Local Advertising Mediums and Tips

Boosting Your Business with Digital Ads and Local Marketing

Some contractors may be able to sustain their business on repeat customers and referral work, but for most, that’s not enough. To make sure your business grows and keeps up with your revenue goals, it’s important to have a solid marketing plan that includes digital ads and local marketing.

Digital Ads

Digital ads can be used to get your message in front of the right people, and then drive those leads to take an action, such as clicking through to your website or landing page. Using search engine marketing (SEM), your ads will appear based on user searches, and you are charged based on a pay-per-click (PPC) cost model, which can be abn efficient way to gather leads.

Digital ads can also be placed on social media sites using a PPC model, which can be helpful for targeting specific customer demographics. PPC can be used on a flat-fee basis, or a bid-based model. With flat-fee, you and the platform (for example, Google) agree on a fixed amount that will be paid for each click. The rate is typically defined as a function of visibility — the more eyeballs that are likely to see your ad, the higher the price.

The bid-based model is bit more complicated, but works just like it sounds. Advertisers like you will utilize a kind of auction to submit a maximum amount you’re willing to pay for an ad spot, usually based on keywords, and then as web visitors trigger the ad spot via their search, an automated system populates the ad based on the winning bid. One nice feature for PPC advertising is your ability to choose a daily max spend to help control your advertising budget.

One of the great things about digital ads is that they don’t always feel like an ad. Research shows that about 60% of people don’t recognize a Google paid ad when they see them — they just think of the ads as regular search results. Additionally, digital ads have a relatively low cost of entry, are easy to measure return on investment (ROI), are simple to change when you want, and can result in immediate action on the part of your potential customers.

Local Marketing

Local marketing is an important part of your strategy, because 46% of all Google searches are seeking local information. Local marketing consists primarily of ads that will be seen by audiences in your specific geographic location, and can include ads in local coupon books that are mailed to local homes, doorhangers, billboards, or even truck wraps — anything that will catch the attention of people in your area, in real life (as opposed to online).

Local marketing can also be achieved through ads on local TV and radio stations. An advantage to local marketing is that you can get extremely granular in how specifically you target potential customers, but the downside is that it can get expensive — especially for TV and radio. However, despite the high cost of TV, it really works.

In addition to flyers and billboards, other ways you can market locally include adding your business to local consumer business guides, partnering with local influencers, and getting involved in your community to build your reputation by hosting workshops, events or giveaways.

An important aspect of your local marketing is the design, because people will look at it more closely than a quick ad on the internet, and because digital ads are easy to change, but a printed ad takes longer and costs more to change. Be sure to pay a graphic designer (inhouse or freelancer) to ensure your local marketing looks sharp and professional, and appropriately reflects your brand. If you’d like help making sure your brand is up-to-date and ready for your audience, check out our free brand awareness guide, a chapter in the Ultimate Guide.

Conclusion

Digital ads and local marketing can work hand-in-hand to help you attract new customers and grow your business. We recommend using a mix of these tactics to win the most customers at the lowest cost to you.

If you’re a Regions | EnerBank contractor, you can contact your dedicated relationship manager for more tips on maximizing our marketing resources. We also recommend including a mention that you offer financing as part of your advertising messages. We’ve found it can significantly increase the number of leads you get. Finally, you can discover more in our free digital marketing resource!