As an electrician, you’re always looking for new ways to grow your business and keep your contractors busy. Maybe you already have a professional website, a strong social media presence, and a knockout PPC strategy—but if you’re not generating enough leads to sustain your business, there’s always room for improvement.
No matter how great your electrical work is, you need to tell people what you offer and show them why you’re the best fit for the job. That’s where content marketing can light up your marketing strategy.
According to data from DemandMetric, 82 percent of customers have a more positive outlook on a company after reading positive content. On top of that, 74 percent of companies notice an increase in their leads and quality of leads after implementing a content marketing strategy. So, what are you waiting for?
With the right content marketing strategy, you can create a self-sustaining flow of leads and appointments that boost your bottom line—all while establishing your electrical company as the authority in your local market.
Of course, successful content marketing is easier said than done, and striking the right balance between quality and quantity can be a delicate tightrope walk. Here’s everything you need to know about content marketing—from how often to post to what content is best for electricians.
If content isn’t at the heart of your marketing efforts, it’s time to adapt or risk falling behind. Studies show that 90 percent of all organizations are already using content to further their marketing efforts. And when so many customers expect a personalized experience from your brand, you can’t afford to ignore the power of content marketing.
Your competitors are probably already impressing local homeowners with blog content or social media posts, but you’re going to take a different approach. You’re going to build a comprehensive, long-term strategy that leverages standout content to build your brand reputation and add value to your prospects’ lives.
By showcasing the value of your electrical company, you’re not just captivating potential leads. You’re also cultivating brand trust, building relationships with prospects, and nurturing them until they’re ready to book an appointment. Quality content highlights your talent and expertise—and it shows prospects why you’re worth hiring.
But the benefits of content marketing don’t end there. Quality content also boosts your bottom line because:
When done right, content marketing can supercharge your business with a steady stream of leads—but how often do you need to post? Whether you’re posting on social media or updating your blog, quality should always be your #1 priority.
Even if you’re publishing fresh content every day, it won’t drive leads if it’s only average-quality content. You need quality content to break through the noise, attract new leads, and build relationships with prospects. Then, once you’ve mastered the “quality” aspect of content creation, you can start focusing on consistency.
So, what’s the secret to quality content? From videos to long-form blogs, every single piece of content you share should be engaging, informative, and useful. After digesting your content, your target audience should know something new about your business—whether it’s a service they might need or new information about your industry.
Of course, content creation isn’t easy. Our clients tell us that quality content creation requires a significant time investment—and it can feel impossible to find time away from running your business. Here are some tips to create consistent, quality content across your digital channels.
How can you consistently create interesting, engaging, and relevant content for your prospects? Even if you’re blessed with a team of talented writers and tech-savvy social media experts, content marketing can still feel overwhelming. That’s why you need a content calendar to outline your strategy.
A content calendar is an easy way to coordinate content creation and divide your workload into clear, manageable units. In turn, you’ll spend less time worrying about what to write or when to publish your next blog. Instead, you can focus on content creation so you can make the most of your resources.
Your content calendar can be as simple as an Excel spreadsheet or an interactive dashboard—it’s all about your personal preference and marketing needs. If you’re just getting started, there are countless calendar tools online with different templates to choose from.
Your calendar can be structured according to your electrical company’s specific needs, but it should include the following information:
When it comes to content marketing, it only makes sense to start with your website. It’s the foundation of your digital marketing efforts—and you want to impress prospects with amazing content that primes them for conversion.
You already know that quality content is king, but you also need to make sure every piece of your web content is organized. Prospects visit your website because they’re looking for answers. You want to make it as easy as possible for them to find what they need.
That’s where your content structure can make or break your marketing strategy. You need a clear information structure for your web content, so start working on a few rough drafts before experimenting with your web design.
For the best user experience, use your top-of-page real estate to showcase your most important content. Answer your visitors’ key questions right away (your hours, services, or locations), or provide clear links to your FAQ, About Us, and Services pages.
Now that you know that quality and consistency are key, how do you translate that into effective content marketing? To get started, you’ll need a professional, user-friendly website to establish your search engine rankings and get your business in front of potential leads.
According to Pardot, 72 percent of consumers start their buying journey on Google by searching general terms. Your prospects are searching for educational materials, customer reviews, and testimonials to explore the options at their disposal. Educational and engaging content is your secret weapon to step out in front of the competition and establish your company as a credible source of information.
To convert leads into paying customers, your website should offer answers to common electrical questions. If you jot down a list of your customers’ frequently asked questions and create content answering each question, you’ll offer an endless stream of quality content for your prospects.
Ready to get started? Here’s how to jumpstart your content marketing strategy to drive real results.
To generate web traffic and engagement (and keep visitors coming back to your website), you need to figure out which types of content drive the best results. Because different people respond to different formats, rotating different content is the most effective way to extend your reach and engage your target audience.
Need some inspiration? Here are some types of content that can help you attract new leads and build trust with prospects.
Every piece of content you create is an opportunity to bring prospects closer to a sale. Since you’re going to interact with people at every stage of the funnel, you need targeted content at every stage to encourage leads to take the next step.
According to marketing research from Forrester, the average customer engages with 11.4 pieces of content before making a purchasing decision. With a content marketing funnel, you can create relevant pieces at every stage of the buyer’s journey to inspire your prospects to take action.
So, how do you create content for every stage of the funnel? And what type of content goes where? Here’s a quick guide to building an effective content marketing funnel.
No content marketing strategy is complete without content gap analysis. A content gap analysis helps you find holes in your existing content, allowing you to create content that aligns with every stage of the buyer’s journey.
By examining the competition’s keywords, you can find new content opportunities to fill gaps in your marketing strategy. If you’re short on ideas or need some extra inspiration, competitor analysis is a great way to identify new themes and topics for blog posts, social media content, and more. Plus, you’ll capture traffic share from your competitors.
Even though competitor analysis can refresh your content marketing strategy, you should always use your best judgment. Just because your competitor is ranking for a keyword doesn’t mean you should create content for the same keyword. If you’re not sure which keywords are worth targeting, consider the monthly search volume and search intent.
You can also compete with your local competitors by creating local search content. For example, Blue Collar Electricians, a Northeast Ohio-based electrical company, created a campaign focused on new content creation around key services and locations. This targeted content strategy resulted in 29 percent total traffic growth—and nearly a 50 percent increase in organic search traffic to the site year over year.
Content that isn’t tied to a specific date or time—also known as evergreen content—will always be useful to your customers and marketing efforts. Sure, industry trends will change with time, but evergreen content keeps working for your business even after the initial clicks that come with publishing.
To make the most of evergreen content, sprinkle links to older content throughout newer pieces. For example, if you’re publishing “Your Winter Electrical Maintenance Checklist,” you can link to “How to Choose the Best Generator for Your Home” to boost dwell time and educate visitors with relevant content.
Evergreen content is a lifesaver when you don’t have time to sacrifice on content creation. It can be created and published any time—and you can always link back to evergreen blogs with social media posts and email newsletters. The next time your schedule opens up, create some evergreen blogs to publish when your team has to prioritize other tasks.
Short on time? Scrambling to finish a project? There’s good news: You don’t always have to create content from scratch. Your electrical company probably has useful content that hasn’t been utilized—you just need to tap into your CRM system, customer surveys, or old blog content to capitalize on it.
Old content can be repurposed, refreshed, and reused across different channels. For example, you might turn an old blog into a short video for Facebook—or use customer surveys to compile a list of FAQs and topics your prospects might be interested in.
Even though it might seem repetitive, your potential customers will search for information across different platforms, and presenting similar ideas in different formats can help you reach new people. Repurposing old content can also help you get the best mileage from the content you already have at your disposal.
Content marketing is the tool you need to electrify your marketing strategy—but you’re not going to master the art of content creation overnight. To get the most bang out of your content marketing efforts, you need to create quality content, post consistently, and finetune your strategy.
With that said, your digital marketing strategy shouldn’t end with content. Think of content marketing as one piece of the digital marketing puzzle. You need a holistic, long-term strategy to grow your business and gain an edge over the competition.
When you’re ready to start working on your marketing strategy, we’re here to help. Reach out to our team to start capturing new leads with an effective electrician marketing strategy.
