How digital marketing could save your electrical business

Many businesses are currently undergoing severe financial strain due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, meaning that effective digital marketing has never been more important.

Whether it’s to help mitigate the impact of this financial crisis, or supply the potential demand stimulated by the HomeBuilder scheme, electricians can use intelligent marketing techniques to their advantage.

During a period when business-as-usual has been almost entirely disrupted, implementing a fresh, futureproof digital marketing approach could provide a competitive advantage for electricians to exploit in the coming months. So, as the industry gently embarks into the ‘new normal’, here are a few digital marketing strategies to add to your business toolbox.

How to build your digital presence…

Today, many of the most in-demand electricians are not just those who do the best work, but who promote their work best. With the recent introduction of HomeBuilder, there could now be an increased demand for your services — if they’re marketed effectively. As the internet has become ubiquitous to everyday life, Australians are increasingly using it to purchase goods and research services. So in 2020, it’s no use only being listed in the Yellow Pages when your audience are using online channels to find businesses today.

Consider building a website to act as the hub of your digital marketing strategy. Before you do so, you’ll need to choose and register a domain — the address that appears in the URL. Try to make it short, memorable and representative of your business like, for example, essendonelectric.com.au. When building your website, today you needn’t be a coder or graphic designer when solutions like GoDaddy can help you build a professional site. Use your website to share your expertise, services and the geographical areas you work, publish positive testimonials, post images of the new projector you installed or the switchboard you wired, and make your contact details easily accessible for people to contact you to arrange a consultation.

...and how to market it

Having a professional website is a start, but putting it in front of current and prospective clients is what matters to help boost your business. There are relatively straightforward and cost-effective digital marketing strategies to help, which is particularly important now when both time and money are of the essence. Nearly half the world’s population uses email, so it’s safe to say many of your clients will too. To help your brand be consistent and build customer trust, consider creating an email address that matches your domain, like hi@essendonelectric.com.au. Whether it’s informing them of crucial business updates, promoting a new service or qualification, or sharing a recent testimonial or installation you’re proud of, email marketing can be a quick, cost-effective method to help you stay top of mind and build stronger connections with your clients.

While email is a great way to engage with existing clients, SEO (search engine optimisation) can help make your website — and by extension, your business — more visible to prospective clients. SEO is an algorithm that helps determine where your website will rank when someone searches for a related term online. The better optimised your website, the higher it’s listed by search engines, so it’s important to populate it with relevant content. To help boost your site’s SEO ranking, consider adding phrases that people may be searching, like ‘licensed electrician Sydney’ or ‘HomeBuilder electrical engineer Tasmania’.

While we’re embarking into a period of potentially prolonged uncertainty, businesses that succeed long-term may be those who not only do the best work, but also who promote their work best. So, as you look to grow and take advantage of the demand from HomeBuilder, consider how digital marketing can help your business grow in the ‘new normal’.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/Panumas