The average sale price for Portland real estate is now up over 11% from last year as consumers gain more confidence in the economy. If you’re in the homeowner service industry, this is great news for you! Not only are people buying homes, they’re investing more in remodeling and home improvement projects.
Note: The Portland Monthly put out a great interactive map outlining the rising home sale prices by Portland neighborhood –check it out.
Today’s homeowner is seeking to increase their home’s value by investing in projects that deliver both form and function. Landscaping upgrades, energy-efficiency modifications, additional rooms and bathrooms are all value-adds worthy of investment when home prices rise.
Finding an effective way to connect with these potential customers is essential. In today’s world of “pins” and social media sharing, consumers’ use multiple sources for ideas, advice, and service providers. Angie’s List, Houzz, Facebook, Yelp and other online resources are all potential places to sell your brand and services. Should you use them all? Focus on one?
A targeted digital marketing strategy that considers where your potential clients are searching and what they are looking for is essential to tapping into the opportunities in this current market.
Developing a Homeowner Services Digital Strategy
Developing a plan that uses the most effective digital media outlets to reach precisely your target customer will result in measurable success (here is just one of our case studies showing how).
For homeowner service providers there are many opportunities to get in front of your audience and see results. A carefully developed combination of these marketing efforts is what makes success.
PAID ADVERTISING:
A well-executed paid advertising campaign in Google Adwords or Bing AdCenter is often a great place to start. With paid ads you can drive traffic and sales leads quickly and in a targeted manner. Paid advertising allows homeowner service providers to turn the sales funnel on quickly and direct ad dollars toward specific services, store locations or special offers. Paid advertising of this nature can also be easily scaled back during off seasons or when bookings are full. When coupled with sales-focused landing pages that track leads and phone numbers, paid advertising can be a powerful part of a digital strategy.
SOCIAL ADVERTISING:
Social sites are some of the most popular sites on the web. Your customers are here so you should be too. There are a variety of social advertising platforms that can suit any service. Below are three of the most common options homeowner service providers can utilize:
Pinterest: 30% of social media users in the U.S. use Pinterest. That’s an amazing number of people looking through the platform every day. Pinterest is ideal for homeowner service companies that rely on showcasing projects and before/after work as a marketing tool. Show off your gorgeous remodels, landscaping projects, and kitchen design ideas. It is a great place to share the visual representation of your services so that customers can get an idea of what an experience with your company would be like.
Pinterest’s paid advertising platform is highly recommended when companies can tie a project image with a seasonal offer or promotion. Learn more about how Pinterest can be used to promote your brand.
Houzz: Did you know that Houzz can help with your businesses search engine optimization? Houzz continues to lead in organic searches for often searched homeowner terms, such as “bathroom remodel,” and “outdoor kitchen designs.” Your audience is seeking inspiration for home improvement projects! This is a perfect place for targeted brand and content exposure. A company can both showcase their projects and ideas as well as interact with customers through the platform.
Check out our blog on Houzz best practices and tips on how to use it. Mad Fish Digital client managers are Certified Houzz Marketing Specialists. We are happy to help company’s leverage this site.
Facebook: You can promote your brand on Facebook, share special offers, and engage fans through contests as well as share services and products. However, don’t expect your basic business posts to reach all of your followers. The real value for businesses through Facebook is through its paid advertising platform. With its audience targeting capabilities, businesses can promote themselves to their target customers in a low cost way.
With Facebook, you can develop an ad that will be seen by women, age 27 – 50 who live within 20 miles of your brick and mortar location and are homeowners. That’s pretty powerful targeting.
VISUAL CONTENT:
When a prospect visits your website or sees a social media post, you have less than 10 seconds to make a good impression that makes them want to linger. Visual content – photography, checklists, images, graphics, product sheets – should capture the attention of your visitors and provide them with easily digestible information. For home service providers, visuals like before/after project photos, pre-service checklists and how-it-works infographics all establish a company’s authority in their industry and help customers visualize the experience they will have with your company. Read more on choosing topics for your visual content
WRITTEN CONTENT:
When you only have a few seconds to capture and keep someone’s attention, the copy on your website, blog and social media posts should work in your favor. Written content should reflect your individual brand, tone and style. It should be smart, informative and of use to your future customer. Identify the common questions your customers have and answer them. Learn more about why content is king in SEO. Optimized pages can promote lead generation, via a call or form submission.
Effective digital marketing for homeowner service professionals is a balancing act. It takes thoughtful planning and unique content that speaks to your audience.
The right strategy starts with research. At Mad Fish Digital, we pride ourselves on our expert problem solving and customized solutions that lead to measurable results. We invite you to learn more about how we can get you started on the right path.
