Over half of home service customers run a search before scheduling an appointment and most of them don’t have a specific company in mind when they start their search.
Even during COVID-19, the basics of online marketing are more important than ever. From making sure your business is found to keeping it top of mind, find out how to get the word out about your services online.
If you’re just getting started with online marketing or not seeing the results you’ve hoped for, then this webinar recap is for you. Even if your business isn't in this particular industry, we think that many of the practices discussed can be applied to many other industries! With our guest expert, Ryan Redding, you’ll learn a smarter, more practical approach to getting the word out about your home and building services in today’s world. Topics discussed during the webinar included:
How people find you online
How to set yourself up for success
How it all comes together
In this post, you can watch the webinar in its entirety and read some of the questions asked by our attendees. Interested in our free, future webinars? Sign up here to stay informed!
In this time of social distancing, you may find yourself considering virtual events to stay in touch with your customers and prospects for the first time.
Whether you need to move your class, seminar, workshop or you’re creating a new program to move online, virtual events can help you continue running your business and expand your reach.
As part of our Small Business Support Kit, Constant Contact has been hosting a free weekly webinar series that includes practical advice on putting your action plan to work. Our latest webinar discussed our Event Management tool. Highlights included:
Tips for setting up your virtual event
Editing and managing your event details
Tracking event registrants & managing your event
Here are some of the questions during the webinar from our attendees:
I’ve had to switch all of my in-person events to virtual meetings. How can I promote the event and have people sign up for it within Constant Contact?
With our Event Management tool, you can create an event to advertise a virtual or online event by selecting Online as the location for your event. Include a direct link to the meeting from where it is hosted (such as Google Hangouts or Zoom) for easy access.
Is there a way to include an area where maybe people can submit questions they would like answered during this virtual event?
How does Constant Contact interact with Zoom or other virtual meeting platforms? Is there data passed back and forth between these two tools or is it meant to supplement Zoom and similar webinar tools as a method to let people know about your event?
Great question. Constant Contact is meant to supplement Zoom and other webinar tools. It assists you in promoting the event to the contacts you already have in your Constant Contact account and promote it on social media. Using the Constant Contact tool in addition to Zoom helps you manage all of your marketing in one place and keep it connected with your Constant Contact contacts. The data isn't passed back and forth, it is an additional way to manage the event you are hosting.
Is there a way to indicate the event will be online but the link to join the webinar will be sent 24 hours before the event? Or do you have to have the link already available?
When selecting the online option, you must have a website entered in that area. So you could include a link to the homepage of the online meeting tool you are using and include a message in the confirmation email that a link will be sent out before the event. When you have the link ready, send an email to event registrants.
What customizations can I make to the confirmation page or email? Such as a video related to the event or a link to a landing page that has information?
I use a payment processor that’s not listed as an option under the Event tool. Can I include mine?
No, we do not have any additional integrations beyond what is listed in the tool. If you do not see yours listed, please comment on our Feedback post regarding payment options for events.
Can I limit registration up to a certain date or a number of registrants?
Yes, you can limit event registration and set a deadline for a registration date or cut off registration after a certain number of people have registered.
Will registrants automatically become contacts in my account?
If they do not join your mailing list, you can only send them emails directly related to the event. You can turn on the option that allows people to join your mailing list under Event Basics
How do I collect donations through the Event tool?
The donation option in the Event tool will only appear if someone declines your invite. If you would like to link directly to your website, you could include a link in the event invitation email or social post but it would not be on the registration form itself. You could also charge fees for the event, which could act as donations if you happened to have a free event, for example.
When you create an invitation from here, is it just like doing a regular Constant Contact email?
Our Event Tool uses our legacy editor to create an invitation email. If you wish to use our mobile-responsive editor to create an invitation, you can include the Event URL in your campaign.
The COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic is changing the way we all do business. There is much we still don’t know about how this situation will play out. As this unprecedented crisis continues to evolve, many small business owners are wondering how to minimize losses, and what steps they can take to protect their businesses.
As part of our Small Business Support Kit, Constant Contact has been hosting a free weekly webinar series that includes practical advice on putting your action plan to work during this time. You can watch the webinar in its entirety below. Topics covered during last week's webinar included assessing the current situation, adapting your normal operations, and how to market your business during this time. Included is a Q&A session and we've included some of the questions asked during the webinar from our attendees:
We had to cancel a festival and exhibit due to the virus. How much marketing is it appropriate for a non-profit to do right now? Is it good to help our vendors and artists, or is it asking too much of the audience? Both events were free to enter, but the artists and vendors are losing money since the events are canceled.
Think about featuring the artists in your communications and provide links for people to purchase their art. You can also share the artists' stories and talk about how your organization is helping them, which in turn may encourage them to support you when the time is right.
We are an animal rescue who relies 100% on private donations. So our emails focus on asking for donations with no product to give - just the satisfaction of helping save lives. It is hard to balance sensitivity with our financial needs which are even more desperate now. We are asking something for nothing, and in the worst of times for them. What can we do?
Content and staying top-of-mind right now is super important. While money is tight for many right now, people are still willing to help. Keep people updated about what's happening at your organization: adoptions that have taken place, stories of new animals you're bringing in, short features on your volunteers and how you're helping animals in the community during this time. Let people know how they can help, even if it's sharing a post on social media or forwarding your emails.
We are a B2B and are contemplating a new weekly information and training series for our customers. Is weekly too frequent in this environment?
In many cases no, but it can really depend on your own audience. Start by introducing your plan. Let them know how your weekly email and or training will be available to help them.
If I do not have as great of a social media presence as I would like, how can I get my messages out? I'm worried even if I launch something great, people might not see what I am sharing.
Building a social presence always takes time. We typically find that many small businesses try to do too much on social media with not enough resources. We suggest starting with one social media platform. Try to perfect your strategy and learn what works and what doesn't for your audience before adding other channels. Make sure you're sharing your expertise and helpful information, not just marketing messages to sell something. You can also ask your email subscribers to join the conversation on social media. They're already invested in being on your email list so let them know they can continue the conversation, ask questions, and interact on social media.
Is there value in spending money on showing customer appreciation? We run a camp and it has been canceled for the summer. We don't have a lot of money to spend, but is it worth sending something physical to our families to thank them for sticking with us until next year?
Something physical would be nice, however, it can become very expensive. Customer appreciation comes in many forms. Even if you put together a simple video of your staff thanking your customers and share it on social or through email, that can go a long way.
I'm not sure that I can afford my Constant Contact account right now. What are you offering to those who are in my situation?
We are continuing to evaluate how we can best support our customers during this time. As you are probably aware of now with this board, we have launched a Small Business Support Kit to help our users across many different industries on how to respond and adapt to the new circumstances. Our Billing team is best suited to hear your concerns and we ask that you contact them directly.
