Mark Derbyshire, Commercial Director, at Vaillant UK offers his advice on how installers can successfully utilise Twitter to boost their knowledge, reputation and even earnings:

1. Showcase your best work to the world.

The beauty of Twitter is that it gives everyone a platform to say, show and share anything they like with millions of other users. Upload pictures of your best work to show off your skills to customers. You can even ‘pin’ tweets to the top of your profile so it’s the first thing visitors see when they look you up, so reserve this space for your most challenging or unusual jobs.

2. Find new customers (and keep your existing ones).

Utilise Twitter’s powerful search function to find people talking about boilers, solar panels or anything else relevant and jump in to offer your services or expertise. If someone in your area posts about their boiler breakdown, you can find this using geo-location filters and offer assistance; it’s likely they’ll be impressed at your proactivity. Equally, having a social media profile is a great way of nurturing relationships with your customers and your brand’s personality which will encourage loyalty.

3. Share your expertise with other installers.

Twitter makes it easy to track conversations about particular topics by using hash tags. Anyone looking for information on this topic simply searches the hash tag to bring up all posts; use this feature to contribute to discussions on topical issues. You can also tweet other installers asking for their advice.

4. Operate a remote maintenance service from your pocket.

Boost your customer service with the Twitter app and your smartphone. If a customer tweets you to inform you that their boiler has broken it will notify you in the same way as text message. Customers can even send pictures directly on the app to help you conduct an initial diagnosis without stepping outside your front door!

5. Interact with @vaillantuk to earn Advance credits.

Vaillant is rewarding its Advance installers for activities like tweeting about training courses, sending pictures of installs, and re-tweeting Vaillant content. Credits can be redeemed against anything from tools, branded work wear and even marketing material. To be eligible for this scheme, tweets must be directed to @vaillantuk and use #Advance. For more information and content ideas visit www.vaillant-advance.co.uk

Vaillant, one of the UK’s leading heating and renewables specialists, has recently refreshed its Advance loyalty scheme to benefit installers who are active social media users.

Alongside other changes, Vaillant is now offering credits – which can be redeemed against any item in the vCORE online shop – to Advance members who interact with its official @vaillantuk account using the hash tag #Advance.

Vaillant recognises the value of social media for businesses of all sizes which is why it is incentivising installers to get involved.