Social media posts for contractors
Post job photos to Google Business Profile, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube from the job. Dex drafts the words; the results come back per channel.
Social media for a contractor works when it shows real finished work, often, in the places customers look: the Google listing first, then Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. Combdex posts from the photos already filed to the job, Dex drafts the words from the project, and the results come back per channel, day by day, beside each post.
Why do contractors stop posting?
Not for lack of work to show. The photos are on a technician's phone, the caption needs the product name and the town, and the person who could write it is quoting the next job. Posting becomes a Friday job that slips to never, and a Google listing whose last post is from last spring looks like a business that closed.
How does a post start from the job?
The photos are already in the media hub, filed to the project and the session where they were taken. A post picks them from there:
- Open Marketing, Posts, and press New post.
- Press Add and pick the photos of the finished job.
- Type a rough idea and press Write with Dex. Dex reads the photos and the linked project and drafts the caption and the channel fields.
- Pick the channels: Google Business Profile, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube.
- Read the preview for each channel and change the words where one channel needs different words.
- Press Post now, Schedule or Add to queue.
The post stays linked to the project, so the list of posts reads like a log of the work. The full steps are in Posts and scheduling.
What goes on a Google Business Profile post?
A Google post is a standard post, an offer or an event. An offer has a title, dates, a coupon code and terms. An event has a title and dates. A standard post can carry a button link. Google shows the first photo only. The Google listing section also shows how people found the listing, on Maps or by name, the search terms that brought it up, and a heat map of the best time to post. See Google listing and reviews.
What results come back?
For each published post, per channel: likes, comments, shares, saves, clicks, views, follows, impressions, reach and the engagement rate, as a total and day by day, refreshed every hour. Comments on your posts and reviews from Google and Facebook arrive in Marketing, Reviews, with a Needs reply filter.
The camera roll, a scheduling tool, or Combdex
| Posting from the camera roll | A separate scheduling tool | Combdex | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where the photos come from | One person's phone | An upload, from somebody's phone | The job's own photos, from every technician |
| Who writes the caption | Whoever has time | Whoever has time | Dex drafts it from the project; you edit |
| Knowing which job a post shows | Memory | Nothing links them | The post is linked to the project |
| Results | Per app, in each app | In the tool | Per channel, per post, beside the job |
| Reviews | In each app | Sometimes | Google and Facebook in one list |
What else does finished work become?
A long-form article for your own website, written from the project's facts by the content engine and sent to your WordPress site as a draft; and a showcase, a page of the job's photos to send to a customer. Both are on the Marketing page.
What Combdex does not do yet
Combdex posts to four platforms: Google Business Profile, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. It does not run paid ads. Publishing goes through a publishing partner, so each platform's own rules apply to what a post may carry. Scheduling and the number of connected accounts depend on the plan; see pricing.
Related
- Job photo documentation: how the photos reach the job in the first place.
- Social channels: connect each account.
- Dex: what else Dex drafts.
Questions people ask
How do I post job photos to Google Business Profile?
Connect the profile in Marketing, Channels. Then press New post, pick the photos from the job, write the caption or press Write with Dex, choose Google, and press Post now, Schedule or Add to queue. Google shows the first photo only, so put the best one first.
How often should a contractor post?
Often enough that the listing never looks abandoned. The Posts section shows when the Google listing last had a post. A weekly slot in the posting schedule, filled from the week's finished work, keeps the listing current with one post a week.
Can one post go to every channel?
Yes. Pick several channels in one post, and change the words for one channel where it needs different words. The preview shows the post as each channel draws it. Each channel records its own result, so a failure on one does not hide a success on another.
Does Dex post for me?
No. Dex drafts the caption and the channel fields from the photos and the project. You read the preview, change what you want, and press the button that sends it. Nothing goes out without a person.