Thursday Pools: A Social Media Case Study

Thursday Pools is a luxury fiberglass swimming pool manufacturer in Fortville, Indiana

The brief:

To help Thursday Pools convert its social media accounts into lead generators.

The problem:

Thursday Pools’ social media program was dull and ineffective. For years, the company’s social media strategy focused mainly on advertising new blog posts. Captions were largely identical across every platform, and posts rarely included even a single photo of the company’s primary product. Growth was slow, engagement was absent, and worst of all, Thursday Pools’ campaigns generated very few leads.

Needless to say, the company’s directors weren’t happy with the way their social media was performing. Something needed to change.*

What we did:

Our solution was to pull the business out from behind its blog posts and shine a spotlight on the company’s main attraction: its amazing products and partners. Using social media as a virtual showroom, we highlighted the company’s main asset—its gorgeous fiberglass pools—and by giving the public a clear understanding of where (and why) the company existed in the marketplace, we increased organic followers by an average of 500 new fans per month!

We also made a point to both listen and respond to the conversations that were happening on our posts. This allowed us to pivot quickly and create exactly the types of content Thursday Pools’ followers wanted to see.

How we did it:

By designing a custom strategy for each social media channel, we reached our target customers where they live, and we served them the types of content they wanted to see.

Our Facebook and Instagram strategy:

We used Facebook and Instagram to highlight the features and benefits of each pool, showing as much as telling people about the WIIFM (“what’s in it for me?”) of each specific pool model. We monitored these channels constantly, listening for feedback and responding to requests that shaped our strategic moves. We also introduced staff, shared the company’s wins, and had a great time building up hype for the annual dealer’s conference. Using this plan, we averaged 15% weekly organic follower growth.

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Our Pinterest strategy:

We used Pinterest as an auxiliary website, creating visual boards with sections displaying the various colors, styles, sizes, and recommended uses of each pool design. Each time we built a board, we posted about it on Facebook and Instagram. Soon, the company’s Instagram followers were requesting the types of boards they wanted to see. We went from getting one or two Pinterest leads per year to gaining 46 leads in a single month!

Our Houzz strategy:

We created project boards to talk about the company’s different pools, using Houzz’s geotagging option to increase visibility with buyers and dealers in specific cities throughout the United States. To help dealers increase visibility in their target markets, we also connected our projects to the corresponding installer’s Houzz profile whenever possible. Prior to implementing this strategy, Thursday Pools had not generated a single Houzz lead since 2017. Now, the company averages 7 warm leads per month.

The end result:

We increased FOLLOWERS by posting content that was useful to Thursday Pools’ target market.

Facebook: 15% increase
Instagram: 83% increase
Pinterest: 125% increase

We generated new LEADS by making it easy for customers to understand what Thursday Pools is all about, and providing them with relevant information about the company’s products and how to buy them.

Facebook: 366% increase
Houzz: 600% increase
Pinterest: 3800% increase

We increased ENGAGEMENT by responding to comments and by posting the types of content that the company’s customers were requesting.

Facebook: 61% increase
Pinterest: 452% increase

Key takeaways:

✔ Every social media platform is different, so it’s essential to customize your posts in order to maximize the capabilities of each platform. Likewise, don’t be afraid to invite people to look at what you’re doing on your other channels!

✔ It pays to invest in great photography! Thursday Pools has an excellent in-house photographer who understands exactly how to show her pools. If you don’t have a photographer on staff, consider hiring a freelancer or agency to take great photos for you. Complementing a photographer’s work product with great graphic design software—smoothing out flaws and adding contextual and decorative elements—can give your social media channels an even more professional feel.

✔ It’s okay to delete accounts that aren’t working for you. Twitter is great for writers, movie stars, cantankerous hamburger joints, and Donald Trump, but it’s not always the best marketing channel for serious brands. If your voice is outrageously funny or controversial, you’ll probably do well there, but not every brand can pull that off (and not every brand wants to). If you’re not getting any engagement on a marketing channel, it’s okay to stop wasting your time and just drop it.

✔ Followers get bored quickly! No matter how successful your current campaign, plan to change it up before your audience loses interest.

✔ Great customer service keeps customers loyal long after the sale is complete. Thursday Pools has several customers who have not only purchased more than one pool throughout their lifetimes, but they also promote the brand to their own followers. It pays to take good care of the people who make your brand work!

And, most importantly, if you’re too busy to make your social media stand out like it should, call for help!

*On July 1, 2020, this project was handed off to Thursday Pools’ internal marketing staff. To see the posts and engagement I personally contributed to their social media channels, please navigate back to posts dated between March 1st – June 1st, 2020.