As the marketing landscape continues to shift from traditional advertising to digital marketing, many contractors, fence installers, and roofing companies are pondering just how to use digital marketing to help accomplish their goals. Because this shift has been so quick (and seemingly very complicated), many trades companies are still just trying to keep up. Therefore, I wanted to share a few ideas of how you might use digital marketing to help your trades business grow and drive more revenue. Here are some trades business digital marketing tips.
#1 Lead Generation on Social Media (B2B or B2C)
The evolution of Lead Generation tools on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram allow pretty much any business to generate leads. This applies to both “business to consumer” or “business to business.” Companies running good marketing campaigns on their social media channels are already way ahead of the game. Other companies that have not been using social media can benefit, as running lead generation campaigns is a reliable way to drive engagement. It can also be an excellent way to increase followers and do so using a good ROI equation.
Why use Digital Marketing?
For many trades companies, finding a “reason” to be on social media may have been the number “reason” they’ve been hesitant to adopt it in the first place. For others, it might be this is just the thing they need. At Relevant Elephant, we run lead generation campaigns for all sorts of different companies. These campaigns are almost always the least expensive option when compared to buying leads in the open market. So if you’re not generating leads for your company using social media, give it a try. You’ll probably be pleasantly surprised.
#2 Use Video Communication
The next trades business digital marketing tip is all visual. Video is still the number one most sought-after content for users on social media. This applies to your current and potential customers as well. It is, however, still a far-reaching dream for many trades companies to not only produce and execute video but do so in a way that justifies the cost. I am here to tell you that now is your time, for no other reason than you just haven’t done it before. Also, every site from Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat is investing big bucks in building video infrastructure for their customers to use. They are doing this for a reason.
Video Marketing is Here to Stay
Nowadays, video production is affordable and should become more of a day-to-day function in your marketing toolbox. I want to encourage you not to be afraid of using your smartphone or low-quality video in some cases. Keep it real, and remember that one of the main reasons consumers respond so well to video is because it has a universal way of telling stories and sharing ideas in a way that static media cannot. It’s the reason why more people will see the movie than read the book. So, if you have a big (or even small) idea you want to market in 2020 and haven’t yet – try some video. It’s probably not as hard as you think.
#3 Explore Data Mining for your Trades Business
Successful trades business digital marketing is all about finding the right audience. For those of you executing social media well, did you know there is a ton of data at your fingertips that you can use to benefit other aspects of your business? It’s true. The modern-day social media sites have an incredible amount of data about your digital stakeholders ranging from (but not limited to) the age, gender, and location of your followers and users that interact with your content. The time of day users interact with your brand, the frequency of clicks they attain to certain kinds of content, and even the amount of money they spend on your products are all data you can pull right out of your social media pages.
Enhance Your Marketing Campaigns
You can also track actions related to your App and figure out what type of mobile devices your customers prefer. Plus, you can find which operating system they use, and which other websites they click on besides yours. If you are not mining and sharing this (and much more) information with your teams, I think you are missing out. This is of course a large part of what makes the digital marketing platforms unique. Also, if you are not using digital marketing for your business, what are you waiting for?