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Inbound Marketing 101 – Part 3

Inbound Marketing 101 – Part 3

A four part series featuring Jenna Engel

From reading Part 1 and Part 2 you know a little more about Inbound Marketing, and hopefully agree that transforming the outbound marketing you’re currently doing will better accomplish some of your major marketing goals. We’re sure if you’ve come this far, that your next question is… where do I even start?

Once again, here’s Featured Industry Expert Jenna Engel, from Trending Up Sales & Marketing, answering that exact question:

Where to Start?

Every inbound marketing plan needs to start with a measurable, data-based strategy. The strategy for creating a lead-generating machine with your business will include some very specific elements:

  • Research and interviews with your ideal target audience
  • Goals that you’re aiming for using this plan
  • An analysis of your current marketing (and game plan to improve it)
  • Content titles based in search engine research that are designed to attract, convert, and close your ideal customers
  • A plan to nurture those prospects who aren’t yet ready to purchase
  • Education for your sales team on how to use the new strategy elements in their closing process

This sales and marketing strategy is a winning business plan to use your digital presence as an extra, 24/7 seller where your prospects are looking for information: online.

Knowing where to start is essential. Tune in next time to find out where you can download yourself a sweet ‘blueprint’ packed with information about Marketing and Sales by Jena Engel. And remember, if you don’t have the time or the know-how to pull this ‘Inbound Marketing thing’ off, rest assured… together, we can help you get a jumpstart on transforming your marketing. Contact us today!

Inbound Marketing 101 – Part 3

Inbound Marketing 101 – Part 2

A four part series featuring Jenna Engel

As you remember in Part 1, we told you a little bit about Inbound vs. Outbound marketing, and you learned (if you didn’t already realize it) that your customers… are online. Now, in Part 2, we’d like to tell you a little about the Inbound Marketing method, as we continue to encourage you to put down the megaphone and pull audiences in. Into your space, where you are the expert and where you can engage in conversations with potential customers and talk to them instead of at them.

Once again, here’s Featured Industry Expert Jenna Engel, from Trending Up Sales & Marketing:

How Does Inbound Work?

Inbound marketing guides ideal customers through their decision-making journey until they’re ready to make a purchase.

Using a strategic marketing plan, inbound marketing sets your digital presence up to meet today’s potential buyers where they are looking for solutions. The method is simple:

  • Attract visitors to your site
  • Convert the ideal visitors to leads
  • Nurture these leads until they close as customers
  • Delighting customers converts them to promoters
  • Measuring the results allows you to optimize the process

Throughout the inbound marketing process, measuring and analyzing the results ensures that you’re using proven methods that help you meet your business goals. Marketers who check their metrics 3x+ times a week are over 20% more likely to achieve positive ROI. (Hubspot, State of Inbound, 2016)

Attract potential buyers, even passive researchers simply looking to educate themselves, using inbound methods.

Now that you know the Inbound Marketing Method (and just to be clear, that last bullet point doesn’t belong anywhere near the dating process), join us next time and learn how to start. Or, just contact us today to find out how we can start putting Inbound Marketing to work for you!

Inbound Marketing 101 – Part 3

Inbound Marketing 101 – Part 1

A four part series featuring Jenna Engel

If your business is still using only traditional (aka “old”) methods of advertising – direct mailers, print ads, TV/radio commercials, you’ve probably noticed that over the last few years, their effectiveness (along with any new customers) has declined. We all know that the yellow pages has all but disappeared, and its been said that up to 44% of direct mail is never opened. Even methods of online advertising has been forced to change, because of the increasing effectiveness of ad blockers and ‘spam’ filters. Shouting from the rooftops in hopes of reaching your target market resulted only in your message getting lost in the crowd, most of whom are holding their hands tightly over their ears in an attempt to escape the constant assault of advertising in their lives.

So, if outbound marketing alone isn’t effective, how do you get your message to your target audience? We’ll answer this question and more, in this four part series, Inbound Marketing 101: How Inbound Marketing Works, Where to Start, and Getting Results.

We’ve asked our first-ever Featured Industry Expert Jenna Engel, from Trending Up Sales & Marketing, for her insight. She will help us help you understand how, and why, transforming the outbound marketing you’re currently doing will accomplish some of your major marketing goals. According to Jenna:

Many contractor marketing strategies include traditional advertising techniques, cold calling, and other outdated methods that make measuring success very difficult. As a result, contractor marketing can be a costly endeavor.

Your potential customers are online.

Nearly 75% of Americans go online on a daily basis. (PewResearchCenter, 2015) Let that sink in. 3 out of 4 people use the internet every single day. These people online include people who are searching for a business exactly like yours: they want to hire a contractor. Are they finding you?

 

Let’s put it this way: what happens if the prospective clients came right to you and gave you their information, via your website? What if they told you about a problem they were having, and you provided a solution with educational content? What if, through this new communication and relationship, the prospective client now trusted you with their business as a result? That, my friends, is inbound marketing.

Join us next time to find out more about the Inbound Marketing Method (hint: it’s a lot like the dating process), or contact us to find out how we can start putting it to work for you!

Making SEO Work for Your Business

Making SEO Work for Your Business

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of getting your web site to the top of search results in Google and other search engines.  Basically, it’s making sure your site is one of the first ones someone finds when they look for construction companies in your area.  SEO is part science and part art, meaning it can be difficult to understand and implement.

Good use of your marketing money?

Investing in SEO is good for your construction business over the long haul, but only as a part of an overall marketing strategy. The higher your web site appears in search engine results the more people who will click your link and visit your web site.  It’s up to your web site design and content to do the rest.  Good SEO provides traffic to your page – that’s all.

Improving your SEO

So, how do you get your builder site near the top of search results pages?  Start by determining the words and phrases your customers use to look for a business like yours.  For example, if you are a residential home builder phrases like “home builder” or “custom home builder” make sense for your business.  As a small business, you’ll want to focus on improving your ranking in the 4-6 most common searches.  These searches are your keywords for SEO purposes.

Keywords are the science.  Optimization is the art.  There’s a lot that goes into optimization and the search engines don’t make it easy.  Rules change frequently, making it difficult to find a balance that works.  A basic strategy starts with a modern web site design that uses your keywords in the content and links to social media sites like Facebook and Twitter.  Frequently updated content from a blog or news feed are part of a winning strategy as well.

We understand the science of SEO and we’re pretty good with the smoke and mirrors as well. Contact us today and let us create an SEO strategy for your business so you can get back to work?

Construction Gets Social

Construction Gets Social

Think you can ignore social media and grow your business? Not so fast. Social media is becoming the word-of-mouth referral source of the marketplace.  According to a survey conducted by The Construction Marketing Association, 97% of construction professionals are active on social media.

Let that statistic rattle around in your brain for a minute.  97% is a big number and it means your competitors and your customers are getting social.  If that doesn’t motivate you we’re not sure what will.

The construction industry has joined the social media bandwagon. Your competition is tweeting, blogging, posting and commenting. They are connecting with residential clients, potential commercial buyers and prospective customers.  What do they know that you don’t?

Consider this:

  • YouTube is one of the world’s most popular search engines. People look for video to help them pick a contractor, plan a build and consider a remodeling project.
  • Photos and images are shared on Facebook, pinned on Pinterest and tweeted to friends at nearly the speed of light – driving potential customers back to builder websites.
  • Commercial builders who make a connection on LinkedIn or Twitter are top of mind during the initial RFP process.

Do we have your attention? Good.  Construction is getting social and so should you. 

Connecting with your customers and potential customer via social media is easier than you think.  Our experts can give you the inside scoop and show you how to make social work for your company.  Contact us today!