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Author: Stacey Ivol

10 Of Our Favorite Marketing Hacks For House Painting Companies In 2022

Would you like to know about our 10 favorite super sneaky marketing hacks that you can implement today?

We use these marketing secrets to help our painter clients rank their website #1 for their favorite keywords, get more organic traffic and ultimately, get more leads to grow their business.

In this article, we are going to cover ten actionable strategies that you can use RIGHT NOW.

The best part?

You don’t have to be super tech savvy or Elon Musk to get them implemented.

Let’s start this section with our favorite Google Business Profile hacks.

Hack #1 - Social Proof Will Get You More Leads

The best two platforms to get reviews on are:

  • Google
  • Meta (Formerly Facebook)

Google reviews are the best type of reviews that you can receive because not only do they talk you up and show people how great you are, they also help your website with its SEO.  As an added bonus, once you have 100 reviews, your star rating will be shown when you run Google ads.

Meta reviews are great to have as well because of the platform’s popularity in a house painting company’s target market.  Most house painters that we work with have a target audience of women that are between the ages of 35 to 64.  Consequently, that is the majority of Meta users.  By using this platform, you are more likely to get in front of your ideal client than any other social media option.

If you can get a video testimonial from a client, that can go a long way as well.  A lot of people get stuck on the logistics of creating the video, but it shouldn’t be that hard.  You can interview them via Zoom and record that call or just have them use their phone to record a quick video. 

The more authentic the video looks, the better.  This is for two reasons.  One – if the video is over-produced, it will seem scripted and less credible.  Two – if people see that someone took time out of their day to create a quick video for you, it shows that they really liked you and your work.

Once you have these videos, be sure to put them everywhere a potential audience may look.  This could include:

  • YouTube
  • Your website
  • Social Media
  • Your Google Business Profile
  • and more!

Reviews are a great way to show how great you are without you ever having to say a word.

Want some help getting more reviews?  Check out our article on implementing a review system.

 

Hack #2 - Get Your Listing On Google Maps

Getting your business listed in the Google Maps results is based on many factors.  A few big ones are:

  • how close the searcher is to your business location 
  • your review ranking and volume (which we discussed above in Hack #1)
  • profile completeness
  • local signals

To start, make sure that your profile is completely filled out with correct information.  Your name in the Google Business Profile should match exactly the name on your website.  This goes for your address, website, and phone number as well.  Then, be sure that your business categories and services are filled in completely.  

The final part of your profile that should be completed is the “Photos” section. Be sure to add as many photos as you can as this is a feature that not many painters take advantage of.

For a complete walkthrough of filling out a Google Business Profile, check out our article here: https://blog.iftsdesign.com/introducing-google-my-business/

“Local Signals” are another big factor for showing up early on Google Maps.  These are website links to your website from other local businesses or services.  A few examples of this would be:

  • a back link from the local chamber of commerce
  • a back link from a local scholarship that you sponsored
  • a mention or link to your business from a local paper

Anything that you can do to get your business associated with your area is a great “local signal” to Google.

Hack #3 - Ask and Answer Questions Via Your Profile

An easy way to get keywords and locations associated with your Google Business Profile is through the question and answer section.

Previously, you were not able to add questions to your profile yourself,  You had to wait for someone to ask and then you could answer them.  This has now changed.

The Q&A section of your Google Business Profile is a great way to show all of your most frequently asked questions up front to prospective customers.

Write down the 10 questions that you receive all of the time from prospects and then answer them in 3-5 sentences.  While you are answering them, be sure to use common keywords/phrases as well as locations that you want associated with your house painting business.

Once you have accomplished this task, copy and paste them to your Google Business Profile.

Now, we’ll move to our favorite Paid Ad Hacks.

Hack #4 - Solve Your Prospects’ Small Problems For Free In an Ad

What are the questions you most commonly get asked? If you’ve already implemented Hack #3 from this article, you should have this list already.

Side Note – Need some inspiration?  Check out https://answerthepublic.com/ or https://neilpatel.com/ubersuggest/ for commonly asked or searched questions in your field.

Make videos answering these questions and position yourself as the expert in your area.  Again, just like the testimonials, the videos do not have to be fancy or highly edited.  They should be authentic and can be filmed with your cell phone.  Some painters will even film on the job site.

Sample Common House Painter Questions To Get You Started:

How often should I paint the exterior of my house in this area?

  • What is the best time of the year to stain a deck?
  • How many coats of paint should be used on the exterior of your house?
  • How many coats of paint should be used on the interior of your house?
  • What does it mean for a painting company to be bonded and insured?
  • Should I paint my kitchen cabinets or should I replace them?

Once you have your videos, post them to your social media, YouTube channel and on your website.

You should also run them as Meta ads to your local audience.  You don’t have to spend a lot of money, just one to five dollars per day.  This helps you get in front of a fairly large group of people in a small amount of time.

These videos will help you create an audience that already knows/likes/trusts you when it comes to painting topics.  When they have a painting project come up, you will be the one that they know they can trust.

Hack #5 - Make Your Ad Stand Out

When creating your video, you want to be sure to stand out amongst the crowded marketplace.

The first way to do this is to use contrasting colors to the platform that you are running the ad on.  If you are going to run the ad on Meta (Facebook), we recommend having a red or yellow bar at the top of the video because it helps you stand out from the Meta blue color scheme.  An easy way to do some small edits to your video is through Canva.  

Don’t want to take the time to do any edits to the video?  Try wearing a brightly colored red or yellow shirt.

The second way to stand out is to immediately call out your audience or target market.  So, if you were advertising kitchen cabinet painting to the residents of Dallas, you could start your video with the sentence: 

“Are you living in the Dallas area and thinking about redoing your kitchen?”

Or, you could do some video editing and add that sentence as text to the beginning of the video.

A final way to stand out is to start your video with a big action or a memorable prop at the beginning.  You want to grab someone’s attention – movement or something unexpected will typically draw the eye.

A few big actions you could try:

  • come in through a door
  • big wave and a smile
  • use a paint sprayer or other tool of the trade
  • jump into the frame

A few memorable props you could try:

  • Comically large-sized paintbrush
  • Wall of stacked of paint cans
  • stand halfway up a ladder

The important thing to remember is you want to get their attention within the first 3 seconds of the video and keep them watching.  These tactics all use “pattern interrupt”.  This basically means – do something to get a person to stop scrolling through their feed and watch your video/read your ad.

Hack #6 - Use Retargeting Ads In Multiple Ways

The average consumer is only prepared to make a purchase about 3% of the time. 

So, how do you attract the other 97% of people?

Retargeting Ads

Retargeting allows you to stay in front of someone that is interested in your services until they are ready to make a purchasing decision.  If you are advertising on Meta (Facebook), you can do this in 2 ways:

  • Meta Pixel
  • Video Viewers

The Meta Pixel is a small piece of code that you install on your website.  It then tracks who has visited the site and allows you to show them ads on Meta.  

One caveat – The usefulness of the Pixel has diminished over time as Apple now requires users to opt in to being tracked.  Only about 10% of people opt in (not surprising).  Advertisers now have a much harder time reaching Apple users via this method.

The other way you can retarget someone is through their video views.  Meta tracks who watches your videos and for how long.  So, you can advertise to people that have watched at least a certain percentage of a video.  

We recommend retargeting people who have watched at least 25% – 50% of a video.

Sample Retargeting Strategy For House Painters

A good video strategy for painters is to run 3-5 FAQ ads to women 35-64 in your local area.  Then, retarget the women who have watched at least 25% of one of the videos with an ad that has a special offer or a more direct call to action.

Finally, let’s cover our favorite psychological marketing tricks.

Hack #7 - Get an Awesome Business Card With Your Picture

One strategy that isn’t commonly used by painters is to get a really nice business card with your picture on it.

Why use your picture?

First of all, people want to do business with people, not a faceless business.  Secondly, it will help them remember who you are.

Now, how nice is nice, you may ask…

Stand out from the crowd of people that are handing out the white, one sided business cards that they ordered by the thousands from VistaPrint for under $50 and get a card that is plastic, like a credit card.  Check out plasticprinters.com for decent pricing.

Not only that, make the card graphically pleasing and “cool looking” by having it designed professionally.  Look on fiverr.com for a great deal on the design aspect.

Because the card is so nice, people feel bad about throwing it away.  So, you’ve got a tangible remarketing tool that they will keep, unlike other painting companies.  This will set you apart from the cheap lookalike cards that are thrown away easily.

[On an aside] We do recommend having 2 sets of cards created.  One set should be plastic and lux for giving away to potential customers.  The other set can be on paper.  These paper ones should be given away to people that may not necessarily hire you, but you may use as a contact or meet at a networking event.

Hack #8 - Make Your Voicemail Work For You

Your clients should never reach your voicemail.  Preferably, you’d have a call center in place to make sure that they never had to talk to a machine.

However, if the perfect set of circumstances happen and they do manage to reach your voicemail, there is one phrase you should add to the end of the message:

Add “I will call you in the next 15 minutes”

When people hear this, they will be much more likely to leave a message because they have that expectation of receiving a call back soon.  Even if you aren’t able to call back in that amount of time, you still get a chance at that lead.

Hack #9 - Give a Compliment At the Beginning

People want to be liked and this plays into that psychology.

Before you start an estimate, give a compliment to the prospect.  It could be about the house, the neighborhood, a family picture, furniture, their pet etc.  People like people who like them.  People also HIRE people who they like.

Most of the time, people don’t remember what you say, but they do remember how you make them feel.  This applies to most human interaction.  So, if you make them feel good about themselves at the beginning, the feeling should carry through the whole experience.  

By making a prospect feel good about themselves, it puts you in a better position for you to get their business.

Hack #10 - Go Get Started

Getting started is half the battle.  Choose one thing from this list that you want to accomplish in the next 24 hours and GO DO IT!  You’ll be ahead of 95% of your competition.

Want Some Help?

Is there something on this list that you would like to implement, but aren’t quite sure how or don’t have the time to do?

This is where IFTS comes in.  We have been working with house painters (and other businesses) for over 5 years on all aspects of their marketing.  Give us a call at 412-715-6266 or send us an email (si@iftsdesign.com).  We’d love to help you grow your painting company.

Local SEO For Painting Companies – Let’s Make You A Local Celebrity

SEO in general tries to make a business more visible to a particular demographic, but local SEO takes this a step further. Local SEO can bring people to websites and stores by focusing on customers and prospects in a small area, specifically your area. By improving your local SEO, you can get an edge over your competitors.

Because painting businesses have a set area that they serve, local SEO should be an important piece of your marketing plan.

To create an effective local campaign, you’ll need to implement the following strategies:

  • Business listings in directories that are common to other businesses your area
  • Geo-targeted optimization of online properties like your website, social media pages etc.
  • Content marketing with assorted location mentions
  • Backlinks from local businesses or organizations
  • User reviews

It’s quite a few pieces to put together, so let’s break each strategy down.

Part 1 – Get Your Painting Company Included In The Most Important Business Listings

Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) is by far the most popular business listing to claim.  However, there are many more that you should consider.  We always encourage our clients to claim and verify listings from:

  • Google Business Profile [add logo]
  • Bing [add logo]
  • Yelp [add logo]
  • Yahoo Local [add logo]
  • YP [add logo]

We recommend claiming and verifying your Google Business Profile first.  This is because you can use it to claim and verify your Bing profile within minutes.

If this sounds like too much to manage yourself, there are listings services that will help you claim, verify and manage up to 100 listings for a monthly fee.

Part 2 – Geo-targeted Optimization Of Your House Painting Website For Local Audiences

Local SEO uses the same parts as traditional SEO, but it also needs a few aspects that are more specific:

Business Hours and Contact Information

Visitors to local company websites generally start with information found in these places: search engines, listings or directories, and customers themselves. Every page of a company’s website should include its operation hours and contact information, such as its physical location and phone number.

Hyper Local Keywords

Title tags, meta descriptions, image alt tags and general website content should all include keywords and phrases that refer to the business’s location. To generate local leads, you may not be able to simply target a city or state. Increasing the number of clients that come through your door may be as simple as becoming hyper-local by focusing on even more narrowly defined subgroups within your community.

Our search engine optimization (SEO) experts use this information to select better geo-targeted keywords.

Implementation Hint – Create a list of your best clients and divide them by neighborhood.  Use the most popular neighborhoods to run hyper specific ads to.  

As an example, if your business is in the Houston area, but your best clients are located in Katy, TX, run an ad that starts “Hi Katy, TX, are you looking for a professional painting company?” or something similar.

You could also create an ad that has you in it by a well-known landmark in the area, such as a statue, restaurant or park.  People will immediately recognize the fact that you are in their area.

Part 3 – How To Target Your Local Audience Using Content Marketing

Marketing for local campaigns involves the same level of inventiveness and quality as other SEO campaigns, but there must be a greater emphasis on calls to action as well as issues relevant to your company’s area.

Some easy ways to do this are:

Feature Local Topics

When creating content for your blog or social media, we recommend writing information related to your business and where you are.

A good example of this for a house painting company located in Colorado would be “Why July is the best month to protect the exterior of your Denver house with a new paint job”.

Writing about local trends or even laws in your area that are related to your business is a good way to show that you are a reliable source of information.

Create Advocates For Your Brand

When you create content online, don’t just promote your products and services.  In fact, for every article you have about a product or service, you should have FOUR other articles with helpful information for your target market.

This will help build consumer loyalty and create advocates for your house painting business.  Great, helpful articles and posts make it easy for your customers to spread the news about your company by sharing your content on social media sites.

Authenticate Your Business Identity

Make sure your website’s local content is properly indexed by search engines using schema markup.

These include: a map schema; product information schemas; logos and images; and local business information (such as phone number, address, and name).

Part 4 – The Importance Of Building Quality Citations For Your Painting Business

There are several factors that go into a successful SEO campaign, including backlinks and citations. A citation is a mention of a brand on a third-party website by a customer or a business. These references of a company’s name play an important role in local search results.

Some of the most important and effective citations are listed here:

Social or Blog Content

A smart strategy to get citations is to encourage local celebrities, brand advocates and local influencers to write about you on their blogs and social media accounts.

Business Listings

Citations are listings in directories, local networks, and review sites. You may increase the number of citations you have by managing these listings and encouraging clients to post links to your painting business’ content.

Guest Posts or Magazine Articles

One of the best ways to get your name out there is to have other people write about your business for an online magazine.  Alternatively, you could post your own articles or press releases in local news publications.

 

IFTS’ local SEO packages include citation building and link development services.  These aid in getting your painting company’s name mentioned in social media, online publications, and more.

Part 5 – Customer Reviews Are Key For ANY Business

There should be more unique content than just your business name, address, and phone number on all of your social media profiles. Customer reviews are the best place to find this text.

Publishing press announcements about new listings, linking to your social media sites and company listings on your website, and engaging your consumers through online content can all encourage people to express their opinions.

Just remember, customers are more likely to provide favorable evaluations if they receive excellent service and high-quality products!

Need help getting reviews?

Implementation Hint – Create an automated system for asking for reviews or invest in software that does this, like ReviewLead.  Once you get the reviews, be sure to reply to them using keywords and locations to help your local SEO even more.

Want someone to take care of this for you?  IFTS offers packages specifically for painting companies that takes care of all of your marketing (and then some).  Give us a call to get started with your free “Online Presence Audit” – 412.715.6266

What Should You Consider Before Hiring A Web Design Company?

So, you’re looking for a well-designed website that keeps people engaged while still being simple to use AND converts visitors into clients? 

Get in line! 

A website that is proactive in addressing your requirements and business goals has become more essential than ever before.  In this day of information overload, having an online presence that reflects the unique features of your business or services while still being simple enough to not only attract but also retain customers is essential. You need to stand out among the almost 2 billion websites that exist today.

Remember – there is no need for consumers to waste time on a confused or dysfunctional website when there are hundreds (often thousands) of alternatives available to them at the click of a button.  

Keep all of this in mind as you conduct research and attempt to determine the most appropriate route when developing your company (or personal) website. There is no reason to squander your time or money, but a few well-timed and well-placed investments may go a long way toward ensuring your success.

Did you realize that some individuals make their entire career designing websites?

Okay, so you probably already knew that, but think about the following scenario: 

Your home requires plumbing or electricity. Considering that these are important factors in your overall quality of life, are you willing to put in the hundreds of hours required to learn how to do it yourself, knowing that the chances of making an error are significant? 

Alternatively, are you planning to engage a professional, certain that their knowledge and skills will ensure that your requirements are fulfilled? 

Another scenario that is commonly encountered:

A business owner will tell us, “My teenage nephew is really good at computers and promised to help set up a website for our company this weekend.”

Does this nephew know about SEO, website speed optimization, CTAs, internal and external linking, Google Business Profile optimization, congruity across your online presence and other factors that help your website rank as well as convert? Our guess is probably not.

Most people don’t know what must go into a website to make it work for your business in 2022.  There are 175 new websites created PER MINUTE every day.  The “If you build it, they will come” mindset no longer works like it did twenty years ago.

Designing a profitable or promotional website is critical to your company’s livelihood, and while DIY projects are a fun and educational way to pass the time and learn something new, the truth is that there is a lot more to online success than meets the eye. 

A professional web design company employs multiple people that are well-versed in the complicated and diverse requirements of many types of websites. 

Throughout their careers, they have gained incomparable expertise that serves as a precious basis for their current endeavors. This experience has given them invaluable knowledge that serves as a priceless foundation when starting a website design project.  This is why I strongly recommend that you hire a professional when it comes to creating your website. 

However, the type of expert you choose is equally crucial. 

Figure out what you need the website to do

Before employing someone, it’s critical to have at least a basic understanding of your own requirements and objectives. Because pro web designers work with a large number of clients, understanding what you want before you talk development with them will guarantee that you and the designer are a good match and will assist them in providing you with exceptional service.

What kind of person or company do you want to work with?

It’s also crucial to be aware of who you’re working with. 

Because of the internet, it is simple for people to market themselves as “experienced professionals” (yet another reason to have a high-quality website!). 

Investigate what you’re looking for; if you come across someone claiming to do it for a significantly lower price, be skeptical; you’ll most likely wind-up spending twice as much money to get a useless site back up and running. 

Don’t be afraid to ask questions! You are knowledgeable about your industry, and they should be knowledgeable about theirs. 

Inquire about their opinions on your project and see whether their ideas are compatible with yours. Look at their previous work and see what other sorts of sites they have worked on and the industries that they are familiar with.

Due diligence is important when choosing a web design company

Another component of “knowing who you’re hiring” is to request a portfolio and references from past customers. Be careful to research the designer’s past work; it’s critical that you choose a firm that can collaborate with you and meet all of your business requirements. Reviewing work from prior clients is a valuable and instructive approach to obtain honest feedback about the quality of the designer’s work, his or her willingness to collaborate, and overall professionalism.

You’ll want to know who will be engaged in the creation of your website after learning more about the firm itself. Web design and development are comprised of several different components. You should inquire as to whether any of the services being supplied will be outsourced and whether the firm has a group of employees with whom they operate on a regular basis. 

Make a list of everything that you want your website to be capable of

You should also check to see if the company provides all of the features that you are searching for. For example, having a mobile-friendly or responsive website that adapts to any screen size might be a distinguishing feature of your site that sets you apart from your competition in certain situations. Find out what sorts of services the web firm provides and make sure that they are in line with your expectations and the requirements of your organization.

Is there a timeline that you have to meet?

Another issue that has to be addressed is deadlines. If you have deadlines, it’s critical that you communicate them to anyone you hire so that they can ensure that your project is successfully completed on time. 

You want to ensure that anyone you employ will devote the necessary time and effort to your project.  Make sure they will develop an appealing and easy-to-use website in a timely manner, so that you are not forced to wait months for your company’s website to go up.

Hiring a web design firm is a good investment for your company, and the appropriate expertise may make a significant difference in your performance and profitability. 

In your hunt for a web designer, make sure you do your homework and be clear on the type of relationship you are seeking. Don’t be hesitant to ask questions or obtain references/portfolios from potential candidates. 

Hiring the right company to design your website is just as important as hiring a web designer in the first place!

Hiring IFTS for your web design needs

Thinking about hiring IFTS, Inc.?  We offer a free one-hour consultation to hear all about your business goals and what you want your website to do for you.  After that meeting, we can provide references and other information about past projects.

To get started, schedule your appointment today by calling 412-715-6266.