Print classifieds: the tried and true way of advertising your contracting business. For years, you have used print classifieds to attract clients and recruit employees. But as the years have gone by, you have seen less and less of a return on your investment. Why? The truth is, the world is changing and your advertising methods need to change with them. Here’s why print classifieds aren’t enough for a general contractor and what you can do about it.
Is print a thing of the past?
While things seem to be increasingly moving online, print isn’t necessarily a thing of the past. No technology can capture the feeling of sitting in your backyard on a nice morning, reading the newspaper and sipping on some coffee. However, print also isn’t getting the reach it used to.
If you want to continue with your print classifieds, ask the newspaper you’re advertising with about online classifieds. Most, if not all, newspapers have online versions of their newspapers. Getting your advertisements posted in the online version as well as the print version will allow you to increase your reach while continuing with what you know.
Spice things up with social media.
Research shows that over half of the world’s population uses social media, with an average use of 2 ½ hours per day. No matter how many print classifieds you put out, no one is going to spend 2 1/2 hours each day reading a newspaper. So, you should spice things up by adding social media to your advertising mix.
Social media ads are a great alternative or addition to your print classifieds. Like classifieds, the text you use to advertise is short and sweet. Unlike classifieds, though, you can pick exactly who sees your ads. For example, you can instruct your ads to target a certain age range, a certain geographic area, and people with certain interests. This helps get your ads seen by those who are likely to become leads and even clients.
Social media ads also include the ability to add a link to your post. In one click, users will be redirected to your website. This is a much quicker process than print classifieds, where readers may not have a computer handy and could forget to look up your business later. They can also save your advertisement or open your ad link in a different window so they can easily come back to it later, which is the digital equivalent of circling the classifieds.
Stand out from the crowd.
While print classifieds aren’t enough for a general contractor, it’s also just not enough to expand your reach to online classifieds and social media alone. You want to maximize the advertising space you have to stand out from the crowd. One of the best ways you can do this is by offering contractor financing. Many clients need financial help to achieve their dreams, and you can help them by partnering with HFS Financial. All you have to do is have your clients fill out our 60-second loan application and we’ll fit them with the right loan. Get started with the best contractor financing for customers by giving us a call at 1-800-254-9560. “You Dream It, We Finance It.”