At Roundpeg, marketing for home service businesses has become one of our niches. From simple email marketing campaigns, writing blogs or managing the entire digital marketing strategy, home service clients from plumbers to flooring installers to HVAC professionals come to Roundpeg.

Now when most people think of what goes into marketing, they might envision scenes from Mad Men or writers furiously pumping out hilarious commercials for Coca Cola or Doritos. While the home services industry may not be as “sexy” as those other areas, the need for marketing is just as strong and in some cases more so. Having cut our teeth on these types of businesses, we’ve learned a thing or two about the best ways to execute content marketing campaigns for home service businesses.

What Makes Good Home Service Content?

It’s a question that philosophers have contemplated since olden days, and the answer to this question for home service providers is fairly unique. What makes it unique is that home service businesses aren’t selling just a product or service, they’re selling themselves. So what kind of content is going to best communicate that to the desired audience? Though the content may vary slightly depending on the exact industry, these are the avenues that we’ve had the most success with.

Blogging

A regularly updated blog can do a lot for your credibility, your positioning and even your Google search performance. We’ve found these kind of blogs to be sweet spots for home services:

• Highlighting new trends and tech – Whether you’re in home remodeling or heating and cooling, there are always going to be new advances in your industry. Let your audience in on any new developments with a blog to engage them and let them know you’re on the cutting edge.
• Answer common questions – A huge chunk of Google search queries are questions like “can I refinish my hardwood floor?” or “why does my AC unit screech?” Dedicating blogs to answering these specific but common questions allows your audience to see your immediate value, and if done properly, can be some of the biggest drivers of your web traffic.
• Highlight your employees – If your business is one that sends out contractors or service providers to homes, your customers are going to want to know who those people are. Consider doing regular employee spotlights on your blog to both put your customers at ease and to show prospective customers what makes you unique – your people.

Social media

While most businesses don’t need to be absolutely everywhere on social media, it’s almost always a good idea for service industries to be on Facebook and LinkedIn, with others added if they fit your social strategy. Here’s what you need to share.

• Your blogs. Well, duh – you took the time to make them, you need to promote them to get their benefit. Be careful not to overshare, though. If you’re reposting the same article 3 times in one week, it’s time to revisit some social media basics.
• Share content from related pages. Did Pantone just announce their hot colors for the new year? Your home remodeling company should definitely be sharing that. Did one of your manufacturers post an exciting update to their line of products? You best be sharing that sucker.
• Day to day life at your business. Remember how I said home services need to sell themselves? This is part of it. Post occasional updates from around your workplace. From the secretary bringing in her adorable new puppy to an employee birthday lunch, your audience wants to see your human side too.

If you’re still a little lost on a content plan, try going back to basics by creating a Content Style Guide for your business to identify the general direction for your strategy.

Know Your Facts – Beware of Fiction

A big pratfall in content marketing for a home service business is publishing inaccurate content. This can reduce your credibility or cause problems when a customer is unhappy when they learn your content was factually incorrect.

One of my first retainer clients at Roundpeg was a flooring company. I’ll be the first to admit that I was a complete floor covering newbie. Vinyl, resilient, laminate – you might as well have been talking to me about molecular chemistry or 80’s rockabilly bands for how much I knew about them. Because of this, a good amount of time went into doing research on products and trends to create engaging content for my client. After I’d done my research and produced a few (what I thought were) fairly good articles, my client came back with furiously scribbled corrections. While the basis of the blogs were good, there were too many factual inaccuracies because my sources were less than perfect. I learned very quickly which sites I could rely on to provide good source material.

While you may own a home services company, it’s all right if you don’t know LITERALLY EVERYTHING about your industry. The key is to make sure that anything you do share with your audience comes from a reliable source. Try looking at periodicals for your industry or publications from professional organizations with which you may be associated.

So, while home service companies may be on the un-sexy side of marketing, there’s still a lot to gain from content marketing and having their own unique strategy needs.