Sounds funny but undeniable. He predicted the internet’s importance in business growth as early as 1996 when only about 1% of the world was online.
Today, Roofer marketing has evolved beyond newspaper ads and regular door-to-doors; you must be online! Your company’s online presence is the “meat” of your marketing. And by online, we mean every nook and cranny of the internet – social media, YouTube, Google search result pages, and websites.
Our regular research and practical experience of the roofing industry at Hook helps us understand how daunting it can be to manage your roofing business alongside hunting for leads online. So we highlight five simple things you can do immediately to triple your online presence this summer.
There is tons of advice and theory on digital marketing but know that these five points are purely from our hands-on experience with many roofers, helping them with their online marketing. So they’re proven effective because we want you to have tangible results.
Here you go!
1. Highlight “Real” Smiling Customers on Your Homepage
Only about 20% of your website’s visitors scroll down, reading everything you have on your website. Most website owners use content to optimize the website for Google.
Hence, you need to put your most important information on top, and what should that be? Pictures and reviews of smiling, satisfied customers!
You might be wondering why that’s a big deal. Here’s why – marketing research has proven that smiling faces on your website help to boost your conversions because it tugs at people’s emotions.
Here at Hook, we call them “trustimonials” – the smiling face and five-star Google reviews your previous clients left you. You can always find your clients’ pictures on Google or Facebook reviews or public platforms like LinkedIn.
However, some folks might be uncomfortable with this. If so, they’ll talk to you. But we’ve never seen anyone that’s had a problem with it so far!
2. Create Quality Video/Written Testimonials for Your Website
The goal is to show potential clients the exciting exploits you’ve made with previous clients or your company’s fulfilling work environment.
You can always contract the footage and video production to a young local videographer around you; they’ll create inspiring videos for you for about $300 – $700. It could be a video of you asking real, candid questions from clients you know who love your company.
You start with friendly questions like: “How long have you guys been in this house?” “Your patio looks nice; who did that?” Then you stylishly move into the real stuff:
- “What’s the problem you guys called our company for?”
- “Did you have a good experience?”
- “What were your expectations, and did we meet them?”
- “What’s the main thing you liked about our company?”
You want to enter the conversation slowly and authentically, like a sneak attack! It’s the ideal way to get a good testimonial. You’ll miss out on the authenticity if you skip the intro part and jump right into the meat of your content.
Now, how do you use that video correctly? You use it as a testimonial on the homepage of your website. Use it in further marketing opportunities and highlight the success and testimonials your clients are presenting. Build a story off of the success of your clients success and make that KNOWN through content.
Summarize Your Testimonials Into Punchy One-Liners
If you genuinely do quality work for your clients, some of them will leave you with almost half-page written testimonials out of satisfaction and gratitude. But you don’t have to post all of it; most homeowners won’t read them.
Highlighting the most relevant lines and putting up one striking sentence out of all the praise that a satisfied client showered on you is preferable.
Also, look through your testimonials to find comments that have been repeated multiple times, and include them as other headliners throughout your website. Let’s say different people have commended your company as “super quick to respond,” and it’s shown in the comment section severally. Put that in headlines and feed it to people.
People seeing what others say about you re-establishes those comments in their minds and gives them the same notion about your company. This technique markets your business as authentic, increasing their trust in your brand.
3. Join Local Facebook Groups in Your Area
After joining the groups, keep watch for people asking for roofers. You can then invite your employees and customers that love you directly into those Facebook groups and ask them to refer you when someone asks. You can do that at the same time while also chipping in a request for them to leave you a five-star review.
It can be compelling if you have like three to five of your customers in these local groups recommending you regularly. If there are no roofer requests, just be active in the meantime.
Refer Other Companies Too
Also, refer other home service business owners you know. Sometimes they might not need a roofer but a landscaper, pest control company, or fencing company. If you know anyone that works along these lines, you’re creating goodwill by referring them.
That company gets a feeling of reciprocity. When someone asks about a roofer in your area, your name comes out of their mouth without them even thinking!
Note: Although part of your aim is helping them remember you in due time, you’re not trying to manipulate or force people to get favors but to sincerely refer excellently to local home service businesses.
Beware of the Entitlement Mindset
And, of course, don’t get an entitled feeling and assume they’ll refer you five times because you did the same number of times. It’s about being present, knowing the best companies, and helping homeowners with your information. It’s a promise; your good deed will boomerang. Reciprocity is KEY.
4. Ask for the Links From Other Websites
Links matter a ton for ranking organically on Google. Every time you collaborate with another organization for an event, let’s say you:
- Sponsored a local sports team
- Made it to the local news
- Joined a charitable organization for outreach
- Joined the local Chamber of Commerce
Remember to ASK FOR THE LINK. It’s a motto with us at Hook Agency!
Most roofers have less than five decent website links from other web pages with real traffic. So asking for this can start your website in the process of ranking on Google. Ideally, you should employ a specialized, aggressive, and consistent marketing team who understands Websites, SEO, Content Writing & Google Ads. But adding those links will give you a massive advantage to start with.
Let’s say you’re at the beginning of your company or a couple of years in, and you cannot afford Hook Agency or other big online marketing agencies yet. Don’t worry; just ensure to ASK FOR THE LINK EVERY TIME!
So what do you do if someone features you on the local news??? You got it!
5. Make Content Where You Spend Time on Social Media
If you consume content on social media, this is for you.
Let’s say you love seeing short-form videos on YouTube. Don’t you think posting the same type of videos will be more fun and effective than before and after texts or other content types? Post short-form videos if you find yourself spending time watching that form of content. Or if you’re intrigued by people going live, go live!
Diversify Your Content!
You can use the following:
- Entertaining and Educative short-form videos — memes, cute stuff, heart-warming stuff, stories, or funny videos you enjoy and “like” are the type of stuff you should be posting. This is why empathy is a significant part of marketing – putting yourself in your customers’ shoes and saying, “What would I want if I was in that position?
- Inspiring Stories – You can do a story about an excellent customer showing how you make them the hero or how their life has changed since they’ve approached your company. Stories make people feel warm and fuzzy about your company.
- Event Highlights – You can also post about your contribution to a charity you love by volunteering or donating funds. And it’s okay to post on social media because you did it. You’re helping people!
It doesn’t go away because you post about it; if it’s something you care about, it’ll come off as authentic. And saying it in a story form makes it hit the emotions better: “We’re grateful for the opportunity to go out today and do this for humanity.”
- Personnel Experience – Talk about how your team or its members are doing great things. Above the warm feeling your audience gets when they see this, you inspire people to do the same thing too.
Final Thoughts on Summer Marketing Tips to Boost Your Online Presence
The basic idea behind online marketing for roofers is to establish a “Top of Mind” awareness of your company’s values and services you offer and for sure excel in. So that when the need comes, they think of you almost immediately.
Pictures and reviews of satisfied clients on your websites and regular video/written testimonials from your personnel or customers culminate to position you as a trusted and authoritative brand within your respective industry. Links from other websites and consistent educational content will effectively boost your ranking on Google searches over time.
All these insightful tips and more accumulate into a better online presence for you! And it’s what we do here at Hook Agency. We help you focus on your work while building a stronger online presence. Contact us today! We’d be happy to be an extension of your team and brand.
