Social media instead of newspapers: That's how you do marketing in the skilled crafts industry!
1/10/2024 Experts Know-how HOLZ-HANDWERK

Social media instead of newspapers: That's how you do marketing in the skilled crafts industry!

The value of professional social media activities for marketing skilled crafts enterprises is evident from a number of different perspectives

The value of professional social media activities for marketing skilled crafts enterprises is evident from a number of different perspectives. Social media can be used to win new customers and engage in dialogues with your target groups. Information can be distributed quickly and precisely. You can reach young skilled craftspeople wherever they happen to be. In fact, well-managed social media activities are the best way to attract young people and vocational trainees.

Social media = advertising, communication, information, and active dialog

If your company cultivates a presence on widely used social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, or TikTok, you can communicate information, added value, and service offerings to a large group of potential customers in a targeted manner 24 hours a day.

You should ensure that the topics you introduce, inform your audience about, and discuss with followers and interested people are thematically relevant. You can maximize the beneficial impact of your company’s social media activities by pursuing carefully thought-out communications and content strategies and conducting targeted advertising measures.

You should ask yourself the following questions:

• Which social media platforms are relevant for my skilled crafts business?
• How can I measure the success of my social media activities?
• How quickly will the time and money I invest in my social media activities pay off?
• Who in my business should be responsible for social media activities, producing and coordinating content, and managing contacts with followers?

Social media communication can bring in new customers!

According to the “Digital 2022” report from the U.S. advertising agency “We are social,” social media platforms currently rank third when it comes to targeted searches for services and products, after search engines and comparison platforms, and their importance continues to grow. For this reason alone, a professionally managed social media presence should be a top priority in your company’s marketing strategy, right after your own Web site. Above all, your marketing activities should produce a lasting, sustainable effect.

You can also use social media to attract vocational trainees and ensure the future of your company!
Young people over a certain age also use social media for their school activities, general advice, and guidance for their futures – and more specifically, to find vocational trainee positions. A study conducted by the Competence Centre for Securing Skilled Labor (known by its German acronym KOFA) found that young people mainly use the platforms Instagram and YouTube for this purpose, which together account for about 44 percent, followed by TikTok at just less than six percent. This means that about 50 percent of young people use these three social media channels for vocational trainee recruiting.

While TikTok is indeed comparable with Instagram, the main difference is that young people shoot brief videos of up to three minutes in length instead of photographs. Some skilled craftspeople successfully use this platform for marketing and showcasing their work. TikTok is heavily used by young people. However, the comments posted in their accounts suggest that even older, more experienced colleagues are paying attention and sharing their content.

How to find skilled workers in tough times

In addition to comprehensive portals like YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook, professional job exchanges and online portals for employee recommendations are also among the most important networks used to successfully find new employees.

The KOFA recommends that employers using social networks and online job exchanges to find skilled workers and vocational trainees follow these five steps:

1. Formulate your objectives
2. Identify the target group(s)
3. Create a company profile
4. Post appealing content
5. Establish and cultivate a digital network

The PRACTICAL GUIDE TO DIGITIZATION Forum at the FENSTERBAU FRONTALE + HOLZHANDWERK 2024 exhibition will feature interviews with experts and experienced businesspeople. They’ll teach you how to use social media as a modern way to successfully conduct the marketing activities described here, as well as other marketing activities to promote your business.

For information on all the practical interviews and discussions, including times and information on participants, consult the event schedule for the PRACTICAL GUIDE TO DIGITIZATION Forum that will be held from 19 to 22 March 2024.

Author

Portrait of Jasmin McNally

Jasmin McNally

Public Relations HOLZ-HANDWERK