As a builder, a digital marketing plan is essential for reaching and engaging new customers in today’s digital age. With many home owners searching for building services online, builders really do need to have a solid online presence and a comprehensive digital marketing plan to be found by people searching online for the services they offer.
Why Should Builders Have A Marketing Plan?
There are several reasons why it’s important for builders to have a digital marketing plan:
- Increased visibility: A digital marketing plan can help improve your online visibility and reach a wider audience. By using tactics like SEO and PPC advertising, you can increase your search engine rankings and appear in search results for relevant building and construction keywords.
- Better targeting: A digital marketing plan allows you to target your audience effectively. You can create a more targeted and effective marketing strategy by identifying your target audience and creating customer personas.
- Increased ROI: A digital marketing plan can help you get a better return on your investment. By setting specific and measurable goals and tracking your results, you can identify what’s working and what’s not and make adjustments as needed. This helps you get the most out of your marketing budget.
- Increased brand awareness: A well-executed digital marketing plan can help you increase brand awareness and establish your building company as a thought leader in the construction industry.
- Cost-effective: Digital marketing is often more cost-effective than traditional marketing methods, making it accessible to businesses of all sizes.
- Better customer engagement: Digital marketing allows you to engage with your customers in real time through social media, email marketing, and other digital channels. This can help you build stronger customer relationships and increase customer loyalty.
- A better understanding of customer needs: Digital marketing allows you to collect data on customer behaviour and preferences, giving you a better understanding of their needs and how to meet them.
- Effective tracking and measurement: Digital marketing is easily measurable and trackable, allowing you to see how your campaigns perform and make real-time adjustments.
What To Include
First, it’s essential to identify your target audience. Who are the customers you want to reach, and what are their building needs? Once you clearly understand your target audience, you can create a buyer persona, which is a detailed representation of your ideal customer. This will help you create a more targeted and effective digital marketing strategy.
Next, you’ll want to establish your goals and objectives. What do you want to achieve with your digital marketing plan? Are you looking to increase website traffic, generate leads, or boost sales? Setting specific and measurable goals will help you track your progress and determine the success of your plan.
Once you have your goals and target audience in mind, you can start to develop the digital marketing strategy for your building business. A comprehensive digital marketing plan should include a mix of tactics, such as:
- SEO (Search Engine Optimisation): Optimising your website and content for search engines can help improve your search engine rankings and increase visibility in search results.
- PPC (Pay-Per-Click) Advertising: Running ads on search engines like Google or social media platforms like Facebook can help you reach a wider audience and generate leads for your building company quickly.
- Content Marketing: Creating valuable and informative content such as blog posts, videos, or infographics about building techniques and before/afters can help you establish your brand as a thought leader and attract new customers.
- Social Media Marketing: Building a presence on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn can help you connect with potential customers and increase brand awareness.
- Email Marketing: Sending regular email newsletters or promotional emails can help you stay in touch with your existing customers and generate new leads.
To ensure your digital marketing efforts are aligned and effective, clearly understanding the customer journey is essential. Map out the different stages of the customer journey, from awareness to consideration to decision. Then, determine which tactics will most effectively reach customers at each stage. For example, if a building customer is in the ready-to-buy phase of their building needs journey, you need to ensure it’s clear how they contact you to book a building project consultation and get a quote. If another person is earlier on in their journey and just looking for information, perhaps a helpful blog about relevant building project tips might grab their attention.
Finally, it’s crucial to track and measure your results. Use analytics tools to track your website traffic, social media engagement, and conversion rates. This will help you identify what’s working and what’s not and make adjustments as needed.
Creating a digital marketing plan is essential for builders to reach and engage new customers in today’s digital age. You can improve your online visibility and generate new leads and sales by identifying your target audience, setting specific and measurable goals, developing a comprehensive digital marketing strategy, and tracking and measuring your results.