Unexpected Places to Market Your Brand

Unexpected Places for Your HVAC Brand

Building your HVAC brand through digital marketing is a complex process with many moving parts. There are numerous steps you need to take to reach your customers.

Let’s be frank. HVAC marketing often means going up against a lot of other companies, some of which may already have a very robust marketing campaign and a website that’s ranking well. This does not mean you cannot or should not compete, but you need to be more competitive, unique, and creative to reach the largest audience and create consistent leads.

The good news is there are a lot of other ways to build your brand and get leads to your website (or just to call you). Here, we’ll discuss some of those, but know others exist that could help you as well, and your marketing team can work to enhance the services and marketing methods you use.

Market where your competitors don’t

The first step is to learn about your competitors. Jot down the names of those you know of serving your local area. Then, try googling the services you offer to find out who else is providing them that you may not realize. Head to each of your competitor’s websites. What are they doing to attract and support customers? Here are a few things to consider:

  • Do they have videos on their website?
  • Do they have existing social media channels on Facebook and Instagram?
  • Is the company doing any type of branding within the community?
  • Are they using locally targeted website pages packed with local-based information to bring in customers?
  • Are they marketing through email (offering a newsletter, for example) or even text messages?

Gather as much insight into what your competitors are not doing, too. The key here is to tailor at least some of what you’re doing where they are lacking. Here are a few ways you may be able to do just that. 

Consider social challenges like Facebook and Instagram

You’re an HVAC company, and you may not think your activity on social media matters, but it can profoundly impact your ability to build your brand and increase leads. We’ve noted many people who need a service go to search engines to find it. When they are faced with large repair costs or the need to invest in the most energy efficient furnace, they want the opinions and insights from their friends, family, and random people on Facebook groups. In truth, people need information to make decisions, and they tend to trust even strangers to provide it as long as the information is valuable.

Considering this, your business needs to have social media channels where you can directly connect with your prospect and existing customers. The best sites for HVAC service tend to be Facebook and Instagram.

Facebook

This site is very much a tool for lead generation. You should have a formal commercial page for your business established. It should provide as much information about your company, what it does, links to your site, and ways for customers to call you. Then, create posts that draw the attention of the customer. For example, as fall approaches, you may want to let people know now is the time for a heating inspection. Creating a post for your page about this helps to generate interest.

The quality of your content matters, as does the creative methods you use. For example, a simple statement about what fall maintenance includes isn’t really going to attract a lot of people. A post that creates an HVAC checklist of things to do before the first snow does. That gets shared, and more people learn about your business as well.

Instagram

Instagram is very visual. It’s a great place to create short clips of changing an air filter or providing insider tips on how to lower energy bills heading into the season. Use Instagram as a way to directly connect with and build a following. Often, the site does a great job of getting people to view your page, which often leads to their ability to contact you for help.

Youtube

YouTube is a hidden gem, if you know how to get ads right

Yet another tool that you should be using is YouTube. As you probably know, YouTube is video-focused. You can certainly create videos and tutorials, provide information about what your business offers, and even offer a walk-through of what’s in an HVAC van – the more creative and interesting, the better. You can also use YouTube for ads.

Here’s another important tip. Social media isn’t just about page content but advertising, too. Like with PPC campaigns developed for search engines, you can apply that same method to your social media advertising, working to generate some of the best leads for people who are looking for information and services on these sites. Be as creative as possible to get attention.

Your goal here is to build ad campaigns targeting the right keywords with long enough ads that people can skip. Like with other services, the key here is to be creative (we cannot stress this enough) because you want people to hang around and actually interact with your post. That’s a bit harder than many would think. 

Specialty ad types from Google

As you work to build your business, know there are lots of ways Google and other services can help you to get leads. Not all are appropriate for every business, but each business should consider solutions like the following:

  • Call-only campaigns – These allow Google to encourage people to pick up the phone to call you rather than providing a website link. Your phone number is right there, allowing customers to click and call immediately.
  • Dynamic search ads – Search network campaigns focus on the content that’s on your website and not necessarily keywords to target searches. They look much like a text ad, but the headlines come from search phrases and the content on your site.
  • Mobile app promotion – Search and display network campaigns, as well as YouTube, are great tools to help get people to your website through video, text ads, and more. You may even want to create an app for your company.
  • Remarketing – Use text, images, or even videos to bring people back to your website that have already been there and may need some encouragement to come back to buy from you.
  • Engagement – Display network campaigns create a variety of interactive and rich media ad formats you can use to help attract leads. These display on Google Display Network.

Take Action Now

One of the most important takeaways for you right now as an HVAC company is to act. Even if you are not ready to engage with all of these tools, you need to take the time now to act. Your competition is already doing so, and that indicates that your business could be losing valuable leads for service calls and installations.

It’s more than just leads, though. In addition to that, your customers are building relationships with the competition while they may not know much about your business. Digital marketing, SEO, and PPC can change that.

If you need help building your business online, Blue Atlas is here to help! Contact us today to learn more about how we can help grow your business.

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