Table of contents
Only 37% of landscaping companies actively use social media for marketing, leaving the other 63% invisible on the exact platforms their own customers increasingly use to decide who to hire. That gap is unusual for a trade this visual -- nearly every completed job produces content a homeowner would stop scrolling to look at -- and it is the single biggest opportunity this page's data points to.
Key Takeaways
- Only 37% of landscaping companies actively use social media for marketing, per a Jobber survey.
- Referrals still dominate overall home service lead volume at 59%, per Jobber's 2026 Home Service Trends Report.
- Among high-performing home service businesses, Facebook drives 32% of digital leads, Google 20%, and Local Services Ads 19%.
- 54% of commercial landscape contractors call client retention vital to their bottom line, per Aspire Software's 2026 report.
- 35% cite repeat business and 26% word-of-mouth referrals as their real growth drivers.
- Only 16% of contractors lean on inbound marketing and 14% on outbound sales.
- TikTok's platform-wide engagement rate hit 3.70% in 2025, the highest of any social platform, up 49% year over year.
- Instagram's engagement rate sat at 0.48% in 2025, down slightly from 0.50% in 2024.
- Instagram drives an estimated 22% of social media leads for landscaping companies specifically, skewing 25-to-45 in age.
- 65.4% of Gen Z and 47% of Gen Y respondents reported spending more time gardening in 2024 than the year before.
- 44.4% of respondents to that same survey spent more money gardening in 2024.
- Brands that support local initiatives see an 85% increase in consumer trust, per the Garden Media Group.
- 70% of gardeners also own pets, feeding a "barkitecture" content trend around pet-friendly outdoor design.
- Social platforms collectively account for over 60% of product discovery, surpassing Google, per Sprout Social's 2026 data.
- 73% of consumers say they will switch to a competitor if a brand does not respond on social media.
- 79% of commercial landscape contractors are focused on growing revenue this year, and 71% on acquiring new customers.
The 37% adoption gap, and why it matters more for landscaping than most trades
Per a Jobber survey cited by GrowViaSocial's landscaping social media guide, only 37% of landscaping companies actively use social media for marketing. That is a striking number for a trade whose entire product is visual: a completed yard, patio or lighting install is inherently more interesting to look at than most home services work, yet the majority of companies never document it. The 63% who do not post are effectively ceding the exact discovery surface -- Instagram and TikTok feeds full of before/after transformations -- where a homeowner deciding between three local crews is most likely to form an opinion before ever requesting a quote.
| Landscaping social media adoption | Share of companies |
|---|---|
| Actively use social media for marketing | 37% |
| Do not actively use social media for marketing | 63% |
Where landscaping leads actually come from today
Jobber's 2026 Home Service Trends Report, surveying over 1,000 home service business owners across HVAC, Plumbing, Roofing, Cleaning, Lawn Care and more, found referrals still dominate overall lead volume at 59%. High-performing businesses supplement that with digital channels: Facebook drives 32% of digital leads among that group, Google 20%, and Local Services Ads 19%. The same report flags Cleaning and Lawn Care as the two segments lagging furthest behind on AI adoption and digital tooling generally, which tracks with the low social media adoption figure above -- the segments least likely to invest in digital marketing tools are also the ones with the most ground to make up.
Separately, Aspire Software's 2026 Commercial Landscape Industry Report found 54% of commercial landscape contractors call client retention vital to their bottom line, with 35% pointing to repeat business specifically and 26% to word-of-mouth referrals. Only 16% lean on inbound marketing and 14% on outbound sales -- even though 79% of the same respondents say growing revenue is a top business goal this year and 71% say acquiring new customers is too.
| How landscaping companies say they actually grow (Aspire 2026) | Share of respondents |
|---|---|
| Client retention (called vital) | 54% |
| Repeat business specifically | 35% |
| Word-of-mouth referrals | 26% |
| Inbound marketing | 16% |
| Outbound sales | 14% |
| Association partnerships | 10% |
Platform engagement: the gap that should shape where content effort goes
Per Sprout Social's 120+ 2026 social media statistics, TikTok's engagement rate reached 3.70% in 2025, up 49% year over year and the highest of any social platform tracked. Instagram, by contrast, sat at 0.48% in the same year, down slightly from 0.50% in 2024 -- still roughly three times the typical Facebook rate, per that same report, but nowhere close to TikTok's number. Sprout Social's data also found social platforms collectively account for over 60% of product discovery, surpassing Google, and that 73% of consumers say they will switch to a competitor if a brand does not respond on social media -- a real risk for a local trade where the competing crew is one search away.
None of that is landscaping-specific engagement data, but PipelineOn's landscaper-focused analysis estimates Instagram alone drives roughly 22% of social media leads for the trade, skewing toward homeowners aged 25 to 45 -- first-time homebuyers and design-conscious clients scrolling Reels in the evening for yard ideas.
| Platform | 2025 engagement rate | Year-over-year change |
|---|---|---|
| TikTok | 3.70% | +49% |
| 0.48% | -4% (from 0.50%) |
Who is actually more engaged with outdoor projects right now
The audience data behind this trade's content opportunity is specific and recent. NALP cites Axiom's 2025 Gardening Insights Survey: Gen Z (65.4%), Gen Y (47%) and male respondents (43.4%) reported the greatest increase in time spent gardening in 2024 versus the prior year, and 44.4% of respondents spent more money gardening in that same period. Top projects for 2025 were front-of-house plantings for curb appeal, vegetable gardens, and outdoor lighting -- all highly photogenic, short-form-video-friendly work. The same NALP page cites the Garden Media Group's finding that brands supporting local initiatives see an 85% increase in trust, and that 70% of gardeners also own pets, feeding a "barkitecture" trend where pet-friendly outdoor design is becoming its own social content category.
| Gardening interest by group, 2024 vs. prior year (Axiom 2025 survey) | Reported increase |
|---|---|
| Gen Z | 65.4% spent more time gardening |
| Gen Y | 47% spent more time gardening |
| Male respondents | 43.4% spent more time gardening |
| All respondents | 44.4% spent more money gardening |
Why brand response speed matters on top of posting at all
Adoption is only half the equation once a company does start posting. Sprout Social's 2026 data found 73% of consumers say they will switch to a competitor if a brand does not respond to them on social media, and separately that social platforms now account for over 60% of product discovery, ahead of Google. For a landscaping company, that means a comment or DM asking for a quote is not a nice-to-have reply queue -- it is a live lead, and a slow response hands that lead to whichever competitor answers first. Pairing the documentation habit this page recommends with a same-day response commitment closes both halves of the gap the adoption numbers expose: the 63% who are not posting, and the smaller share who post but do not treat replies as sales conversations.
| What breaks after a company starts posting | Published 2026 figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Consumers who switch brands over a slow social reply | 73% | Sprout Social |
| Share of product discovery now happening on social platforms | 60%+ | Sprout Social |
| Landscaping companies with no social presence at all | 63% | Jobber (via GrowViaSocial) |
What to actually do with a 63% adoption gap
The data across this page points in one direction: the platforms with the most room to grow (TikTok, at 3.70% engagement) also skew toward the audience already spending more time and money on outdoor projects (Gen Z and Gen Y, per Axiom's survey), while the trade's own adoption rate sits at just 37%. That is a rare case where the easiest move -- documenting completed jobs consistently, tagged to the specific neighborhood -- is also the highest-leverage one, because so few competitors are doing it. Referrals and repeat business will keep carrying most landscaping companies' lead volume regardless (59% and 35%+26% respectively, per the data above), but social content is what feeds the next referral cycle and what a homeowner checks before calling. Our growth marketing team builds landscaping social programs around that documentation habit first, paid amplification second. For a look at what social spend and structure look like once a program is running, see our breakdown of when paid social is worth the investment, or talk to us about building the content system before the ad budget.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many landscaping companies actually use social media for marketing?
Per a Jobber survey cited by growth agency GrowViaSocial, only 37% of landscaping companies actively use social media for marketing, leaving the other 63% essentially invisible on the platforms their own customers are using to research who to hire. That is a wide adoption gap in a highly visual trade -- landscaping produces naturally photogenic before/after content on nearly every completed job.
Where do landscaping companies actually get their leads today?
Mostly not from paid or organic marketing. Aspire Software's 2026 Commercial Landscape Industry Report found that among commercial landscape contractors, 54% call client retention vital to their bottom line, 35% point to repeat business and 26% to word-of-mouth referrals, while only 16% lean on inbound marketing and 14% on outbound sales. Jobber's 2026 Home Service Trends Report, surveying 1,000+ business owners including Lawn Care, found referrals still dominate overall lead volume at 59%, with high-performing businesses supplementing that through Facebook (32%), Google (20%) and Local Services Ads (19%).
Which social platform gets landscaping companies the most engagement?
TikTok, by a wide margin, though not landscaping-specifically measured. Sprout Social's 2026 data shows TikTok's engagement rate reaching 3.70% in 2025, up 49% year over year and the highest of any social platform, against Instagram's engagement rate of 0.48% in the same year (down slightly from 0.50% in 2024). For a trade built on visual before/after transformations, that gap matters more than most: PipelineOn's landscaper-specific data separately estimates Instagram drives roughly 22% of social media leads for the trade, skewing toward the 25-to-45 age range.
Is landscaping's target audience actually more engaged on social platforms lately?
Yes, per demographic-specific survey data. NALP cites Axiom's 2025 Gardening Insights Survey finding 65.4% of Gen Z and 47% of Gen Y respondents reported spending more time gardening in 2024 than the year before, with 44.4% spending more money on it. Separately, the Garden Media Group's 2026 research found consumers reward brands that support local initiatives with an 85% increase in trust, and that 70% of gardeners also own pets -- a trend NALP labels "barkitecture," where pet-friendly outdoor design is becoming its own content category.
What content actually performs for landscaping companies on social media?
Before/after transformation content and hyper-local proof. PipelineOn's data on landscaper social strategy notes Instagram Reels of completed work routinely reach large audiences even for small accounts, and content tagged with specific neighborhoods or landmarks consistently outperforms generic posts, because the buying decision is inherently local -- a homeowner is comparing the crew that redid their neighbor's yard against a handful of other local options, not against a national brand.
Sources
Jobber - 2026 Home Service Trends Report
GrowViaSocial - Social Media Management for Landscaping Companies
Aspire Software - 2026 Commercial Landscape Industry Report
Sprout Social - 120+ Social Media Marketing Statistics for 2026
National Association of Landscape Professionals - Landscape Industry Statistics
PipelineOn - Social Media Marketing for Landscapers and Lawn Care
