Did you know Mad Max (the one with Mel Gibson) was made on a shoestring budget? Investors only gave the filmmakers $300,000, but it raked in almost $100,000,000 worldwide at the box office. For 20 years, it held the Guinness World Record for the most profitable movie investment of all time.
How did Mad Max do it? Simply, the film crew made the most of what they had to work with.
This is exactly what every home improvement company must do with its online marketing budget. Here are some tips to planning your 2018 online marketing budget, and doing a lot more….with less!
Paid Search Budgets are Growing
In a recent poll, 60% of marketers said they will increase their budget this year, primarily to make room for more paid search advertising. Google AdWords continues to be the main investment for these marketers, with Bing trailing significantly behind.
More companies are seeing better results with paid search advertising, and are investing significantly more – the poll revealed an anticipated 75% increase in budget. Accordingly, paid search will remain an important driver of home improvement leads in 2018.
Mobile is Hot
As we’ve mentioned before, mobile advertising is especially potent for home improvement companies because searches take into account users’ locations, allowing them to browse contractors nearby. Capturing the attention of local homeowners is an essential strategy for high quality leads.
According to Positive Mobile, mobile home improvement searches peaked in the second quarter of 2016. Consider investing a portion of your 2018 online marketing budget on mobile advertising to leverage this growth opportunity to find homeowners who want to engage with your company.
Social Media is Still a Low Performer
Ask anyone in the home improvement industry and they’ll tell you: social media rarely converts into qualified sales leads. Most home improvement companies accordingly spend less than 15% of their online marketing budgets on social media efforts. They spend even less time tending to it.
In social media, Facebook and Instagram are of course the heavyweights, but we’re still waiting for the data that suggests advertising can find you homeowners who are sincerely interested in what you sell. Advice? Be cautious.
Portioning Your Budget for Next Year
So, as you’re thinking through what your efforts online will be in 2018, you’d be smart to take a cue from the Mad Max crew. Who knows, maybe you, too will have a blockbuster year.
