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How Can Pest Control Firms Make Content Marketing Work For Them?

As a pest control brand, your identity is built around helping homeowners with something they don’t want to look at or even think about. It’s right in the name: Pests. People tend to come to pest control companies for help when all else fails. Some even see it as a shortcoming on their part. They ask themselves, why the heck can’t I beat these bugs?
Graphic photos of insects and skin-crawling details about infestation aren’t enough to motivate customers. If you want to bring leads to your door, you need consistent and well-targeted content marketing.

Content is all the informative, helpful materials you put on your website to establish your credibility as an expert.

Content draws people to your website through search engines, especially Google. Then, it guides them to choose your business over the rest by demonstrating your expertise in the subject matter at hand…pests.

So, how do you square the circle and provide great content that will engage your viewers without sounding like an etymologist?

Get creative about your digital marketing to get leads interested.

Building Trust With Web Content Based On The Pest Control Buyer’s Journey
In digital marketing, we look at a customer’s decision-making process in three phases:

  • Awareness: The buyer realizes there’s a problem that needs solving
  • Consideration: The buyer starts researching solutions and companies
  • Decision: The buyer compares the “short list” of vendors and picks one

Customers who need pest control provide clear-cut examples of all of these. First, they notice signs of an infestation – that’s awareness, probably the most urgent type there is.

Then, they look online to figure out what they’re dealing with, how serious the problem might be, and whether it’s something they can handle without help. That’s consideration.

Sooner or later – often after trying a few unsuccessful fixes – they take a handful of 3-5 local companies, compare their features and prices, and choose one. That’s decision.

By aligning your content strategy with this three-stage buyer journey, you can produce content people will seek and use. That establishes you as an authoritative expert they know they can trust when it comes time (as it usually does!) to call in the cavalry.

Give Them Content When It Counts: A Blueprint for Success in Pest Control
One of the biggest rules of content marketing is this: All content is for someone. Luckily, your business caters to an urgent, identifiable need that helps you craft relevant content.

It’s all done in three simple steps:

1. Step One: Help Them Figure Out What They’re Dealing With
A homeowner sees a pest or evidence of one – eggs, frass, or molting, for example.

The first thing they do is head to Google or Facebook to check it out. Hope springs eternal, so the desire of anyone in this situation is to discover there’s really nothing to worry about.

Maybe a critter just got in from outside. Or maybe it’s a seasonal thing. There’ll be no problem once the weather cools down, right? Wrong. Consumers might not know much about pests, but by the time they suspect there’s an infestation, there probably is one.

The goal of your content at this stage:

  • Attract users to your website with regular blog posts about pest control topics
  • Identify exactly what they’re dealing with and how it fits into their local area
  • Clarify how serious their pest situation is and what their next steps should be

2. Step Two: Help Them Decide What To Do About It
Most people won’t go directly from identifying a problem to calling an expert.

It’s true in all industries, but especially here. Many homeowners will be in denial about their pest issue and want to see if there’s anything they can do about it on their own.

We say: Tell them!

Some business owners are shocked when we say you should openly share alternatives to your own service. Our take is that this builds trust. You are giving customers the opportunity to try solving the problem on their own, fail, and see that they need to up the ante.

That builds trust, the essence of inbound marketing. It also ensures more prospective customers will reach your site through relevant, informative content that showcases your advice.

Write blog posts, record videos, and share on social media about how customers can guard against pests. When they get tired of that – sooner rather than later – they’ll be more eager to talk to you.

Ideally, you’ll get leads onto your email subscriber list at this stage to nurture the relationship.

3. Step Three: Be Ready To Take Their Call
To close the deal, you have to be there for your leads when they are ready.

There are several simple ways to do this.

Activate notifications on your phone and computer to notify you the moment someone sends an inquiry through your website’s contact form. And, of course, use click-to-call throughout your website and social media channels.

Customers are most impressed by businesses that can get back with them in five minutes or less. If you’re experiencing a high volume of off-hours calls, consider whether an answering service can help you get the coverage you need. Do whatever it takes.

As this cycle plays out, you can increase the potency of your content marketing with tangential content. Tangential content discusses local home ownership topics not directly related to pest control so you cast a wider net among those who may eventually need your services.

Driven by bedbug infestations nationwide, the structural pest control market is growing. To stand out from the crowd and get more leads, content is king. New York Ave provides you with content generation and strategy so you can stay focused on what you do best. Contact us to learn more.

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