Heidi J. Ellsworth, Owner, HJE Consulting Group
Many times I get questions on what a business should be publicizing about their company. There are many ways to use public relations and, specifically, press releases to your benefit. As you are adding this important component to your marketing strategy, you want to be sure to always place yourself in the reader’s shoes. Will they find this relevant, interesting or helpful in their decision-making? Even as I write this column, I am thinking those same things and hoping that this type of information may help your business.
There are five key areas that can become a focus for your public relations campaigns. By consistently reviewing these areas and looking for pertinent, new occurrences in your business you can create some great news. As we review these areas, also remember that news is not just in the local newspaper or TV station. You need to be sharing your news on your website and social media along with sending it to local and industry media sources. By having this type of content published in many areas you are helping your overall digital marketing strategy and company reputation.
Also, be sure to share all news items with your employees. Post them on bulletin boards, intranets and social media groups with a special eye to your team. It is great to be called out for an excellent safety record or amazing roofing job. Not only does that type of press help your company but it is important for long-term employee loyalty and satisfaction.
So, what is relevant, interesting or decision-making about roofing? A lot actually. News is happening every day in your business that your local community wants to know about. In fact, as roofing contractors are well aware, a good roof is the most important part of protecting structures, businesses and families, so let’s talk about that. Most consumers of roofing do not understand the differences in roofing materials, installation or warranties. It is a great place to start. An educated customer is always going to be a better customer.
Depending on where you are located, working with
local newspapers and media about ongoing educational
stories can kick off your program. The idea is to
sit down and think about what would be of interest to
your current and future audience. What is relevant to
your area? Maybe it is a series on hail restoration and
insurance claims; maybe it is a series for facility mangers
on understanding solar. Whatever it is, make it fit
your audience and business strategy.
Talk to your sales team and find out the questions that are being asked by customers and put together the answers from a company perspective. This can be in the form of FAQs, blogs or longer white papers. If you have associations or homeowner
groups that have newsletters, they may be very interested in this type of information for their members.
There are many opportunities for awards. Through your associations locally, regionally and nationally you can submit projects for
review. Winning these types of awards are a validation of your quality and professionalism. The first step is to apply. Be sure your whole leadership team is thinking about different award opportunities and not just in roofing. Possibly entrepreneur awards, marketing, sales, etc. There are all types of opportunities for your employees and jobs to be recognized.
Once an award has been won, shout it out with a press release. Keep the press release simple and straight forward. Remember who, what, when, where, why and how. Answer these questions in the press release and you will have a better opportunity of being published. Also, be sure to keep the most important information at the top of the release. End with an “About Us” to give your company some branding but be very careful not to make the press release promotional. It needs to be informative and newsworthy.
Anytime you make a new hire or promote an employee it can become a press release. Hires or promotions that make the most sense for a press release are employees who are customer facing. Any upper management changes are good to note in the local
business journal and should always be on your blog. Salespeople need this type of exposure to help open doors to current and new businesses. Making a habit of posting all new hires to social media shows that your company is growing and that you have a strong
talent pool that can deliver to your customers.
Several contractors have expressed concern that, in the current labor crunch, recognizing their employees may open them to poaching. It can also be seen in a different light. You are proud of your company, benefits and employees. Make your employees famous to your customers and those customers will be more likely to reach out to them first. People want to do business with people they like so spotlight how you are growing an exceptional company with exceptional people.
This is something that every roofing contractor needs to do. Those jobs that show the quality and professionalism of your company need to be highlighted. There are many resources out there to help you with this. The first stop should be the manufacturer of the
roofing materials on the job. Many of them offer free help to write profiles and get them placed in industry media. For your company, that gives you major exposure in the industry along with the ability to link the articles to your website.
Locally, you can use the job profiles on your website, in your sales material and distributed to local media. You may even want to highlight it in your advertising so you get a consistent message of quality and extraordinary work. The public will think of you every time they drive by that job. All of this content also helps with search engine optimization (SEO).
Contractors are now providing service and maintenance, both commercially and residentially. This is a great source of content for articles. Working with your local media (newspaper, TV, radio, HOA or association newsletters) ask them if they would like a monthly or quarterly article on what they should seasonally be doing for their buildings. It may be cleaning the roof, cleaning gutters, Christmas lights, heat, mold, etc. You are the expert on the roof and they want to know what they should be doing.
If you are just getting started with something like this, look on the Internet to get ideas. There are contractors across the country who are posting great blogs on service and maintenance for every season. Be sure not to copy it. But, in your own words, take the
concept and share knowledge that is relevant to your area, customers and business.
There are many other ways of generating press and developing content. In the end, like all marketing tools, it needs to fit your culture and business goals. A good PR campaign is all about supporting your brand, your messaging and creating opportunities for leads. It should make the phone ring. Look for resources within your own company to support this. You will be surprised at some of the talents that may be hidden just down the hall.
Heidi J. Ellsworth has worked in the roofing industry since 1993 and has held positions with Malarkey Roofing, Carlisle Construction Materials and EagleView Technologies. She owns RoofersCoffeeShop (RCS) and HJE Consulting. Working with both RCS and HJE
Consulting, she focuses on supporting overall marketing strategies, sales success and content development for companies and associations within the roofing industry. With a passion for networking and win-win scenarios, she continues to provide consulting and progressive digital advertising opportunities for companies and associations building strong collaborations for business profitability and success.
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