How to Drive Qualified Leads as a Home Builder
Nearly half of home builders say that generating quality leads is their biggest marketing challenge in 2022, according to a report by the Association of Professional Builders (APB).
With the primary form of lead generation being consultations, it’s clear that something will have to change in order for home builders to generate more qualified leads in 2023.
Yet, aside from word-of-mouth marketing, referrals, and consultations, how else can home builders generate qualified leads?
In this article we will look at three significant ways to drive qualified leads as a home builder.
We will look at:
– Untapped content opportunities
– Ways to gain instant ROI
– How to drive organic traffic
Utilizing Video Content to Drive Home Builder Leads
Content marketing is an underutilized, yet highly effective method of attracting the attention of qualified leads.
Home builders have a slew of untapped potential when it comes to content marketing, and video should be at the center.
The most effective and efficient way to produce video content is to start with long-form video (vlog, video podcast episode, highlight reel, etc.) and chop it down into micro-content for social media (TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube shorts, etc.).
Beyond social media content, you can create an episode write up that could be repurposed for a blog post and even your email campaigns.
As for video content topics – start with the basics!
– Answer frequently asked questions you get from buyers and prospective buyers
– Showcase the beginning, middle, and end of a new build
– Start a vlog where you show a day in the life of a home builder
– Start a series where you film select customers’ journeys from start to finish
The type of content you put out will vary, but as long as it’s entertaining and/or providing value to the people you want it to – that’s all it needs to accomplish.
Increasing Your Organic Position and Traffic with Google
Of all the marketing tactics to bring in quality leads – increasing Google visibility(AKA “SEO”) is at the top.
When people need something – they search for it.
When people are researching something – they search for it.
Google, for many years, has been the king of search. YouTube is nipping at its heals and even other platforms like TikTok and Instagram are bolstering search features, but for now – Google reigns supreme.
Here are a few ways to increase your organic position and visibility with Google:
1) Invest in your website
Your website is one of the first things (if not the first thing) your audience will see when interacting with you and your services. Needless to say, it’s important that you get it right.
Original high quality content (pictures and videos) provides customers with a better experience and makes it easier for them to picture working with you.
Individual service pages allow you to rank for those services on Google, which make it easier for prospective customers to find you.
A technically sound site (quick load times, proper headings, etc.) will give you the best shot at ranking for higher difficulty keywords, as these factor into how well Google perceives your site.
Whether you already have a website or need to create one from scratch, investing in a strong website will help you increase brand visibility, showcase the quality of your builds, and establish yourself as a credible home builder in the eyes of your target audience.
2) Implement SEO
As a good friend of mine always used to say – “websites are like a new home – they may be great to look at but how are you driving people to the front door?”
SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is the practice of getting a site to rank highly on Google for relevant keywords.
There are a number of technical, onsite tasks that can help:
– Headings
– Title tags
– Meta descriptions
– Image sizing
– Website performance
– 404 errors
– Redirect chains or loops
– SSL/Secure (https)
As well as a number of content-related onsite tasks:
– Regular blog posting
– Pillar and cluster or hub and spoke strategy
– How to guides
– White papers
– FAQ
– Rich media: video, graphics
– Image optimization (include keywords in the file name)
The whole goal is to show up when buyers are searching for key search terms (known as keywords). “home builder MN”, “home builder near me”, “best home builders in NJ” – these are all examples of solid search terms that businesses can rank for.
The first listing will get roughly 35% of the web traffic, the second will get roughly 17%, and the third only gets 10% or so, and so on and so forth. In essence, the more work you put in – the more you’ll show up and the more quality leads you will receive.
3) Create Business Profiles
As a home builder you probably already have business profiles on sites like Google Business, Houzz, Angi, Next Door, or even Yelp. Here are a few ways to bolster these profiles:
Build out a review process. In order to optimize your business profile, make sure there is a strategy in place to collect reviews regularly and passively from your customers. At the end of a job, encourage your customers to leave a review! This can be done via email, on the invoice, or even via a thank you or follow up call.
Invest in high quality content. Having a good mix of video and photography on your business profile will help potential customers understand if you are the right home builder for them.
Post finished work, videos of walk-throughs, images of remodels, and even design plans to give potential customers a full understanding of your capabilities.
Yes, Yelp is still relevant. Largely due to the fact that Apple Maps uses Yelp when displaying search results. With a majority of customers using iPhones, Yelp is a platform you simply can’t ignore.
Having a solid Yelp profile will be helpful in showing up for users using iPhones or Macs. Yelp rant aside, there are other ways to make the most of your business profile, too.
Drive Leads with Quick ROI (Paid Ads)
Generating quality leads organically will take time. The good news? There are quicker ways of getting a quicker return on marketing, namely digital ads.
Digital ads come in various shapes and sizes but the big players are Google and Facebook, with other platforms growing in relevance more and more (YouTube & TikTok).
According to the APB (Association of Professional Builders), 34% of builders surveyed (of 700 total) advertise on Facebook, while Google came in second at 22.4%.
For those of you would-be warriors looking to try this yourself – here’s a winning strategy:
1) Start with a brand awareness campaign. This can take many forms, from a video highlighting your builds to a local or community impact video highlighting the difference you’re making in your locale.
From here, you’ll be able to get your brand in front of prospective buyers all while gathering precious audience data.
2) Now build the value with a retargeting campaign. After gathering that precious audience data, you can retarget those that engaged. It’s best to do so by providing them with value of some kind, from insight to trends to FAQ’s.
3) Lastly, hit them with a call-to-action (retargeting campaign #2). At this point your audience is narrowed, they have a good gut feeling about your brand, and now you can put a CTA in front of them with a solid chance of conversion.
In all, advertising is a great way of getting your homes in front of new prospects. According to the Association of Professional Builders (APB), builders that spend money on advertising tend to see higher profits.
By investing money into advertising campaigns, you can monitor and optimize your campaigns for best results.
Measuring your ROI will also help justify marketing spend when budgeting out marketing spend in the future.
Conclusion – 3 Ways to Drive Qualified Leads as a Home Builder
While marketing is often not at the forefront of a home building business, the repercussions of not investing in marketing efforts can be detrimental, specifically when it comes to lead generation.
Traditional ways of generating leads are no longer cutting it and more and more home builders are turning to creative marketing solutions for help.
– Implementing video (and other content) marketing
– Capitalizing on paid ads
– Driving organic traffic
By implementing the above three strategies as a home builder, you are setting yourself up for greater success when generating qualified leads.
Ready to get started on content marketing for your AEC firm? Contact vnzoaec today to set up your discovery session.
