Local Marketing Ideas For General Contractors

As a general contractor, you need to generate leads and technology has created more ways to reach leads than ever, but it takes effort. Here are our local marketing ideas for general contractors.

Local Marketing Ideas For General Contractors

Local marketing is something every general contractor should be doing. Here are some ideas for doing it right both online and offline.

• Website - A clean, professional design that’s easy to use and communicates your value is one of the best things you can do for your business. Your website should be clear, trustworthy, and persuasive. It should also be easy for visitors to use. Potential customers want to see your work, your experience, specializations, reviews, and testimonials from customers. Images and infographics work well, but don’t use too many stock photos. Real images of your work and crew are more authentic and effective. Your website also needs to be mobile-friendly since the majority of your traffic will come from mobile users. Outdated websites with weak content can drive customers away so professional website design is an investment that will pay off.
• SEO - You can create a lot of traffic with SEO. Make sure you rank for “service you offer + area you serve”. Optimize your homepage by using this term in your title tag, meta descriptions, headlines, and on-page content. Optimize other pages for other keywords the same way so that you’ll rank when people search for specific services in your area.
• Reviews and Reputation - Consumers want to know and will trust what other people say about you. Great reviews start with great service, such as showing up on time and proper billing. Encourage your happy customers to write reviews or do testimonials that you can post. Testimonials should be detailed, specific, and include an image or a short video when possible. Some good places to get and share reviews are Google, Facebook, Houzz, HomeAdvisor, and Top Rated Local.
• Social Media - Effective marketing goes where the people are and the leads you want are probably on social media.
  • Facebook - People use Facebook to find contractors and active pages attract more visitors. Create a business page that includes images of your work and your contact information. Post about your work, jobs, and advice. Share content from other contractors, clients, and industry experts. People want to learn about your business, evaluate your work, check reviews, and make sure they can trust you. Give your page some personality by showing your crew and making funny or odd posts that’ll get shared.
  • Houzz - Houzz is a social network for home improvement projects and contractor work. You can display your gallery, interact with people, collaborate professionally, and generate leads. Here are some tips for using Houzz.
    • Profile - Optimize your profile by completing it with the design work you do and your location to generate traffic and interaction. Participate in discussion boards, polls, and forums to share your expertise and get exposure. People can also share your images on other social networks or email them, and ask you questions directly.
    • Projects/Articles - Submit articles and projects to be featured and increase your brand exposure.
    • Social Conversions - You can set up click-to-calls, contact forms, and a link to your website. Take advantage of the direct contact from leads and be responsive to inquiries.
    • Partners - You can link to, interact with, and leave reviews for other businesses to help each other get more traffic and business. You can also connect with contractors who aren’t in your service area to share ideas.
    • Reviews - Build your review profile with reviews from happy clients to rank better in search and get more conversions.
• Video - Videos can be the most efficient and effective way of communicating your unique value proposition and why people should choose you. 
• Specialization - Use specialization to stand out from your competition. Develop a unique value proposition and highlight it. Be the best in a particular type of work and use it to generate other work.
• Intake - Be responsive by taking phone calls and responding to web forms. Communicate clearly and sell your service. Show up on time and be fast, fair, and professional when meeting people. 
• Retention - Have a retention strategy. It’s cheaper to keep clients than to get new ones. Keep in touch with clients through social media, email newsletters, and updates. Keep your name in front of people and remind them you appreciate their business so that they’ll think of when they need help.

Need more ideas or help marketing your business? Let Ellipsis Marketing know!

Tags: local marketing ideas, contractors