social media sucks for getting plumbing leads in north jersey

man, im up in north jersey and trying to get more repiping jobs with PEX-A but social media aint cutting it. spent $500 on facebook ads last month targeting homeowners with old galvinized pipes and got like 3 calls total, all tire kickers wanting free estimates. instagram reels showing sharkbite installs get some likes but zero bookings. saw a thread on r/Plumbing where guys said tiktok is better but idk, feels like a time suck when i could be out snaking drains. anyone else feeling this? watched that roger wakefield video on marketing and he swears by it but not seeing the roi here. guy in plumbers united group posted his ig strategy and doubled his jobs but im struggling.

same here, wasting hours on reels for nada.

social media is a scam for plumbers like us.

tried it for a year, back to door knocking.

give up on it, focus on referrals.

referrals are gold for drain cleaning gigs.

yeah but how do you get the first ones rolling?

network with other trades at supply house.

facebook groups are full of fake experts giving bad advice.

plumbers united has some gems but mostly noise.

tiktok dances aint gonna fix your lead drought.

tried boosting posts on ig, got shadowbanned after a week.

shadowban is real, avoid controversial pipe debates.

use linkedin for b2b plumbing instead.

good idea for commercial jobs.

but residential is where the money is.

not if you price it right.

social media got me one $2k repipe but took 50 posts.

stop posting and start calling old clients.

calls convert better than likes.

but cold calls feel sleazy.

nah, just be honest about your pex installs.

honesty sells in this game.

social is oversaturated with hvac guys anyway.

plumbing gets lost in the shuffle.

try nextdoor app for local leads.

but not for big jobs like mine.

big jobs come from google my business.

optimize that profile heavy.

reviews are key there.

one bad review tanks you.

had a karen leave a 1 star on a perfect job.

karens everywhere online.

respond professionally and move on.

professional responses turn it around.

saw that in the contractor fight group.

group full of similar stories.

plumbing pe firms buying up social strategies too.

scares me, independents gonna get squeezed.

boycott their leads.

easier said than done.

im sticking to word of mouth.

safest bet for us small ops.

word of mouth got me through 10 years.

same, no social needed.

but growth stalls without it.

growth aint worth the stress.

balance is key.

found balance with one post a week.

low effort high return.

what content works best?

before after pipe jobs.

those get shares.

shares lead to calls.

tried it, got two inquiries.

better than zero.

still better than ads.

ads are a money pit.

cancelled mine last month.

smart move.

now focus on seo.

seo takes time but pays off.

worth the wait for steady leads.

steady is better than sporadic.

agreed, no more boom bust.

social causes the busts.

ditch it entirely.

radical but tempting.

tempting after my last flop.

what was the flop?

bad ad targeting.

target wrong demo.

older folks dont scroll tiktok.

focus on fb for boomers.

boomers need repipes most.

spot on, sharkbite fears and all.