HOW TO BUILD AN ELECTRICIAN ADVERTISING STRATEGY IN A POST-COVID ERA

The COVID-19 pandemic and nationwide lockdowns have transformed the way businesses operate and how people live their lives.

People are working remotely, avoiding in-person meetings, and staying close to home – and they need electricity to do everything from attending virtual corporate meetings to relaxing with microwave pizza and Netflix.

It’s a double-edged sword: there’s greater demand for the electrical industry, but the playing field is harder than ever.

Americans now use the internet to find, evaluate, and hire services including electrical contractors.

Without a strong electrician advertising strategy, you can kiss new clients and profit goodbye.

In this article, we’re sharing digital marketing tips to help you get new electrical clients, make your business known in your area, and establish your company as a trusted resource for electrician services.

You’ll learn:

• How your customers are looking for electricians online and what this means for you
• Electrician advertising misconceptions that may be holding you back
• Easy ways to create a digital presence for your electrical contracting company
• Next-level electrician advertising campaign strategies to get more clients

Let’s dive in!

How People Are Searching for Electrical Services in 2022

Today, being a skilled electrician is the bare minimum if you want to get new leads and clients.

As a business owner, you need to understand customer behavior and how they choose one electrical contracting business over another.

That will help you craft your marketing efforts to meet them where they are.

Here’s what you need to know, and they’re important for your marketing campaigns:

• Most customers will Google electrical services before they even think about contacting you.

Think about it: they see a light flickering in the kitchen, and they know something needs to be done—but they’re not sure what.

They Google “why is my kitchen light flickering?” and get a number of results that talk about loose wiring, bad bulbs, or other issues.

They realize they need an expert, and so they Google “electrician near me.”

That means before they even get to your site, they’re halfway through the customer journey already.

The more your online assets can help them through that journey, the better your chances of convincing them to hire you – without even meeting them yet.

• They’re using laptops, phones, and tablets to look for electrical services.

It’s no longer safe to assume that your customers are only going to do their Googling from behind a desk. They’re looking up information wherever they are and whenever they have time. 

That might mean hunting down electricians while waiting at the doctor’s office or during their lunch break.

• Customers love social proof and reviews about service providers, including electricians.

According to a BrightLocal survey, 85% of people trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations! 

So if your site doesn’t have any customer testimonials or reviews… you need them. STAT.

• The closest electrician is the best electrician, aka the Near Me shift.

This one is pretty obvious—when someone has an electrical emergency, they want it fixed yesterday.

They don’t have time to sort through a bunch of websites. They’re going to Google the nearest electrical contractors to their area.

That’s why “near me” has become such a common phrase when searching online. People want to know who the closest option is so they can get someone there ASAP.

This means having a presence on Google Maps. You also need a website optimized for local search with full contact information. 

• Customers want answers NOW, not later.

People want someone who can give them immediate answers.

Whether they’re trying to fix a problem themselves or they’re looking for an electrician to do it for them, consumers are tired of being put on hold or having to call back later to get what they need.

This is why tools for online ad campaigns like FAQs pages, chatbots, and auto-replies have become so critical to modern customer service.

• They’re not looking for the cheapest electrician – they want someone they can trust.

Consumers are much more interested in an electrician who knows what they’re doing than one who’s just looking to make a quick buck. 

They want someone with expertise in the electrical field and someone they can depend on to get their power back up as fast as possible.  

What does this mean for electrical contractors?

You won’t beat competitors just by out-pricing their electrical services – you need to connect with your clients, show them they can trust your expertise, and do that 24/7, 365 days a year – and people will happily pay a premium for this.

7 Electrician Advertising Myths You Need to Forget ASAP

Most electricians would agree that marketing is a “good idea” for their business.

But when it comes to doing it, the excuses fly fast and furious.

“Marketing is a waste of money,” many will say. “I get repeat business from referrals anyway.”

But what they don’t realize is that they could be earning more business with the right marketing plan in place.

Here are some of the worst myths that electricians believe about marketing their business online:

• MYTH #1: People know I’m an electrician; I don’t need a website.

TRUTH: It’s true that people in your community might know you as an electrician, but if they can’t find you when they do a Google search, you could be missing out on new business opportunities.

They could be going to your competitors instead — and they may not even realize you’re an option!

• MYTH #2: I already have a website, so I’m all set.

TRUTH: If you have a website that says something like “Welcome to My Electrical Services Company” with your address and business hours, then you don’t really have a website.

You have a brochure.

The purpose of an electrician website is not just to look pretty or to provide some basic information about your business — it’s to convert visitors into prospective customers.

If you aren’t getting leads from your website, it needs serious work.

• MYTH #3: My electrician business is too small to need marketing.

TRUTH: While you might be able to get by with word-of-mouth referrals in your immediate community, there’s always a potential for growth.

A digital presence helps you reach potential customers who are looking for your services or products in your area. This is true even if your local business is just starting out.

If you don’t have a website, it’s easy for potential customers to get confused about finding information about your company or trust that it’s legitimate.

• MYTH #4: I can’t compete with all these “big” electrical services companies.

TRUTH: It can be hard to compete with large electrical companies when it comes to advertising because they often have a larger budget than smaller businesses.

However, there are ways around this. For example,using Google ads can help you show up higher in search results for your area—even above big corporations! 

• MYTH #5: Electrician marketing doesn’t matter because my customers come from referrals anyway.

TRUTH: Referral marketing is a great source of business, but they’re not predictable or scalable, which makes them unreliable for local services.

You can’t control how many referrals you get or where they come from. And when your business depends on referrals alone, you put yourself at the mercy of your reputation.

If you have a bad month and can’t maintain the same level of service, your business will suffer, because people will stop referring you.

Digital marketing helps you control this narrative and opens up another way to get clients instead of depending on word of mouth.

• MYTH #6: I can do it myself in my spare time.

TRUTH: Sure you can do it yourself, but unless you’re an expert in marketing for electricians, you probably won’t do as good a job as a professional who does this all day long.

If you want to save money by doing some work yourself and hiring professionals to handle parts of it that require specialized skills, that’s fine — but be aware that DIY marketing carries real risks and could cause damage to your brand if done incorrectly.

For example, let’s say someone left you a bad review on Facebook. Because you’re so busy with actual electrical work, you may miss it.

Unfortunately, a single bad review can tank your online reputation if you don’t handle it correctly.

Having professionals handle your electrician advertising plan means your bases are covered and you can focus on your job instead of trying to keep up with marketing.

• MYTH #7: All of my customers are right around the corner.

TRUTH: This is a big one for local electricians, but if you’re thinking this then you’re making a mistake.

What about those people who move into your area? How many homeowners do you think check out your website before they call you?

If you’re marketing your electrician business on the web, there’s a good chance that someone else will get their attention first.

5 Basic Elements of Creating Online Presence for Electricians

Not ready to invest in professional marketing services yet?

That’s okay — but we strongly recommend taking your business online ASAP.

Use these tips to get started:

1. Set up an electrician website.

If you haven’t yet built a website for your electrical services company, now is the time to do so.

Your website doesn’t need to be fancy or elaborate if you’re just getting started; all it needs are the basics:

• Your logo and contact info (if not in your header) at the top of your homepage
• A brief description of what you do and the electrical services you offer
• An “About” page with information about your company and its history
• A “Contact Us” page with directions to your office or shop and your contact form, phone number, email address, and social media accounts listed there

As we mentioned earlier, this kind of site is more like a brochure or simple landing pages than a dynamic hub for your company.

Still, having a website – even a basic one – is absolutely better than not having one at all.

2. Create a professional email address.

Your personal email address is great for staying in touch with friends and family, but for representing your business, it’s not your best option.

When corresponding with old and new customers, use an email address that clearly identifies your company. 

This can be something like firstname@companyname.com or firstname@domainname.com.

3. Create a Facebook page for your electrical company.

You need to have a presence on social media where people can find you, and Facebook is one of the first places people will look.

With billions of users around the world, it’s safe to assume that most of your potential customers are already on Facebook.

It’s easy to create a Facebook page for any service business. You can add photos of your electrical work and even interact with customers through the site.

4. Claim your business on online directories for electricians.

There are many websites where you can list your business for free or pay a small fee to be featured in directories that are specific to your industry and location.

Some examples of directories that electricians should look into:

• Google My Business
• HomeAdvisor
• Angie’s List
• Yelp reviews

Here’s a walkthrough of how to create a free business profile on Google to get you started.

5. Create profiles on local websites like “find an electrician” pages in your area.

Some cities or regions have websites that feature local businesses, often including contractors and tradespeople.

These sites usually offer free listings and make it easy for customers to review them; they’re also great places to connect with other businesses and build relationships that could benefit yours in the future.

Consider doing a Google search: “find an [electrician] in [your city]” or “[city name] chamber of commerce” to get an idea of what’s available in your area.

Those are the five building blocks that all small businesses should have in place, electricians included.

You don’t need to be a marketing expert to get these things done, and you can even do them yourself if you have the time.

While these elements will only help you establish a very basic presence, none of them will be enough to get on your target customer’s radar.

Electrician Marketing Strategy: Advanced Lead Generation Tactics

Having an online presence differs from a marketing strategy that actually gets you new customers and puts you ahead of other electrical business owners.

That’s a whole other ballgame and one that requires advanced electrician marketing strategies.

Here at Digital Delane, we’ve been helping electrical contractors like you develop effective digital marketing strategies for many years now—and come up with some pretty effective tactics for capturing new business online.

We have a whole playbook for electrician advertising, but here’s a look at some common strategies we apply:

Optimize your electrician website for local search.

This means optimizing your service pages with keywords, geographic references, and other information that helps search engines and local customers to find you and your services online. 

Your website needs to be built with search engine optimization (SEO) best practices in mind while targeting your local search area.

Create valuable, optimized content about electrical services for your target market.

Your website needs to feature blogs and resources that help your customers learn how to pick an electrician (like you), exactly what type of wiring they need for their home/business/etc., and how much different projects cost in your local service areas.

This helps position you as an expert among other local businesses and improves your chances of getting found by new customers. 

That’s why having a content marketing strategy is one of the most valuable marketing tactics of all for any service based business. 

Run native advertising and social media marketing (SMM).

Social media platforms like Facebook are one of the most effective ways to get your business in front of your target market using paid search ads. 

Native advertising allows you to pay for search ads that match the look and feel of the platform they’re on. This can also include pay per click advertising and other powerful paid ad tools.

This allows your ads to blend seamlessly among the feed of your target audience—and that means more current and potential customers are likely to click through!

You have a lot of options here, not just Facebook ads, so it’s important to choose which one fits your local service area and marketing campaigns best.

Boost mobile optimization for your electrician website.

It’s no secret that more people than ever before are using their smartphones for everything from booking reservations at restaurants to shopping for houses. 

In fact, over half of all searches are now done on mobile devices—and that number is increasing constantly. As a result, a poorly designed mobile site is the fastest way to turn off customers.

That means that if you want your site to rank high in search results, you need it to be optimized for mobile searches and browsing. 

It also means that your site needs to be optimized so that it loads quickly even in low-bandwidth conditions.

Run paid ads and retargeting for your electrical contractor business.

If you run the right kind of ads on the right site at the right time, you can saturate potential clients with your brand name before they even realize they need an electrician. 

They will be familiar with who you are and how awesome you are when it comes time to get their kitchen rewired or other electrical needs—and that’s when they’ll call YOU instead of the other guy down the street who doesn’t have a marketing campaign.

Automate your digital marketing communications.

This strategy is as simple as it sounds—automating your marketing communications is a great way to save time while still creating an engaging, effective presence across multiple channels (your website, social media accounts, email newsletter, etc.).

Automating your communications means setting up your communication channels so that users can interact with them without you having to be there. 

By choosing an automated chat bot, for example, customers can get answers to basic questions on your site even when nobody’s manning the chat feature.

A few other ways to automate your communications include:

• Creating a FAQ page so customers can easily find answers to common questions and concerns.
• Using a drip email campaign (so you write emails once and then schedule them to send at certain intervals).
• Using call tracking to make sure no inquiry or phone calls fall through the cracks.

Create an email lead to attract new customers.

A lead magnet is an incentive that encourages potential customers to sign up for your email newsletter or other email marketing materials. 

While some businesses opt to use offers like discounts, others find it more effective to offer something more personal in your landing page—like a free report or informational video—that can help potential customers feel more comfortable trying out their services. 

For example, if your company specializes in electrical work for new homeowners, your lead magnet can offer a 10-point guide to help them evaluate the safety of their electrical system.

Measure everything using analytics tools.

An essential part of an effective lead-generation strategy for electrical contractors is getting the right metrics in place. 

This helps you track and measure the progress of your online marketing strategy over time.

Tools like Google Analytics help you understand where your users are coming from and who they are by tracking data like their geographic location and device type.

This information gives you great insight into how different groups of people interact with your site and which techniques are most effective at bringing in relevant traffic.

Grab a FREE Online Marketing Quote for Your Electrical Business

Crafting powerful electrician advertising and marketing strategies is one of our specialties here at Digital Delane.

However, we firmly believe that every electrical contracting business is different. That’s why we don’t offer cookie-cutter marketing efforts just to bring new clients in.

Instead, we focus on knowing you first. We want to know things like:

• How is business going? 
• What are your goals as an electrical contractor, and what do you think is keeping you from reaching them? 
• Who are your target audience? 
• Who are your competitors?

The more we know about your electrical contracting business, the better we can create marketing strategies that maximize your budget and deliver results.

Not sure how to get started?

Request a FREE, no-obligation discovery call using our online form, and we’ll get back to you ASAP!