Are you looking for ways to expand your pest control business? Exploring new marketing avenues may help increase revenue and put your business on the map against competitors.
The pest control market has grown 1.7% in 2023 alone. Whether your business is thriving or just getting off the ground, staying competitive in a growing industry is important.
So how do you get the word out to bring in new clients? Digital and traditional marketing offer many solutions.
Let’s look at some ways to create marketing campaigns using different platforms.
Using Advertising
Where do marketing and advertising differ? Marketing is a planned campaign made up of many different components and targets. Advertising is a part of that campaign.
An ad is a promotion that attracts sales, engagement, and interest. Ads emphasize a brand, product, or service as a crucial part of a well-planned marketing campaign. They lead the potential customer to your website or company for more information.
Advertising can take many different forms, but there are two divisions we’ll discuss here: digital and traditional. Digital encompasses anything that reaches customers via computer or smart device. Traditional would cover print or television ads.
Digital Advertising
Digital advertising covers a variety of platforms. You may think of email campaigns or your website as your digital component. But there’s far more to digital advertising.
Most small businesses invest about 10-15% of their total revenue into marketing. This is because digital marketing sees high returns on investment regardless of which platform you use. Creating a diverse plan that includes advertising is crucial to success.
Before digging into planning, familiarize yourself with a few different platforms. For example:
Search engine optimization
No matter what platform you choose, Search engine optimization (SEO) should be a No. 1 priority. SEO strategies can generate 1000% more traffic than organic marketing. It boosts content relevancy and link popularity to drive more traffic to your business.
Keywords are the backbone of SEO. Use popular words that potential clients may type into a search engine. Incorporate these in your ads and your website.
Even social media posts can benefit from SEO. Hashtags are still a good way to make your content searchable and identifiable on social platforms.
When keywords are embedded into your content, it helps search engines find your content and drive more clicks on your page.
Email advertising can include event invitations, sales, or even service discounts. Using links that lead back to your website for registration or more information will also increase customer engagement.
Email can also be used as a broader part of your marketing campaign as content marketing. Keep your current customer base up-to-date on your business along with any specials or information relevant to your business.
You can add any interested parties by posting a sign-up link on your website or directly from your social media.
Get creative and make personalized newsletter campaigns on sites like Mailchimp.
Verify your business with Google. It will ensure you’re registered on the search engine. Your pest control company will pop up when new customers type in keywords and companies in the area.
Once your company is registered with Google, you can utilize its advertising services.
Google Adwords allows you to advertise multiple campaigns simultaneously. Companies can average a $2 return for every $1 spent on Google Ads.
Pay Per Click
Pay Per Click (PPC) ads are implemented through third-party advertising platforms. They allow you to launch a campaign and pay for each click that drives a customer to your site. PPC is one of the most common digital marketing strategies.
Social media
Social media comprised 33% of all spending on digital advertising in 2022. These are websites such as Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Pinterest.
Each of these platforms focuses on a different media. While there is some crossover, each has its particular frequent user base. Therefore, they all offer opportunities for attracting more diversified customers.
Currently, the most successful digital advertising venue is Facebook. Its success makes it a good place to start with your digital advertising.
Are Facebook Ads Right for Your Pest Control Business?
Facebook ads offer a large reach for your marketing campaigns. In April of 2023, Facebook had an advertising audience of 2.2 billion. The platform is the most used social media site. Those are promising numbers for gaining leads and conversions on advertisements.
These ads are either pay-per-click or pay-per-view. On average, per click costs $0.94, and per view costs $12.07 per 1,000 impressions. Facebook ads generate an average 152% return on their investment.
Facebook advertising has exceptional analytics. These are stats that will help you monitor the efficiency of your ads. You can target a wider audience and choose the best ad type for your business.
If this sounds effective for your business, getting started is relatively easy.
Facebook for Business
Before we dive into specifics, you’ll need the basics. If you don’t have one, start a Facebook business page for your pest control company.
From there, you can link your page with Facebook’s Ad Manager. This is where you can build, manage and analyze all your advertisements.
If you want to cover more bases with less effort, try Meta Business Suite. You’ll be able to manage both Facebook and Instagram from one spot.
4 Tips to Get Started Using Facebook Ads
Once your Facebook presence is out in the digital world, it’s time to work on your ads.
1. Select the type of ad. Choose the type of ad campaign that you want to run. This choice will vary depending on your goal. You can select from images, videos, carousels, or a collection of products/services.
Select your ad type and then click the green “create” button.
2. Choose ad specifications like objective and audience. There are 11 objectives to choose from. They include anything from web traffic, app installs, and page engagement. Your choices are dependent on your goal with the ad.
You can choose an audience anywhere in the world. For your pest control company, try to keep it local. This way, homeowners in your area will see your ads.
3. Select your pricing. Pricing is determined by setting either a daily budget or a lifetime budget. That means you’ll pay either per day that your ad runs or for the duration of your ad campaign. These prices can vary.
4. Monitor performance metrics. Once your campaign is active, you’ll want to track it. Run Facebook analytics to see how your ads are doing. These reports will help you understand how effective your campaigns are. From there, you can adjust your ads to improve their efficiency.
There are many other platforms and strategies for building effective digital marketing campaigns. Diversifying your strategy will help your pest control company reach a larger audience.
Traditional Advertising
Traditional advertising may seem like a thing of the past, but it still reaches a hyperlocal audience. That has a different type of value. You reach the people in your community most likely to need your services. Repeated exposure drives name and brand recognition as well.
You will be familiar with most of these avenues, but it’s good to take a closer look.
Newspaper advertisement
Many homeowners still get the local newspaper delivered. This is a great way to get your pest control company out there and increase your customer base.
Vehicle branding
If you own and operate a company vehicle, use this as an advertisement space. Use graphics or vehicle wraps to promote your company logo, name, and phone number.
Billboards
Billboards are just as effective as they’ve always been. Billboards have an 86% recall rate. That means potential customers are more likely to remember your brand.
These signs and advertisements get your logo, business name, and phone number out there. This will increase the memorability of your company and give you more visibility.
However, there is one more important strategy you should never forget:
Word of mouth
Never underestimate the power of existing customers, and a job well done. Seventy-four percent of consumers identify word of mouth as the primary influencer in their purchasing decisions.
Let your work speak for itself. Happy customers will help spread the word about your company’s quality. Customer recommendations are very effective at generating leads.
13 Effective Advertising Strategies to Get Pest Control Leads
Advertising can feel overwhelming because there are so many routes to take. Develop a plan for each platform and stay clear and focused on your goals.
Know your competitors.
What pest control services do your competitors offer? Familiarize yourself with what common services are in your area. Then research any extras your competitors offer. Learn what the expected pricing per job is.
This information can help you develop competitive marketing strategies.
Build your brand.
Establish your company’s values, practices, and image. This is what makes up your “brand.” Your company’s brand can help establish trust and familiarity in your community.
Find tips on brand development for your pest control company here.
Create a high-quality website.
This may seem like a no-brainer, but it’s important to have a concise website that is easy to navigate. User experience is extremely important to the success of your website. It needs to be engaging and informative. Above all, it should be accurate.
Make sure to include crucial information like your phone number, services, and hours.
There are many online tools that can help you build your site, but it may help to involve a professional. They have a grasp of digital best practices that will help your engagement and visibility.
Offer Incentives.
Consider offering deals and promotions in your campaigns. Incentives will attract new customers to your business and keep your pest control services competitive.
Use Social Media and Partnerships.
Capitalize on social media marketing as much as possible. Paid campaigns are a great option.
Don’t be afraid to reach out to influencers and other local businesses to collaborate. This will help spread the word about your services.
Know your target audience.
Do some research about the demographics in your area. Try to gear your ads towards the population of homeowners. They will likely be your largest customer base.
Stay informative.
Sharing information is always a good way to draw people in and build their trust in your company. Consider offering how-to guides in your newsletters or on your Instagram story.
Use infographics for online advertising.
An infographic is an image that displays information in a simple format, such as pie charts and bar graphs. Using these in ads will help your company seem helpful and professional from the start.
You can create infographics using design tools like Canva.
Integrate testimonials.
Incorporate testimonials into your social media, website, and pay-per-click advertisements. You can request these from satisfied customers via your website, email, or even Yelp. Testimonials help to increase trust with new customers.
Schedule posts and campaigns.
Keep your advertisements organized and on a schedule. This will help prevent you from missing certain promotions or forgetting to post anything important.
Incorporate CRM systems.
Use Customer Relationship Management software to help you stay on top of client engagement. With CRM, you can automate responses to interested customers. This means quality customer service and more conversions from interested clients.
Stay current with SEO practices.
Get familiar with the keywords that are relevant to pest control. Continue to research changes in the market and use these in your ads. This will help you funnel internet traffic to your ads and website.
RELATED ARTICLE: How to Generate More Pest Control Leads
4 Steps You Can Take Today
Marketing your pest control company can feel daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. Keep your focus on your customer’s needs and let your campaign follow. Here are some first steps toward developing effective advertising.
1. Develop your strategy. Think about where your potential customers may spend their time. Do suburban homes need more residential pest control? Perhaps a billboard on a major street will keep your name top of mind. Maybe the bulk of homeowners spend their digital time on Facebook. If so, concentrate your time there.
2. Build a website. This is possibly the most important step in creating a digital brand. Almost everything, even print advertising, will lead back to your website. It should be informative, easy to navigate, and accurate.
3. Get your digital presence established. Set up business pages on Google and social media platforms. Multiple locations will make sure you’re seen by different audiences.
4. Research different platforms. It never hurts to spread out your efforts, but you don’t want to waste your time. A little research into the ROI of different platforms in your area can go a long way. Then you can put effort into the areas that give you the best return.
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