Growing a small business can be tough, and there are times when we all need a bit of a helping hand.

Sometimes we’re so busy focused on just running our businesses that we simply don’t have time to try a new growth strategy or put the time into things we kind of already half-know we should be doing; like marketing.

Of course, marketing – when done right – is one of the biggest ways to grow your business; but a lot falls under that umbrella. So, how will you know which areas you should be focusing on when you do have the time?

I specialise in helping small businesses achieve the growth they need, and so often it helps to just take a step back to look at the bigger picture – as well as getting some expert advice.

That’s why I asked some of the most influential sales and business leaders about the essential things that YOU should be doing to help grow your small business. Here’s what they said!

1. Know your customer and the unique value you have to offer – Pam Moore, CEO of Marketing Nutz

“Before spending even one dollar on social media, content marketing, influencer marketing, digital marketing, or paid media you must know your customer and the unique value you have to offer them.

It is not enough to master the social networks or learn how to create content that converts. You must define what success looks like and build a strategy and plan that connects you with your audience and helps you achieve success.

When you inspire your audiences to connect with you with a goal of helping them achieve their goals, you achieve yours by default. Inspire – Connect – Achieve!”

(Visit Pam’s website: The Marketing Nutz)

This is absolutely essential for any business. However, you’d be surprised how many are still ready to start a marketing campaign without fully knowing who their customers are.

Getting your buyer personas right shows your customers that you understand them, and that what you’re selling is relevant to their needs.

And if you can address their problems, challenges and questions in a helpful way that shows them the impact your solution will have on their lives – be it through your website, blog, social media or in any other format – you won’t go far wrong.

2. Don’t just rely on inbound marketing straight away – Ian Cleary, Founder of RazorSocial

“My advice: Don’t listen to the advice which says that inbound is the only way to attract an audience. I love inbound marketing but you need to support this with outbound marketing. Especially at the early stages of the business where you need to build up the authority of your website to drive traffic.

Reach out using email to build links, relationships, generate PR, guest post on sites and more. Outbound marketing and Inbound marketing go hand in hand.”

(Check out Ian’s website Razor Social)

In my experience, this is absolutely spot on. Inbound marketing is incredibly effective, but it can also take months to have a proper impact on your business.

That’s why I now recommend to anyone that they should also be investing a budget towards things like Google Ads whilst they wait for inbound to have an effect.

Over time, they can gradually reduce their ads budget as inbound takes over. Unfortunately, everyone wants to see instant results, so if that’s all you’re looking for – rather than a long-term and cost-effective marketing strategy – then inbound probably isn’t for you.

TIP: Check out my blog: ‘How Long Does Inbound Marketing Take to Work?’ to find out more.

3. Plan your social media campaigns in advance – Neil Patel, Entrepreneur and Marketing Expert 

“If you’re running a social media marketing campaign on a budget, you need to reduce the time you’re spending keeping things online. Instead of wasting time publishing posts every few hours, you should schedule things beforehand.

This simple organization technique will save you countless hours and help you improve your efficiency and productivity. There’s also another technique that can take things to the next level. Instead of just writing out social media posts for the next few days, why not let the system publish them for you?

Meet Edgar is a great way to manage your content beforehand, allowing you to write social media updates once, and then have them sent out multiple times afterward. This is a great way to keep things organized, without repeating yourself by constantly updating your social feeds.”

(Visit Neil’s official website)

Neil is right in that social media can be a bit of a time sucker – if you let it.

Picking a set time of the day (say 10 or 20 minutes) to schedule out your posts and do a little interaction is really all you need to ensure you’re staying ahead of your social media campaign, but also that you don’t spend too much of your time publishing posts throughout the day.

Hootesuite and SocialPilot are two other great examples of social media schedulers that allow you to stay organised and plan out your posts ahead of time.

4. Take stock once in a while – Ted Rubin, Social Marketing Strategist, Keynote Speaker and Brand Evangelist

“You’ve probably heard the phrase: “Working IN your business rather than ON your business.” Many, many small business owners find themselves in that spot.

They’re so busy concentrating on the inner workings that they think there’s no time to work on the big picture. However, setting goals and knowing exactly where you are in terms of your Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) is essential for making data-driven (instead of emotional) decisions.

You need to make the time to evaluate this on a regular basis to keep a healthy growth mindset. Another key ingredient to mindset is your attitude. Attitude impacts success in everything we do—work, play and especially relationships. You know that when your attitude or outlook is pessimistic, things don’t go very well.

But when your outlook is optimistic, it’s a different story. I like to think that business mindset is made up of an individual’s “collection” of attitudes.

And in addition to attitudes of confidence, gratitude and optimism, I think it’s also essential to add an attitude of learning to the mix. Always be asking yourself: “Why did this work when that didn’t? What can I learn from this?” Applying an attitude of learning to your approach to your business can set you up for seeing those “opportunities” that got lost in the weeds before. Attitude, Perspective… Mindset.”

(Check out Ted’s official website here)

This is definitely one of the biggest problems I hear from business owners – and I totally get it. You’re so busy making sure your business is running smoothly, your customers are happy and your bills are paid that it feels like you have no time to dedicate to a marketing or growth strategy.

There’s nothing stopping you from constantly trying to learn, and improve on what you have. But remember, there’s always going to be help out there if you’re struggling – or don’t have the time to grow your business as fast as you’d like.

Digital marketing agencies can help, but they’re not everyone’s cup of tea (and they can be expensive to-boot). It all comes down to a personal choice.

5. Fail fast and often – Jeff Bullas, Digital Entrepreneur and Marketing Blogger

“The fast moving digital world almost taunts us to fail fast and often.  Because sometimes the cost is just time. Make a small typo in the blog post and it can be edited out in seconds. But I am not talking about aiming to make mistakes but be willing to commit to spending some of your resources on trialling and testing new tactics. 

We trialled one Flipboard magazine content tactic and on some days its organic traffic generation kicks sand in Facebook’s face. We also republished some of our best content on Medium as a trial and attracted a following of over 60,000 readers. You won’t find that in your average marketing 101 course handbook.

Trial and error and testing can reveal new sources of traffic and improved lead generation because you moved out of your comfort zone.”

Never be afraid to make mistakes. It’s how we all learn, after all! It’s better to take a chance and have it fail than never to take that chance and wonder what might have been. Just weigh up the risks and mitigate them where possible.

(Visit Jeff’s official website)

6. Find ways to become more efficient – Susan Solovic, Small Business Expert, Bestselling Author and Keynote Speaker

Look at repetitive tasks you and your team perform. Do they all have procedures written for them? See how they can be accomplished more quickly and be sure you have procedures that capture the most productive ways of accomplishing repetitive tasks.

Be sure that you allow these procedures to be improved on over time; don’t fall victim to the “We’ve never done it like that here” mentality.

(Check out Susan’s official website)

Looking over the way your business operates and agreeing that there’s always going to be room for improvement should never be seen as a weakness. Nobody can say they’re perfect, after all.

I say this to people I work with a lot, but if they can save 20 minutes from a task that’d usually take two hours, that’s great. I don’t care how long it takes someone to do something – as long as the quality of their work isn’t suffering, then I see that as a win. And you should, too.

7. Take the time to understand what your audience is searching for – Steve Slater, Senior SEO & Digital Advertising Manager at TopRank Marketing

“There are 3 main things that small businesses should focus on in order to grow their business:

1. Understand search. Not simply understanding SEO but understand what search can tell you about your audience. Understand what search can tell you what your audience wants, needs, and is looking for. You can glean a lot of that by reviewing SERPs for your keywords.

2. Leverage that knowledge when it comes to your search marketing strategy. Use the understanding of your audience to craft content and user experience. Use it to develop a PPC strategy.

3. Finally, get really comfortable with Analytics. You should have an objective for your digital marketing and that objective should be measurable. Measuring your marketing efforts is the only way of knowing whether or not those efforts are leading to growth.”

(Visit Steve’s website: TopRank)

This is a big one. Once you know your best customers and the questions they ask you on a daily basis (write them down!) then you’ll have a good idea of what they’re typing into Google.

You can also follow Steve’s advice above to learn even more about the specifics of what they’re searching for. Then, use those phrases to answer your customers’ biggest questions somewhere they’ll be able to find you when searching on Google.

Blogs are an idea place to keep helpful, valuable content and provide you with a platform to establish yourself as a trustworthy, knowledgeable source. Keep addressing the problems, concerns and challenges your customers have, and you’ll start to establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry.

8. Build out your company story and team pages – Joanna Lord, Marketing Leader

“These days, consumers want to connect and support not just a product, but the company and mission behind it. Too often companies throw together ‘About Us’ sections that are sterile and less than compelling.

Businesses need to spend time and resources putting up pictures that reflect their team and culture, and shaping the “why” behind the company for everyone to consume in a beautiful way.”

Nowadays, people want to know more about your ethos and the experience they’re going to have as a customer, rather than just caring about the end result.

Customers are now doing their own research and you’ve probably noticed they’re not only more informed about your products and services, but also about you.

Taking the time to make your website more personal and displaying team or behind-the-scenes photos will help them connect with you and your business.

(Check out Joanna Lord’s official website)

9. Provide quality, helpful content – Matteo Gasparello, Marketing Strategist from Strategico

“Focus on content marketing – Showcase your expertise by creating long-form, in-depth articles that describe problems of your industry, and how to solve them.

Make sure to include a case study that explains how your product/service solved specific pains for your clients. Content marketing is the best way to build your reputation and position you as a leader in your market.

It can also directly generate sales: two years ago I was managing a startup that sold Spanish food online in the UK, and the biggest orders came thanks to a post on “Spanish Christmas food” that we released in November.

The post generated backlinks (great for SEO), shares and it was mentioned in online publications that were talking about Christmas gifts and traditions.

That was a great way to end the year! In general, I recommend to every small business to give content marketing a try: it’s definitely worth the investment of time and money.”

(Visit Matteo’s website Strategico)

Content marketing is a vital part of an inbound or digital marketing strategy. When done right, it CAN generate sales. However, as I mentioned above, it can take time (a few months) to build up enough to generate a steady stream of leads and sales.

This is why it’s more of a long-term strategy – so, if you’re looking for instant results, you may wish to supplement it with Google Ads in the meantime.

One final thought…

If you’re seriously considering growing your business – or you don’t have much choice in the matter and it’s make or break time – then you don’t have to go it alone.

There are lots of online resources to help small business achieve better growth, quicker. However, the best piece of advice I can give you is to consult a professional. Or even better – two or three!

They should listen to where you are now in your strategy, and what you’re looking to achieve, before giving you some free, impartial advice. If you do decide to invest in some professional help, always trust your gut and ensure they answer all your questions and tell you exactly how they’re going to help.

TIP: Here are 16 questions you should try and answer if you want to grow your business. Do you have any more specific questions about how to grow your small business – or any comments relating to the above advice? Just drop me a comment below – I promise to reply with something helpful!

Are you looking to build a new website for your small business – without breaking the bank?

If getting a new website is a priority, but spending thousands for a web designer and developer isn’t an option, you’ve probably already been looking at website builders such as Wix, Squarespace and WordPress.

After all, they all have great options (including customisable templates) that are easy and intuitive to use – even for the most inexperienced of us.

But how will you know which to choose?

For those unfamiliar with all three of these website builders, it might seem a bit overwhelming when you don’t know where to start (and if this is the case, I’d recommend doing as much homework first as possible, by reading up on blogs like these).

You may even decide that none of these are for you, and take my advice further below (but we’ll get to that later).

However, as an experienced digital marketer who specialises in helping small businesses succeed, I’m going to compare all three of these website builders first – so you can make a more informed choice at the end of the day.

Wix

If you’re determined to handle all aspects of your small business’s website yourself and you want something simple, Wix is a good option to use.

You don’t have to be an experienced design pro to use it – in fact, with so many ready-to-go designs to choose from, you can make a choice, adapt it to suit your needs, insert your content, and have a professional-looking website in what feels like no time.

Another thing I like about Wix is that it’s also pretty all-inclusive, and every Wix account comes with the drag ‘n’ drop website builder, web hosting, web pages, blog, online storage space, online scheduling and invoices.

It’s also optimised for those more experienced with web design, and have various client projects on the go. So, in a way, it’s sort of like the best of both worlds.

Main features:

• Over 500 site designs, in 70+ categories
• Easy-to-use drag ‘n’ drop builder
• Free site hosting
• Responsive, mobile-friendly designs
• Customisable fonts
• Image editor included
• Blog module (so you can publish blogs easily)
• Integrated social media (link to your Facebook, Twitter etc.)
• Great 24/7 support
• Option of using your own domain name (choose whichever .com or .co.uk you like!)
• WYSIWYG editor (to edit site content)
• Additional 250+ apps available via Wix’s App Market (including Shopify, live chat, and email subscription integration)

Pros:

• Full design control (with some limitations)
• Easy-to-use drag ‘n’ drop builder
• Responsive designs built using HTML5
• Mobile site editor
• So many designs to choose from
• Regularly updated with new designs
• Support available

Cons:

• Lacks advanced features
• Limitations apply (can be frustrating for pros)
• No CSS code available (for displaying HTML in various different views)
• Ads (free and starter plan)
• Not ideal for SEO (if you’re planning on non-branded organic search)

Cost:

The good news is that Wix has a free option, along with five paid options ranging up to $24.90 per month. Which isn’t a lot compared to the likes of Squarespace (which is next on my list).

Squarespace

Initially launched in 2004, Squarespace now has over one million customers, and some notable businesses have chosen them over the others on this list.

They pride themselves on allowing users to create sleek, stylish websites in a simple, straightforward way (essentially, drag and drop). It’s perfect for beginners – and pros – although, notably, there aren’t any free options for this service.

They also have some top names, such as actors Keanu Reeves, and John Malkovich – the latter of which has used Squarespace to create his new(ish) fashion brand’s website.

The video below is not only beautifully shot, but also highlights how he was able to use Squarespace to achieve the sleek, smooth look of johnmalkovich.com.

Anyway, we’re going off-topic slightly here… my point is that at least on the surface, Squarespace looks pretty damn impressive. So, let’s take a closer look at what’s going on beneath the surface.

Main features:

• Modern, purpose-built templates (to get a website ‘straight out of the box’)
• Option to install multiple templates on your site (for more options)
• Blogging module (so you can publish blogs with ease)
• Easy-to-use style editor and custom settings (make your website unique)
• Configure pages, fonts and colours to get the look you want
• Mobile compatibility built-in (so your site will look great on mobile)
• Customise your content layouts (great for getting the look you want)
• Image editor built-in (from Aviary)
• Supports social media (link to your Facebook, Twitter etc.)
• Use any domain name of your choice
• Add your own custom CSS (design the view you want for HTML)
• Components to support ecommerce (if you have a shop)
• Includes CDN for images (Content Delivery Network to optimise your images)
• WYSIWYG editing (edit images and text whilst seeing how it’ll look for others)

Pros:

• A very comprehensive range of features
• Easy-to-use and intuitive
• Simplistic, stylish designs (great for the design-conscious)
• See immediately how your site looks on mobile when editing
• Good selection of add-on features/widgets available
• Top class support via live chat and 24/7 support tickets

Cons:

• Requires high quality images
• You can only use one sub-navigation
• You’re unable to edit the page title in blog posts – which could also be bad for SEO
• It’s not cheap, plus there are no free options
• Preview mode is missing – so doing a larger update can be problematic

Cost:

Various price options available starting from £10 for a personal account, and ranging all the way up to £30 per month (based on 1-year contracts).

WordPress

Finally, the titan of the pack; WordPress. If you’re looking for a flexible, reliable choice that can be used at a beginner’s level – but also suits more experienced web developers – WordPress is usually a go-to for many small businesses. A lot of well-known brands and household names use it, after all.

WordPress also has great drag-and-drop builder themes (similar to Squarespace) such as Divi Builder – which has lots of different templates as ‘child themes’ which you can customise to suit your needs.

This is something I’ve used myself quite a bit, and it makes creating a website a lot simpler – once you get the hang of it. I actually find it quite relaxing to use, and can build websites from scratch this way.

Although WordPress is relatively easy to use, it’s not the simplest option available on this list. You’ll probably still find there’s a small learning curve for those who haven’t used it before.

There are various themes and plugins to get to grips to that can help you achieve everything you need for your website. Along with the difference between pages and posts, categories and tags… it’s all good though, trust me.

This platform also makes it easy to publish lots of lovely, helpful content that will help answer your best customers’ questions and make informed choices about your products or services.

Main features:

• Thousands of themes and page styles available (many of them free!)
• Easy theme customisation (use a theme or template and customise it to suit you)
• Responsive, mobile-friendly designs (will look great on mobile)
• Open-source structure (save time by using code developed by someone else)
• Auto updates (so you’ll always have the latest version)
• Image editor built-in (albeit basic)
• Plenty of handy widgets and plugins
• Retina-display options available (for higher pixel density)
• Scheduling option for posts (so posts go out whenever you schedule them)
• Mobile features to support multiple OS

TIP: Plus, there’s all of these other hidden features that you might not know about.

Pros:

• Simple and convenient
• Plenty of options to suit your needs
• SEO-friendly
• Low-cost (essentially free – but you can choose to pay for extras if you want to)
• Great design bundles available
• Very secure to use
• Support and guidance via the WordPress forums
• It’s a universal platform that a lot of people are already familiar with – you might be, too

Cons:

• WYSIWYG editing is not supported (although themes like Divi Builder get around this issue)
• No pre-built effects
• No direct support if you run into issues (although some theme developers will be able to offer some assistance)
• Complex, sometimes bloated, code

Cost:

WordPress is free to use (with tons of free plugins and templates) but you still have to pay for your domain name and web hosting.

Advice from an experienced digital marketer

The best advice I can give you is to ask yourself why you need a new website. If you want to drive sales, there’s so much more to it than simply getting a new site – and most of the time, it’s not something you can do yourself.

In my experience, putting together a new website and making sure all the nuts and bolts are working correctly – not to mention ensuring you’re good to go from an SEO standpoint – can be difficult if you’re also focusing most of your time on your business.

So, save up (if you can); put money away every month if you have to, until you can afford for an experienced web developer to put together a professional website. If that’s not an option, there are other, cheaper ways to do it (like the options above) – but getting an experienced eye to help you out is definitely a good idea.

Conclusion

I hope you’ve found this blog helpful when comparing Wx vs Squarespace vs WordPress. Especially if you’re new to website builders, and you need to make a choice for your small business, it can seem a bit overwhelming to decide.

The best advice I can give you is to do your homework (read more blogs like this one) think carefully about what you need – and how much of the work you’re able to do for yourself.

For instance, if you already have a bit of experience developing websites, when WordPress or Squarespace might be a good option for you. But if you’re a total beginner, you might find Wix appealing.

Do you have any questions about which website builder is the best fit for you? Feel free to leave me a comment below. I’m here to help!

Do you want to know more about the type of digital marketing services or deliverables you can expect when hiring a digital marketing agency?

If so, I can completely understand why; you’ll want to know you’re definitely getting your money’s worth. Perhaps you even have a specific idea of exactly what you think you’re going to need in your head.

However, in all my years of experience as a digital marketer, it’s never really that simple. And really, what you think you need may be quite different to what you actually need.

Below, I’m going to explain why deliverables can vary so much between agencies, and what you should really be looking for.

Typical digital marketing services an agency can provide

Firstly, telling you which deliverables you’ll receive when signing up to a digital marketing agency is a very hard question to answer, without knowing your situation.

And even after doing an assessment, the deliverables you’ll receive as part of your marketing strategy will vary greatly from agency to agency. Some may provide you with literally no deliverables at all, whereas others will give you various different types of content on a month-by-month basis.

Saying that, the typical deliverables an agency can provide include:

• Buyer persona research (documented, so you can use it in future)
• Content marketing (blog posts, ebooks/premium content etc.)
• An SEO audit (to give you a better idea of areas for improvement)
• Email marketing (a series of automated email workflows)
• Landing pages (pages specifically designed to convert visitors to leads)
• Calls-to-actions (buttons that initiate actions from visitors – usually to sign up or download an offer)
• Conversion optimisation (to help increase your website’s conversion rate)

Typically, you can expect around two pieces of content per week, to keep your marketing efforts at a level to which you’ll see a good return of investment. However, the first month usually involves ensuring you have everything set up to ensure your marketing will provide the best results.

This may include setting up marketing automation software, and doing many of the other things mentioned above (like buyer persona research, an SEO audit, and setting up email marketing workflows). However, you should also remember that it’s not necessarily about quantity, but quality.

Finding which deliverables you actually need

A good digital marketing agency shouldn’t be able to just reel off a list of things you need, without first doing an assessment of your needs. If an agency tries to do that? Run. (Also, run if they ever mention link building!) However, they should also be able to give you a good idea of what they’re going to do for you BEFORE you sign up.

They can do this by talking to you about your business, such as your revenue goals, current revenue, and what you’re currently doing in terms of marketing your business. Your deliverables should inevitably always be tied to a specific goal.

As an example of this, a blog post can help increase traffic, whilst an ebook or guide can help convert visitors into leads, and help them to make a more educated decision.

However, like I mentioned above, what you THINK you need, isn’t necessarily always what you should be getting.

For instance, I had a conversation with a guy the other week, who asked me: “So, what would you do for me?” To which I replied: “I don’t know yet.” He then started talking about how he needed his Facebook and Twitter fans/followers to improve, as he thought that was best.

I told him I wasn’t simply going to take his money just to increase his social media presence. I explained he needed to be getting more back, such as an increase in sales and overall revenue. So, this is a good example of how your perception of a deliverable may be very different to what you’ll get.

Advice from an experienced digital marketer

When hiring a digital marketing agency to provide deliverables that’ll help you achieve your goals, my advice (and brutally honest opinion) is to look at inbound marketing agencies. Simply because they’re more set-up to provide you with the deliverables and all-in-one holistic solution you’ll need.

I call myself a digital marketing agency only because a lot of people don’t necessarily understand what ‘inbound’ is. It’s actually the most effective way of marketing for the digital world, and includes all of the methods mentioned above. So, now you know, seek them out!

For all of the deliverables I’ve mentioned in this article, what you’re going to get all comes down to one thing; trust. Find an agency you can connect with, and that you feel you can trust. Because in the end, it’s all about people; not deliverables.

No-one can guarantee results, but choose an agency that listens to you and can give you a good indication of what you can expect in return – only AFTER doing a thorough assessment of your needs.

Next steps

By now, you should have a better idea of the types of deliverables you can typically expect from an agency. For your next steps, make a shortlist of inbound agencies you’d like to speak to. But take into consideration the advice above, and always trust your gut.

Don’t forget to let me know how you get on by leaving a comment below!

Are you not getting the results you need when advertising your construction business?

Perhaps you’ve been spending your advertising budget on things like The Yellow Pages, radio ads, trade shows, magazines – or if you’re really brave, even SEO and Google Adwords – without seeing much of a difference.

Or, if you’re like some of the businesses that come to me, maybe you’re mainly relying on referrals to get by. You probably realise this isn’t the best way to scale your business, but you’re hesitant about where to start when placing ads.

This is a challenge many are facing these days when it comes to construction marketing – and one you can’t afford to ignore.

As an experienced construction marketer, I know it can be tough trying to decide where to advertise your business. That’s why I wanted to help, by listing some of the best places to do so below.

Where should you be advertising your construction business?

As a rule of thumb, you should be advertising where your best clients are hanging out – whether that be Facebook, LinkedIn or Google. Buying behaviour has changed in recent years, so instead of interrupting them with something like a radio ad, attract them with something that’s going to draw them in and offer them value.

Some of the things you could do include coming up with enticing ads on social media, or trying inbound marketing (in other words, coming up with quality content that answers their questions). The latter is very cost-effective, but it can take a while to work, and is tough to do when you’re trying to run a business.

I’ve gone into more detail on some of your best options for where to advertise building services, below.

1. Your blog

Your website’s blog is one of your biggest marketing assets. It’s an extremely important tool for generating leads and establishing authority with your audience, because it’s how your best customers will find you when they type their questions into Google.

Well, at least that’s how it should work. Try and aim to publish two blog posts a week that your ideal customers will find helpful, and valuable – without sounding salesy. It can be a great, cost-effective way to generate more leads and sales.

However, you should also bear in mind that it can be tricky to do yourself, and it can take quite a before for you start seeing results.

To get started, try coming up with a list of questions your best customers ask you on a daily basis. Here are a few examples:

• What kind of home extension will be most suitable for me?
• What are the best renovation services in Edinburgh?
• How long will my conservatory project take?
• Will I have to take time off work when my project is underway?
• What is the process involved in home remodelling?
• Which materials are used when installing a home spa?
• How do I find the best home renovation company for me?
• How much will professional home extension cost?

If your best customers are asking these, chances are they’re typing them into Google.

TIP: Don’t already have a blog on your website? It’s quite simple to add one. WordPress is the most common one to use, and it has a super easy platform.

Also, bear in mind it’s not as simple as just writing and publishing blogs every week. It’s actually part of a much wider process or strategy.

TIP: Read all about the 9-step process you can use to generate more leads and sales for your construction company.

2. Facebook and/or LinkedIn

Depending on your market, Facebook or LinkedIn could be a good call when it comes to ads, as everyone’s hanging out on either one or the other and both have good targeting options to help you focus on very particular groups of people.

For instance, on Facebook you can get very specific with your targeting and focus on people based on their likes, interests, behaviour, or even their job role in a company.

So, which one should you be using?

Well, if you sell direct to customers, Facebook is usually the first port of call. However, if you’re focusing on other businesses, I’d lean more towards LinkedIn.

These platforms may be great for creating very targeted ads, however, it is still a bit of a learning curve. You need to add a specific budget, and if you go over that, it will stop (so no worries there).

However, a big mistake a lot of people make is thinking they can get great results on these platforms without paying. For engagement, it can be good. However, I wouldn’t bother using it as a channel to drive traffic and sales unless you’re prepared to pay.

3. Google MyBusiness

Google MyBusiness makes it easier than ever for potential customers to find your construction company online, and is extremely helpful for anyone who wants to know more about your business.

This is because when they do a local search for the services you provide, it should come up with your construction business’s listing, including a description of your business, photos, contact details and opening times.

Never heard of Google MyBusiness? Chances are, you’ve probably been using it without even realising – simply by doing a search for building supplies or a restaurant and looking at the local results it brings up.

So, what does it do? Well, in essence, it combines Google search, maps, and Google+ together with Reviews, Insights and Google Analytics into one easy-to-use interface.

It’s also completely free, so if there’s one thing on this list you really ought to do, it’s claim your Google MyBusiness listing today.

TIP: For the full down-low on Google MyBusiness, check out my blog post: ‘Construction Marketing: What You Need to Know About Google MyBusiness’.

4. Google Adwords

Google Adwords (otherwise known as ‘paid search’) is effective, and the ‘go-to’ source for a lot of advertisers. It basically means you’re paying to display a listing that will show up at the top of Google.

Your ad will display to people depending on which keywords you’re targeting, and what they type into search. Often, it’s not even obvious that you’re clicking on an ad, unless you look closely.

However, this tool can be expensive in the wrong hands. Although, you don’t have to sit by whilst your budget spirals out of control – you can pause or adjust a campaign any time.

Learning how to do Google Adwords the right way can take a bit of getting used to. In fact, I wanted to help with that, which is why I’ve written a guide based on 15 years’ experience of using Adwords myself. It’s called ‘The Ultimate Google Adwords Companion’ and it’s absolutely free to download.

TIP: I’ve also put together some tips here so that you can improve your Adwords every week – it takes under 30 minutes!

5. Retargeted ads

Ad retargeting is a great way of making the most of your ad budget, as it means your ads are only displayed to those who have previously visited your site in the past 30 days.

It could help to dramatically increase your conversion rates and ensure you’re getting the most out of your ad budget.

You can use ad retargeting on platforms such as Google – which allows you to place an ad on other websites that are opted into their network – or on Facebook. A great benefit of this is that it only comes in at a fraction of the cost.

Wondering how it works? Well, have you ever been looking at something you’d been thinking about buying, but just hadn’t gotten around to it yet, and then later on when you’ve been on Facebook or YouTube you’ve noticed an ad for the exact same thing? It serves to remind you of your interest, and you’ll probably end up clicking on it.

That’s why retargeted ads tend to work so well. It basically keeps you at the forefront of people’s minds!

TIP:  Just remember to rotate your ads every week. This helps to keep things fresh, otherwise people may get bored and you won’t get as good results.

Advice from an experienced construction marketer

All said and done, the one thing you have to realise is that your business won’t grow or scale to the place you want to get it without marketing. That’s the reality. If you don’t have time to market yourself, that’s fine. However, you will need some outside help.

Saying that, marketing yourself is the cheapest way; but it’s not easy. One of my own clients, Superwarm, started off doing ads on Facebook himself. He was doing really well, with okay results. However, it got to the point where he’d done all he could do, which is why he decided to approach me to really turn things around.

I strongly believe I can teach anyone to market their own business. However, most of them simply don’t have the time or inclination to make it work. Save yourself a lot of heartache and time, and ask yourself: do you?

If you don’t have the time, but you do have the money, it’s worth getting outside help. And if you do decide to go it alone, don’t try it without a strategy. Facebook and Google ads are a waste of time and money in a lot of cases – that is, when you don’t know what you’re doing.

Your next steps

I hope you’ve found this blog helpful when discovering where to advertise building services for the best results. For your next steps, I challenge you to go away and think about which platforms would be the best for you to advertise on. And, if you haven’t already, I’d strongly advise creating a Google MyBusiness page!

Want some more advice or guidance on how to best market your building services or construction business? Shortlist a few inbound or digital marketing agencies to speak to, and ask them what they can help you to achieve. They should be able to advise you further.

Are you sick of not getting the right results from your SEO agency?

As an experienced marketer, I know that there’s the odd SEO agency out there that just doesn’t make the cut anymore, using outdated and highly questionable techniques. Other SEO agencies, on the other hand, can be brilliant. In fact, some are just as good as any other digital marketing agency when it comes to getting you results!

The difference? They’ve learned to adapt.

Below, I’m going to tell you five ways to tell if it’s time to get rid of your SEO agency, and look for pastures new.

1. Their services lack transparency

In other words, you can’t see what they’re doing, and they won’t tell you. Or they’re extremely vague about it. Look at it this way; in this digital age, where you can look up just about anything at the click of a button, your SEO agency shouldn’t feel the need to keep their activities secret from you.

It’s actually quite worrying. It even means they could be using highly ill-advised link-building tactics that could get you penalised by Google. Or, they might just be doing a whole lot of nothing much!

2. They aren’t providing trackable results

This is sort of related to point 1. But if your SEO agency isn’t telling you what they’re doing, they should at least be able to provide you with some trackable results so you can see the progress they’re making. If they’re hiding one or both of those things from you, it’s time to jump ship.

Ideally, your SEO agency should be generating a report for you each month, and answering any questions you have, so you can see exactly what results you’re getting.

3. They aren’t using a holistic strategy

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again; there’s no point in attracting lots of traffic to your website, if your site isn’t set up to convert that traffic into leads and sales. And surely that’s why you’re investing in an SEO agency in the first place, isn’t it? That’s why SEO doesn’t work on its own.

These days, SEO should be implemented as part of a wider strategy, that should include elements such as:

• Content marketing – publishing regular monthly content, and premium content, on your website
• Conversion optimisation – ensuring your website is set up to convert visitors into leads
• Email marketing – this can include setting up email workflows to nurture your leads
• Tracking and A/B testing – their efforts should be constantly tracked and optimised for best results

4. They don’t communicate enough

If you’re struggling to find anyone from your SEO agency to talk to, or they just aren’t answering your calls or emails, it may be time to reconsider your options. After all, it’s about respecting your time and investment as a client, and communication should be of utmost importance to any agency. Otherwise, you simply won’t feel valued.

Depending on your relationship, and the results you’ve experienced so far, you may want to give them one last chance. However, if I were you, I’d seriously be looking elsewhere.

5. They aren’t helping you grow your business

If you’re not seeing an improvement in your leads and sales, you have to ask why. This is because when it comes down to it, you aren’t paying someone to simply get more people to your website – or at least, you shouldn’t be. You should be paying for results that will help you grow your business in the long-term.

Don’t get me wrong, most holistic digital marketing strategies won’t provide instant results. However, if you’ve been with your agency for a number of months, or even years, and you’re still not seeing an improvement, it’s time to start asking yourself some tough questions.

Next steps

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading, but if you’re experiencing the problems above, please don’t go away from this article without taking any action. You need to address these problems with your SEO agency, and you need to do it now. Indecision will continue to cost your business money, and that’s the last thing you need.

TIP: To help you out, here are 7 vital questions you should be asking any SEO agency. (This might also come in handy if you decide to go elsewhere!)

If you need any further advice, or want to let me know how you got on, I’d love to hear from you in the comments’ section!

Thinking of investing in a lead generation marketing company to get your business out of a tight spot?

In my many years as a digital marketer, I’ve seen the same story over and over again:

You’ve worked hard to build up your business over the years, but as times have changed, so have your customers. Gradually you’ve noticed it’s becoming harder and harder to reach them. Customer referrals can only get you so far, whilst your competitors always seem to be one step ahead.

You’ve even tried a bit of marketing, but it’s just not growing your business as you expected. You need more leads, so where do you turn for help? The internet is full of potential solutions, and you’re drawn to the places that sound like they have the answer to all of your problems.

You’re not alone. All too many businesses find themselves panicking when their leads start to dry up, which is why turning to a so-called lead generation marketing company may seem like the best way forward.

However, before you do anything, let me tell you why there could be a much better solution.

Is a lead generation marketing company the answer?

Well, it’s a little bit more complicated than you might think. The answer really depends on what you think a lead generation company should do for you.

For instance, many businesses calling themselves ‘lead generation’ companies simply offer up ready-made lists of contacts that you can then get in touch with in order to try and sell your products or services.

Unfortunately, when it’s time to get in touch with these so-called leads, you’ll find that a lot of them just aren’t ready to buy. In fact, most of them probably haven’t even heard of your company. The result? You end up wasting your time and money on poor quality leads that aren’t interested.

Here’s an example of how this works in practice, as demonstrated by Three Deep Marketing:

“Last year I was doing some research on home mortgage rates. I found a site that asked me to register to check rates in my area. Within the first 30 minutes of filling out that form I got calls from 3 mortgage companies; 3 more called me within the first hour. I couldn’t believe I fell for my own lead generation tactics!“

My advice is this: think about what lead generation means to you. If it means just being given a list of ready-made contacts, I can guarantee you’re looking at it the wrong way.

Is there a better way to generate leads for your business?

If you don’t want to spend your time calling up people who aren’t interested in your products or services, there’s a much more effective way to get the leads you need to grow your business.

Most digital marketing agencies will be able to offer you a more sustainable and reliable way to increase your leads and sales. How? By incorporating a more holistic process to help you achieve your goals.

A typical digital marketing strategy consists of many elements.  These include: content marketing, SEO, landing pages, email nurturing, testing and analytics, and more. This not only ensures you’re getting a steady stream of quality leads, but it also doesn’t include tactics like the one mentioned above.

So, whether you’re hiring a digital marketing agency, or a lead generation company, ensure you’re getting leads the smart way, as part of a wider, more holistic process.

Any company you hire to generate you leads should be able to sit down with you and work out your goals, along with how they’re going to help you get there – not just hand you a list of email addresses. Their plan should include all of the methods mentioned in this blog.

Conclusion

By now you should have a better idea of the type of lead generation that can help your company grow. A digital marketing agency with a holistic process can help you generate a steady, sustainable stream of good quality leads who will be ready to buy when you call – unlike the leads you’re likely to get with a lead generation marketing company.

Have you ever bought leads from an online lead generation marketing company? I’d love to hear your experiences in the comments section. Alternatively, if you have any questions, I’ll be more than happy to answer them.