Approximately 85 percent of American adults say they go online daily, while 30 percent report that they’re “almost constantly” online, according to Pew Research Center findings. The takeaway is clear for businesses: If you’re looking to connect with your customers, there’s no better place to be than online.
The reality is that your customers expect to be able to interact with your plumbing business online. Enter digital marketing, which can help you reach your customers where they are.
But creating and implementing a digital marketing strategy is only one part of the equation. Also essential? Measuring the success of your digital marketing initiatives in order to improve them.
Here’s a closer look at why internet marketing for plumbers matters so much, along with how you can use digital marketing metrics to measure for success.
What is Digital Marketing?
Also called online marketing, digital marketing refers to promotional messaging that takes place online. It includes web-based advertising, email, social media, text, and multimedia messaging.
In short, if your marketing campaign involves connecting with your customers through digital communication, you are utilizing digital marketing.
Why Is Digital Marketing Important?
Digital marketing can help your plumbing business do the following things:
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Build brand visibility and awareness
Your brand is the promise you make to your customers. Customers don’t identify with your products and services. They identify with your brand. By creating a compelling and consistent brand, you strengthen your relationship with your customers and differentiate yourself from the competition.
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Get to know your target audience
The more you understand your target audience, the better you can engage with them. Digital marketing gives you a direct line to your customers. You can use this direct line to gain insights into their needs and how you can fulfill them.
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Attract new customers
A well-designed website is important for your business, but customers don’t always arrive there on their own. Digital marketing tactics increase your customer base and drive visitor traffic to your website.
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Establish authority and trustworthiness
Trustworthiness is everything to today’s customers. When you establish a consistent and compelling digital presence, you boost your credibility and raise your profile in the eyes of customers.
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Increase revenue
Even amidst the uncertainty of the pandemic, companies invested more than ever in digital marketing strategies, and with good reason. According to Deloitte, businesses with high levels of digital engagement earn twice as much revenue per employee.
Ways Your Plumbing Business Can Use Digital Marketing
There are many ways to use digital marketing to grow your plumbing business. Some of the most common digital marketing strategies include:
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO): One of the most effective digital marketing tools, SEO uses targeted keywords and phrases to help your website perform well in search engine results. This, in turn, drives more members of your target audience to your website.
- Pay-per-click Advertising (PPC): A paid form of advertising, PPC lets you bid on ad placements in a search engine’s sponsored links section. You don’t pay for the ad space itself, but rather only pay when someone clicks through the ad to your website.
- Content Marketing: Another go-to digital marketing strategy, content marketing engages consumers through content, such as blog posts, videos, and infographics. The goal of content marketing is not to sell, but to connect, inform, and add value. Content marketing also utilizes SEO to drive traffic to your website and generate conversions.
- Email Marketing: When it comes to staying top-of-mind with customers, email is an excellent technique. As with content marketing, email marketing is more about building brand awareness than selling your products and services at a particular moment.
- Social Media Marketing: Social media marketing is an excellent way to interact with your target audience, share information and promotional content, increase brand awareness, boost your company’s reputation, and generate conversions. Some of the most well-known social media platforms include Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
- Video Marketing: Video is extremely popular with consumers and search engine rankings alike. There are many types of digital marketing videos, including explainer videos, product demonstrations, behind-the-scenes videos, customer testimonials, and more. Each of these can be used to build brand awareness and lead to valuable conversions in the future.
Measuring Your Digital Marketing Results
There’s tremendous potential in digital marketing, but how do you know if your efforts are producing results? This brings us to measuring.
If you’re wondering how to measure the effectiveness of a digital marketing campaign, it all comes down to key performance indicators (KPIs). These quantifiable progress indicators allow you to determine how your initiatives are performing across many aspects including:
- Overall website traffic
- Source of traffic
- New visitors vs. returning visitors
- Number of visits
- Average duration of visit
- Page views
- Most visited pages
- Exit rates
- Bounce rates
- Conversion rates
- Social reach
- Social engagement
- Email open rate
- Click-through rate
- Cost per click
- Cost per conversion
- Overall ROI
In order to really make the most of these metrics, however, you must also set goals. Goals not only help you know where you’re succeeding, but they also let you identify where you’re falling short in order to correct your course.
Harness the Power of Digital Marketing for Your Plumbing Business
Despite the many benefits of digital marketing, roughly 80 percent of small businesses in the US aren’t using digital tools to their full advantage, according to Deloitte.
That’s where The Light Digital comes in. Not only can we help you create and implement a comprehensive digital marketing plan for your business, but we will also continually measure your results to ensure that you’re on track and moving toward your goals.
To learn more about how our expert website marketing company can help you put the power of digital marketing to work for your plumbing business, contact The Light Digital today.
