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For any business, having a solid marketing strategy is incredibly important, especially when it comes to growing a list of leads. If you're new to the world of digital marketing, though, marketing your custom home building business may feel intimidating. As a custom home builder, you're offering a niche, high-cost service that your audience may never know about if you lack an online presence, which is why it's so important to create a digital marketing plan that builds awareness and trust. 

In this post, we're going to walk you through some of the key aspects of digital marketing by sharing some of the most important steps you can take to promote your business online. By the end of this post, we hope that you feel inspired to start designing and building a digital marketing plan that will rival your latest custom home!

Looking for more support in marketing your custom home building business? We know that managing a marketing strategy while also managing operations for a business can be challenging. Our team can help. Contact us today to find out how we can build your digital brand while you focus on building your business!

Digital Marketing for Custom Home Building Businesses

Claim Your Google My Business Listing. 

Claiming your business' listing on Google is one of the first things you should do when looking to promote your business online. Not only will this increase the likelihood of your business appearing in potential customers' search results, but it will also improve your credibility in the eyes of customers who find your listing. Having the ability to showcase your business name, website, phone number, address, hours, and customer reviews will improve the customers' perception of your business as legitimate.

In addition to legitimacy, having a Google My Business listing is also one of the fastest ways provide the most information possible to customers who are searching for your brand, product, or service without having to get them to your website. Claiming your listing means that potential leads within range of your location conducting searches for your service will find your business quickly and straight-forwardly. One of the best parts of Google My Business? It's free to claim your business and can result in thousands of impressions of your business online!

Invest in Search Engine Optimization.

One of the most valuable things that your custom home building business can invest in is search engine optimization. Search engine optimization (also known as SEO), is the process of improving your website's unpaid visibility in search engines like Google through a number of technical and creative techniques. The goal of SEO is to make your website more visible online, thereby increasing your traffic and ultimately sales results. 

When your target audience is searching for a custom home builder in the area you service, one of the first things that customer will do is conduct a Google search to find some of the brands they could work with. When they enter keywords related to your business, such as "custom home builder [insert your city here]", having your website appear on the first page can make or break your ability to make the sale. If your competitors have invested in SEO and you have not, it's likely that you'll lose the customer to the one who has taken the time to ensure that their website is optimized for Google.

SEO is all about building your brand's topic authority for the product or service you offer. Some of the ways you can do this are through on-page SEO; including meta tag optimization, using the right heading tags, releasing relevant content such as blog posts, including relevant keywords throughout all of your pages, and much more. The truth is, website optimization is an ongoing, ever-changing art that typically requires a team of marketing specialists who can keep your website relevant as SEO changes over time. If you're new to the world of SEO and are wondering how to start optimizing your website, download our free SEO Checklist to get started today! 

Create a Social Media Community. 

If we know anything about social media, it's that it's not going away any time soon — in fact, there are 3.397 billion active users on social media today. Creating social media profiles for your custom home building business is an excellent way to start gaining followers online, share content such as promotions and behind the scenes photos of your work, as well as develop relationships with past and future customers. 

Before creating your profile(s), the first thing to consider is which social media platform your target audience is spending the majority of their time on. If you create profiles on pages like Twitter and Google+ but your audience is spending their time browsing through Instagram and Facebook, you'll miss the opportunity to connect with them where they are. As a custom home builder, it's likely that you'll want to choose platforms that allow you to showcase your work visually, such as Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. These are common platforms for businesses who are looking to share photos of their products while also simultaneously building relationships with their current and future client base.

Once you've created your profile(s), it's time to determine what types of content you are going to share. When it comes to content, the sky is really the limit! Your followers may respond well to before and after images of your work, progress updates on projects, customer testimonials, or inspirational images. An easy tool to create customer testimonials is Clipchamp. Over time, you will notice trends in which posts perform the best and will gain a deeper understanding of what it is your followers really appreciate about your business page. 

Use Paid Ads

So you have a brand website, you've claimed your Google My Business listing, invested in SEO, created social media profiles, and you're still not noticing any positive results. Now what?

Often, the investments that you make in digital marketing can take time to be realized by search engines. Google still needs to recognize your SEO efforts, and building a large following on social media doesn't happen overnight. Don't lose hope, though—one of the ways to accelerate getting noticed online is to invest in Paid Ads. Paid Ads come in many forms, including popular tools like Google Ads, Facebook Ads, YouTube Ads and even LinkedIn ads. For a small investment, these platforms allow you to pay for the traffic, impressions, and hopefully conversions that you are looking for. 

Facebook Advertising is an incredible tool that allows you to target your audience intentionally, down to their interests, hobbies, or stage of life. You can create and send ads to the people you want to notice your custom home building business online, directing more traffic to your website or social media pages. Companies like Relevantly help businesses like yours in running Facebook Advertising campaigns by researching your audience and creating ads that are proven to convert! Keep in mind, though, that paid ads are not and shouldn't be used as a substitute for search engine optimization. While paid ads are a great short term solution for traffic, they won't generate the results you are looking for over time. Finding the right balance between SEO and paid ads for your business i the best approach to take.

Start Building

As a home builder, you've worked too hard on your custom homes to let them go unnoticed. By investing in a digital marketing strategy, including website SEO, social media, and paid ads, we really believe that your business will gain the online traction it needs to thrive. 

Wondering how to get started or how to balance marketing your business while running it? We understand that business owners have a lot on their plate, which is why our team at Profitworks has helped countless home builders like you create and run an effective marketing strategy. Contact us today to find out how we can help!

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Creating an online presence for your business is an incredible way to generate loyal customers while also marketing your services towards new ones. Social media for home renovation businesses can seem complicated, but we've created this how-to guide to help you demystify the world of social media and develop a community around your brand. 

The reality is, you're busy building both your business and homes as a home renovation business owner. If you're looking for support in growing your brand online, Profitworks can help. At Profitworks, we are a team of marketing experts with experience helping home renovation businesses like yours rise to the top of search engines and build brand awareness online. Contact our team today to find out how we can help!

Social Media for Home Renovation Business: Your How-To-Guide

1. Create Social Profile(s).

The first step in launching your social media strategy for your home renovation business is to select and create your social profile(s). When deciding where to invest your time, it's important to consider where the majority of your target audience or current customers are spending their time online. For example, Pinterest and Instagram are two fantastic places to provide visual inspiration to followers, showcasing your work in the renovation business. On the other hand, Twitter is a very text-heavy platform that may not be the best fit for storing images and connecting with customers on a personal level. 

Almonte uses their Facebook Page to showcase their work to current and future customers as well as giving them a behind-the-scenes look at their projects.

Almonte, a Canadian Home Renovation company, has chosen Facebook as one of their social platforms to engage with customers. Facebook is a fantastic tool for all businesses, offering specialized business pages that allow customers to submit reviews, learn more about your business, and even reach out to you directly. What's more, Facebook pages are also a great place to share all types of content that's relevant to your business, whether you choose to share images of your projects, blog articles of interest to followers, or simply say "Merry Christmas" to your customers during the holidays.

In addition to Facebook's versatility for businesses, it also comes with access to Facebook Advertising, a powerful way to intentionally target an audience with relevant content. Facebook Advertising is an extremely effective way to meet your business' objectives online, whether gaining more likes on your Facebook page, driving traffic to your website, or increasing conversions. Companies like Relevantly specialize in helping small businesses make the most of Facebook advertising dollars with expert targeting and ad generation. 

2. Use Content to Create a Community.

The next step in creating an online community is to share content that will engage, inspire, and educate your customers about your business! When it comes to creating unique content, the options for your business are truly endless. From before and after images of major projects, to updates on your latest demolition, to a generous giveaway, there are a number of posts you can share that offer value to your followers while also developing ties to your brand.

The Restoring House showcases personal work on their Instagram page to bring followers along on their journey.

The Restoring House page on Instagram follows the journey of a family with a home renovation business as they purchase and flip houses. By sharing inspiring before and after images, the page has grown to more than 4,000 followers who frequently comment and like each image posted. Choosing to take a simple before and after picture of your project can lead to an endless stream of content and an online community that relies on your posts for their daily inspiration!

3. Offer Customer Service.

One of the best uses of social media for your business is to provide better customer service to your followers. Pre-social media and e-commerce, many consumers would spend time researching products or services on the internet and many of their questions would go un-answered until engaging with the business in person. Today, this is no longer the case—consumers don't just want to find the information they're looking for on the web, they also expect immediate customer service to be available to them through social media or website chatbots.

Facebook Messenger is an incredible way to engage with customer questions and concerns quickly.

Facebook Messenger and Instagram Direct Messages are fantastic tools to provide the level of instant customer service that your business is looking for. Questions come through in real time and notifications are sent directly to your account, letting you know that a customer is interested in chatting with you. By taking advantage of this feature and responding in a timely manner, you are much more likely to turn the prospect into a sale. Not only will they recognize the quality of your customer service, but you will also provide the information they need to reach the end of their decision-making process.

4. Encourage Customer Reviews.

Similarly to customer service, social media is also a great way to generate customer loyalty by having the opportunity to encourage customer reviews. Customer reviews are a great way to strengthen ties between your brand and happy customers while also showing future customers that you offer reliable, quality services. 

Encourage and respond to customer reviews on social media. This shows prospective customers that you offer great services, but also that you care about what customers have to say.

Whitecrest Custom Home Renovations uses a business Facebook page to showcase their 5-star rating for home renovation services. For customers looking for similar services in their area, finding a brand with a 5-star rating and glowing reviews helps narrow down the options in the decision-making process. After completing a project for a client, make an effort to send a nice note requesting their review. Not only will this benefit your brand, but giving the client a chance to reflect on their positive experience will strengthen their ties to you, too!

Building a Better Brand 

Now that you have some of the tips and tricks required to build a loyal social media following, we hope you feel ready to start building a memorable brand online! Are you looking for more support in getting your social media strategy off the ground? Our team of marketing experts can help. Contact us to find out how we can support you in growing awareness of your brand online today. 

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Social media for electricians doesn't always come easy. As an electrician, finding time to balance all of your responsibilities can be a difficult task. You may be wondering, "How can I fit social media into my busy schedule?" The truth is, incorporating a social strategy into your role as an electrician doesn't need to be time-consuming. In fact, getting into a simple routine with posting can actually result in a steady stream of clients for your business, making social media for electricians a valuable investment!

To help you get started, we're sharing four simple steps to launch your social media accounts and create an online community for your services.

If you simply don't have the time to incorporate social media into your schedule as an electrician, we understand. For support in your marketing strategy, contact our team at Profitworks for support today!

Social Media for Electricians: 4 Simple Steps To Get Started

1. Create an Online Presence

The first step in launching your social media strategy is choosing the social media platforms that you want your business to be listed on. One of the first things that customers do before booking a service is research their options online, meaning its important for your business to have an online presence and positive reviews.

Some of the most valuable platforms for business owners include Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn,  Pinterest, and Google+. All of these platforms offer business-specific features and tools to support business owners in growing brand awareness online. When it comes to choosing the right platforms for your business, you have to ask the question, "Where does my target audience spend their time or look for information?" The reality is, social media platforms are not one-size-fits-all. For example, if you offer commercial electrical services, it may be more beneficial for you to invest your time on LinkedIn where other business owners are located, vs. Instagram or Pinterest.

Once you've chosen your platforms and claimed your business pages, be sure to take the extra time to include all company information that would be relevant to a prospective customer who discovers your page. Things like company hours, address, website and background information can all be valuable pieces of information that lead users to follow your page or message you directly for more information.

For example, similarly to Walmart, create a Facebook page for your electrical services that includes all of the information that a prospective customer would need to decide to contact you. This may include your business hours, services, as well as images of your work to generate interest.

Another key feature of these platforms is that they all offer advertising services that you can leverage to promote your brand even further. For example, Facebook's advertising services allow business owners to run highly-targeted ads to Facebook users in order to achieve different objectives, such as driving traffic to your website, growing brand awareness, or increasing conversions. Companies like Relevantly specialize in Facebook Advertising to help business owners get the most out of their advertising dollars through intentional targeting and well-crafted ads. After launching a brand Facebook page, the advertising feature is a fantastic way to showcase your new page and generate some interest from people in your area who may be interested in your electrical services.

2. Develop Your Online Community

Now that you have made account(s) on social media platforms, it's time to actually create the content that your audience will want to see! There a number of different types of content that you can share online, including images of projects that your business is working on, before and after images, company-wide updates, contests or giveaways, customer reviews or even company blog posts. When it comes to the type of content you should share, there is no right or wrong answer. It's really about finding what your audience loves to engage with and maintaining the balance between over-posting and not posting enough to keep them interested.

It's important to remember that social media is not just about posting your content online but maintaining a two-way conversation between your business and your audience. This means that taking the time to respond to comments, reviews, and messages is important in actually developing a sense of community online that will lead to more potential clients and stronger brand loyalty.

3. Supplement Customer Service

One of the most beneficial aspects of having a social media presence for your brand is that it allows you to elevate the level of customer service provided to customers. Many individuals on social media use their accounts to research brands, products, and services, and having a presence means that you are able to quickly respond to customer questions or complaints. This makes their experience looking for the services that you offer more enjoyable, creating a more positive perception of your brand overall.

In the same way that Canadian Tire uses Instagram to respond to customer inquiries, your electrical business can respond to comments on images, whether positive or negative, to maintain relationship with your followers.

Tools like Facebook Messenger and Instagram Direct are both critical for your business to monitor for messages from current or prospective customers. Taking time to review your messages each day or as they come in will ensure that you don't miss any customer questions and are able to provide the best digital customer service possible.

4. Leverage Customer Reviews

Gone are the days that customers review services anonymously or keep their experiences to themselves--these days, reviews are shared much more openly and frequently on social media. As a business owner, seeing these reviews come through on your social media pages is an excellent opportunity to respond and either thank customers who have left positive ones or address customers who have had negative experiences. When followers of your page see your commitment to engaging with reviews, it will give them a more positive perception of your brand, too. 

In addition to the reviews that come through organically, having social media pages also presents an opportunity for you to personally ask customers to review your services. This is a great way to keep up communication with past customers and increase the number of positive reviews on your page!

Stay Current as an Electrician with Social Media

Now that you've been equipped with the steps to take in launching your social media strategy, we hope that you feel confident in creating an online community for your electrical services. Keeping your business "current" is important, and social media for electricians is one of the best ways to do it!

Looking for more support with social media or your small business' marketing strategy? Profitworks can help! We are a team of marketing experts with experience helping countless small business owners, including electricians, improve their digital marketing strategy. Contact our team to find out how we can help.

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Social media marketing is an extremely valuable tool for electricians to promote their services, making coming up with the right post ideas for electricians equally important! Click here to get help.

According to Smart Insights, 90% of social media users have used social media to communicate with a brand or business they're interested in. As the owner of an electrical company, you may have caught yourself wondering if a stat like this could actually apply to you. Although your clientele may largely be the result of word of mouth recommendation or website traffic, we believe that engaging on social media with the right content could take your business even further. Lets us help you utilize social media to generate business for your electrical contractor company.

At a loss about what to actually post on social media? In this article, we're going to share 6 post ideas for your electrical company to start engaging on the platforms your customers are using. It's time to trade in your brand's empty newsfeed for one full of engaging content!

6 Social Media Post Ideas for Electricians

1. Before and Afters

As an electrician, you work on projects that many of your customers can't even begin to understand the scope of. From fixing poorly wired circuits to wiring an entire building, we know that the work of an electrician is essential but often misunderstood. One of the best ways to showcase your knowledge and your skill level is to actually include before and after images of projects you've worked on or sites you've visited to visually display the work that was done. 

Electrical Contractors Colony Electrical use before and after photos to emphasize the level of work that goes into their projects while showing current or potential customers how they could solve their problems as well. The simple but important to step to snap a before and after photo of your project could make the difference between someone finding your business on social media and deciding to give you a call or not!

2. Giveaways and Contests

Social media contests aren't just for cruise lines--you can offer them as an electrician, too! Whether you offer a free inspection to one lucky follower or even a gift card to say "thank you" at the end of the year, running a social media giveaway or contest is a great way to give back to your followers while building more awareness for your brand.

One of the most effective ways to run a social media giveaway is to post on Facebook or Instagram and request that followers complete a certain number of steps in order to be entered to win, based on your contest objective. For example, if you are looking to gain more followers, simply request that followers "share" your post with their networks to be entered to win. On the other hand, if you're looking to increase post engagement, request that users like or comment on your post so that it appears in the newsfeeds of their friends as well.

After the allotted time period has ended, select one lucky winner to award the grand prize, and take advantage of the influx of engagement or followers to remind your customers of why they're following you. The weeks following a giveaway are an excellent time to offer discounts and incentives that can result in more jobs for you as well!

3. Customer Reviews

Word of mouth is one of the most effective methods of generating new customers. Why not test this theory on social media as well? 

By keeping a record of all customer reviews, you have a pool of content that you can share on social media to show future and current customers that you offer high-quality services that other people find value in, too. For past customers, this will strengthen ties to your business, and for future customers, it will communicate to them that you offer the best electrical services they can find. 

Another benefit of using social media as an electrician is the fact that many social media platforms actually include tools for customers to leave reviews directly on your page as well. Happy customers can "grade" your services from 1 to 5 stars, while providing a short description of why they did or didn't enjoy their experience. This is a great way for you to encourage happy customers to leave some love on your page and help you stand out among competitors!

4. Company Announcements 

Another source of content for your social media profile as an electrician is company announcements. Changing business locations as you grow? Modifying hours over the holiday season? Won an award that your followers would love to know about?

All of these instances are perfect opportunities to pop on to social media and let your followers know about the most recent happenings for your business. They're extremely easy to share and the frequent updates will keep your customers in the loop, too! 

5. Showcase Your Staff

You work hard to ensure that you've got the best staff around on your team. Taking the extra step to showcase them and their incredible work on social media is a fantastic way to create content for your brand! By sharing an image of one of your team members and highlighting what makes them so great at what they do, you will increase employee morale by showing staff that they are appreciated.

The benefit isn't just for your staff, though. Taking the time to recognize employees online also gives your customers a glimpse into what it's like to work for your you, and they'll be happy to know that your business recognizes and respects the hard work that your employees put in. It will also allow them to get to know the other electricians they could be working with by choosing your services, making the decision to hire you even easier!

6. Industry Updates 

Finally, industry updates are another great way to tap into a stream of content that you can share on social media as an electrician. In your industry, regulations and codes are often changing, making it difficult to consistently educate customers about what you can and cannot offer. For this reason, platforms like Electrical Industry Canada actually maintain a "Changing Scene" section of their website to release articles and updates about the industry to electricians and others who want to stay in the know.

For example, for an electrician in Alberta, Canada, an update from the Electrical Industry Canada about new Alberta energy efficiency codes would be the perfect article to share with followers on social. This creates another source of content for you as an electrician, but also allows you to easily keep your followers informed and engaged.

Take Your Business to The Next Level With Social Media  

Profitworks Small Business Services is a team of marketing experts offering services to improve website traffic and conversion as well as social media strategy. The focus of our services is increasing sales and providing a positive return on investment. To learn more about Profitworks and how we can help you improve your social strategy, click here!