Home service professionals like plumbers spend most of their time using various tools to get the job done. At the same time, digital marketing can be a handy tool for plumbers. The best part is that they can automate most marketing processes, allowing them to focus on doing actual plumbing work.
The reality is that marketing for local service-based businesses has evolved way beyond traditional marketing practices like radio ads, flyers, and billboard ads — not that the average small business owner could afford them anyway. In this age, if you’re not doing digital marketing, you’re not doing marketing at all.
To that end, we’ve come up with this quick yet informative guide to help plumbers on what they should know about digital marketing and how they can utilize it to their advantage.
Your Website Is Your Digital Calling Card
Usually, when people need plumbers, they need them ASAP. However, homeowners typically don’t know where to find plumbers.
Hiring plumbers is usually a one-time thing, only when the need arises. Also, plumbers don’t usually have physical offices that customers can contact or go to. That’s why most people don’t know where to find a plumber when they need one.
Plumbers must take advantage of digital marketing since most of the shopping process today starts online. Around 93% of all web traffic is through a search engine. Consumers today look for services online and primarily through search engines.
Establish your online presence and allow potential, in-dire-need customers a way to find you by building a website. Your website must relay the necessary info like the areas you serve, the services you offer, and what makes you different from other businesses. Ensure that your target audience can view your website properly on both a desktop and mobile device.
Some of the essential building blocks that make up a website are an inviting homepage, an “About Us” page, a “Contact Us” page, and a “Services” page. A page dedicated to customer reviews and testimonials will also help you earn potential customers’ trust.
Online Directories Are Among Your Most Important Marketing Tools
A unique aspect of the home service contractors’ industry is that online home services directories and review sites are a huge factor in attracting new customers. A great customer review found in a popular review site or online directory can make your plumbing business take off.
Most homeowners go to these sites to look for contractors. Some of these leading sites are Google My Business, Angie’s List, Yelp, and Home Advisor.
Create a profile on these popular sites to broaden your audience reach. Build your reputation by answering queries in a timely fashion, and interact with warm leads who are ready to hire a home service professional.
Produce a Social Following Through Quality Content
Establish your presence on social media by actively posting content related to your industry. It’s also one way of establishing your credibility in your chosen industry, especially when you produce content that answers your followers’ questions.
Producing quality content in social media can help you attract more customers since almost everyone is on social media. It also allows people to be familiar with your brand and encourages brand recall through consistent posting.
You can also use content marketing on your social media posts. Create marketing materials like entertaining and informative videos, exciting blog posts, and fun poll surveys to attract potential clients. Your marketing materials should always have a call-to-action to encourage customers to take the next step.
Show Up on Search Results Through Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Ads
Investing in pay-per-click ads can be beneficial to your business since you show up on the top portion of search result pages. Search engines can direct highly-motivated customers to your business since they’re actively looking for the services that you offer.
You’ll be the one to choose the keywords and audience to target. And you’ll also have the freedom to create your ad copy, so you’ll have control over how your business relates to your potential customers.PPC ads can also give you insights into your marketing strategies, allowing you to gauge your performance. These insights can also help you formulate or improve your approach to better target your leads. And if you know how you can lower your cost per lead, you’ll be on a steady rise.
To Wrap Things Up
Digital marketing can be intimidating, especially for beginners. However, you can learn these things, especially when you start applying them to your business. Digital marketing is the future for almost every business, and all it takes is for you to embrace it.
If you don’t have the time to learn it, you can always hire a digital marketing expert to worry about all these details. Tulumi is the leading digital marketing agency in Orlando. Let us help drive quality traffic to your plumbing business and promote brand recognition across the web today. Give us a call at (800) 481-1720 or email us at hello@tulumi.com to get started.