Inbound marketing is about creating valuable experiences that have a positive impact on people and your business. How do you do that? You attract prospects and customers to your website and blog through relevant and helpful content. Once they arrive, you engage with them using conversational tools like email and chat and by promising continued value. And finally, you delight them by continuing to act as an empathetic advisor and expert. - HubSpot
Now that the internet has become an integral part of our daily lives, modern consumers no longer depend on television, radio, and print advertisements. We look and go through a plethora of information first, accessed through popular search engines (Google, Bing, etc.), before deciding to make a purchase or hire a local service.
Technology advancement allowed companies to promote and connect with a larger number of potential consumers compared to the traditional, physical presence of a brick-and-mortar store. As a Trade Contractor, you are no longer confined to your own neighborhood and push services directly to them, your online presence enables you to reach out and pull qualified leads towards your company. But what should you do when you don’t have a marketing manager that handles this side of your business? I say work with what you already have and go from there.
Grow your business and have your target clients come to you by leveraging these challenges and turning them into opportunities:
Content Creation
Includes photos, graphics, videos, copy, and blog posts on your website.
I know how this could be overwhelming especially when you’re a one-person team. Start small by thinking that it only needs to equal the thoughts of your customers. Build a persona from your ideal client – list down his/her Demographics (age, gender, profession, income, etc.) and his/her Psychographics (wants, problems, desires, pain points, frustrations, and other emotional triggers). Now every time you create content for your website, the context is base on your persona.
What can I blog about?
Tips, tutorials, how-to videos, answer the most common (or not so common) questions your clients ask you, their biggest issues, positive results of your project, all in a day’s work, your current project (the privacy and security of your client is still top priority so always be cautious when doing this type of post), best tools and emerging technologies you utilize to produce quality work, replacement options, questions to ask before hiring a contractor, inspiring spaces, checklists, contractor best practices
Pick a topic and compose an excellent title. Write your blog post in a conversational manner with a casual tone, as if you’re talking to your client, and increase readability by breaking it up into parts by using paragraphs and bullet points.
Social Media
Your social media presence makes your company accessible to your prospective clients, it promotes awareness and increases web traffic.
Consider your persona and research what platform will serve you best.
LinkedIn – professionals, work connections, business owners
Facebook – middle-aged consumers
Instagram – younger audience, teens to young adults
Also, here are Twitter, Pinterest, and YouTube statistics and fun facts for your reference.
If you’re not confident and savvy, I suggest going through social media sites to check where your competitors are and how they interact with their patrons. Pick three platforms to start with and download their mobile apps. Share bite-size information and good, quality photos to attract potential clients.
What can I post about?
Since people retain more information when a post is paired with a relevant image, let’s focus on photos:
Behind the scenes, team/crew, office, quotes, industry insight, local photo, community event you’re sponsoring/attending, random tips, latest news
Keep in mind that consistency is key. Interact with your audience and always be authentic.
Reviews And Testimonials
Here comes the Word of Mouth in the online world. Reviews come from review sites which are beyond your control and Testimonials come from past clients that you’ve gathered directly.
Include a Testimonials page/section to your website and encourage previous customers to leave you feedback by providing them a form they can fill out.
In conclusion:
I know how all of these could be intimidating at first due to lack of experience and/or being preoccupied with projects to finish but understand that as a business owner, your strategies need to evolve and expand for your company to prosper. If you’re looking to learn more about Inbound Marketing, I cannot recommend HubSpot enough, you can take their free online courses or attend an in-person event near you.
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