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Category "Digital Marketing for Contractors"

Home » Digital Marketing for Contractors
Digital Marketing for Contractors
13

Video Marketing Strategies for Contractors

The hardest part of marketing is standing out from the competition. In today’s information-saturated world, customers find plenty of choices just by typing into a search engine.

If you’re a contractor who wants to differentiate your brand, one of the best strategies is video marketing.  A video enables the capture of a huge range of messages and information in a short, easily absorbed format.  No matter what type of online (or offline) presence your business has, good use of videos is going to add value to almost every aspect of your marketing.

Read on to discover what types of video marketing for contractors are out there, as well as details of how to build a video strategy that will work for you and your business. We also consider the advantages that video marketing can bring, laying out the details of the benefits companies enjoy when they decide to make video a part of their brand.

What is Video Content?

At its most basic, video content is the use of moving visual imagery to convey your message. Within this definition, there is an enormous amount of variety. Videos may be anything from a few seconds long through to several minutes. Instructional (how-to) videos may be even longer. Videos may be silent, use speech, or feature background music. You may find black-and-white videos, animated videos, cartoon videos, or abstract imagery.

Ultimately, the style, content, and format of your video content is determined by the message you wish to convey. There’s no need to stick with a single style for all the videos that your company uses – some contractors decide to have a number of videos created, each of which showcases a particular facet of their organization. This allows significant variety, enabling each video to be specifically tailored to meet its unique objectives.

What are the Various Types of Video Content That Contractors use?

There are several different types of videos available. Depending on your video strategy, some of the options that you may wish to utilize include:

  • A corporate introduction (for example introducing senior team members and defining the organization’s mission statement).
  • Content from users (which works particularly well on social media).
  • A “how-to” or instructional video, perhaps showing how your products work.
  • An animated product description. This might use animation to detail the unique selling points of your product, show the location of key features, or otherwise demonstrate why what you create is worth having.
  • A presentation or video of an event.
  • An interview, perhaps with a company representative, or a satisfied customer (who might provide a video testimonial).
  • A virtual tour of your company.
  • Webinar material.
  • A customized video that’s created to your specifications.

One piece of video marketing may cover several different functions. The final format of your video material depends on what you, as a contractor, feel to be the elements of your organization that are most appropriately presented in a video format.

Using a skilled, experienced marketing company to create your videos can also be valuable. Their representative will usually go through the various options with you, providing advice and guidance on what might work well for your business.

What Objectives can Video Marketing Achieve?

There are a number of advantages that are specific to video marketing, and there are also several marketing objectives that a video is best placed to meet. Below are details of five objectives that a well-made video can achieve.

1. Enhance Brand Awareness

There’s been plenty of research to show that people retain visual imagery more easily and reliably than they do the written word. It’s little surprise that some of the most iconic brands are instantly recognizable from their logo or color scheme, with no reference to the written word.

The same is true of a video – watchers will watch only a few seconds of footage, but in that time, your logo and branding could be displayed dozens of times. Research shows that the average person will look at an online advert for somewhere between one to two seconds. Imagine how much more of an impression you’re going to create if your audience is watching a video that lasts fifteen or twenty seconds.

2. Market Your Organization and Your Product Effectively

Videos are a fantastic marketing tool. A video allows you to showcase your products: not only can users see what the product looks like and get a good sense of its size, a short video that can demonstrate its potential is going to enable a fast appreciation of its unique selling points.

It’s possible to pack an enormous amount of information into a video, at the same time making it entertaining and appealing to watch. Note that videos aren’t just matter-of-fact product listings or documentary-style pieces of film. A skilled video creator will use artistry and proven camera techniques to capture the impression you wish to convey.

A well-chosen backdrop or backing track can evoke an emotion in the watcher that copy alone just can’t match.

3. Novelty Value

It’s not just consumers who value something a little different when it comes to gaining fresh knowledge about products and services – business decision-makers also value an approach that’s fresh and different. Every video created is a unique piece of footage, designed to create the type of content your audience wants to see more of.

Advanced technology gives access to a wide range of different visual effects and options to create videos that are compelling viewing. If you want to grab your audience’s attention, video is the perfect solution.

4. Improve Audience Engagement

Research shows that people of all ages prefer visual content to the written word. The aim of any marketing is to make engagement with content as straightforward and effortless as possible. Developing a video strategy that aims to provide the type of content your audience can’t get enough of can be a key driver of marketing success.

5. Educate Your Audience

Whether you want to show how your products work, demonstrate their benefits, tell your audience more about your organization or deliver messages about your ethics and methods of trading, a video is an effective educational tool.

Not only does video enable new visitors to your site to learn more about you and your products, but a series of educational videos also provides an evergreen resource that users will come back to and share repeatedly.

The Benefits of Video Marketing for Contractors

It’s little surprise that videos are a key part of successful marketing strategies. Not only do they require very little maintenance once uploaded, but a well-made video can also stay current and relevant for years.

If you’re still not sure that video marketing is going to be right for you, take a look at six amazing benefits that contractors can enjoy when they opt for video content.

1. Google Favors Video Content

If you’re wanting to rank highly in search returns (and who doesn’t?), video content could help. Google algorithms pick up relevant video content. It can also carry more weight than text alone, helping your site to gain a more prominent profile.

2. Videos Offer Value-for-Money

Unlike written content, which requires frequent updating to retain relevancy, a video can stay current for months or even years. Given the high levels of engagement and potential conversions that video can generate, its ROI is high compared with other content options.

3. Video Works for Mobile Users

The small screen doesn’t adapt well to vast quantities of written data. In comparison, a video is easy to view, like, and share. In a world where the Internet is accessed from cell phones more frequently than desktops or laptops, a video is potentially a profitable option.

4. Videos Build Trust

Trust is an essential part of any sales transaction. If, as a contractor, you can demonstrate your credentials and trustworthiness to your client base, you’re already well on the way to securing a sale.

Videos make a strong visual statement – creators can build in dialogue, body language, associations, backdrops, and sound that all work together to enhance the trustworthy image you need to convey.

5. Accessing Video is Easy

The easier you can make it for your audience to access information about you and your products, the more likely they are to purchase from you. Consumers are busy people: as such, they crave low-effort solutions to the problems they face. A video provides instant gratification, enabling your audience to find the solutions they seek simply by clicking on an icon.

The effortless nature of video viewing is one of the key reasons it’s such a successful marketing medium.

6. Fast, Simple Explanations

One of the major benefits of a video is that it enables complex concepts and lengthy pieces of information to be rapidly conveyed in seconds. This makes it highly versatile – whether you sell heavy plant, legal services, technical manuals, or any other sophisticated product, video allows you to convey what it is and how it can work for users in a rapid, accessible manner.

With so many benefits, it’s clear why a growing number of contractors include videos in their advertising, on their websites, and as part of their social media presence.

Ready to enjoy the added revenue a video can bring? Get in touch for further information?

Glacier Code, LLC
June 10, 2021
Digital Marketing for Contractors
17

3 Steps to Getting Started: Digital Marketing for Contractors

Digital marketing is essential for contractors and that’s no secret. With all of the documentation out there, many DIY marketers/business owners first try to do things themselves. We’re here to tell you, that’s the right move.

Browse the following resources and choose a few ideas that seem reasonable. Then come back, and let’s discuss the basics for any and all DIY marketers.

Here’s a list of online resources to help you get started:

  1. Online Marketing for Contractors
  2. 5 Hard Truths Contractors Don’t Want To Hear About Digital Marketing
  3. 4 New Tools Improving Digital Marketing for HVAC Contractors
  4. 50+ CONTRACTOR DIGITAL MARKETING STATISTICS
  5. DIGITAL MARKETING GUIDE FOR CONTRACTORS
  6. Digital Marketing Strategies Contractors Can Use to Generate New Business Efficiently
  7. 5 Digital Marketing Ideas for Construction Companies
  8. Top 10 Promotion & Marketing Ideas For A Construction Business
  9. Top Social Media Marketing Strategies for Construction Brands
  10. 101 SOCIAL MEDIA IDEAS FOR CONTRACTORS

The fact is, there’s lots of informative and helpful information out there on digital marketing for contractors that you can employ today. Before you start down the long rabbit hole of new marketing initiatives, use this guide to bring your website up to par and write a digital marketing strategy to compliment those efforts.

Prelude

Now, the following steps are very important to any digital strategy, but of course we cannot cover everything in a short blog post. Regardless, these three steps are sure to get any business a great head start in generating traffic, leads or brand awareness.


Step 1: Refreshing Your Website

Think about it. You’re standing on the corner of Center and Main. On the left is one restaurant with beautiful, modern decor. On the right is another that screams ‘Health Code Violations Here!’

Which are you going to choose?

Like it or not, times have changed and your website is your new store front. In fact, we would argue that your website says more about your company then your logo does.

You may be thinking ‘Where do I start?!‘ Fear not. Many web development agencies offer ‘refresh’ solutions that are far more affordable than an entire website rebuild.

Don’t skim the infographic below. Take a look through this beautiful addition from HubSpot on the anatomy of great web design. This should give you a roadmap to spotting any issues with your current digital storefront.

Infographic courtesy of HubSpot:

#2: Outline a Digital Marketing Plan: Awareness

Too many DIY marketers read half a blog post then feel qualified to start throwing money at paid media and/or fraudulent digital marketing agencies. Digital marketing is very tactical and contractors should be strategic before jumping into new channels.

Before you waste budget on a Facebook boosted post, or that AdWords company that cold called you, outline your own plan. Start this outline by placing yourself in the shoes of your prospective client. If this client had no idea you existed, how would you make them aware of your brand? You have one shot. What value proposition do you put in front of them?

In other words, where do you want prospects to first discover your company? Social media? Digital display ads? Google search? All of the above? Where ever you’re looking to generate awareness, make sure you put an offer in front of these users that’s valuable to them, whether or not they make a purchase immediately.

Here’s a sample outline to give you an idea of where an agency might start.

  1. Goals
    1. Sign three new kitchen remodeling prospects.
    2. Acquire leads at less than $100 per lead.
    3. Signed contracts at less than $1,000 per contract.
    4. Gross more than $30,000 per contract.
  2. Prospects
    1. Annual income range $150,000 or above.
    2. 80/20 female to male impression volume.
    3. 30 to 55 years of age.
    4. Married with 0 to 3 children.
    5. Located within a 10 mile radius of Scottsdale, Arizona.
  3. Strategy
    1. Develop a free kitchen catalog for every price point.
    2. Write and implement a new landing page.
    3. Optimize landing page for local SEO.
    4. Gate catalog so that download requires email address.
    5. Sync email form to email CRM.
    6. Commit $200 per day to GEO and interest focused Facebook Ads.
  4. Measure
    1. Track impressions purchased and relative click through rate.
    2. Track landing page visits.
    3. Track average time on page.
    4. Track gated form conversion rate.

Step 3: Outline a Digital Marketing Plan: Measurement

While it’s not listed until step 3, measurement should be top of mind through the entire construction of this strategy. If your bottom line is the bottom line, then you must first establish the value of a lead to your brand. If you’re looking to increase the reach of your brand, then impression volume and CTR are most important to you. If you’re looking to increase lead volume at a reasonable cost per lead, then landing page conversion rates should track extensively. 

Again, all this information begs the question, “Where do you start?” Measurement is intimidating at first, but very doable for the average DIY marketer. A little elbow grease and learning power goes a long way in setting up the following recommended tools:

  1. Google Search Console (Best for tracking organic sessions, keyword impressions and click through rates. Can also be used for technical SEO practices.).
  2. Google Analytics (The mothership of measurement. Use for tracking all sources of traffic and user engagement on your website.).
  3. Facebook Pixel (Like it or not, Facebook is here to stay. Installing their pixel unlocks additional analytics, as well as enhancements to their advertising algorithms for when you launch your first Facebook ads.).
  4. Google Tag Manager: GTM is more of an honorable mention, as it doesn’t actually provide analytics, but instead enables multiple pixel installation that doesn’t bog down the load time of your website. 

In Conclusion

Now, we hope this blog overwhelmed you just a bit, as that would mean we’re getting somewhere. Digital marketing is a competitive space, especially for contractors. If you can take the time to learn a few tricks, then you’re already a step ahead. Start with an fresh website, outline of your digital marketing  plan, an awareness strategy and install the proper tools needed for measurement. With these steps, you’ll be ready to drive more leads in no time at all!

 

Glacier Code, LLC
December 11, 2018
Digital Marketing for Contractors, Digital Marketing Strategies, Facebook
18

Marketing Foundations: Digital Marketing For Contractors

Digital marketing is for every profession, even contractors. If you’re reading this, and you already know you’re behind, then hurry. The digital marketing bug got a hold of the contracting industry in a big way. Today, most search results are dominated by companies like Home Advisor, Angie’s List, Home Depot, Thumbtack, Buildzoom… Should I continue?

The good news for you is that the digital marketing industry is also dominated by quality, not quantity. Meaning large companies can’t just run over the little guys with bigger budgets. The bottom line is that vendors within every digital channel have more incentive to get paid less and provide a better experience, rather than get paid more and provide users a bad experience.

Why? Because with billions of searches happening everyday, providing a better experience to our prospects assures repeat business. You know what they say, a fast nickel beats a slow dime. So there’s still time for you to build a solid digital foundation. The questions is, where do you start?

In this post, we’ll cover the right digital marketing strategy for contractors. Whether you’re a small family owned shop, or bordering on enterprise, these basic fundamentals are essential to taking the next step.

#1. Technical SEO

Assuming you have a professionally designed website, it’s important that Google knows how to use it. Picture your website as a book. If a user can read through it with ease, then you really have nothing to worry about. On the other hand, if your website is riddled with grammatical mistakes, there are blank pages serving no purpose, the index incorrectly identifies each chapter and the summary completely misidentifies the entire book, then Google will refrain from using it. As you can imagine, even one of these things being wrong is a major red flag for a book, as well as your website.

#2. Content Marketing

You want clients to identify your brand as a resource. Simply put, if your developing and promoting quality content on your website, then you’re good to go. That content is not only available for them to read, educate themselves and address their outstanding concerns, but it’s also there for Google to crawl and index.

Content marketing is an art and a science. Finding the right balance of trending inquiries and creative execution is the key to crafting usable, relevant content. If you’re not sure where to find that data, or how to produce that content, give us a call. We’ll hook you up with a free keyword map of relevant topics, based of market research, to start your content development.

#3. Paid Media for Contractors

Content marketing and search engine optimization take time. You’ll be waiting at least 3-6 months before real traffic comes knocking at your door. Expedite your content awareness with Paid Media, it’s well worth it.

Even if you’ve already accumulated a good amount of organic traffic, the bottom line is you have to pay to play in today’s digital marketing world. Facebook, Google, Amazon and the other tech giants around the globe are in a major cyber war right now. A war for your advertising dollars.

This war, like any competition, has forced all participants to be better. Better at advertising, algorithms, ad spend, targeting, etc… you get the point. They’re trying hard to win you over with results. Take advantage of the digital marketing war by advertising on some of the most efficient Paid Media channels.

We’re digital marketers at Glacier Code. But… if we were contractors… We would recommend diving into the sophisticated algorithm of Facebook, where you can segment by GEO, device, gender, interest and job titles. In other words, you can put an advertisement right in front of a homeowner, in Tennessee, who is a doctor and is interested in home renovations. How bout’ them apples!

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Glacier Code, LLC
November 12, 2018
928.978.3601
Phoenix, Arizona
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