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DIGITAL CASE STUDIES: The Detering Company

Cassie Milam
Cassie Milam

As LBM dealers continue to search out best practices for utilizing social media to their business’s advantage, many are looking to early adaptors who are experienced and willing to share to help others in the industry.

This month, Cassie Milam, marketing coordinator at The Detering Company in Houston, Texas offers insight into how her company leverages social media.

Detering Social Media
What social media platforms do you use?
At Detering we use Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

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Describe how each social media platform benefits your company.
While we haven’t used our social networks to promote product necessarily, I feel that we have successfully been able to showcase our Detering Culture. We are very proud of our team, and we want to show it! Our social media audience isn’t necessarily looking at our photos to see a new moulding profile, but I think customers, employee family members, and friends all like to hear about what’s going on at Detering, who’s doing what, our Employee of the Month, birthdays and celebrations, etc.

Are there social media platforms that you tried that were a complete waste of time?
We’ve been somewhat selective with our social networking, and I feel that the platforms we’ve focused on have been successful for us.

Who handles social media posts and marketing at your company?
I do. (Cassie Milam, marketing coordinator)

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How much time do you spend on social media each month?
I try to post twice a week, but if I’m being honest it doesn’t always get done depending on what else I have going on. I’m working on creating a social media calendar, which I think will be very helpful going forward.

What is your monthly social media budget? How does it vary between platforms?
We do not advertise on social media. This isn’t something I’m totally against, per se, but for the platforms we are operating on I like to cultivate our social media presence naturally.

Many of our readers are pro dealers selling primarily to builders and contractors. How has social media helped you reach that audience?
This is obviously something we struggle with. We do have customers who have Facebook pages for their businesses, and I think the goal is to engage. Post things that people want to see and want to talk about, because social media is all about engagement. There are going to be customers, of course, who don’t utilize social media, and I totally respect that. I am hopeful that they receive our monthly newsletter and other e-blasts or for the truly un-Internet savvy see things posted at the will-call counter. With social media it’s impossible to reach everyone, but I think if you’re successful in reaching some people—and they are enjoying what you’re sharing—then the time and effort are worthwhile.

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What other advice do you have for dealers using social media? I think it’s really easy to get caught up in this idea that social media is going to change everything, when in reality that’s not the case. I think the most important thing is to engage with your customers—and have fun, of course! If you’re new to the social media world, start small. There is no reason to be posting something every day if it’s not worth your customer’s time to read. Think about when you’re scrolling through your phone at night, what do you want to see? Start there, and cultivate that. For us, I have really enjoyed showcasing our company from a cultural perspective. I think our outside sales team does a fantastic job of promoting our product, but I want people who buy from us to catch a glimpse of what’s going on behind the scenes.

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