If you’re a contractor, you’re probably used to working with your hands. To creating something from nothing, and to having something tangible at the end of the day. That might be why you’re wondering what all the hype about content marketing is about.

If you’re still stuck on billboards and flyers, then it’s time you realized that all that hype is because content marketing works, and we’re about to tell you why.

Building Trust

As a home contractor, you already know the value of building your reputation. The more customers in your community trust your knowledge, skills and service, the more referrals you will get, and the more business that translates to.

Content marketing is based on the same concept. By giving away knowledge about home construction to end users, you build your reputation, and you build trust. That means that more people who visit your website will be repeat visitors, and that means that more of those visitors are likely to be converted into actual customers.

Building Expert Status

Why do your customers hire you as their home contractor?

Because they believe that you know more than they do about the type of contracting service you provide. Content marketing helps to create that reputation as an expert in your field, and that makes it more likely that customers will contact you for an estimate or advice.

How Content Marketing Works

Now that we’ve established how content marketing helps increase your contracting business, and why you should be doing it, the next question is how does it work? Here’s a brief outline of how content marketing works for contractor businesses:

• Brainstorm blog and content ideas. What are the questions your customers are most likely to ask you? Those are the questions you need to answer in your content.
• Create content. This could mean writing blog posts (a great idea because search engines love text too!), infographics or how to videos. Even PowerPoint presentations can be repurposed for SlideShare! Anything that makes it easy for your customers to understand your message.
• Post your content on your company blog, and link from social media profiles. If you have an e-newsletter you can also let your subscribers know that there’s new content on your website.
• Rinse and repeat.

That’s a very simplified version of how most content marketing campaigns work, but it really can be that simple.

Content Marketing Best Practices

If you’re thinking about using content marketing to build your reputation as a home contractor and get more business, then there are three best practices that you need to bear in mind:

1. Quality is important. Your content is a reflection of your company, so you want it to be great. If you’re not a great writer, or you don’t know anything about infographics, designate a staff member or hire a freelancer.
2. Know who your customers are and what they want to know, and answer their questions.
3. Consistency is key. Search engines and human beings prefer company blogs that are regularly updated with valuable information. It is far worse to have an outdated company blog with one lonely post than it is to have no blog at all!

Content marketing doesn’t need to be complicated. Think of it as a conversation that you’re having with your customers. It doesn’t have to be expensive either. In fact, content marketing has been proven to be more cost effective than traditional marketing methods.

The best thing about content marketing in construction, however, is that when you use content to market your contractor business, you’re creating an online library of marketing materials that will be there as long as the internet exists. That’s a lot better than the lifespan of the average flyer!