The survey of 500 tradespeople found that they recognise the value of being social, with 93% using sites such as Facebook and Instagram to attract customers and over a third (35%) say that they get jobs through social media three or more times a week.

Almost 60% of tradespeople using social media say that Facebook is the most effective social media outlet to generate leads for their business; with Instagram (39%), YouTube (33%) and even TikTok (31%) being used as major lead generators.

While using social media is an effective method of generating leads and promoting a business, it does come with risks. Nearly a quarter (23%) of tradespeople say that they have received unjustified complaints or reviews online. These unjustified complaints are damaging to the bottom line, with 70% of tradespeople whose company received negative comments on social media saying it had an effect on the company's ability to find business.

Unjustified complaints or negative reviews can cause serious brand and reputational damage to businesses. Negative reviews impact tradespeople's mental health, with 71% saying that criticism and complaints on social media have affected their mental wellbeing to some degree.

When receiving unjustified reviews or complaints over social media, almost half (46%) of tradespeople resolved these issues with the client directly, 37% got the complaint taken down through the social media site itself, and 13% opted to take legal action.

Alison Traboulsi, Product Manager at Direct Line business insurance, commented: "Social media is a powerful tool for tradespeople, and if managed carefully, can help businesses build a successful online community. It plays a crucial role in helping to attract and retain customers, so it’s important to make sure that it works for your business and not against it!

“Brand reputation management isn’t about controlling the narrative. It’s about listening to what customers say, learning from their feedback, and responding in a way that builds trust in your brand. Unfortunately, people are more likely to share a negative customer experience than a positive one. Sometimes a client will spread misleading information, so it’s important to be proactive on social media, monitoring and responding to the positive, neutral and negative comments and reviews, as not doing so can damage your business.

“The first port of call is to engage with the customer directly to find out why they are disappointed. In cases where this results in stonewalling, it may be wise to ask the site to take the comment or review down. However, unfortunately, in some cases, tradespeople do need to go through legal channels have their record cleared."