Building a Complete Digital Presence from Scratch

One of the first steps to starting a roofing company is developing your digital presence. How your business is represented on the internet can be a huge determining factor in the success or failure of your business. A strong online identity can attract new clients and drive leads to your business while a weak presence can leave your roofing company unnoticed and losing leads.

Building a robust digital presence isn’t something that happens overnight. It takes time and planning, to execute your complete digital marketing strategy. While there’s no silver bullet to guarantee success, you can get started with a few things to start building your digital presence.

Three ways to use a domain name for business today

Build your online identity with a domain name

Registering a domain name is one of the first steps to starting a new business. That’s because whatever name is chosen will represent the business’s space on the internet — and, possibly, a customer’s first impression of the company.

But once you have that domain name, what do you do? Don’t stress over building an online space. Start using a domain name right away. Here are three ways to do it.

Set up a company-branded email address

The web address can also be used as an email address. A company-branded email address can give you and your employees a more professional-looking branded channel for communication with customers, as well as free marketing for your company. In a 2015 survey, 74 percent of consumers said they would trust a company-branded email address more than a free email address. It’s easy and cost-effective to set up, too. The provider you use to register your domain name can most likely help you set up your email address quickly and inexpensively.

Read more at marketingland.com…

 

Getting your online presence started correctly can help your roofing company be successful but your online presence isn’t something that you can simply set and forget.  A website alone won't drive leads to your business. But, full-service digital marketing from Roofing Contractor Marketing can help you connect your digital presence with new clients and grow your roofing company into a roofing empire.

 

Are you ready to grow your roofing company now? Get a free, no-obligation Internet Marketing Analysis to get started now.

Article Source here: Building a Complete Digital Presence from Scratch

Facebook News Feed is Changing Whether you Like it or Not

Mark Zuckerberg announced that he will be directing the team at Facebook to make changes to the way Facebook algorithms choose what content to serve on a user's News Feed. These changes will de-emphasize commercial content from business pages and prioritize content from friends and family.

In a statement released on Facebook Zuckerberg said, “We’ve gotten feedback from our community that public content -- posts from businesses, brands and media -- is crowding out the personal moments that lead us to connect more with each other.”

While these changes may seem drastic, the deprioritization of “organic reach” has been happening for several years. Hubspot reports that, “A study from Edgerank Checker found that between February 2012 and March 2014, organic reach for the average Facebook Page dropped from 16% to 6.5%.”

Current figures show organic reach as low as one to two percent for many pages. Even if Facebook moves to completely eliminate organic reach the loss is will only be a small percentage of a loss.

Roofing companies that utilize Facebook as a marketing platform should be ready to adjust their social media marketing strategies and adapt to these new changes. The days when a roofing contractor could rely only on organic content to get their messages out to their audiences are long gone. But roofing companies still stand to benefit from the use of social media. The strategies for success are just different.

Paid content will still be used to reach audiences but there will be more competition. This means that ads will need to stand out more, have better targeting, and increased ad budget. Organic posts won’t be used for generating large reach but will remain an important part of a business’s online presence and branding. These changes will cement the “Pay to Play” business model for Facebook.

If you are worried about how these changes will affect your roofing business, get a FREE Social Media Analysis from the experts at Roofing Contractor Marketing.

First Posted right here: Facebook News Feed is Changing Whether you Like it or Not

Why Use Social Media?

What was once a novelty 5 years ago is now becoming a standard marketing tool for many businesses. Social media platforms offer ways to enhance sales and communication with customers in ways that traditional marketing can’t – and it’s because social media happens in real time. Customers no longer have to wait for a post card in the mail or a phone call to learn about your company's services; they can go online and gather real time information about your company or your competitors if you are not using social media outlets.

Skeptical about using social media marketing for your business? Keep reading for just a few reasons to go social.

1. Deliver a Better Customer Experience

Social media platforms, like Facebook, offer a way for business to connect with people through conversation before and after the sale. You’ll build trust and loyalty by communicating with your customers via social media, and you’ll create a brand image of transparency and accessibility.

Afraid your customer base is not using social media? The fastest growing segment in social media is 45-54 year olds. 55% of Americans 45-54 now has a profile on a social networking site and 30% of Americans 55 and above are in the social networking game.  Statistics show that social media is not just for kids anymore.

2. Help Your Business Get Found Online

You can enhance your company's visibility and recognition through social media. Most customers use the internet to locate the best companies/products to use and the top social sites consistently rank high in search engines like Google and Bing.

There are currently more devices connected to the internet than there are people on the planet. The reality is if your business cannot be found online, your business does not exist.

3. Attract New Customers

When done right, social media marketing is like word-of-mouth referrals on steroids. By utilizing social media you allow customers to reach you easily online where they can share your company information with their friends and followers.

There are 665 million people active on Facebook every day and the average number of “friends” a single person has is 141. Imagine if all your happy customers shared your business information with their list of friends and followers? The potential for new customer acquisition is virtually limitless.

4. Drive Repeat Business

Social media allows you to stay engaged with current customers more than any other form of marketing. Social platforms work as a mico-website where you can promote your business, services or offer coupons to have your existing customers come back for more.

47% of Americans polled  say Facebook has the greatest impact on purchase behavior (up from 24% in 2011).

Want to learn more about using social media for your business? Give us a call today at 1-888-474-7276 or visit us online at RoofingContractorMarketing.com.

Roofing Websites - Ideas to Improve Leads

All roofing websites should be designed with the primary mission to convert visitors into calls or form submissions.  That is easy to say, hard to do.  Often times we hear clients tell us they want "A Clean Site - not too much text please".  Is this a smart way to think? 

The Art of web design can often hurt your conversions, not help.  Conversion strategy is science, not art.  Too often a business owner is "sold" on "a clean look" that makes him or her happy but does not get the job done of converting the visitor into a potential customer. More often, Website DESIGNERS are not marketing specialists - they are artists. Art is great for your wall, but maybe not for your website.  You need a website conversion specialist, not a designer.

Here are a several tips to improve conversions on your roofing website:

• Phone Number BOLD in upper right hand corner
• Seems super basic, right?  But many do not have a phone number and seem to encourage only an email or form submission - not a call...

• Reviews - and Links to Reviews
• Link out to review sites where customers have written good things about you.  Let others share your good business practices.

• Chat Widgets
• There are several companies offering these for individual websites.  Chat widgets can help prompt action and engage the visitor. More people are comfortable with texting now and do not find them as intrusive as they did a year or more ago.

• Time Sensitive Offer
• Give people a reason to act now

• Video
• Let people meet you personally. A friendly greeting can help people feel more comfortable dealing with you.

Roofing websites have a special challenge in that consumers are very aware of bad press from previous bad roofers taking advantage of insurance claims.  Because of this, your website needs to warm visitors to your company story, share your good news/reviews and encourage interaction as soon as possible.

To learn more about roofing websites, visit Roofing Contractor Marketing.com.  America's #1 Roofing Marketing Company.

IRC Summit Event Feb 28th!

RCM has joined Elite Consulting Pro, Acculynx, HailWatch, Pictometry and the UASRC as an official 2013 IRC Summit Sponsor.  This unique 1 day event is on February 28, 2013 and hosted at The NRH Centre in North Richland Hills, TX. 

The IRC Summit is a limited seating event, and is filling up quickly with roofing contractors across the US, determined to make 2013 their best year ever...and we want you there. You may be asking yourself, "What will I get out of the Summit," and "How is this summit any different from other industry summits and events?"

The IRC Summit provides expert "industry insider" knowledge from 7 Storm Restoration Experts, all at one location, in one room, for a full day!  Elite has really gone the extra mile on this, bringing in highly successful roofing contractors with a combined 100 years experience in the business.

Each expert speaker will present for approximately one hour, detailing tactics, processes and specific plans they've utilized in the past to make it to the top...and stay there year after year.

After the last speaker has presented, Elite will start (2) one hour Q & A sessions.  This will allow contractors the opportunity to ask questions, and actually get expert answers in real time.  This truly is a once in a lifetime event...certainly enough to take your business to the next level in 2013 and stay there year after year.

Save $500 off the Standard rate today with an RCM discounted rate.

To Register, go to: https://xi125.infusionsoft.com/go/RCM/RCM/

For discounted rate, you must enter promo code at Checkout: RCM200

Important:  When you click on the above link, it will direct you to the registration page.  You must fill out the IRC web form and click “Reserve my Seat!”  After clicking “Reserve my Seat!” It will automatically take you to the registration page, to submit payment information.  Remember, enter code RCM200 for $500 off IRC Standard investment rate. You must register one person at a time.

***Must submit payment by February 15, 2013.***

We are confident that you will gain the knowledge necessary to increase your 2013 storm restoration profits from tens of thousands to potentially millions...

Here's a brief overview of what Elite expects you'll have the knowledge to execute on in 2013 after the IRC Summit:

In Billing for Contractor's Overhead & Profit, *Increase Job Profit Margins by 20% (O&P), regardless of trades, including "roof only's...with a documented 95% success rate!

In Multi-Family/Apartment Re-Roof, *Sell an additional commercial re-roofing complex job (on the average contract being $125,000 with average profit of 38% - that's an additional $47,500 in NET profit!)

In Insurance Claim Appraisal Process, *Win more battles! Net Profit Increase Potential of $3,500 to $50,000 or more.

Longevity in the Storm Restoration Business, *Net Profit Increase Potential of your business is equal to millions over the lifetime of your business.

In Insurance Claim Construction Law, *Net Profit Increase Potential = Exponential!

In Federal Government Contracts, *Secure an additional Government Construction Project. Net Profit Increase Potential of $6,000 to $500,000 or more.

In Streamlining business processes, including customer acquisition, customer satisfaction, insurance billing, lead generation, job production, maximizing gross sales, and efficiently running a professional Storm Restoration Business, Net Profit Increase Potential is equal to, well, let's just say the sky's the limit.

 2013 IRC Summit Details:

February 28,2013
8:30 am to 6:30 pm.
NRH Centre Grand Hall
North Richland Hills, TX 76180

Lunch provided by Elite Consulting Pro and Pictometry.

Roofing Websites are Critical to Roofer Success

Roofing Websites have become more and more important for contractors across the US as consumers become more savvy about the risks of choosing the wrong roofing contractor. Consumers are doing their homework. If you are a contractor with plans to do a lot business and are proud of your reputation, a strong roofing website is critical to your future success.

Build and They Will Come...Not!

The next step after you build it, is to make sure everyone can find it. This is where Roofing SEO or Search Engine Optimization comes in. SEO is the science of giving Google the correct information they need to recognize your website as a strong source for good information about roofing in your market. Roofing Contractor Marketing specializes in this niche.

Most people only look at the first few choices on page one of the search engines. If you are at the bottom of page one or page 2 or worse, no one is finding you. You need to be at the top for the common searched terms, like Roofing Companies, Roofing Contractors. Roofing companies at the top get the leads.

New in Knoxville! Check out a new site from RCM

We recently launched a new site for Ideal Roofing and Exteriors in Knoxville. You can view the site at http://www.knoxvilleroofingco.com. A large hail storm hit and our client had a presence in the market but not a website. We were able to get his site up quickly. We have begun the SEO process and should begin to see the site rising in the search results soon. Check it out. If you need exposure for your roofing company in a new market or an old market, give us a call. 888-474-7276