Lowe's multimedia approach extends a lifeline to homeowners, especially the power-tool-challenged

Home, sweet, home.

Last fall, my husband (of about four months at that point) and I purchased our first home. House hunting was an exhilarating, and sometimes heartbreaking, whirlwind of an experience. When we finally found the one, we felt so relieved and, well, at home. We signed the papers and got the keys and voilà -- we had a brand new home!

... Except that it wasn't so brand new. It actually needed a lot of work. We painted every wall and piece of trim in the place, pulled up carpet, tweaked some of the plumbing, and we still have a to-do list a mile long. What's a project-piling homeowner to do?

Enter Lowe's.

Let's start with the home improvement giant's YouTube channel.

Lowe's posts short, helpful videos about how to better your yard or house, and they put the most appropriate seasonal videos toward the top. This keeps people like me -- who are very unlikely to read the directions on the products they buy -- not ruin their home improvement projects.

Lowe's incorporates those videos as well as other how-to's posted directly on their website into their Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest accounts. On Twitter and Facebook, Lowe's also responds to both happy and dissatisfied customers and asks fun interactive questions to engage their followers and fans.

This tweet links to lowes.com's how-to for building a doghouse like the one pictured.

Being in the doghouse isn't all bad. Your pup will love this! http://t.co/Ym4FRcKRga #Dog #House pic.twitter.com/dsxYJqBHA7
— Lowe's (@Lowes) September 4, 2013

This tweet just links directly to a product on lowes.com -- a fire extinguisher.

Sometimes dinner doesn't turn out like you planned. Stay safe in the kitchen by keeping this on hand: http://t.co/o1KpX2iU30 #Safety
— Lowe's (@Lowes) September 5, 2013

The brand's light yet helpful tone makes @Lowes a fun and useful account to follow.

Lowe's gets major respect from me for not just sharing the same things to Facebook that they're already sharing to Twitter. It would be easy to do that, but it's a much better experience for their users who follow them on both networks to get unique content in each place. Lowe's also doesn't post things and walk away. They continue to respond to users who comment on their Facebook posts even hours after the original post.

Then, Lowe's covers pretty much every home category you could think of on Pinterest.

On top of their impressive social media presence, Lowe's also has a great set of apps -- including MyLowes, which tracks your purchases so you can remember what size your air filter is without digging out a measuring tape.

The Lowe's multimedia approach to home improvement helps even the least experienced project tacklers figure out what in the world they're doing, and it's certainly helped us since moving into our first house last fall. Thanks, Lowe's! (Now, maybe send me some special coupons for the free press?)