If you’ve spent years investing your hard-earned time and money into traditional marketing, making the switch to digital marketing might feel a little intimidating. After all, digital marketing is constantly changing, and you’ll need to dedicate time and effort or outsource your marketing to beat the competition. And when it comes to scaling your HVAC company (or other home service company), spending less time to acquire new customers can have a huge impact.
Digital marketing is a great way to promote your products and services to customers in your service area, and Facebook is one of the best tools for the job. Facebook is a fast-moving platform that will put your business in front of the right people at the right time. But what kinds of things should you post, and how often? How can you tell if your strategy is working? Should you even bother paying for Facebook ads?
Even if you’ve tried Facebook before, don’t give up just yet. We often see with our clients that a few simple tweaks can make or break a successful Facebook marketing strategy. Keep reading, because we’re going to share exactly how you can take a different approach from your competitors to make your HVAC company stand out on Facebook.
According to Statista, Facebook is the biggest social network worldwide, with over 2.89 billion active users every month. Chances are, your customers are already using Facebook, and you just need to shine and polish your Facebook strategy to get noticed.
The process of creating ads isn’t as expensive or time consuming as you might think, either. In 2019, the price of Facebook ads dropped by 6%. Today, Facebook ads cost just $1.72 on average. That’s a pretty good ROI when you consider the sheer volume of potential leads you can reach with ads.
After setting up your business page on Facebook, you’ll gain access to Facebook Ads Manager. This is what you’ll use to create your own Facebook ads so they’ll pop up in potential customers’ feeds.
If you’ve never used Facebook Ads Manager before, prepare to be surprised at all the options available. Facebook gives you the ability to target specific users based on their online habits, including their interests and life events (like buying a new home). You’ll also decide where you want your ad to run, set an advertising budget, and pick the right format.
Just like your regular posts, Facebook ads need to be visual and engaging. The Ads template features space to add pictures or videos, so make sure you’re using the right imagery. You might even want to take some professional pictures of your staff because real faces are one of the best ways to make people stop scrolling and learn more about your company.
And if you don’t have time to run a Facebook ads campaign from your desktop, there’s an app, too. Using the app, you can easily create new ads, delete old ones, and even see how your current ones are performing. Sure, some features aren’t available on the mobile app, but it’s still a convenient tool for business owners who don’t have a lot of time to create ads.
If you’re still not convinced that Facebook is right for your HVAC company, we’ve got some news. Facebook is one of the biggest social media platforms across all demographics, making it one of the most powerful and cost-efficient ways to grow your business online.
So, now that you’re considering the investment in Facebook ads, which type of ad is right for your business? Facebook is constantly upgrading its advertising platform, giving independent business owners diverse new options to reach their audience. Even though there are countless ways to advertise your business on Facebook, knowing which ads will provide the best return is the key to investing your precious marketing budget wisely.
Here are the best ads to invest in to increase your brand awareness, boost traffic, and drive conversions—all while taking advantage of different creative options like photos, videos, and more.
Making your HVAC business stand out from the crowd isn’t as hard as you might think. Here are our favorite tips and tricks for creating powerful Facebook ads that convert leads into appointments.
If you’ve seen Facebook ads from your competitors with tons of likes and shares, don’t be disheartened. Even if your brand isn’t as big as those companies yet, you can still boost your likes, shares, and comments, which will boost your credibility among new viewers.
Most of the time, these ads don’t get all of their likes and shares at once. Instead, businesses reuse popular organic Facebook posts by transforming them into advertisements. To do this, navigate to the “Promote” tab in Facebook Ads Manager and select “Boost Existing Content.”
By boosting your content, you’ll be able to extend the reach of your most popular posts. Over time, these posts will get more likes, comments, and shares, which will convert more leads into appointments.
Facebook ads are complicated. They can feel so impossible to figure out that marketers have built entire agencies to create Facebook ads for other businesses. Between completing projects, hiring new employees, and managing day-to-day operations, you might not have the time to research your target audience, test your ads, and optimize every post. If this sounds familiar, take a step back and use Facebook’s auto-optimize feature.
Essentially, Facebook’s auto-optimize feature navigates different types of ads to choose the best options for your HVAC business. All you need to do is answer some simple questions about your goals and let Facebook do what it does best.
Of course, our clients who use auto-optimize typically spend a bit more money on ads than they would otherwise. That’s because they’re letting Facebook figure out the right advertisements for their target audiences. But if you don’t have a lot of time to manage your ad campaigns and you’re willing to sacrifice some of your budget, auto-optimization can provide a larger ROI from your Facebook strategy.
Are you running your Facebook ad campaigns around the clock? If you haven’t optimized your ad schedule, you risk losing leads to the competition at certain times of day or on certain weekdays. And if you haven’t figured out what days and hours outperform the rest, you’re not using Facebook Ads Manager to your full advantage.
To see which days contribute to the highest conversion rate at the lowest CPA, use the “Breakdown” menu in Facebook Ads Manager to view your ad campaigns by day. This way, you can check out the performance data from different campaigns and figure out the best time for advertising.
Now that you know which times outperform the rest, you can set your ad campaigns on a custom schedule so you’re reaching your target audience at the time with the highest conversion potential. Plus, a custom schedule helps decrease your ad frequency—people will see your ads less often, and won’t get bored or annoyed with them.
Optimizing your Facebook targeting is another simple way to extend the reach of your campaign without sacrificing any more of your marketing budget. Think about it: It doesn’t make sense to keep showing the same ads to someone who has already converted on the offer. Instead, you should focus on moving these leads to the next stage of the funnel with new messages.
For example, if you’re still showing specials for first-time callers to loyal customers, you’re wasting precious marketing dollars. Instead, you can create a Facebook Custom Audience of your converted customers and exclude them from that campaign.
If you’re using email marketing to nurture your leads, you’re probably already familiar with A/B testing. A/B testing is a great way to optimize the performance of your marketing strategy—and the same applies to Facebook ads.
So, how does A/B testing work on Facebook? Basically, you take a Facebook ad, make a copy of it, and change one detail. Maybe you experiment with a different CTA button or use an image instead of a video. By changing one small detail of your ad, you can see which version performs better. With this technique, you can run multiple A/B tests to find out the best possible ads and maximize the success of your Facebook strategy.
Just a few years ago, businesses could easily survive without advertising online—but things don’t work that way anymore. Today, customers are actively scouring the internet for everything they need. For most people, especially younger generations, the general rule is that if you’re not online, then you don’t exist.
Of course, Facebook offers great opportunities to reach your target audience and grow your business with increased conversions, but it’s important to consider both the risks and returns of Facebook ads. Here are some cons to consider before putting all your eggs in one basket.
Unless you’re planning to devote your budget toward Facebook ads, your content isn’t going to reach that many people. Over the past few years, organic reach has been steadily declining for businesses, especially since Facebook switched to a new machine-learning algorithm.
If you’re not planning to pay for Facebook ads, you’re probably not going to benefit significantly from Facebook. On average, Facebook’s organic reach has declined to 5.20%, which is pretty negligible when you consider that only five out of every 100 fans will see your posts. Granted, you can extend your visibility by paying for boosted posts, but that’s not organic.
Beyond rolling with the punches, you’ll need to play your marketing strategy smart. To do this, you’ll need to figure out exactly what types of messages engage, inform, and convert your audience. Remember, not all messages are going to fuel your Facebook strategy.
Nobody wants to scroll through their Facebook feed and read a long post on AC repair, and nobody’s going to stop scrolling for boring, static images without any appealing visual elements. Your Facebook ads are going to be successful only if they’re short, visual, and attention-grabbing.
With more and more home service companies using Facebook advertising, the likelihood of your ads standing out vastly decreases. Your goal is to break through the noise and catch your customers’ attention.
Standing out among the endless sea of updates isn’t easy. For many HVAC companies, this requires creative ad campaigns, which may end up an additional resource cost—whether it’s hiring a marketing partner, professional photographer, or graphic designer to infuse your ads with creativity.
Even if you don’t have hours to dedicate to Facebook marketing, boosting old posts isn’t going to cut it. When you publish a post that starts building great engagement, extending your reach to the most people becomes your next goal—but there are countless ways to do this without boosting.
“But boosting is so easy,” you’re thinking. And you’re not the only one. Thousands of business owners are using the “Boost Post” tool to increase their visibility. After all, it makes running an ad campaign super easy. All you need to do is set the general targeting and your budget for the campaign. Then, you get to sit back and relax until the budget runs out.
Even though boosting has seen some significant updates in the last year, boosting and manually promoting your post through Facebook Ads Manager aren’t the same thing. Compared to manual promotion, boosting still has some key limitations:
Facebook offers exponentially better targeting options through Facebook Ads Manager to set up your ad campaigns compared to boosting. When you set clear targets for every ad you run, you’ll be able to determine which audience is performing (and converting) best for your HVAC business.
And getting the most out of your marketing budget is the goal, isn’t it? Our clients tell us that their favorite part of online advertising is the ability to spend their hard-earned budget efficiently. At the end of the day, simply boosting your Facebook posts takes that freedom away from you.
Now that you know exactly how to optimize your Facebook ads, you’re ready to get your Facebook ad campaign off the ground. But if you really want to engage your target audience and outpace the competition, you’ll need to take your Facebook strategy to the next level.
When our clients are willing to take the next step with a knockout Facebook strategy, they stand out from the crowd and make a huge impact on their business. As an example, take this Facebook campaign we ran for a Northeast Ohio auto repair business. We drove significant traffic to our client’s site through an engaging series of ads promoting a giveaway that resulted in more than 700 additional page likes—meaning 700 more prospective clients.
Now, we don’t mean to suggest that taking a different approach means you need to run a large-scale giveaway or even any type of contest. But it does require creativity, a willingness to think outside of the box, and some extra effort. If you can capture the interest of your audience and compel them to engage with your business on Facebook, it’ll be worth your while.
So, are you ready to direct your time, energy, and money toward maximizing your ROI and achieving your goals? Here’s what you need to know to ignite your Facebook strategy.
As the saying goes, “Content is king.” If you want to get noticed by customers, you’ll need to create valuable content. Valuable content is essential for any successful Facebook strategy because it builds consumer trust. In other words, valuable content establishes your HVAC business as an expert in the industry.
Of course, a lot of digital marketing, including SEO, is on the more technical side, but this piece of the puzzle allows you to showcase your creativity—and you’ll be rewarded for it. Does your Facebook page illustrate how experienced your business is in providing top-notch HVAC services? When you publish informative content that answers your customers’ questions, you’ll establish online authority that puts you ahead of the competition.
When people read—and share—your Facebook posts, this is a great way to boost your brand’s awareness in your service area and highlight the benefits of choosing your business. If you’re not sure where to start, try promoting your blog, FAQ page, or landing pages on Facebook. This way, you can target ads specifically toward people who are interested in learning more about furnace repair, duct cleaning, or air conditioner maintenance.
When it comes to successful Facebook marketing, engagement is one of the biggest pieces of the puzzle. Your content needs to be eye-catching to stand out from the endless stream of messages your customers see every time they scroll through Facebook.
For the best results, choose images or videos that are relevant to your target audience. Your goal is to get people to actually click on your ad. Let’s face it: Facebook is a fiercely competitive platform, and there are lots of things fighting for your customers’ attention. Somewhere in the middle of the engagement pictures and puppy GIFs, your HVAC company is trying to let customers know that you’re running a special on smart thermostats that will make their home more comfortable.
So, what’s the best way to set yourself apart? We’re going to let you in on a little secret that most HVAC companies don’t even consider: Video. Videos are easily digestible, and they’re going to throw your customers a curveball when they’re scrolling through their news feeds. To grab your customers’ attention, add a great video, GIF, or even a picture with every Facebook post.
Think video isn’t for you? Think again. Our clients are usually hesitant to incorporate pictures, videos, and live streams into their HVAC marketing strategy. After all, they’re technicians, not actors or photographers. However, there are tons of opportunities for HVAC companies to create engaging video content, from instructional “how-to” videos on simple DIY fixes to live streams answering common customer questions. As an example of compelling video content that showcases a home services company’s expertise, check out the videos we filmed for WyattWorks, a Cleveland-based plumbing company.
Even if it’s outside your comfort zone, video content can make all the difference in your Facebook strategy. In fact, the average engagement rate for video posts is 0.26 percent, while the average overall engagement rate is 0.18 percent. That alone should be strong enough motivation to integrate videos into your strategy.
Truth is, there’s one thing that can make or break your entire Facebook marketing strategy, and you’re not going to succeed until you nail it. Home services is an extremely competitive business, and there are tons of HVAC businesses out there competing for new leads. Even if you publish the best content, you’re not going to generate new leads unless you’re consistent.
A lot of the time, the biggest thing that will set your HVAC strategy apart from the competition is the fact that they’ll create a few posts and ditch their Facebook account. You won’t. You’ll keep posting consistently on Facebook, and you’ll stay at the top of your customers’ minds. You’ll let customers know about new specials, give them tips to keep their homes cool in the summer, and post relevant local content to earn their trust. And you’ll be the one they call when their thermostat malfunctions.
After you master the content and frequency of your Facebook posts, your customers are going to notice. Then, when it’s time to take your social media marketing strategy to the next level, you can start scaling to other platforms.
From raising brand awareness to building consumer trust, Facebook is the way to go. If you’re not sure what’s going to work for your business, don’t be afraid to experiment with different programs and marketing techniques. Review your results regularly to see what sticks with your target audience—and don’t give up.
If you want to skip the trial-and-error process, you can also work with a marketing partner that understands your company’s goals. That way, they can help you maximize your ROI and take the guesswork out of Facebook advertising. After all, you want to be the first one customers call when their furnace starts rattling or they need a new AC filter.
Company 119® helps our clients break through the noise and reach their customers through engaging and effective Facebook advertising. We are here to help you determine the right approach for your HVAC business or home services company. Let us know if you have any questions as you review your current strategy, start to read more about how Facebook Ads Manager works, and begin testing different types of ads.
