Uncertainty is never comfortable. Although we always end up stronger as people on the other side during times of tribulation, these times can still be stressful for many.
It might be a natural reaction to start cutting back on expenses and lowering overhead; and for many services you might be right.
However, with the entire world practicing “social distancing”, in person events being cancelled and a newly minted remote workforce, your online marketing is one thing you might not want to cut back on but instead optimize it!
Here are the best ways to optimize your online marketing budget during the new “online first” approach to marketing.
Website & Banner
Your company website is both the cornerstone and bullhorn for your online presence. Your clients and prospects will rely on this information first to be accurate.
Consider putting a banner at the top of the site or an easy-to-find page that answers common questions they might have. This should include how their home closing will still happen or how you’ll handle their case remotely given the current situation with Coronavirus.
With so much uncertainty in the world news, the more certainty you can give your clients, the better for them and for you.
What your clients are thinking:
For example, a Title Agent’s customers might be thinking:
- “Are you even open?”
- ”Will my home purchase still close on time?”
- or “How will I sign the papers now that I can’t go into the office?”
Likewise, legal clients might be asking themselves:
- “How do I schedule a consultation now?”
- “What happens with my scheduled court date?”
- “I’m having a legal issue, how do I get it resolved?”
- or “Do I have to go into your office?”
People are worried about a lot of things right now. The accurate information you provide can give them some certainty in a time of uncertainty.
Use your website to convey these details.
Online Ads & Pay-Per-Click (PPC)
Although the knee-jerk reaction might be to pull back on advertisements, the better thing to do might be to measure the results prior to reacting.
For example, every business needs customers in order to survive. One of the fastest ways to get customers is through online advertising. Period.
Even if you didn’t measure the past 3-6 months of advertisement metrics, you might want to consider measuring it for the next 2-3 months.
With the world of business being conducted online now instead of face-to-face, you might find that this is a great new channel for business.
Ad Types & Examples:
Here are 3 different ad types you should consider based on your market and service offering:
- Retargeting – Great for staying top-of-mind. These ads subtlety show around the web when someone visits your website. They focuses on your past or current customers. For example, this might be effective to advertise refinances to your previous clients to get their business while interest rates are low.
- Google Ads – Google Ads show up in search results of terms you bid on. The great thing about these ads is that they display when someone is actively searching for a solution to their problem. As such, they tend to convert well. The problem with Google Ads is that they can be very complex to optimize and expensive to run since so many companies do so.
- Facebook – Unlike the other two types of ads, Facebook ads give you awareness in your marketplace for a specific set of services. For instance, if you know 8 of your last 10 deals were millennials or say in a specific neighborhood, you can actual focus your marketing dollars on just those people. This makes these ads highly effective if you know your clientele type or location.
So think about the type of business you think will be common during the next 3-6 months.
If you are a real estate attorney, perhaps run foreclosure or bankruptcy ad campaigns on Google.
If you are a title agent, consider increasing your PPC budget for refinance ads, or retargeting advertisements focused on your current real estate agents and investors.
In 2-3 months, ask yourself “did I get business from the ads?” If yes, that is a good reason to keep them going.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Similar to common instincts about pulling back on online ads you may initially want to pull back on your Search Engine Optimization when you are uncertain about the economy.
However, one might argue that now might be the best time to focus on SEO since others are pulling back.
This is because increasing your page ranking with SEO is not only what you do on your website, but what you do in comparison to what everyone else has done to their website.
In other words, if they are not focused on their SEO (because they’ve pulled back), it is a great time for you to jump past them in the search results.
SEO takes time – often months if not years. But once you are ranking high in the search results, you can get a steady stream of business for years to come.
Even though this won’t bring you business right away, it can set you up for long term success.
In fact, once you get this right, you might be able to lower your ad budget or stop altogether.
Before starting with SEO:
Just be sure before you start any search engine optimization that you know the search phrases you’d like to rank for.
For instance, for foreclosures it is unlikely a consumer would search for “foreclosure defense.” Instead, they are more likely to search for “how to save my home from foreclosure” or something similar.
Likewise with refinances, people might be searching for “I can’t afford my home anymore” or “how to lower my home payment.”
Remember: people using your services is a byproduct of you answering their questions.
Answer the right questions for your market and they will reward you with their business.
Conclusion on Online Marketing
As you can see by doing the things that your competitors aren’t, you increase the chances of business longevity.
A word of caution: there is no reason to overdo any of these strategies. Start with a small budget on ads or SEO and gradually increase.
If you’d like help with getting your website messaging right, we have pre-built templates with starter content for Attorneys and Title Agents. We also have affordable Online Advertising options, and a video and blog library that can help your long term SEO.
To learn how we can help with your website or online marketing, request a free consultation today.