It’s no secret that technology is changing the way we sell products and services, but digital marketing needs to be at the core of the marketing plan of every small business (or home-based business)

As the digital marketing landscape evolves, it’s those businesses that can keep up with the latest digital marketing trends that will reap the benefits. Being mindful of the following concepts could help bolster your business in 2019.

1. Content Marketing – improve your content

From the story on your “About us” page to your latest social media campaign, content is extremely important as it shapes the personality of your company.

Thoughtful content and communications strategy can help spread awareness and educate customers and potential customers at every stage of the sales funnel. Good quality content helps your company – no matter its size – build and maintain a strong reputation and brand. The right content has the power to turn prospects into customers and customers into evangelists. It will ultimately build trust and lead to higher close rates in the long run.

When it comes to your social media presence, try to stay active with regular daily or weekly/bi-weekly posts to show that you care about connecting and building relationships with your customers.

Finally, focus on creating quality content. Understand who your target audience is and craft a message that resonates with them.

2. Voice search and local SEO

Another marketing trend for Canadian small businesses to take note of is the enabling of voice search. This is where you can take your SEO strategy to the next level. With voice search comes more conversational queries, which means there are longer tail keywords that your business should be considering and targeting.

Local SEO updates are crucial for voice search. It’s important that your business ranks in the top spot for a voice search query like, “where is the closest Thai restaurant?”

This means that it’s critical to have a “Google My Business” profile, and you should ensure your information is up to date, with the correct address, contact information, and opening hours listed.

3. Social media platforms – social media posts, social media marketing

It’s important to understand where consumers are researching or purchasing your products or services. Social media is an essential tool for any business. It is a chance to target specific buyers based on their research and/or purchasing habits. Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Youtube allow companies of all sizes to be creatively innovative with their digital marketing campaigns, often on a small/limited budget too. As mentioned earlier, try posting quality content regularly (daily, and if not daily then at least a few days per week or at the very least weekly) to show that you care about connecting and building relationships with your customers.

4. Manage reviews and ratings on social media

Having a presence in Google or social media is not enough. If you ask your clients to engage with your company then you should be prepared to engage with them at every opportunity. This means that you should be actively reviewing and responding to any and all reviews and ratings your company may receive in Google, Facebook, Twitter, and any other social media platform. Thank your users for a good review, but also make sure to respond respectfully to negative reviews making every effort to turn an unhappy client into a returning client.

5. Make sure your website is mobile-friendly

Many small business and home-based business owners in an effort to save money hire inexperienced developers to put together their websites in a budget. As a result, the mobile functionality of their websites is not thought out as well as it should be (or even worse in many cases, it’s not thought out at all). When it comes to mobile, customers are becoming less tolerant of websites that do not take the mobile journey and experience into account. To provide the necessary information and customer experience, mobile needs to be accounted for (or even prioritized) in the digital journey.

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Here is our list of the top five trends all local business owners and marketers should be aware of in 2019:

1. Proximity is king

When Google provides local search results to users proximity has always been the driving force behind these results. Even if a competitor’s website has stronger ranking signals,  if it is not in the desired search range, it won’t come up in a local search. While this might seem like bad news, it’s actually a great way for new (and smaller) businesses to reach customers who would otherwise favour larger and more established businesses.

Of course, quality still matters, but proximity seems to be becoming more important in 2021. Proximity targeting gives marketers the opportunity to capture some customers who would have otherwise chosen another option (possibly a more established and larger competitor) located further away. People value proximity, especially when searching on mobile devices, and mobile “near me” searches are an opportunity to reach highly qualified leads. Often, a search like this indicates someone is likely to make a purchase imminently.

This means that it’s critical for your business to have a “Google My Business” profile with up to date information, including the correct address, contact information, and opening hours listed.

2. Online reviews and online brand mentions

Online reviews and brand mentions are becoming increasingly important for search and local SEO rankings. In fact, Google now uses online brand mentions in its algorithm. The inflation of brand mentions improves organic rankings, which in turn improve local ones. Google also takes into account the context in which those mentions occur.

Google now analyzes factors such as trust amongst customers, advertising, and how an organization responds to and resolves complaints online. This means that businesses now must manage reviews and mentions in Google and in social media much more closely. It’s critical that you should be actively reviewing and responding to any and all reviews and ratings your company may receive in Google, Facebook, Twitter, and any other social media platform to maintain high rankings.

3. Paid ads (Google ads and social media ads) will become an important factor

Google ads (AdWords) and social media ads have long been a popular choice for businesses of all sizes to get in front of customers (and show up before their competitors’ organic listings or posts). However, so far local businesses, especially small and home-based businesses were not worried quite as much about paying for search results. Expect this to change in 2021 as Google, Facebook, Twitter, and all other social media platforms are looking for more ways to monetize local searches. As an example, Google is starting to give priority to paid ads for local searches and maps. If this trend continues, it will become increasingly difficult to reach your target market without running Google ads.

4. Stay on top of local SEO trends in 2021

Local SEO is constantly evolving. What worked in 2019 might not work in 2021. It’s critical to stay on top of the latest trends, so you can get the best results. Incorporate these strategies and measure the results. You will quickly see which strategies are working the best and which ones need to be tweaked. If you continue to analyze the results and make changes when necessary, you can develop a powerful local SEO strategy.

5. Your website is still VERY important

Even as social media reviews and mentions, and Google My Business become increasingly important, maintaining your website is still vital for ranking factors and engaging with customers. Research shows that most customers check business websites every time or more than half the time when they’re deciding which local business to visit, and the majority of customers trust the information on the business websites more than the information on Google My Business.

It’s very important then that your website is well-designed, works well on mobile, and shows professionalism. It’s also critical that all the information listed is well-written, and the contact information is up-to-date.

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As the digital marketing landscape evolves, it’s those nonprofits that can keep up with the latest digital marketing strategies that will reap the benefits. Being mindful of the following concepts could help improve your efforts in 2019.

1. Content Marketing – create meaningful stories

From the story on your nonprofit’s mission statement to your latest social media campaign, content is extremely important as it shapes the personality of your organization.

Thoughtful content and communications strategy can help spread awareness and educate followers, donors, and potential donors. Good quality content helps your nonprofit organization – no matter its size – build and maintain a strong reputation and brand.

When it comes to your social media presence, try to stay active with regular daily or weekly/bi-weekly posts to show that you care about connecting and building relationships with your donors and supporters.

Finally, focus on creating quality and engaging content. Aside from sending a clear message, nonprofits can stand out by creating messaging people actually care about and feel an emotional connection to.

2. Influencers

Other than posting regularly on social media and engaging with typical community members to increase backlinks, you might also want to reach out to influencers who care about your cause. There are several examples of celebrities regularly supporting and posting or sharing messages on social media about causes close to their hearts. An influencer doesn’t necessarily need to be a celebrity. Social media influencers are users with vast networks of people connected to them. These influencers can share your nonprofit’s content on a regular basis to these vast networks and immensely improve your cause’s visibility. Research some people/influencers whose audiences fit your target market and consider contacting related organizations or foundations as well as bloggers and websites to tell them about your non-profit and ask if they’re willing to link to you or share your messages.

3. Google – Grants for nonprofit organizations

Nonprofits and charities can apply for a Google Ad Grant to receive the equivalent of $329 USD per day in advertising credit for Google Ads? That’s more than US$120,000 a year in advertising spend! All of the Grantees must meet certain – strict – criteria in order to qualify for Google Ad Grants and keep that qualification active. Also, it’s important to mention that one of the criteria is having a high-quality website that meets the Ad Grants website policy.

Esquared Consulting can help you with the development or re-development of your website to meet this criterion. We can also help/guide you through the process of applying for the Google Ads Grant.

4. Social strategies, paid search, video marketing

Other than trying to take advantage of the Google Ad Grants for nonprofits, there are also significant opportunities in using Facebook and Twitter for targeting potential donors. By using their hyper-specific targeting tools and boosting posts that have performed successfully previously, non-profits can experiment and refine a relatively inexpensive paid social strategy.

Utilizing impactful video content to build awareness and generate support for your nonprofit’s initiatives should be a top priority as research shows that close to 60% of people who watch non-profit videos go on to make a donation. The most important thing to remember when creating videos is to inspire emotion in viewers by using strong imagery and a meaningful storyline.

5. Make sure your website is mobile-friendly

Many nonprofits in an effort to save money hire inexperienced developers to put together their websites in a budget. As a result, the mobile functionality of their websites is not thought out as well as it should be (or even worse in many cases, it’s not thought out at all). When it comes to mobile, visitors are becoming less tolerant of websites that do not take the mobile journey and experience into account. To provide the necessary information and customer experience, mobile needs to be accounted for (or even prioritized) in the digital journey.

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That’s why we’ve outlined the top 4 digital strategies a construction company should leverage in order to make sure they’re spending their budget the right way.

1. Content

The content you write about, whether it’s blog posts, info graphs or leveraging social media platforms, says a lot about you and your company. It’s simple, the better content you put out there, the more customers appreciate it. The more customers that appreciate it, the more likely they will generate a sale. Content marketing generates three times as many leads as outbound marketing, drives six times higher conversion rates, and has the potential for an 8x boost in web traffic. In layman’s terms, it’s kick-ass. Are you putting out good content? I’ve researched many sites and a lot of construction companies have old outdated content. Why bother?

Not only does content marketing help in generating leads, but it also helps you understand who your customers are. Every customer requires a unique customer journey, so it’s incredibly important to know who your customers are and what specifically makes them want your product and service.

Awesome topics you can talk to your client base about include:

• Industry Trends
• Project Case Studies
• “How to” Guides
• Construction Safety Tips
• Tips for picking the best contractors

2. Videos

Construction in its purest form is an art. You’re building something amazing. It’s one thing to explain the development of a new project, and it’s another thing to show it. With modern-day video technology platforms like Vimeo and Youtube, you’re able to showcase your work to your clients, in real-time. Not only are you able to show it, but you can also choose from various cool methods such as VR, 360-videos, and point of view. How about the advancement of drones?

Construction videos on your website will set you apart from competitors in your market. These videos can be anything from “how-to” videos to video references and testimonials from customers along with industry partners and anyone else who would put your company in the light.

3. Local SEO

When searching for a contractor, consumers usually look for a professional in their area as it adds to the convenience of the job. 46% of searches have local intent. This means that instead of searching for a General Contractor, potential clients are searching for a General Contractor in Calgary. There are a bunch of great ways to increase your SEO, here are a few ways:

• Configuring your Google My Business
• Directory and Listing Citations
• Website Localization
• Review and Rating Management
• Quality Backlinks

Don’t worry if you don’t know what some of these mean, we would be happy to explain them to you!

4. Social Media

There are 25 million social network users in Canada. That’s a whole lot of potential customers. Don’t underestimate the power of social network marketing. Posting a few articles a week on your profile won’t drive the traffic you expect. You need to be creative an know who your market is to get the highest ROI. I can help you become a social media guru in your market.

A great way companies in the construction industry can leverage social media is through partnerships with various groups and micro-influencers.

Groups: Associations and Construction Specific Organizations (i.e CCA, Concrete Alberta.) are great groups to reach out to. Sharing your content with their followers is a great method to expose your service to a larger following base. This also allows for the associations to follow and repost your content with their followers.

Social Influencers: Micro-influencers are individuals with 10K-150K followers. These sorts of influencers are the best people to interact with on social media because their followers are very loyal and trust the content posted on their page. If they trust the influencer, and the influencer recommends your service, you’re golden.

Having a strong social presence allows you to engage with customers and subsequently creates brand loyalty. Your clients need to trust you. Social Media is a great platform to gain your trust and provide them with relevant content that they can relate to.

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As a result, you may face prejudice as a result of tardy, over-budget contractors that have spawned running jokes about the credibility of almost anyone in construction. And although word-of-mouth marketing remains a mainstay of any contractor’s livelihood, it is absolutely possible to convert cold contacts into satisfied customers that generate revenue for your company.

How can you do this successfully? Through careful and deliberate use of digital marketing tactics.

Is Digital Marketing Right for Contractors?

You may be wondering if digital marketing is really worth the investment. After all, is someone really going to sign on the dotted line after seeing the deck you built posted on Instagram? It’s not likely.

However, think about the last item you purchased. Maybe it was a shiny new sliding compound miter saw. Did you buy it because you saw a picture of it in an ad? Perhaps. But, more likely, you did some research on it, you learned about its capabilities, and you may even have watched a video about it. Or, you may already own tools made by that brand, and so your confidence in this saw was already built up.

Similarly, you, as a contractor, need to educate your prospects regarding your capabilities, your credibility, and your brand (yes, you have a brand).

Let’s talk about how you can do that using digital, or inbound, marketing.

1. Blogging

Blogging is intrinsic to any inbound marketing strategy. It does so much more than just filling space on your website.

Blogging will:

• Give you an opportunity to showcase your expertise
• Provide search engines more pages to crawl so that you can be found in web searches
• Allow you an organic spot to place a Call-to-Action, or CTA (schedule a free estimate, etc.)
  Display your images and allow your readers to pin them to Pinterest (extending the life of your post)

Here are a few trade secrets when it comes to blogging:

• Include keywords in your title and subheadings, but don’t stuff your post full of them. Think of the words people might search for when trying to find what you do.
• Always include at least one image.
• Use social sharing buttons so readers can spread the word for you.
• Hire an agency if you don’t have the time or know-how to develop a cohesive blogging strategy.

2. YouTube

Are you a master of mitering or a formidable framer? DIY videos allow you to showcase your expertise and your personality, as well as drive traffic back to your site through effective Calls-to-Action.

Homeowners want to see who they’re hiring and that you’re reputable and trustworthy. So make sure you dress the part during your video. Wear work clothes, but make sure they’re not ripped and full of stains, or from 1987. Yeah, that Van Halen tee-shirt is out. Instead, opt for a shirt with your company’s logo displayed on it and clean work pants.

Don’t forget to add relevant tags to your video description so that viewers can easily find your content.

3. Remarketing

Back when you bought that saw, I’m willing to bet you visited a website, perhaps from one of the big box stores, and a short time later you started seeing that same saw pop up on Facebook ads and in other places on the web.

This is because the store was using remarketing, or retargeting. The good news is that it’s not too difficult to do. You’ll need to install a Facebook pixel on your website, and a few other things that this helpful article from Hubspot will guide you through.

4. Social Media

I often hear from brands that they don’t know where to start when it comes to social media. There are so many options!

Are you using outdated marketing tools?

The truth is, you likely don’t need Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and LinkedIn. However, you definitely need some of them.

As a contractor, you are in a very visual business. Who doesn’t like before and after pictures? With that in mind, here are some recommendations to get you started on social media that will likely help you grow your audience and your credibility.

Facebook

Facebook is getting in the habit of making brands pay for visibility. That’s okay because you’re going to pay them for that visibility when you launch your retargeting ads. Remember to verify your business on Facebook before you proceed with building followers and launching ads.

You also want to keep in mind that your Facebook account isn’t only about your brand, it’s about educating your prospects. Share tips and relevant info on a regular basis, including those that don’t originate with you.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is your online resume. However, it’s more than that. It’s a place where previous clients can provide testimonials, further building your credibility.

You should have a company page as well as a personal page.

Instagram

Instagram is where you get to display your personality and your craftsmanship. A little goes a long way, though. Don’t even think about spamming feeds with dozens of pictures of your new renovation project.

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As the digital marketing landscape evolves, it’s those nonprofits that can keep up with the latest social media strategies that will reap the benefits. Being mindful of the following concepts could help improve your social media efforts in 2021.

1. Tell your story with stories

A great way to engage more people on platforms like Facebook and Instagram is to use stories. The story features have become extremely popular with users in social media in 2021 and they’re perfect for nonprofit organizations. They allow your organization to engage with your donor base and volunteers. They also help you show the impact you’re making. Stories let you tell your story the way you want to present it. Take advantage of this and make the use of stories part of your regular social media strategy.

2. Influencers

Influencers should be a key component of any nonprofit’s social media strategy. Other than posting regularly on social media and engaging with typical community members to increase backlinks, you’ll also want to reach out to influencers who care about your cause. Social media influencers are users with vast networks of people connected to them. We suggest finding a social champion with content relevant to your cause. Someone who has a fairly large following on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter would be ideal. Influencers are able to spread/share your messages to a bigger and younger audience very quickly. Studies are showing that Millennials and Gen Z are increasingly philanthropic. So it’s a great way to include them in your donor and volunteer base.

3. Google ads and social media ads

Ads are kind of an elephant in the room for a lot of nonprofits. The expense is sometimes not justified or the budget just isn’t there. Plus there’s always the stigma of overhead expenses. But, they have value. Ads can help you increase your donation revenue so that the overhead expense of them is covered and you generate more in the process. Other than trying to take advantage of the Google Ad Grants for nonprofits, there are also significant opportunities in using Facebook and Twitter for targeting potential donors. By using their hyper-specific targeting tools and boosting posts that have performed successfully previously, non-profits can experiment and refine a relatively inexpensive paid social strategy.

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