As an electrician, you can only rely on word-of-mouth referrals and recurring clients for so long. The key to increasing your leads and sales, as well as differentiating your business from your top competitors, lies in how your company is marketed online.
We’ve rounded up the 5 key areas of electrician marketing that will allow you to generate more business than ever before.
Build a Great Website
Your website acts as the go-to source of information for people who are interested in your services. Not only does it establish your brand and showcase who you are, but a successful website will also boost your credibility, act as a portfolio of your previous work, and allow consumers to discover how you can help them.
To create a successful website for your electrician business, you’ll want to ensure it ticks the following boxes:
- Fast load time: This prevents visitors from becoming frustrated and looking elsewhere for what they require. Over half (53%) of mobile users will hit the ‘back’ button if a website doesn’t load within three seconds.
- Mobile-friendly: During last year, 54% of global visits to websites occurred on a mobile phone, compared to just 42% visits via desktop. This figure is only increasing from year-to-year, so having a website that isn’t optimized for mobile could significantly reduce your audience.
- Speaks to your audience: Your website is also one of the best channels for directly communicating to your target audience. Therefore, ensure it states how you can help them, what services you offer, and what makes you the best choice. Focus on appealing to your target consumer through the language, imagery, and colour scheme you use.
- Secure: Having an SSL certificate reassures visitors that their details are safe in your hands, thus building confidence as they browse your website. Additionally, search engines such as Google and Bing favour secure websites in their search results.
- Pleasant design: Your website might contain all of the elements listed above, but unless it has an aesthetically pleasing design that is easy to navigate and user-friendly, it will be less effective. Rather than trying to design your website yourself, consider working with an experienced agency specializing in electrician website design and development.
Focus on Local SEO
It’s one thing to have the perfect website, but unless you’re implementing local SEO (Search Engine Optimization) tactics, your audience may have trouble ever finding it.
Three-quarters (76%) of people search for local services in Google with 96% of clicks going to the top 4 search results. SEO helps to improve your website’s rankings in the search engine results page so that local users find your business first.
To improve your local SEO, you’ll need to do three things:
- Install Schema markup (a universal language all search engines can read and comprehend)
- Have a Google My Business profile that includes up-to-date and accurate business information, generates reviews, answers searchers’ questions, select the correct primary business categories, and establishes your business as a service area business.
- Verify listings in industry-specific directories to ensure your business information is consistent and up to date.
Publish Content
When focusing on contractor marketing efforts, you also can’t underestimate the value of great content – particularly in the form of helpful blog articles or videos.
In 2020, 96% of consumers increased their online video consumption, while 90% of viewers said they wanted to see more videos from brands and businesses.
Creating a short video showing your brand’s personality can have a significant impact on conversion. It makes you seem relatable and approachable to consumers, thus boosting your trust and credibility.
Additionally, publishing helpful content on a blog that relates to your target audience’s most common queries or problems can do wonders for your business. Readers will see you as an authority regarding all things electrical and turn to you to solve their related problems.
Of course, running your own business takes up an incredible amount of your day, so you might consider outsourcing your content creation to those who specialize in this arena.
Embrace Social Media Marketing
Many electricians tend to overlook social media as a method of marketing their services. However, having a presence on social media makes your brand more accessible to existing and future customers.
This is because customers are doing their research on platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, particularly when looking for recommendations, inspiration, and contractors that can handle their projects.
Ideally, you will want to post content on social media at least three times per week. This content should be a mix of promotional and informational content that demonstrates how you’re solving your target customer’s pain points.
Entertaining and educating your audience is the best way to build your social media network.
Utilize Online Advertising
The final electrician marketing tip is to embrace online advertising methods to get your business in front of more potential customers. These include:
- Google ads
Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising allows your contractor business to show at the top of relevant search results. This helps you to reach the right people when they are actively searching for what you have to offer.
- Local service ads
When you target your exact service area, you’re instantly placed in front of your target audience. Not only does this boost your leads, but it also enhances your brand recognition and awareness among the local community.
- Social media ads
With advanced targeting capabilities, social media ads allow your business to reach social media users based on their specific interests, demographics, and locations.
Rather than waiting for your ideal customer to come to you, advertising your business through these methods helps to put your electrician services front and center.
