The term ‘Tradies’ covers many different services. From plumbers to electricians, from builders to mechanics, the Aussie term ‘Tradies’ covers them all. Traditionally, a tradie was someone who specialized in particular technical skills. These days, Tradies really covers people with specialised skills in the area of building, carpentry, electronics, and plumbing, mechanics, roofing, flooring, landscaping and the list goes on. Building a brand image is essential for any business in today’s competitive environment and that is certainly the case for all Tradies.
What is a Strategic Digital Marketing Plan
A strategic digital marketing plan can be very similar to a business plan or even a vision for the future. A strategic plan will help define your business goals, develop a strategy to achieve those goals, and then develop a monitoring and evaluation plan to ensure that your strategic plan is being effectively implemented. How do you go about creating a strategic digital marketing plan? In order to create a strategic digital marketing plan, you first need to decide what you want to achieve from your strategic marketing efforts. Once you have defined what you want to achieve, you can then develop your plan to achieve those goals.
Your strategic digital marketing plan will also include tactics associated with each of the strategic elements that you have defined within your plan. Some of these tactics could include search engine optimization, Pay Per Click, or any number of tactics. All of these tactics and strategies are necessary for your online marketing success. You cannot effectively promote your business without utilising one or more of these tactics.
Branding for tradies
There are many reasons why building a brand image is important for any business. Building a cohesive brand creates instant trust to your potential customers. People only buy from or hire people they like or trust. So making sure your business feels trustworthy to potential customers is vital.
Cohesive branding
Many Tradies start their business with a logo, which is great, but as the business grows, it is really important to look at the branding as a whole. A cohesive brand means that there is unity between your logo and colors throughout printed material and online. Having a cohesive brand means you will be seen as a higher quality business and you will be able to increase your prices accordingly. Investing in branding is an investment in your business that will provide a solid ROI.
Building Industry professionals such as carpenters, plumbers, and building contractors are in high demand right now. One of the main reasons why there is such high demand for a tradesman or woman who works in this industry is because of the shortage of skilled labor in this country. The shortage is mostly caused by the aging of the baby boomer generation that is leaving the workforce at large. Another reason is that there is a high level of people immigrating from other countries to Australia. As they want to make Australia their home, they need housing and Tradie services.
This means there has never been a better time to invest in branding and marketing for tradies.
Where to start your marketing funnel
The world of digital marketing for tradesmen is quite a varied one. For example, you can get your business page on Facebook or you can be listed on online directories like YellowPages and Tradielink. Some businesses have websites and others may just be relying on social media. There are Tradies who might have a website, but also use Google AdWords to advertise. Some Tradies may also use videos on YouTube to advertise videos about their services. In short, the world of internet marketing for tradesmen is a diverse one.
A great way to market your company is through social media. Social media is a great way for tradesmen to find potential customers and also give them a place to network within their industry. This social media networking can lead to creating new customers and clients, as well as maintaining relationships with existing customers.
There is one common denominator among tradies, though, and that is that they need regular leads coming into the business. Since you need to establish trust with your new customers, it is important to get in front of your ideal audience. As we previously mentioned, having a quality cohesive branding is the first thing to address. Once you have your branding set, you need to get in front of your audience where they hang out. For Tradies, this will be on social media. So get creative and start posting on Facebook, Instagram, Tick Tock or YouTube.
Your audience will get to know you and start to like and follow your business. This is the stage in the funnel where it is really important to have a quality website. By the time a lead lands on your website, they are a warm lead. Ensure you have lead magnets to be able to nurture the leads further with email and content marketing.
PPC vs SEO
PPC or pay-per-click marketing is offered by companies such as Facebook and Google. This is where people click on your advertisement and are then directed to your website. PPC has become more expensive and will continue to do so as there is more and more demand for the service. PPC basically works when you pay for the ads, however, as soon as you turn the ads off, the leads will stop.
On the other hand, you can optimize your website so that search engines, such as Google prioritize your website and push your site up the rankings. Being on the first page of Google and occupying one of the top 3 positions enables you to be eligible for 75% of clicks for that search term. This digital marketing strategy is called SEO, which stands for search engine optimization. Many businesses are now using SEO, as it has been proven to increase sales and bring in more business than PPC alternatives.
Tradesmen can use digital agencies to take their marketing efforts online. An SEO agency will take care of all of the research that needs to be done to find the right keywords and keyword phrases that will bring in potential customers. They will also create unique digital advertisements that can be posted all over the Internet, bringing in even more customers. These advertisements will take into account factors such as location, age, and gender, as well as other factors that are important to the tradesman’s market.
Digital marketing for Tradies isn’t just about social media or creating digital advertisements. It’s about ensuring that tradesmen get the exposure and the message that they need so that they can grow and succeed. If tradesmen were to rely solely on traditional advertising techniques such as posters and brochures, they would miss out on a lot of opportunities. As your business grows, you will want to ensure you have a powerful Tradie marketing system that can grow with you.
We recommend you find a recommended Digital Agency and start to develop your strategic digital marketing plan. You will be able to get a steady stream of leads and find better and more profitable customers to work with.