 20-second clip of a roof going from stripped to tiled is genuinely interesting to people. Nobody needs you to dance.

Don't expect Instagram to make the phone ring on its own. Expect it to be where someone goes after a friend says "look him up, he did our kitchen".

Social media for builders

Builders have an advantage most trades don't: long jobs with a visible story. An extension goes from a muddy hole to a finished kitchen over a few months, and people love watching that.

• Post progress updates on bigger jobs (with the customer's permission, and nothing that shows their house number or security details).
• Time-lapses of a day's work are easy to film on a phone propped on a sack of sand.
• Show the stuff customers worry about: tidy sites, protected floors, skips that don't block the road.
• Tag suppliers, architects and other trades on the job. It's free reach to people who already work in your area.

Builders also find social media useful for recruitment. A page showing tidy, well-run jobs attracts better labourers and subbies than any job advert.

Social media marketing for plumbers and electricians

Plumbers and electricians have less glamorous photos, so lean on usefulness instead:

• Seasonal reminders. "Boiler service before the cold snap" in September. "Check your outside tap's lagged" before the first frost.
• Quick tips. How to repressurise a combi, where the stopcock usually is, what to do when the RCD trips. People share these, and remember who posted them.
• Proof of standards. A tidy consumer unit, labelled properly. Other electricians notice, and so do customers who've seen a messy one.
• Reviews. Share a screenshot of a nice Google review now and then, with thanks.

The useful posts do double duty: they also make good short pages on your website, where Google can find them.

Nextdoor, TikTok and LinkedIn: quick verdicts

• Nextdoor. Worth ten minutes. It's a neighbourhood app where people ask for recommendations, and Nextdoor offers a free business page. Busier in some areas than others.
• TikTok. Some trades have built big followings, but most of the viewers are nowhere near your patch. Good for building a name and hiring; rarely a direct route to local jobs.
• LinkedIn. Mostly useful if you want commercial work: facilities managers, letting agents, main contractors. Not much use for homeowners.

A routine that takes about ten minutes a week

The trades who do well on social media aren't the ones posting every day. They're the ones who keep going. Here's a routine you can actually stick to:

1. Take a before and after on every job

   Thirty seconds on the phone you're already holding. Same angle, decent light.

2. Post one finished job a week

   The photos, the town, one line about what you did. "New flat roof in Hoyland, old felt stripped and replaced with EPDM. Dry for good."

3. Check messages and tags every day

   Two minutes at lunch. A message answered next week is a job lost.

4. Ask one customer a week for a review or recommendation

   Google first, Facebook second. My guide on how to get Google reviews has the wording.

That's it. No content calendar, no hashtag research, no agency.

Should you pay for Facebook ads?

Sometimes. Facebook ads show to people who weren't looking for you, which makes them a poor fit for emergencies and a better fit for visual, planned work: kitchens, bathrooms, driveways, garden rooms. A good before-and-after shown to homeowners in your area can bring in enquiries for jobs people hadn't got round to booking.

Start small, aim them at a tight area, and send people somewhere they can see more of your work and ring you. If you're weighing that against search ads, my guide to Google Ads for tradesmen covers the costs and set-up.

Mistakes to avoid

• Buying followers. 5,000 followers on the other side of the world won't book a boiler service in Barnsley.
• Only posting offers. "10% off this week!" every week trains people to wait for the discount.
• Ignoring messages. An unanswered message looks worse than no page at all.
• Different details everywhere. Use the same name and number on Facebook, Instagram, Google and your website.
• Posting customers' homes without asking. Always ask, and never show house numbers, cars on drives or anything that helps a burglar.
• Relying on it completely. Facebook can restrict or lose your page, and you can't do much about it. Don't build your whole business on a platform you don't control.

Social media for tradesmen: common questions

Is Facebook still worth it for tradesmen?

Yes, mainly for local groups and for looking legitimate when people check you out. Keep the page tidy and active, and put most of your effort into being recommended in groups.

Do I need a website if I have a Facebook page?

For most trades, yes. A Facebook page doesn't rank well on Google for "plumber in [town]", and you don't control it. I've written a straight answer in do I need a website for my business, including the cases where you don't.

How often should a tradesman post on social media?

Once a week is plenty, as long as you keep it up. Consistency beats volume.

Which social media is best for builders?

Facebook for local recommendations, Instagram for showing finished work. If you do commercial work, add LinkedIn.

Can social media replace Checkatrade or other lead sites?

Not on its own, but local group recommendations are free and often turn into better customers than paid leads. Combine them with Google and you need the paid sites a lot less. My list of free advertising for tradesmen covers the other free options.

The bottom line

Social media is a supporting act for a trade business, not the headline. Facebook groups, a tidy page and a weekly job photo will do more for you than any amount of daily posting. The headline is still being found on Google (that's what my Local SEO for tradesmen service is for), and having a website that turns that search into a call.

That's where I come in. I build websites for tradesmen for a one-off £497, and I'll design your homepage before you pay a penny. If you'd like to see what yours could look like, ask for a free mockup. And if you want the full picture of where enquiries come from, read my lead generation guide for tradesmen.