When it comes to digital marketing, content matters. And if you want to compete in today’s oversaturated roofing market, you can’t afford to bore readers with snore-worthy content.
Why? Well, we’re living in a 24/7/365 online world. Businesses are creating content at astronomical rates (approximately 7.5 million new blog posts daily, including this one). The result? Quality content lands at the top of our newsfeeds and search results, driving discussions and answering questions. Meanwhile, tons (and we mean tons) of boring content falls to the wayside, never to be seen again.
It’s time to stop wasting your time on underwhelming content. Here’s how to compel your readers to convert with high-quality, informative, and engaging roofing content.
You already know that there are tons of marketing tactics out there. For roofers, strategies like paid advertising and social media make sense. They’re digital marketing solutions with measurable results, so you don’t have anything to lose.
So, where does content marketing fit into the big picture? It might sound like a lot of work, but it’s one of the best strategies out there. And for most roofers, it’s pretty affordable. Of course, it comes with a catch: You need quality content to win at digital marketing.
High-quality content matters for two reasons. First, it builds trust among potential customers. It’s an amazing tool for capturing new leads, driving existing leads further down the funnel, and even recapturing lost leads. When you show prospects that you can talk the talk, they’ll start believing that you can walk the walk, too.
But that’s not all. Quality content boosts your search engine rankings, driving more roofing leads to your business. When a local homeowner searches “cedar shake shingles vs. metal roofing” and finds your blog post, they’ll be one step closer to picking up the phone and requesting a quote—and you don’t even have to spend a dime.
We’ve all read blogs (or watched videos, or seen social media posts…) that left us wanting more. Maybe the blog post didn’t answer the questions that you had, or you didn’t learn anything about the product after watching the promotional video. Sounds familiar, right?
Don’t get us wrong. Content marketing can be an important piece of the digital marketing puzzle, but weak content does more harm than good. Not only does weak content waste your time, but it leaves prospects craving more…and they’re probably going to head to the competition to satisfy their appetite.
We’re going to let you in on a little secret. Even if you’re not a pro writer, you can still dominate the competition with amazing content. When you’re ready to say goodbye to ineffective content, start by avoiding these common mistakes.
As a business owner, you’re already an expert in the roofing industry—but that doesn’t mean your customers are. They’re coming to your website to learn more about roof replacement options, materials, and maintenance. And if you use too much industry jargon, you’ll only turn them off.
Your content needs to educate potential customers without overwhelming them. We know; it’s a delicate tightrope walk. You’re talking about technical topics, but you need to keep your language down-to-earth and conversational. When you speak to your audience in their language, they’ll come to you when they have problems.
Google loves long-form content and relevant keywords. So, it’s only natural to assume that the longer and more keyword-packed the content, the better…right? Well, not exactly.
Most of your website visitors are probably using mobile devices, and they’re not going to waste time scrolling through paragraphs of roofing content to find answers. Even though it might make Google happy, you can’t sacrifice good user experience for search engine rankings.
At the end of the day, both search engines and customers will punish you for bad content. You still can (and should) optimize your content for search engines, but you need to write to your audience. Show them that you understand their pain points, goals, aspirations, and triumphs. Prioritize empathy. Then, focus on SEO.
You need to keep your website content and blog updated with a regular stream of up-to-date, high-quality roofing content. Let’s face it: Roofing repairs and replacements are a major investment. Local homeowners want a reliable roofer—and they’re probably not going to trust you if you haven’t published a blog post in two years.
The roofing industry isn’t invulnerable to change—and industry trends, new materials, and seasonal updates should all shape your roofing content. You need to stay on top of these trends so you can give homeowners valuable, relevant, and informative content when they need it most.
It’s not just enough to publish content for the sake of content, either. Remember: Every single piece of content you create needs to provide value. If you’re only concerned with publishing weekly blog posts, it’s OK to decrease your posting frequency for the sake of posting more valuable content.
We’ve seen roofing clients execute lackluster content marketing strategies…only to dedicate hours to content creation without seeing any real results. But there’s good news: Most of the time, it only takes a few small fixes to bring your content back from the dead.
If you can stand out from the crowd with quality roofing content, you’ll maximize engagement, build trust, and position yourself as a local authority. And that boosts your bottom line.
So, how can you transform your content marketing strategy to effectively guide customers down the sales funnel? Here’s how to get started.
If you’re constantly going back to the same blogging style, it’s time to mix things up. Not only will fresh blog content help you conquer writer’s block, but changing things up can help you boost engagement. Think about it: You don’t want every single blog to be predictable. You want to keep readers coming back for more advice, tips, and how-tos so you can position your roofing business as an authority in the local industry.
Once you’ve mastered a few different blog styles, it’s time to supplement your written text with visual content. Pictures, infographics, and videos all make it easier for leads to consume content without scrolling through boring paragraphs of text—and the numbers back this up. According to Twitter, Tweets with videos see 10x more engagement than those without.
Of course, not all visuals are quality visuals. If you’re going to sprinkle visuals throughout your website or social media content, it needs to be:
After all, local homeowners aren’t going to sit through grainy videos or waste time reading irrelevant infographics to solve their roofing problems. If you’re underwhelming potential customers with low-quality visuals, you’ll end up sending them straight to the competition.
Your customers are tired of repetitive content. But between running your business, keeping your contractors busy, and working in the field, you can’t find the time to think of new blog topics. So, what can you do?
First, take a few minutes to run a quick content audit. Can you refresh any old content? Should you delete any outdated information? Are there new trends your customers should know about?
To identify gaps, think about the problems your customers might have when they’re searching online. Are they comparing different types of roofing materials? Are they looking for affordable shingles? How can you make it easier for them to find the answers they’re looking for?
Jot down any questions you can think of—they’re all fair game for blog topics. And don’t forget to check out your biggest competitors for content inspiration, either.
What’s the best way to connect with potential customers? Remind yourself that they’re people, too. They’re not purchasing robots or decision-making algorithms. They’re just like you, and they want (and expect) personalized content that speaks directly to them.
Before you can master personalized content, you’ll need to create detailed buyer personas to guide your strategy in the right direction. In a nutshell, a buyer persona is a detailed description of someone who represents your target audience based on past research and customer data.
You won’t ever know every customer on a personal level, but you can create buyer personas to represent them. You’ll give your buyer persona a name, demographic details, interests, and even behavioral traits. Once you’ve painted a detailed picture of your target customer, it’s time to tap into their pain points, goals, and buying patterns to create personalized content.
At the end of the day, no topic is truly boring—not even roofing. Some topics that might’ve been boring to homeowners before, such as roof replacement guides, can suddenly become interesting when they’re dealing with hail damage or rotten shingles.
When homeowners are faced with a new problem, they’re going to start visiting websites, watching videos, and reading blogs they never thought they would…all because that boring topic isn’t so boring anymore.
When you’re ready to start brainstorming conversion-worthy content ideas, we’re here to help. Contact us today to kick your content marketing strategy into high gear with irresistible content.
