Marketing channels for roofing contractors have become well-established, and competition is as fierce as ever.
Things like Google LSA, Google Business Profile (google maps), Facebook ads, traditional SEO, and etc can always be effective when done right.
But what about some alternatives that may be further outside the traditional marketing box?
We put together some ideas below for roofing companies looking for non-traditional techniques to find new clients.
1. Social listening and responding
Answer Engine Optimization is the new hot trend in local service marketing, and one of the best ways to make sure your company shows up in AI searches is organic social mentions. AI tools are scanning social media for top local service company mentions because that shows local credibility, and increases the likelihood of those companies being mentioned in AI results. At present, organic mentions on platforms like Reddit and Facebook Groups are particularly valuable. So how can you get your company mentioned?
That’s the hard part: you must monitor relevant local Reddit threads and Facebook groups, which is a manual process. In most markets, there will be questions a few times a month like “does anyone have a roofing company recommendation?” Scheduling yourself time daily to monitor these social platforms and post an organic response with your company name can greatly help. Forward the link to others in your company, friends, family, etc to ask for mentions of your company also.
This tactic will not only boost your AEO results, but you might also develop some organic leads in the process.
2. Long tail roofing content relevant to local market
A sneaky way to get niche local leads involves staying on top of local trends related to your industry and creating long-tail keyword content on that specific topic. Are there new local building code regulations? New insurance regulations in your market? These can create a surge of search volume that can be captured.
For example, when Denver created the green building ordinance, Sol Vista Roofing published an article titled “a simple guide to the Denver green building ordinance”. This article ranks highly in the local market as there’s very low competition for the keyword, but there is meaningful enough search volume that this article generates substantial organic commercial roofing lead flow.
3. Regular posting on social media
This trick is sneaky because most local service businesses don’t do it, even though it’s simple. Regular social media posting shows your potential clients that you are busy and active in the community you serve. This simple fact can be the difference between getting that new client, or not. Your social media posts do not need to be professionally designed or produced – even “home made” content does a great job to show your prospects the type of work you are currently involved in. The more you can prove that you are currently doing the type of work that clients need, the more clients will call.
4. Local link building
Backlinks are a well-known method of building authority for your website, which is a common SEO ranking factor. Link building of yester-year focused mainly on getting backlinks with high authority websites, which shows google that your website is important. Authority can still matter, but as SEO has become more sophisticated, changes in strategy are emerging. The link building of today and tomorrow is focusing more on getting backlinks to local websites. Ideally, local websites in similar industry as yours, and local websites with high authority. Some old-school, manual tactics can be a great way to build local backlinks. Mainly that involves reaching out to other local businesses and offering to write guest posts with links back to your site. This takes time, but the reward can have a high payoff.
5. Local Event Marketing
In the current digital age, old-school local events can be a refreshing way to meet new roofing clients. A simple example is renting a stall at a neighborhood farmers market, and bringing a balloon artist or face painter along. Offer free balloons or face paint for anyone that signs up for a roof inspection! Bonus points if you have a branded table and tent, and even better if you try this in a recent hail-damaged area.
6. Free Roof Repairs
We saved the best for last here, because at present there is no better digital lead generator than your google business profile (“GBP”). The best, quickest way to get your GBP to rank in the top of the “map pack” is to always be generating new google reviews from your clients. This can be a challenge even for the biggest and busiest companies in your market. Convincing a client to post a public review can be a challenge.
But, if you provide your clients something valuable for free, you may be able to generate more quality google reviews more quickly. Be careful not to offer free service in direct exchange for a review – that violates google’s guidelines – but mentioning the willingness to perform a free repair, and also mentioning that your business thrives from client google reviews is perfectly allowable.
Your Next Best Idea: Zoom out and do experiments
There are endless ideas for creative marketing in roofing. The ability to “zoom out” and brainstorm may unlock something you want to try, and possibly something NOBODY has tried before. Have any of the above ideas worked for your company? Do you have any outside-the-box techniques not listed here that have been winners for you? No matter what, a consistent focus on new client acquisition is more and more becoming a requirement for the best roofing operators today.
