If your trade business doesn’t already have an online presence, you’re likely missing out on a major source of income you could be enjoying.
The following is a guide for tradies on how to get started with digital marketing for your business:
Buy a Domain Name and Build a Website
Your domain name forms the basis for the URL at which the public will be able to locate your website. If possible, try to use your business name as the domain name. If it’s already taken, try to use the closest possible available variation.
Building a website is relatively easy these days because there are many platforms and tools available to simplify the process. WordPress is one workable option that’s simple enough for the layman to understand; it’s a popular, easy-to-use platform that makes designing websites quick and efficient. But if web design really isn’t your thing, no worries; you can hire someone to get your website up and running.
Decide on a Marketing Strategy
There are many possible ways you could approach the task of marketing a trade business online. The most commonly used options for this type of business include search engine optimization (SEO), content marketing, and social media marketing.
Influencer marketing could also be a possibility in cases where you could team up with an influential social media user whose following would be likely to also use your services. For example, if you’re a home remodeler, perhaps you could collaborate with an interior design blogger who likes your work.
Decide Whether to Do Your Own Marketing or Hire a Professional Marketer
Do you have the time and inclination to spend at least 2 hours per day on your company’s digital marketing efforts? And do you have an understanding of how to write content, film videos, engage with potential customers and build online relationships? If so, you’d probably do well managing your own marketing efforts.
If not, you’d either have to learn how to do some or all of these things, or you’d have to hire a professional to do them for you. If you decide to hire a professional, you then need to decide whether you want to hire your own employee in house or work with a digital marketing agency.
If you decide to hire a professional, finding the right person or agency can be a challenge. This is a sector where many spammers and scammers operate. If you aren’t already knowledgeable about what, exactly, digital marketing entails, it would be easy to fall prey to a scammer.
This can be avoided by doing your due diligence when you hire a digital marketing professional or agency to do your marketing.
If you decide to hire a marketing professional in house, you’ll need to choose someone who understands your industry intimately or can get up to speed quickly. Failing to do so could hurt your company’s credibility.
You’ll want to hire someone who is able to demonstrate they’ve acquired the marketing expertise needed for the job. This can be hard to determine. It’s a plus if the person has obtained a bachelor’s degree or VET training in marketing – and even better if they’ve obtained a master’s degree in digital marketing. However, the absence of these credentials doesn’t automatically mean a candidate is inept or a scammer – because the relevant skills can be learned on the job if a person is serious about doing so. If suitable academic credentials are lacking, it’s helpful to verify the candidate’s previous successful work experience.
If you’re hiring a professional, you’ll want to select an individual or agency that specializes in the type of marketing you decided you want your business to focus on – whether that’s SEO, content marketing, social media marketing, or some other form of digital marketing.
Set a Schedule for Keeping Your Site Updated
It’s ideal if your site could be updated regularly with new content. The content you post should be relevant to your industry and helpful to your existing and potential customers. Things you could post include photos of work your team has recently completed, current industry trends, or insights that could help your customers learn or accomplish something that’s important to them. This content should give your customers a reason to want to visit your site often.
Make your posting schedule realistic considering your time and budget available for content creation. Posting once a day is probably going to be unrealistic if you’d be challenged to come up with a high volume of interesting content. Once a week is more realistic for some tradies, and once a month might be all that is manageable for others. If you’re hiring a digital marketing agency, your marketing budget is the likeliest limiting factor on post frequency.
In any case, you want to avoid creating a website and then failing to ever update it. Regular updates, even infrequent ones, are beneficial for your online marketing efforts.
So now you’re updated on the basics of how to market a trade business online. There’s much more you could learn about digital marketing, and there are many details to be aware of. The most important thing to do is get started because you can learn more as your marketing efforts progress.
Featured Image by Canva Studio/Pexels
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