Roofing Customers are Extensions of your Marketing Department

People trust the opinions of their friends much more than corporate marketing messages, hence the growth of social media networks such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Google+, Foursquare, and so on.

In fact, a recent AdAge study found that 90% of American consumers trust recommendations from people they know and that 70% trust recommendations of general consumer opinions posted online.

I began thinking this morning about how personal recommendations relate to the roofing industry... and I came up with an idea!

Because of what I do, I happen to see a lot of the content that roofing contractors post on social media. Most of it is sell-sell-sell posts and links with the occasional pictures of jobs in progress or recently completed. BORING! On my personal social media accounts I don't follow any contractors because there is almost no content shared that is value-added for me, let alone anything I would care to share with the rest of my network. But I know that there could be.

On Facebook for example, I almost never see contractors tagged in their customers' posts, photos, or videos. Why is this? My guess is it is a combination of a) we don't ask them to, and b) they don't have anything interesting to post about us. Essentially roofers do their job, leave, and send the customer an invoice. What's the fun in that for the homeowner, property/facility manager or building owner? Nothing. So here's an idea: give your customers content they could share and ask them to do so.

All roofing contractors (and especially residential roofing contractors) can get their customers to become extensions of their marketing department by doing a few simple things that could go a long way. Here is a simple 4-step recipe for engaging your customers on social media and getting some free advertising through personal recommendations (the best kind of marketing):

1. Take at least 5-10 pictures of every job you do. There should be before, during and after shots - as well as a few from interesting angles (from vantage points the customer wouldn't see from the ground).
2. Take 3+ videos (30-60 seconds in length) of every job you do. Videos should give the viewer a "peek behind the curtain" of what was found (i.e., why you are doing roofing work), an idea of exactly what you did, and how it turned out.
3. Email only the best pictures and the videos to the customer(s) of each job with a simple note thanking them for their business, asking them for feedback, and letting them know you thought they might enjoy seeing exactly what was done and how it all turned out. Give a brief description of each picture and video and then encourage them to share those photos and videos on Facebook, Twitter, etc. using the descriptions you have provided (and to tag you in them). If you aren't connected online with them already, provide them with links to the pages of the networks you participate on and ask them to send you an invitation to connect (so they can tag you, and so that you have a newly established ongoing connection).
4. Once you are notified that you have been tagged in content they shared, acknowledge their efforts by "Liking", leaving a positive comment, re-Tweeting, etc.

Not all of your customers will do this, but even if just 10% did wouldn't that be a huge improvement in obtaining personal recommendations that you never had before? For the minimal investment of time required to do this, I think it is definitely worth trying. My challenge for you is to do this consistently for the next 60 days. Then please come back and leave a comment on this blog post and let everyone know how it worked for you. Worst case, you will show your customers that you care enough to follow-up and share with them details of what was done, which is much more personal and thoughtful than just sending them a bill.

If you have any questions about this blog post or would like assistance in implementing a strategy to get your customers to become an extension of your marketing department, please email Chris@RoofPal.com. I would be more than happy to discuss this with you. Best of luck!

Developing a B2B Social Media Strategy

Social media marketing is different for B2C (business to consumer) companies like residential roofing contractors than it is for B2B (business to business) companies like commercial roofing contractors and roofing material manufacturers, suppliers and distributors.

Here are five basic steps for B2B companies to develop a winning social media strategy:
1. Stop Calling it a Social Media Strategy
2. Know What Stage You Are In
3. Focus on Your Customer’s Issues
4. Develop a Keyword Strategy
5. Content, Engagement, Call-To-Action

Stop Calling it a Social Media Strategy
Think bigger picture. This isn't just social media, this is a marketing strategy. It is 2011, so obviously social media will play a role in how you reach and engage your customer, but don’t tunnel-vision your strategy by thinking it’s solely a social media strategy. Do you have a “tradeshow strategy,” a “direct mail strategy,” and an “email strategy?” Of course not - these are merely elements in your overall marketing plan that help you reach customers, engage them, differentiate your company, create new job leads, and ultimately move qualified prospects into to your sales process.

Know What Stage You Are In
A recent article on Mashable estimated that about half of all companies currently using social media are in the initial Launch stage of their plan. This involves things like creating branded accounts for Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, and now Google+ as well. The focus in this stage is just establishing a social media presence usually with little or no strategy.

Another 40% of companies are in the Management stage - seeking to drive traffic, followers, fans, subscribers and to begin engaging with their community. There is typically very little strategy involved in this stage as well.

The remaining 10% are in the Optimization stage. This is where a strategic marketing plan is in place with executive-level support (including budget for people and technology resources). The purpose is to drive revenue with ROI metrics defined to measure successes.

Focus on Your Customer’s Issues
What business issues do your customers care about? In a typical B2B sale, multiple people are involved in the research and selection process for the products or services your company offers. Often tose decision makers span different areas of a business, and therefore they have different needs. Map out the issues for each role and develop your content to address each of them. Don't just assume a “one size fits all” mindset with the content you create and share.

Keep in mind that each of their issues can change according to the stage of the buying process. Meet your potential customers where they are through your social media engagement and address them accordingly. Blog and video content is a good way to deal with this by using titles and tags that allow your content to be easily found according to the relevant issues for each role.

Develop a Keyword Strategy
This is very closely tied to developing a role strategy. Once you have identified your cusotmer roles and their issues, create a list of keyword phrases that very closely address each role's issues. The same product or service must be communicated slightly differently according to keywords that are meaningful to each role that must approve the ultimate purchase.

Content, Engagement, Calls-to-Action
In B2B marketing, slick campaigns have limited effect. B2B buyers are not influenced by sizzle - they are influenced by the steak! The steak in B2B marketing is relevant content. Blogs, white papers, ebooks, videos, case studies, and webinars all represent methods to deliver relevant content. But, the content alone is worthless without a high level of engagement. When people respond to your content, don’t be invisible, be engaging. It sounds simple and intuitive, but it takes time, effort and authenticity.

Add relevant calls-to-action in your content. It can be as simple as an invitation to contact you with your name and email address, an invitation to request budgetary pricing about your offering, a link to more information/content, etc. Calls-to-action should always be designed according to the strategic goals that can be measured as tangible contributors to the revenue goals of a B2B company.

Let me know what stage you are in by emailing Chris@RoofPal.com. If you have any questions about successfully moving to the next stage of your strategy, I'd be happy to chat with you. Best of luck!

Where to spend your time on SEO

Roofing contractors should know that it is important to keep up with how search engines like Google, Yahoo! and Bing are changing and adjusting their algorithms (almost daily in some cases) in order to provide the best search engine optimization (SEO) and social media results.

In 2011 there is a clear pattern of social media influencing search results. If you had to pick just two areas to focus on for the rest of the year, here is what RoofPal.com would recommend: content and social media sharing.

Content is the cornerstone for improved keyword rankings and building inbound links over time. A lot of properly optimized content written on various strategic keyword themes drives more visits and improves search results in the long run. Blogging is a great way to frequently add content to your website. If you’re not already blogging for improved SEO results, what are you waiting for? It’s time for you to start blogging and writing content now! If you aren't sure how or just don't have the time, RoofPal.com can assist you with this.

Something important to keep in mind is that search results vary according to the personalization of the person doing the search. This personalization brings us more relevant, useful search results and makes relevant, SEO-friendly content more important than ever. This means no more top rankings or number one rankings for certain keywords, as SEO results vary from user to user. Writing optimized content regularly in addition to tracking your traffic and ROI is what’s important, not necessarily tracking individual keyword rankings.

The bottom line is that the more SEO-friendly and industry-relevant content you write, the more chances your target audience is going to find you.

Once you start blogging frequently, the next step is to share it via your social media profiles like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and others. This is no small task - just like writing content takes time and effort, social media sharing takes effort as well. But the time and effort and repetition day-in and day-out reaps tremendous benefits in the long run. Social media sharing provides SEO benefits in addition to improved lead generation results over time.

To expand your reach and improve SEO even further, it is important that you, your employees, and even friends and family if possible share your blog posts. The more people sharing your content in social media, the better. Good content spreads like a wildfire. Also, make it easy for your visitors to share your content. Be sure social media buttons are on all your web pages so that your visitors can socialize and engage with you and share your content.

Search engines are starting to heavily incorporate social media into search results. Social media should work together with SEO, so start integrating social media sharing into your content strategy for improved SEO results.

If you have any questions on this topic, please email Chris@RoofPal.com.

Social media directly influences search rankings

Google and Bing’s search results are now being adjusted on a per-person basis depending on the searcher’s social connections.

For example, if you follow RoofPal on Twitter and then search for 'QR Code Roofing', my article on this topic it would rank higher than it would if you didn’t follow me on Twitter. This is because Google’s algorithm assumes that because we are connected, my voice as a social connection should be more influential to your search than others.



That’s a big deal for three reasons:

1. Influencers who have large social networks no longer just spread word of mouth, they now causing search engine adjustments based on what they share.

2. “#1 ranking for a keyword” on Google is less meaningful now if the #1 is displaced by social sharing influence. My #1 result for a search term will be significantly different than yours because we are connected to different people on Twitter, Facebook, etc.

3. If you marketing a product or service there is now a direct incentive to build your network as large as possible among your prospective customers. By connecting with potential customers in as many social channels as possible, you are effectively doing free targeted advertising in organic search, with your results ranking higher than your competitors who aren't connected to them on social media.

I highly recommend connecting with your customers and prospective customers as soon as possible on all platforms. Put a form on your website to ask people for their Twitter ID or Facebook or LinkedIn name. Ask on each platform. Connect everywhere. Also, even though there is no direct evidence that the content around a socially shared link matters, it’s still not a bad idea to give it some context, both for followers and possible contextual association. Here’s an example of two tweets:

Check out my new article @RoofPal: http://roofpal.com/Documents/RoofPal%20QR%20Codes%20Roofing%20Industry.pdf

Check out my new article on QR Codes for roofing contractors @RoofPal: http://roofpal.com/Documents/RoofPal%20QR%20Codes%20Roofing%20Industry.pdf

This is going to have massive ripple effects throughout the social and search industries. Start making these changes effective immediately, and you’ll be ahead of the curve and your competitors.

For more, please read the June 23rd blog post by Christopher S Penn

RoofPal's New RoofCAD Service

RoofPal blindly measured this roof at
97% accuracy (just using a satellite
image) vs. hand-measuring it.

RoofPal blindly measured this roof at
100% accuracy (just using a satellite
image) vs. hand-measuring it.

RoofPal is very happy to launch our newest service... RoofCAD drawings! Because we don't have the overhead the "brand name" companies do we can offer the same quality to you at 1/2 to even 1/3 their price.

Each building is just $10. We ask that you purchase at least 5 at a time though. Please see http://roofpal.com/roofcad.aspx for more information.

Our first customer for this service was very satisfied. Our measurements of residential roofs came out within an average of 98% accuracy (+/- 0.67 square, or less than 1 bundle of shingles). We had no information other than the address, and could have been 100% accurate on all of them had he provided us with just one of the measurements for each roof (which we strongly encourage). We will continue to get closer and closer to 100% accuracy without even one measurement provided beforehand, but still he felt the time he would have saved in driving to and from, measuring the roof, and drawing up the sketch was well worth the $10.

If you have any questions or would like to order drawings, please first view our webpage and then feel free to contact us anytime.

RoofPal blindly measured this roof at
99% accuracy (just using a satellite
image) vs. hand-measuring it.

RoofPal blindly measured this roof at
97% accuracy (just using a satellite
image) vs. hand-measuring it.