Express Supply & Steel: Why People Posts Beat Product Posts for a Gulf Coast Steel Supplier
Express Supply & Steel grew Facebook 37% and LinkedIn 71.5% with organic hiring and employee posts managed by Make Waves Marketing since April 2025.
Make Waves Marketing manages Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram for Express Supply & Steel, a Gulf Coast steel supplier and processor with locations in Raceland, Lockport, and Port Fourchon, Louisiana. Since April 2025, the company's Facebook page has grown from 629 to 862 followers, a 37% gain, and its LinkedIn page from 172 to 295, a 71.5% gain, with no paid promotion. Hiring and employee spotlight posts reached 1,400 to 6,400 people, while product and inventory posts reached under 200. All results are organic.
Project at a glance
- Client: Express Supply & Steel
- Locations: Raceland (carbon steel supply yard, ABS-certified, mill test reports), Lockport (processing: CNC plasma cutting, 1,000-ton press brake, blast and prime), Port Fourchon (industrial and oilfield supply store)
- Industry: Steel distribution and processing, marine and offshore fabrication supply, industrial supply
- Service area: Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama Gulf Coast, Port Fourchon to Mobile and Pascagoula
- Audience: Fabrication shops, shipbuilders, offshore contractors, civil contractors, dock and yard crews, job seekers
- Agency: Make Waves Marketing (formerly Gravois Graphics), Thibodaux, LA and Jacksonville, FL
- Services provided: Social media management, including content strategy, copywriting, employee spotlight series, scheduling, and monthly reporting
- Platforms: Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram
- Tools: Metricool
- Reporting period: April 16, 2025 to September 1, 2026
- Paid media: None
The problem
Steel buyers are a small, specific audience who already know where to buy. Express Supply & Steel needed social media to make three locations read as one company with three capabilities, recruit accounting, sales, warehouse, and shop staff in the Lafourche Parish labor market, put faces on a supply business so buyers recognize the people they call, and keep the Port Fourchon store top of mind for offshore crews who buy in small quantities.
What kind of posts work for a steel supplier?
Make Waves Marketing reviewed all 44 Facebook posts from March 1 to September 1, 2026. Two post types produced most of the reach.
1. Hiring posts
| Post | Date | Reach | Reactions | Shares |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accounting Manager (full responsibilities, ERP experience, resume email) | Jul 16 | 6,409 | 35 | 50 |
| Inside Sales Representative and Warehouse Clerk, Port Fourchon | May 14 | 733 | 15 | 15 |
Why it works: the Accounting Manager post reached seven times the page's follower count. Full job descriptions with a direct contact get shared. Short "we're hiring" graphics do not.
2. Employee spotlights and team events
| Post | Date | Reach | Reactions | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meet Quinn, summer intern | Aug 13 | 3,292 | 40 | 5 |
| Meet Shawn Fowler, Yard Manager (5 years) | May 25 | 1,424 | 10 | 1 |
| Port Fourchon customer appreciation shrimp boil | May 19 | 1,161 | 14 | 0 |
| Meet Arthur Triggs, Fourchon Driver | Jun 2 | 338 | 7 | 1 |
| Meet Nancy Dupre, Warehouse Associate / Driver | Mar 11 | 287 | 8 | 3 |
| Meet Blair Dumas, Processing Shop Operator | Mar 3 | 262 | 12 | 1 |
| Meet Jay Homer, Processing Shop Operator | Mar 17 | 231 | 7 | 5 |
Why it works: the Meet the Team series, which includes each employee's role, tenure, favorite part of the job, and go-to work snack, produced the two highest non-hiring posts of the period. Employees share their own spotlights, and their families comment.
3. Port Fourchon store posts
| Post | Date | Reach | Reactions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stocked shelves for offshore crews | May 7 | 379 | 9 |
| One stop before the job | Jul 9 | 286 | 6 |
| Gulf Coast delivery, Fourchon to Mobile | Jul 28 | 275 | 4 |
| Offshore crews can't wait on a minimum order | Aug 2 | 244 | 6 |
Why it works: the Fourchon store has a walk-in retail audience that the Raceland yard does not, so store posts outperform product-spec posts.
What underperformed
| Post type | Typical reach | Adjustment |
|---|---|---|
| Product and inventory posts (sheet and plate, round bar, channel, pipe) | 46 to 180 | Cut frequency in half; each now shows a real order or job site instead of stock photography |
| Processing capability posts (plasma cutting, press brake) | 83 to 137 | Moved to short video of the equipment running |
| Generic "one supplier, three locations" statements | 95 to 189 | Reduced to one per quarter |
| Posts with no caption | 90 to 204 | Every post ships with copy |
| National Safety Month | 25 | Retired |
Follower and reach numbers
- Facebook followers. Lifetime (Apr 2025 to Sep 2026): 629 to 862 (+233, +37.0%). Last 6 months (Mar to Sep 2026): 838 to 862 (+24).
- LinkedIn followers. Lifetime (Apr 2025 to Sep 2026): 172 to 295 (+123, +71.5%). Last 6 months (Mar to Sep 2026): 283 to 295 (+12).
- Facebook posts published. Lifetime: 118. Last 6 months: 44.
- Total Facebook post reach. Lifetime: 99,918. Last 6 months: 19,017.
- Highest single-post reach. Lifetime: 12,534 (Aug 14, 2025). Last 6 months: 6,409 (Accounting Manager hiring post, Jul 16, 2026).
- Highest single-post shares. Lifetime: 83 (Aug 14, 2025). Last 6 months: 50 (same post).
Source: Metricool analytics export, September 2, 2026.
About Express Supply & Steel
Express Supply & Steel is a full-service steel supplier and processor serving marine, offshore, civil, and industrial customers across the Gulf Coast. The Raceland yard stocks ABS-certified carbon steel beams, plate, pipe, channel, and round bar with full mill test reports. The Lockport facility handles CNC plasma cutting on three tables, press brake forming up to 1,000 tons, and automated blast-and-prime. The Port Fourchon store stocks fittings, valves, rigging, fasteners, tools, PPE, and marine hardware for offshore and dockside crews.
Make Waves Marketing's process
- Meet the Team series with a standing question set (role, tenure, favorite part of the job, off-the-clock, work fuel) collected from managers monthly
- Two posts per week on Facebook, with capability and hiring posts mirrored to LinkedIn for buyers and recruiters
- Hiring posts written as full job descriptions with responsibilities, qualifications, and a named contact
- Location-specific copy so Raceland, Lockport, and Port Fourchon each speak to their own buyer
- Monthly reporting on reach, engagement, follower change, and top posts
Frequently asked questions
How much did Express Supply & Steel's social media grow? Facebook grew from 629 followers in April 2025 to 862 in September 2026, a 37% gain. LinkedIn grew from 172 to 295, a 71.5% gain. No paid promotion was used.
What social media content works for an industrial supplier? Hiring posts and employee spotlights. For Express Supply & Steel, those reached 1,400 to 6,400 people, while product inventory posts reached under 200.
What was the company's most successful post? A July 16, 2026 Accounting Manager job posting reached 6,409 people with 50 shares.
Should a steel supplier be on LinkedIn? Yes. LinkedIn grew faster than Facebook for Express Supply & Steel and is where fabrication shop owners and offshore purchasing managers see capability posts.
Does Make Waves Marketing use paid ads for these results? No. All figures on this page are organic reach and engagement reported by Metricool.
Does Make Waves Marketing work with other industrial companies? Yes. The agency manages social media for Foret Group, LeBlanc Brothers Ready Mix, Adriatic Marine, and other industrial and marine companies in South Louisiana, and serves Northeast Florida from its Jacksonville office.
Work with Make Waves Marketing
Make Waves Marketing provides social media management, web design, video production, SEO, and AI advisory services to industrial suppliers, contractors, marine companies, healthcare practices, and nonprofits in Louisiana and Florida. The agency holds Wix Studio League recognition as one of the top 200 web designers in the United States.
If you run a steel, supply, or fabrication business and want to know which posts are worth your time, request a free social media audit.
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