Advertising is simply doing what it takes to get the word out about what you do. Some advertising is paid, other advertising is free, or nearly free after you make a bit of initial investment. Home improvement businesses should take advantage of both kinds of opportunities.
Before we get started here are a couple of advertising statistics for home improvement businesses to chew on:
As of 2021, paid advertisements generate an average ROI of 200%. Furthermore, ads can increase brand awareness by 80%.
Social Media Marketing for your Home Improvement Business
As of 2020, about 3.6 billion people are active users of social media websites around the world. All of them live somewhere. And many of them own their own home.
Social media advertising is affordable, fast, and extremely segmented. You can work with your ad agency or platform to target 38-year-old homeowners in Milwaukee who own dogs and are vegan if you would like.
There are several ways you can grow and engage your audience on these platforms.
1. 'Before' and 'After' Pictures
To market your brand on social media, you need to create content to compel your target audience to buy your services. One of such content is the "Before" and "After" pictures.
These pictures considerably affect lead generation, as many people are moved by what they see.
Placing images of what a home looks like before and after you renovated it would showcase how good your work is. When people are pleased by what they see, they become more interested in your service.
These can be great advertisements, blog posts, brochure images, and much more.
2. Free Services for Target Customers
Offering a free service to your followers on your social media space is an excellent means to get their attention. However, this free service doesn't mean providing free remodeling or renovations. No, that's not it.
Instead, you can offer free estimates, consultation, guides, DIY tutorials, etc.
3. Contests or Raffles
You can also create contests and offer to provide free service in exchange. This can generate tons of leads in a short period, as most people are interested in getting free stuff.
Similarly, you can do a giveaway. For this example, you can tell participants to refer their friends and offer the person with the highest referrals a free upgrade or a discount on your services.
4. Paid Advertisements
Paid ads are one of the effective ways of marketing your brand and generating more sales. In paid marketing, you select and pay to a medium for advertisements such as Google or Facebook. Then, your adverts are displayed on the search engine results page or social media pages.
Google Ads for Home Improvement Companies
Google Adwords work under a pay-per-click approach. That is, you would only be charged for an advert that a user clicks. You set a maximum bid, and the advert runs till your money is used up. So, you won't spend more than your planned budget.
When you advertise your brand with Google, your products and services are displayed whenever users search for specific keywords. This means that your services are displayed at the top of the Search Engine Result Page (SERP). This is helpful and can boost your online presence even if your business web page is not ranking high.
TIP: Got a safety issue that affects your product or service? Public safety and awareness announcements make great advertisements. For example:
- Fireplace and chimney vendors can do a television ad raising awareness of chimney safety.
- Kitchen remodelers can do a PSA each year before thanksgiving on kitchen and fire safety - and especially how to safely fry a turkey.
- Pool cleaners can do a PSA on Legionnaires’ Disease and how to prevent it, or how to childproof a pool or hot tub.
These types of ads build goodwill in the community and help brand you as a subject matter expert.
Traditional Advertising
Your home improvement business can also benefit from TV and radio advertisements.
Running a commercial is a fantastic way of appealing to your customers while showcasing your expertise, projects, past testimonials, and experience.
For instance, you can create a commercial that features your previous clients, explaining how they are impressed by your homes' upgrades.
It could also be a video or an audio recording of your staff discussing how they help clients achieve their desired home.
1. Television Ads
Television ads often produce a longer-lasting effect on the customers compared to radio ads. Because the audience isn't just reading it, they are watching and listening to the ad simultaneously. This has a more effective way of getting their attention and engaging their senses. As a result, target customers are more likely to recall a TV advert.
Also, television ads can help you reach a larger audience interested in hiring home improvement contractors. For instance, you can sponsor a local DIY or historic homes-related show.
2. Radio Ads
Although they do not involve videos like TV ads, airing them multiple times has a way of sinking into the minds of the target customers. Radio ads can be much more affordable, and yet still create a tremendous amount of brand awareness and loyalty, if you’re associated with your customers’ favorite shows.
Tip: After each home improvement advertising campaign, do a careful audit and nail down your average cost to reach these potential customers - on a per lead and per sale basis. Did your message work? What does each new lead cost? Did your home improvement advertisement campaign generate leads sufficient to pay for its cost? Run some analytics on each of your ad campaigns. Compare your spending per lead for every new potential customer, and compare your ratio of leads to appointments to closed sales for each of your different ads and campaigns.
Ready to Boost Your Home Improvement Business Sales?
As you plan for continuous business growth, investing in different forms of advertising is key. The different forms of advertisement we outlined here are proven to make a significant impact in lead acquisition for organizations in the home improvement industry.
But keep in mind that ads by themselves aren't enough to generate new customers. You also need to invest in sales training and provide good home improvement services at competitive prices. You should also offer more ways for homeowners to pay. Your customers might not have the cash to pay upfront for a home upgrade or renovation.
So, if you don't offer consumer financing options yet, make sure to check that box first. We can help with that. But if you already offer consumer financing, go ahead and pick one of the advertisement tactics we talked about and get ready to see customers coming through.
