Even though 2020 is behind us, there are lasting impacts on the home service industry, such as a change in homeowner behaviors and interacting with them.
With a remote workforce working from home, demand rose for remodeling and repairs. Homeowners jumped onto the internet and Googled to find contractors across the country. The businesses that have adapted to technology and understand the shift in consumer communications have been the winners.
Here are nine digital marketing trends to watch for in 2021.
1. Try A New Channel Or Platform
Has your audience moved? 2020 saw a shift in attention online, and new platforms emerge. Facebook and Instagram still have a large share of attention but is your audience there? Up and coming social media platforms to be aware of are TikTok, MeWe, and NextDoor. Podcasts have grown in viewership as more and more people find interesting content online. Media platforms such as Pandora and Spotify reach a variety of audiences.
If you examine and talk with your current customer base, try to glean where they spend time online. Maybe you can uncover a shift of attention that will allow you to take advantage and market your business.
Many businesses stick with one or two social media channels. Overall, this is an excellent strategy for engaging with your audience. However, you may want to diversify your social media activity to connect with more engaged users.
2. Educational Content
Create tailored content that speaks to your audience’s demands. My favorite content strategy is the Q&A Videos. Can you address customer questions through short videos? Ask your sales team what the top objections are as a starting place for video ideas. Check out this detailed blog.
3.Virtual Experiences
During the pandemic, homeowners didn’t want strangers coming into their homes. Zoom grew in subscribers as businesses worked hard to adjust. These adjustments showcased an opportunity to incorporate new technology as a way to engage and sell to prospects.
Does it make sense to launch a chatbot to facilitate a faster sales cycle for your customers?
Hold Virtual Events and create experiences for audiences to engage outside of your traditional sales messaging.
Using AR in digital engagement is on the horizon. With Facebook owning Oculus and dozens of augmented reality (AR) patents, it is only a matter of time before businesses will incorporate AR into digital engagement. AR is still on the periphery, but now is the time to research, learn and consider how AR could be used in current digital assets.
4.Tap into Millennials
They have reached the age of adulting – getting married, buying a house, starting a family. Many have money to spend and typically start in homes that need some upgrades.
Here are a couple of quick facts to help you understand why you should consider expanding your market to these generations: Millennials, born between 1981 and the mid-1990s, now exceed baby boomers in the most prominent living population segment.
If you want to expand your audience to be more inclusive of these groups, consider:
Empathy: Does your company give back or have causes that involve environmental, political, or socio-economic problems that we are facing today?
Social commerce: The pandemic has caused an increase in people making purchases over social media. How is your brand connecting and offering a way for consumers to make purchases?
5.Multi-Channel Communications
Homeowners communicate in different ways. For example, one may pick up the phone and call to request a quote. Another will send a message through Facebook messenger and ask if you can replace just the glass in a window. Yet another will use the chat feature on the site to ask for siding pricing on a 3000 sq ft two-story house.
Make sure you are not making it difficult for homeowners to communicate with you. Even if you are not comfortable using social media, pay attention to comments and messages. There may be a sales opportunity there.
Chatbots are a nice feature to incorporate on the site for two reasons. First, it allows a homeowner to talk with you about your services in a non-threatening way. Second, when someone is chatting, they are staying on the website for several seconds to minutes. One of Google’s ranking criteria is session time. Your site gets Google points for keeping a visitor on the site.
6. Putting Up A Fence To Capture The Attention
Geofencing is a buzzword in advertising because it’s a way to target homeowners in a precise location. An example would be targeting homeowners in a one-mile radius around a current job to find additional sales opportunities.
What if you are looking to hire subcontractors? Put a “geofence” around Home Depot or Lowes Home Improvement between 7 am and 9 am when contractors stop by to pick up materials.
7. Adjacent Search
Between 70 and 80% of consumers research a company online before doing business with them — and a big chunk of that research starts with search.
One of the best digital strategies to employ consistently is search engine optimization (SEO). Technically, SEO means getting a specific webpage or two to appear as high as possible for specific search terms. The goal is to move your website ahead of the competitors – basically, it’s butting in line for potential prospects.
While targeting phrases such as ‘Replacement Windows Charlotte,’ you will find a high volume of searches and potential website visitors; however, this ignores some of the nuances of how customers search online.
It would help if you considered as many searches as possible adjacent to your primary business. If you only focused on a narrow list of phrases, you risk losing customers searching terms similar but not identical to your own. An SEO professional has tools to identify a fuller list of phrases to optimize search reach. They understand how Google works and monitor algorithm changes to adjust their client’s sites.
Digital Marketing Conclusion
Running a company and learning new technology can be challenging. Finding the right vendor to help you manage your sales opportunities means first deciding what strategies you need additional help managing. If you have a clear vision of how a vendor can support you, don’t let anything waylay you during the interview process. The bottom line to any strategy is ROI. Follow what drives sales revenue but be open to shifts in attention and willing to try a new approach. By monitoring the dollars and the data, you can keep the leads flowing. By using a Digital Marketing Raleigh company you know you will be getting the best customer experience around. With over 60 combined years of experience in digital and marketing your faith will not be misplaced.
About the author
Kim Adamof has worked with brands since 2011 to develop and manage their digital and social media strategies; meet company objectives, such as increasing leads, engagement, and website traffic, utilizing best practices, the latest tools and strategies; and develop quality content. She is a problem-solver who loves a challenge when it comes to increasing sales.
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