So should you do that home painting job yourself or a hire a professional painting company? There are valid points to be made for both sides. On the DIY hand, you'd be saving a considerable amount of money, and wouldn't have to relinquish control of the job to others. There also wouldn't be the concerns of strangers tramping around your home, getting underfoot, making messes, throwing off the household rhythm, and possibly intruding into places where they shouldn't be. On the pro hand, they'll be quick, do the job properly, and are licensed and insured to cover against mishaps and messes.
Let's say for the sake of this argument that you've decided to skip the neighbourhood painting party and will be hiring professional painters. But how will you find them in these digital days? One used to look under "painter" in the business section of the telephone book. But those directories are going the way of dinosaurs, VHS, and cassette tapes. Instead, the place to look for professional painting companies now is where so much other information is exchanged-social media sites. While the intent of social media is to be well, social, it's easy to find sites where "friends" exchange information on professional painters such as descriptions and reviews of work including pricing, company telephone numbers, locations, and links to websites.
For professional companies, there are incentives for becoming "social" on their end as well. While pure advertising is taboo here, this can be circumvented by introducing company information in the form of steered conversation ("Oh, you're looking for housepainters? Have you heard of....") and providing links to more company information. Many of these sites also allow for "geo-searching", which means that companies can get information on who is looking for professional housepainters and where they're located, so that companies can learn where the most work can be found within an area. And allowing other users to sing a company's praises is not only great word of mouth, but very cheap advertising.
So while using social media can be beneficial for both a painting company and a potential client, that client still has homework to do before hiring that company. Questions that should be asked include the amount of time the company's been in business in the area, all work that estimates include, and references that can be provided. Clients should ascertain too before work begins that the company is fully insured and bonded, or the client could end up paying for far more than a simple paint job.
Let's say for the sake of this argument that you've decided to skip the neighbourhood painting party and will be hiring professional painters. But how will you find them in these digital days? One used to look under "painter" in the business section of the telephone book. But those directories are going the way of dinosaurs, VHS, and cassette tapes. Instead, the place to look for professional painting companies now is where so much other information is exchanged-social media sites. While the intent of social media is to be well, social, it's easy to find sites where "friends" exchange information on professional painters such as descriptions and reviews of work including pricing, company telephone numbers, locations, and links to websites.
For professional companies, there are incentives for becoming "social" on their end as well. While pure advertising is taboo here, this can be circumvented by introducing company information in the form of steered conversation ("Oh, you're looking for housepainters? Have you heard of....") and providing links to more company information. Many of these sites also allow for "geo-searching", which means that companies can get information on who is looking for professional housepainters and where they're located, so that companies can learn where the most work can be found within an area. And allowing other users to sing a company's praises is not only great word of mouth, but very cheap advertising.
So while using social media can be beneficial for both a painting company and a potential client, that client still has homework to do before hiring that company. Questions that should be asked include the amount of time the company's been in business in the area, all work that estimates include, and references that can be provided. Clients should ascertain too before work begins that the company is fully insured and bonded, or the client could end up paying for far more than a simple paint job.