“LBM Talks” hosts top professionals from different sectors of the lumber and building material industry to share their expertise, with a heavy emphasis on practical, tactical strategies to help you serve your markets and grow your business.
Social Media Coordinator Sally Lacey talks with dealers and experts in the industry to discuss challenges and innovations in online strategies.
In this episode, Sadie Hoyt, marketing specialist at Dakota County Lumber, located in Farmington MN, shares the story of when and why her company decided to hire someone new to manage their presence on social media.
Hoyt also shares who her company targets on social media, what kind of content they make and why, and advice for LBM dealers aspiring to get started.
For any social media inquiries, reach out to sally@lbmjournal.com.
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Prefer to read about it instead? Take a peek at the transcript below.
(Editor’s note: Transcript is AI-generated and may include some errors.)
Sally
Hello listeners. Welcome to LBM talks social media, just to kind of explain this podcast segment a little bit. LBM talks is kind of a network where we are going to have different segments with different hosts talking about, kind of just different aspects of the LBM industry to help all of our listeners in their business endeavors. I am so excited because I am actually in person with our first guest today. She is local. I’m with Sadie Hoyt and Sadie, hi, welcome, hi, thank you. Thanks for having me. Sally, Sadie, why don’t you tell us who you work for and what you do. My name is Sadie. I work for Dakota County lumber, or as we’ll probably refer to it in the rest of the podcast dcl, and I am the Marketing Specialist there. So Sadie, you and I were having a brief conversation beforehand, and you told me that you are the first marketing specialist ever at dcl. So what was the team like before they brought you on? How did they decide to bring you on? How did they find you?
Sadie
Yeah, so Sunny, who is our CEO, Sunny Bowman and Emily Youngs, who is the executive assistant at dcl, they were kind of doing the social media aspect. And Sunny has always had big goals and wants our brand out there further we right now deliver to all over the metro area and the Twin Cities in Minnesota. But sunny really wants our name wait like out there, like our goal 10 years down the road is to be the go to brand for every small builder, builder in the Twin Cities. And so because of that, they realized that between Sonny and Emily doing their regular jobs and trying to post on social media and not even really doing any other marketing things, they wanted somebody who could kind of own the brand and then also do social media regularly. So they put out a job application. November, December, 2023, and I had moved to Minnesota five, six months before that, and was looking for a job, and saw that there was a lumberyard hiring and marketing specialist. And so I applied. And I just from the first interview, I was like, I want to work here. This is where I want to work. And I was so glad they hired me.
Sally
So do you have a background in marketing? Like, do you have a degree in marketing?
Sadie
I have a degree in communications. And the after graduating with my bachelor’s degree in communications, I started working for a nonprofit that helped homeless families. And during that time, I wore a ton of hats. I did grant work, I did volunteer, I did development. And then the nonprofit didn’t have anybody running their social media, but they had it, and I was like, I’ll do it. And so from there, I just kind of started doing it, and I started really liking it. It was kind of a break from the heavy stuff I was dealing with, working at a nonprofit helping homeless families, and it was a way to get more volunteers, which we were trying to do. It was during COVID, so we were trying to figure out stuff. And then my husband got a job in Minnesota, so we moved out here, but I was still doing part time work for the nonprofit, and it was, it was just really hard to figure out how to do like remote work, and not be where I was before and all that. So I started looking for a new job, and at that time, also, I had a puppy, and I made an Instagram account for him. I’m one of those people, and we’ve all started learning how to do reels from him. I didn’t know the nonprofit didn’t really do reels before that, they were just doing images. And so I was like, I like social media. I want to learn how to do reels. And so I started doing it for my dog. And in fact, when I was applying at Dakota County lumber, I like, showed them reels that I had made of my dog, and I think sunny and Emily, like, really liked that. They were like, wow, this is cool. Like, I was like, my big philosophy is, if you don’t know something, I’m going to go figure it out. And that’s like, a huge thing at Dakota calendar, there’s so many people that work there that are like, I don’t know, but I’m going to find out. And the leadership empowers you to go figure it out. And so yeah, they liked that. And they like, I was like, Is this, like, weird to show in an interview? Like, this is my dog, and these are reels I made of me and him paddle boarding together. And they loved it and hired me.
Sally
That is so great to hear. It seems like sunny and just the team at dcl. It. Is willing to take risks, and, like you said, dream big, and I think that that can really get you far. So that’s really great. And we see a lot of your guys’ culture, I think, on social media.
Sadie
So it’s a huge thing that we showcase. Yes, it seems very fun.
Sally
So that makes sense with the reels in the interview. So are you the only person who’s really running the account?
Sadie
I run the account. Sunny also has access to the account. And then Scott, our general manager, also has access. And basically he likes everything. He goes perfect, likes Sunny, post stories occasionally, and does stuff like that.
Sally Traxler-Lacey
And then I do the strategies, yes, strategy posting.
Sadie
I also do a lot of commenting as it. Yes, so it’s a team effort, but I’m like the majority.
Sally
Okay, yeah, so Sadie, let’s get into a little bit of the meat of basically, like, what social media is for businesses. Because I feel like social media can be hard to understand. One, like, what goes into it, but two, why you’re doing it.
Sadie
Yes, like, it can be very hard to it’s hard to quantify. Yes, there’s people like to see ROI return on investment. Yeah, it’s you can’t quantify it necessarily.
Sally
I have struggled with that because I’m kind of an analytical person, so it’s like, I have to have it down on paper, what I’m doing, why, and like, all the numbers and stuff. So just to kind of start out like, what are DCLs goals? Yes, on social.
Sadie
So we track, sorry, I track our engagement rate, which is, you know, comments, likes, shares, when you look at LinkedIn or Instagram or Facebook, those are the three platforms we use. The little buttons, LIKE COMMENT, SHARE, I track those numbers. Yes, I also track our followers, which is not an indicator of whether you are doing good or not. It’s just good to know if it’s increasing or decreasing and why.
Sally
So you that’s what you track. That’s what we track. Yeah, how about like objectives, like when you’re thinking about strategy and stuff.
Sadie
So we cater to four members of our four audience members. Yes, that we cater to when we’re posting current customers, future customers, future employees, and then the community that we live in, whether that’s the Twin Cities or Farmington, you know, or anything and everything in between. So a lot of our stuff is future customers, right? We want more customers. We want people to know that you can get a perfect delivery every single time. And then we also want to bring good talent and good employees to Dakota County lumber. So a lot of our stuff is geared towards future employees and then community, you know, we’re always posting about, you know, the hockey team that we’re sponsoring, or, you know, the the foundations that we’re supporting. It’s, you know, it’ll be passed by the time this comes. But today’s give to the max. And today we posted about, you know, a foundation that we support, the Housing First, Minnesota foundation that, you know, we want to people to give to them for, give to the max so, and then we have current customers and information like, you know, we’re closing during Thanksgiving or during the holidays, and we’re, you know, we’re having a party come. And then everything in every any, anything, and everything in between, like showcasing our culture. You know that can be for customers, that can be for future employees. And a big thing we like to show is who the heart of dcl is, so the employees and what actually makes up dcl.
Sally
So you guys are on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. Yes, you said. So, which would you say is your most fruitful platform?
Sadie
It’s definitely Instagram, for sure. 100% Instagram, no doubt. But I think LinkedIn is definitely up and coming, but for different reasons. So the beginning of this year, 2024 I hadn’t done much with our LinkedIn. I had maybe posted like 10 times in 2023 and so a goal I set for myself was we’re going to we’re going to get a more of a presence on LinkedIn. LinkedIn people prefer to follow people over brands. And so it’s been kind of a struggle throughout the year, and I’ve just figured it out the past couple months is dcl will post something, and then our I will reach out to our leadership team and be like, Okay, can you repost this and put it in your own words? Right? Because originally, I was trying to get the leadership team just to post stuff and right it was, it was more work for me. They were like, they were struggling to put it in their own words. But when I write it, you. For dcl detail posts it, and then they repost it and build off of what I already wrote, we are seeing big numbers and big engagement, not necessarily on our dcl page, but on the leadership teams pages, and it’s getting our brand out there that way. And it’s really creative thing that we came up with. And it’s really cool to see it’s working.
Sally
I love that. Yeah, that’s so amazing to hear. LinkedIn is a very different platform than Facebook and Instagram. Are builders? Builders? Are they on LinkedIn?
Sadie
I don’t know. That is a really good question, and something I’m trying to figure out as I’m looking at our leadership team and the engagement they’re getting, because Dakota County lumber doesn’t get as much like so, for example, I posted something that got like 10 likes, no comments, okay? Sonny reposted it, wrote two or three sentences, got 60 likes and 10 comments, right? So I’m looking then at those comments, or those builders or those industry leaders. Either way, if it’s not reaching out to builders, it’s reaching out to another one of our four people that we’re reaching out to. Right, future employees, yes, the community, future customers, right? Whether or not those customers are builders or if they’re, you know, walk ins, like homeowners, DIYers, which is why I think it’s really good for somebody considering doing social media to consider who your audience are, because it might be more. It probably is more than just your customers
Sally
Exactly, exactly. That is such an interesting point, because I think a lot of the times the thought is customers, customers, sales, sales. But LinkedIn, it sounds like for you guys, has a little bit of another fruit of it, which is like networking, networking and also recruiting, recruiting.
Sadie
Recruiting is a big one. It is here from people. It is huge. And so another one of our goals for our 10 year plan, we do want to be a destination, workplace, so a place where we can attract good talent and talent that wants to stay, and that goes from boomers Gen X Millennials all the way down to Gen Z, where we want to attract all the talent.
Sally
That is definitely something that I have seen as a theme for social media. So like when we’re thinking about why, why businesses are on social media, yes, one is like marketing in the sense of new customers and things like that, but I think about my patterns, I am going to look you up on social media and see what your business is about, whether I’m like buying from you, or whether I’m curious about this, or maybe I do want a new job. I am going to look you up on social media because you get so much information.
Sadie
So I’m so glad you said that, because there were two statistics that I saw on Sprout Social, which is love. Sprout, love, sprout, big fan of sprout. This is from Sprout Social. 77% of consumers are more likely to buy from brands they follow on social media. And then 55% of consumers learn about Brown’s Brown. 50 55% of consumers learn about brands or companies on social media. 78% from Gen Z, 61% from millennials, 56 from Gen X and 35% from Baby Boomers. Wow, 78% of Gen Z learn about brands or companies from social media, you’re Gen Z, right? Yes, I’m millennial. Okay, so, and that’s 61%.
Sally
Sadie coming in with those numbers. Let’s go, yeah, statistics,
Sadie
Yeah, yes, yes. And so if somebody like i and this was perfect, knowing I was going on the podcast, because I was talking to a lot of people. It’s like, Yeah, well, tell me why I should do marketing. Like, why should I have marketing for my business? Why? Right, that’s the big question. And it’s like, people want to learn about companies. They’re going to go on social media, and they’re looking at it.
Sally
I think basically the internet is now the way to communicate.
Sadie
Yes, so sometimes dealers and, well, anybody in social media can go, I don’t know what to post. I don’t and I think that’s a big concern. What do I post? I don’t have anything. And I to that. I would say, make a list of like five to 10 things you are most proud of in your business. So people, customers, maybe, I mean our trucks, our trucks. We post our trucks all the time like they’re yellow, they’re cool. Maybe it’s a specific person. Maybe it’s, you know, we’re really proud of this one product. Take a picture of it and. Put in the caption why you’re most proud of it, and do that for everything you made on that list, and then do it again for come up with more things you’re proud of. It’s almost like starting a gratitude journal, but then changing it. From I’m grateful to, this is what I’m proud of. We’re proud of this work, and this is what makes us good. And your messaging will then turn from we’re proud of this, and that’s it too. We’re proud of this, and that’s why you should come buy from us. We’re proud of this, and that’s why you should come by from us. And that is such an easy way to start.
Sally
My two best performing platforms are LinkedIn and Instagram. Yes, Facebook is a little I don’t really understand Facebook.
Sadie
Facebook is definitely more community for us?
Sally
Yes, I could see that working well for a local business. Yes.
Sadie
So small businesses out there, small lumber yards like you want the community members to be more friendly towards your truck drivers. You want community members who aren’t calling and complaining that your trucks are driving through the neighborhood post stuff on social media about what you’re doing in the community on Facebook. Also, we have seen a lot of hires from locals, because we have a couple guys who have been with the lumber yard for years, and we put out we’re hiring on Facebook. They share it, and their buddies in the community, then all share it, and all of a sudden we have, like, our own little LinkedIn going on, on Facebook, the locals that are passing around our application, and we’ve hired a couple people from just Farmington, Minnesota, because they end up sharing it, and we get a really good person out of it.
Sally
That’s fantastic to hear. Just kind of the power of social, kind of, to just wrap up a little bit of what we were talking about before I go to like, a couple last questions is social media is a great tool to get your message out there, to engage with your customers, or just whatever community is revolves around your business and other initiatives. But I think those are two really big ones, so, and you guys do a great job at that, so that’s why we had you on. Thank you. So, based off of your experience as an LBM dealer and what you do, what would be some advice you would give to other LBM dealers, maybe to someone who does not know where to start. How would you advise them to start thinking about it or to start planning for it?
Sadie
Yeah, so, like we talked before, identify your audience, because where your audience is is the spaces you want to be ours. We get, we have remodelers. Remodelers are on Instagram, right? We have builders there. There are a lot of our builders that are on Instagram. There are some builders that are on Facebook as well. So just like thinking about your audience, and it’s more than just your customers, for sure. So I would say the first thing identify audience. There’s a big fear. And Rick actually posted about this on LinkedIn recently about being canceled, and as a business, you show up authentically to entertain that shouldn’t even be a worry.
Sally
And it is a big worry for people. I’ve, like, never heard that. Oh, really.
Sadie
Like, yeah, I think people are like, What if I say something wrong? What if I upset my customers? Yeah, and, and, and, so maybe not like the concern of being canceled, but just like, what if? What if I upset somebody, and if you’re showing up authentically, I don’t think you need to worry.
Sally
I think that’s good advice. Yeah. And how about for an LBM dealer who has a presence on social media and wants to ramp it up a little bit. Maybe they’re maybe they’re on all the platforms, yeah, what would be your advice.
Sadie
A lot of things I see with LBM members is they put they’re so good at posting their products and posting their they are people want to see faces, things that they can identify really quick. I struggled at the beginning, because I was posting our trucks and our lumber and our doors and windows and all that a lot. And I was like, why are these doing well? And then I would post a picture with, like, you know, some people in it, some faces, and it did way better. And I was like, people want to see people. People want to see faces. So if you want to showcase your product, great, get a face in there. Get something that people can relate to, it’s being more authentic. Yes, here’s our truck, and we love it. Put somebody in the truck and have them wave out the window, and it’ll do so much better.
Sally
I would 100% agree, because I’ve seen the exact same results. And Beth shout out has a quote that she said to me one time, is, faces will always perform better. Yes, that is great advice. So figuring out your audience, figuring out what platforms you want to be on, making a list of things that you’re proud of, things within your business that you want to showcase. I would also add on to that, say you make this list of things that you want to showcase social media is. Is a place for creativity. Yes, content has to be made from scratch, so you do have to get creative. And I think that’s part of the fun. Like, say you want to highlight your trucks. Maybe that just is a photo, but maybe the next time it’s a video, like, continue to just be creative and think, How can I do this differently? Or, how can I, how can I highlight my trucks now? So, yep, getting creative with that list.
Sadie
And then for people who are like, I am posting faces, I am like, doing creative, but maybe I’m a little afraid to start reels, because that is the next big step.
Sally
Video, Video, Video, a reel is a vertical video, yes, yes.
Sadie
I would say start with kind of like, how you how people, what we’re talking about, start with just your products. Get a truck rolling by. Find a trending sound. It will have a little arrow pointing up next to it, and post it and see how it does. Don’t give up. Don’t give up. Keep posting reels. I My goal is to do two reels a week. Sometimes it’s a little more, sometimes it’s less depending but just chew for one a week, one every other week, and just push yourself and be creative. Have fun. Look at the trends.
Sally
I love that social media, especially Instagram, is just a place to kind of have fun and showcase the positive sides of your business, so you’re completely correct. Sadie, thank you for sharing your expertise with us. You guys have such a great team of social media people you me leading, yes, you and your advice your consultants.
Sadie
So can you say that again in the camera? Sunny, you’re my consultant
Sally
Where can our followers find you? Like, what platforms are you on and what is your username?
Sadie
Our username is at Dakota County lumber on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.
Sally
So feel free to go find Dakota County lumber, grab some inspiration, see what Sadie’s talking about. But yeah, that’s this. Wraps up. LBM Talks: Social Media. We will have more guests on in the future, but for now, I am so grateful that you joined me, Sadie
Sadie
Thank you for having me, Sally, bye, bye.
