Over two-thirds (68%) of consumers use social media to discover new products and services, which makes it an ideal way to reach new customers and build your brand. But knowing that your customers are on social media is one thing—reaching and engaging with them is often a whole different challenge. Because of this, getting views and setting up paid ad campaigns can feel overwhelming.

We’ll show you how to tackle social media marketing for pest control companies, including best practices and 11 pest control marketing ideas based on real-life examples. We’ll also talk about the best social media platforms for pest control companies. 

Let’s dive in.

What’s the best social media platform?

The best social media platform depends on your target audience. Research who your ideal customer is and which platforms they already visit. After all, it’s easier to go to your customers than it is to have them come to you.

Choose only one or two platforms to start out. Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube are some of the most popular—in fact, Pew Research found that Americans use these three social media sites the most. Your target audience is likely already active on these platforms.

Let’s talk about each in more detail.

Facebook

Yes, Facebook is still going strong. It has more than 3 million monthly active users, and almost 70% of them hop on the platform daily.

Facebook provides local businesses with multiple ways to connect with their local communities. These include Facebook business pages, where you can list company info and field customer questions, and paid advertising campaigns that let you target specific audience members.

Instagram

Instagram users spend about 33 minutes on the app per day. To reach prospective customers among its 2 billion monthly active users, create a pest control business page and launch paid ad campaigns that feature compelling images and videos.

YouTube

Social media users spend the most time on YouTube, with an average of seven minutes and 29 seconds per visit. To reach prospective customers on this platform, create a YouTube channel and develop a social media strategy that focuses on behind-the-scenes footage and educational videos to show viewers how to check for pests, explain how your services work, and cover prevention methods for upcoming seasons.

But what about TikTok? We’ve all heard how it’s exploded in popularity, but there are a few reasons why it’s not ideal for reaching your pest control customer base:

• It skews heavily toward younger users who may not need pest control services.
• It focuses primarily on short-form videos, which makes it challenging to create engaging content.
• It may get banned in the US—President Biden signed a law in May 2024 that gave TikTok’s owner, ByteDance, a year to meet the government’s demands or shut down.

Increase your reach: Optimize your Google Business Profile to increase your pest control company’s visibility in local searches.

Social media best practices for reaching your customers

Follow these five best practices to create effective social media campaigns for your pest control company and reach your target audience:

1. Define your target audience

First, research your target audience to understand their demographics, behaviors, and pain points. This will help you personalize your social media content and target your paid ad campaigns with pinpoint precision.

Analyze your current customers as well. Checking social media engagement metrics to find your most successful posts will help you understand what content resonates most with your followers.

2. Engage your audience

Star City Pest Control’s Facebook page showcases satisfied customer reviews. (Source: Star City Pest Control on Facebook)

Engagement is reciprocal. If your customers comment, reply as soon as you can. Even if you don’t have an answer right then and there, let them know when they can expect a response to show that you’re engaged and willing to work on resolving their issue. After reaching a resolution, publicly follow up on the original comment to thank your customer.

In complaint situations, invite customers to discuss the issue privately. Follow customer service rules, listen to understand, and resolve their problem quickly.

Generate business buzz with Yelp: Learn how to manage your reviews and customer relationships with Yelp for pest control digital marketing.

3. Humanize your brand

Zap Pest Control posts on-the-job selfies to connect with customers. (Source: Zap Pest Control on Facebook)

Show social media users the people behind your brand by posting about your employees and company culture—and maybe including some on-the-job selfies, too. This makes your pest control business relatable.

Friendly faces and educational content can help potential customers feel less ashamed of their pest issues. Photos of a friendly pest control expert tackling these sensitive issues with professionalism also show compassion and further humanize your brand.

4. Dig into metrics

Metrics are critical for understanding your social media marketing campaign’s performance and how it can improve. They can pinpoint which posts resonate most with your audience and help you narrow down the best times to post, choose hashtags, and identify the most effective platforms to post on. You can also analyze competitors’ metrics to adapt their successful strategies.

When it comes to social media metrics, keep a close watch on: 

• Engagement metrics: Likes, comments, shares, mentions, and direct messages show that your content resonates with your audience.

• Reach: Unique account views tell you how discoverable your posts are on social media.

• Impressions: The total views on each post indicate how well your content is reaching your target audience.

• Website traffic from social media: The amount of traffic your website gets from your social posts indicates audience interest. You can find this metric in Google Analytics.

• Lead generation: Leads from social media ads or campaigns reveal whether your content compels your audience to take action.

• Video metrics: When you post a video, check how many people view it—as well as completion rate and average drop-off time. This indicates whether or not your video content resonates and if you need to trim the video length.

Surprising social media benefits: Did you know that a social media business profile can help your company rank near the top of Google search results? Learn about pest control business citations and how social media can help.

5. Use automation

Automation helps you scale your social media efforts without adding more to your to-do list. By automating tasks like post scheduling, comment monitoring, and customer relationship management (CRM), you can instead focus on taking care of pests and forming human connections with customers.

Here are some ways to automate your pest control social media marketing, as well as popular tools for each task:

• Schedule posts: Buffer, Loomly, and Sendible
• Monitor comments: Agorapulse and Mention
• Manage paid social ad campaigns: HubSpot and AdRoll
• Pull social media leads into your CRM: Zapier and GorillaDesk

Other automation options include Google Alerts for social listening and Facebook and Instagram’s Ads Managers, which include automated ad campaign tools.

How to convert social media visibility into sales

Your social media content can help you acquire new customers. For example, Facebook drives the most referrals to third-party websites, which makes it a great opportunity to gain new customers.

Encourage more social media followers to book a service with these thoughtful strategies:

1. Offer promotions

Encourage your audience to book your pest control services with special discounts on initial visits, recurring treatment plans, or specialty and seasonal treatments.

You can create urgency by promoting limited-time offers and highlighting the importance of preventative treatment.

2. Use online booking

Make it easy for new customers to convert by adding online booking to your website and linking to it from your ads or social media profiles. For example, GorillaDesk lets customers book new work requests online and then sends you an email alert.

3. Run lead generation campaigns

Paid ads increase your social media reach and capture information from new leads. This approach can be incredibly effective—after all, social media ads are one of the top five ways that people discover new brands.

You can target specific groups within your audience with social media ad campaigns, including people who previously showed interest but didn’t convert.

4. Promote referral programs

Current customers likely follow you on social media, so turn them into repeat customers by promoting your referral and loyalty programs. List incentives for each program in a social post to encourage them to recommend your business.

5. Share customer testimonials

Social proof can seal the deal for new customers. Make sure to share pest control customer reviews and testimonials that comment on treatment efficacy, professionalism, and customer service.

Don’t be afraid to share customer comments about negative experiences that your team expertly resolved—even if they involved a mistake on your part. 

For example, imagine that your initial pest treatments didn’t clear up a customer’s problem, and they are now accidentally feeding a colony of ants along with their own family. The customer calls your company back in to reapply perimeter treatments. Thankfully, the second round of treatments does the trick, and your customer’s home is now pest-free.

Even though their experience started out negative, they may have great things to say about your professionalism and commitment to customer service. These types of reviews can be incredibly influential.

11 social media post examples for your pest control business

Get inspired by these 11 real-life examples of social media marketing for pest control companies: 

1. Action photos and videos

Rid-a-Bug Pest Control shared this video of pest control treatments in action. (Source: Rid-a-Bug Pest Control on Instagram)

Before-and-after photos and videos reveal how your pest control company operates by showing technicians at work, time-lapse pest removal videos, and project photos.

2. Community engagement

Preferred Pest Control showcases its community involvement with parade float photos. (Source: Preferred Pest Control, LLC on Facebook)

Show your community spirit with photos of event booths, parade floats, and other interactions with local people and businesses. This content not only shows that you provide pest control services but also displays how you support your community.

3. Staff bios and photos

KC Pest Control introduces technicians with a photo and short bio. (Source: KC Pest Control on Instagram)

Share employee photos and bios to highlight your team’s expertise and credentials. To further engage your audience, include fun tidbits like favorite foods or hobbies.

4. Shareable DIY content

Lunar Pest empowers its audience with DIY pest control content. (Source: Lunar Pest on Instagram)

Share DIY content to help your audience tackle their own problems. Not everyone is ready to sign up for pest control services, but you can keep your brand top of mind with content that promotes DIY solutions.

5. Limited-time and seasonal deals

3J’s Pest Control Service & Supplies took to social media to announce that limited quantities of certain supplies were back in stock. (Source: 3J’s Pest Control Service & Supplies on Facebook)

Post on social media to inform customers about special offers, limited-time deals, and seasonal discounts. These could include free home inspections or quotes, restocked pest control supplies, or seasonal specials for timely pest problems.

6. New service offerings or areas

All “U” Need Pest Control announced its expansion into a new town on Instagram. (Source: All “U” Need Pest Control on Instagram)

Some customers may have heard great things about your pest control company but need a service that you don’t offer or live in an area that you haven’t served before. Posting on social media is a great way to let them know that you can now meet their needs.

7. Giveaways and contests

All South Pest Control invited customers to visit its festival booth for a chance to win a full year of free pest control services. (Source: All South Pest Control on Instagram)

Spark excitement with giveaways and contests. Challenge your audience with pest trivia or invite them to visit you to learn more about your services. Award winners with free seasonal pest treatments or merchandise.

8. Educational content

Go-Forth Pest Control shared five top signs of termite infestations to help customers identify this dangerous pest. (Source: Go-Forth Pest Control on YouTube)

Share pest identification guides, prevention tips, and treatment methods to help customers keep their homes pest-free.

Pro tip: Post educational tips and guides on social media, then share them in emails and on your blog. Check out these 17 email templates that local businesses can use to build strong customer relationships.

9. Service walk-throughs

This video shows what to expect from Abell Pest Control’s thorough walk-through service. (Source: Abell Pest Control on YouTube)

Show customers your pest control company’s strengths with treatment walk-throughs and chemical breakdowns. These services differentiate your business by highlighting your attention to detail and specialized pest control methods.

10. FAQ videos

Planet Friendly Pest Control posted a video answering the common customer question, “How do mice get into my house?” (Source: Planet Friendly Pest Control on YouTube)

Do you hear the same questions repeatedly? Take to social media and answer them in a video FAQ or interview-style post. This both helps your customers with potential pest problems and positions your company as a knowledgeable authority.

11. Customer testimonials

What Our Customers Are Saying About Us

Knox Pest Control created a YouTube montage of customer testimonials. (Source: Knox Pest Control on YouTube)

Share customer testimonials in a photo, comment, or video montage of multiple customer testimonials—either as static images or candid interviews.

Foster customer relationships with social media marketing and GorillaDesk

A solid social media strategy can increase visibility and build relationships with past, present, and future customers. When paired with a CRM platform like GorillaDesk, your social media presence can drive more business and build a positive reputation for your pest control company.

GorillaDesk’s online booking, streamlined communication, and automated review requests make it easy for customers to choose your team of experts and tell others why you’re the best in the business.

Find out how GorillaDesk can help you scale your pest control company—start your 14-day free trial today.

Knox Pest Control created a YouTube montage of customer testimonials. (Source: Knox Pest Control on YouTube)

Share customer testimonials in a photo, comment, or video montage of multiple customer testimonials—either as static images or candid interviews.

Foster customer relationships with social media marketing and GorillaDesk

A solid social media strategy can increase visibility and build relationships with past, present, and future customers. When paired with a CRM platform like GorillaDesk, your social media presence can drive more business and build a positive reputation for your pest control company.

GorillaDesk’s online booking, streamlined communication, and automated review requests make it easy for customers to choose your team of experts and tell others why you’re the best in the business.

Find out how GorillaDesk can help you scale your pest control company—start your 14-day free trial today.