Have you considered how your use of HVAC ads impact your business’ public image?
You pride yourself on being dependable, honest, and prompt, but what kind of business do your potential clients see? Do you seem approachable? Maybe you appear more serious? Or do you find HVAC funny?
Don’t know where to start? Well, we’re here to help! In this article, we’ll reveal:
- When and why you should target specific markets.
- How to use seasonality to your advantage.
- The unique benefits of each ad platform.
- How to craft the best HVAC ads.
- When to use humor and when to avoid it.
Together, let’s make your marketing dollars do more for your business.
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The Who, What & When for Your HVAC Ads
Your ads sell your service, but there’s a world of different ways to do it effectively, and most people can sniff out marketing jargon from a mile away. In turn, you need to be precise in what you’re advertising, to who, and when.
When
The seasonality of your HVAC marketing message directly influences its effectiveness. Plus, you’ll have an easier time converting leads to clients if your ad copy speaks to a current need. From the dog days of summer to the deep freeze of February, and all those days in between.
Your services are always needed but getting someone to bite on your ad can be as simple as knowing what to say and when to say it.
Also, adapt your messaging between residential and commercial clients.
Who & What
Selling your services to residential customers will likely focus on comfort. However, that same message might fall flat with your commercial leads, where they’d be more likely to respond to service reliability and cost savings.
Knowing your target audience will make it easier to establish and develop your brand’s voice early in your HVAC company’s lifecycle.
Right after you build out your HVAC business plan, you’ll be able to start exploring how you want your brand to sound, and which clients you’ll want to target.
This makes deciding what you say in your HVAC ads that much easier.
Formatting Your HVAC Ads for Each Platform
Now, let’s focus on where to run your HVAC ads. Each distribution method has unique strengths and reaches different audiences.
Don’t just copy and paste the same marketing message between digital platforms and physical mailers. If you do, don’t be surprised to see a weak conversion rate.
Meta Facebook
Build your business profile and keep your Facebook contact information up to date. People will find you here, read reviews others left about your service, and attempt to reach out. You want to make sure that when they come calling, they try a number that works!
Once you have your Facebook page set up with all your contact info and relevant content, you can start running Meta Ads.
With a strikingly precise set of parameters, Facebook Ads allows you to tune your paid ads to reach specific demographics, localities, even interests! For example, you can get your ad in front of people who recently purchased a home and haven’t even considered repairing their HVAC equipment yet.
While it may take more money and effort to get leads than if you use Google AdWords’ intent-driven cost per click ad model, you’ll get your name in front of people who will likely be searching for a service like yours in the near future.
Google AdWords
Not all listings on Google’s results pages naturally (or organically) appear there. The listings at the top of the page are paying for that spot. The purchaser of that space pays every time someone clicks on that inserted link. This is where the term PPC comes from, pay per click.
“The data suggests that the more real estate you have on the SERP [Search Engine Results Page] the more impressions you make on a searcher and overall you get a higher rate of visits then you would without having that real estate – more bang for your buck so to speak,” says Mark Meyerson on the Moz blog. Moz is among the most prominent voices on search engine marketing.
Locality is key when deciding what search keywords to target when placing your ads on Google. Attempting to spend on broad HVAC keywords will get wildly expensive and may provide less than stellar results. It’s best to tightly focus on your service area with long-tail keywords.
Long-tail means phrases that include multiple words like HVAC Repair Dallas Texas. This way you could save money and only attract clicks from those searching for HVAC repair in that area specifically.
But not all localities are cheaper. Take for example: Arlington, Texas, a city in the DFW Metroplex nestled between Dallas and Fort Worth. The cost per click for HVAC Repair Arlington TX will cost far more than Dallas.
| Keyword | Cost Per Click |
| HVAC Repair | $29.73 |
| HVAC Repair Dallas TX | $16.85 |
| HVAC Repair Arlington TX | $75.61 |
One theory on this wide cost discrepancy between localities: Arlington may have a higher percentage of homeowners versus renters that predominantly make up the residents of Dallas. This example proves that you will have to do some research and trial and error to find the best keywords for your PPC ads!
Print Campaigns like HVAC Flyers & Newspaper Ads
Physical marketing materials, like HVAC flyers and newspaper ads, have the stickiness of possession that you can capitalize on. You’re literally placing a physical item in a potential client’s hand.
A digital ad will likely be forgotten shortly after someone sees it. This means there’s usually a higher urgency on click or conversion when using a digital ad. You’re seeking to fulfil an immediate need.
But mailing HVAC flyers of higher value, like a sticker or a magnet, may last longer in people’s minds, and potentially on the front of their fridge as well.
Creating marketing materials with a longer shelf life means you can be more broad and basic with your messaging. Something as simple as the region you serve, your years in business and the specialties of your professional focus.
Be present and approachable, without urging an immediate call.
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You’re far less likely to find potential residential clients on this social network. Although, you may find a wealth of future commercial clients active here.
LinkedIn is great for running ads when looking to staff up your operation. This doesn’t mean you just toss aside your polished brand voice when creating ads on this platform. Searching for employees isn’t too dissimilar from advertising to potential clients.
But keep your tone and brand voice consistent between recruiting top talent and your advertisements targeting new clients.
Cost-to-value calculations need to be done at the outset of deciding on your HVAC marketing strategy and where you want to spend your HVAC ad budget.
How to Craft the Best HVAC Ads
Now that we’ve discussed the what, who, when and where, it’s time to reveal the how.
How you present your company through your HVAC ads will be informed by why you created your business in the first place.
Your personal exploration into why you do what you do will help inform how you want to be seen as a company.
Generally, a residential HVAC service sells comfort and peace of mind. Does this speak to you? Why are you in this industry?
Or are commercial clients more your focus? Do you pride yourself on maintaining important infrastructure for essential businesses?
Once you’ve zeroed in on your reasons for creating your company, you can showcase your why through your ads. This can be done through iconic imagery, a clever headline or catchphrase. This helps define your tone and overall approach that you can use in all your HVAC ads.
Consistency Throughout Your HVAC Ads
“The average revenue increase attributed to always presenting the brand consistently is 33%,” according to Lucidpress.
Consistency in messaging is the bedrock that will help you build trust with your clients. Remaining consistent between ad campaigns makes creating memorable HVAC ads easier over time.
Memorable HVAC Ads Convert Better
A survey conducted by Global Banking and Finance Review found “71% of consumers said it was very or somewhat important that they recognize a brand before they make a purchase.”
Set your brand apart using one or more of these methods:
- Funny Tagline
- Rhyming Slogan
- Catchy Jingle
- Character or Mascot
- Consistent and Recognizable Colors
- (Local) Celebrity Endorsement
You can be memorable for all sorts of reasons, not all of them are good. This means to be mindful of the verbiage in your ads, and the imagery you present as associated with your brand.
Remember consistency is key, so don’t jump on every marketing trend that you see.
Staying true to your brand means avoiding mistakes like these memorable mess ups from large brands that tried to capitalize on trending topics.
Building Your Brand Voice
Defining your brand’s voice will affect how your company sounds in your advertisements.
Consider focusing on being approachable in the messaging on your HVAC ads that you send to homeowners who might not know their compressors from their condensers.
You know that you’re an expert, but you don’t need to place your knowledge on a pedestal for you to be respected. Often, you’ll find customers are more appreciative to those who speak on their level and in everyday language!
Humanize Your HVAC Ads with Sincerity
We’re in the era of authenticity sales.
This means leading with your knowledge and superiority may actually hurt brand perception these days. People want to do business with brands they feel are authentic and trustworthy. This is why humanizing your brand is so important.
Being sincere is the key to humanizing your brand. “Sincerity wins the day with cold outreach,” says famed Internet marketer Neil Patel.
Think of it like this. You want new clients. You want to increase sales and grow your bottom line. If your marketing offers your services through the lens of the selfish desire of profit, that message will fall flat on the ears of potential customers.
But if you draw upon a sincere desire to help those in need, and frame your messaging around that, you’ll magnetize eyeballs to your brand.
Remember that old Campbell’s Soup ad of a snowman coming in from the freezing weather to enjoy a piping hot bowl of soup? Melting with each spoonful and revealing a warm, content child. This ad highlights the nearly medicinal qualities of a warm bowl of Campbell’s.
Genuine empathy makes this ad effective. There’s no mention of price, or even ingredients. Just a simple, sincere pitch saying Campbell’s makes everything better.
“Without a sincere curiosity about and empathy for the people we hope to reach, we stand no chance of developing a compelling conversation with them,” writes Ogilvy & Mather marketer, Ali Demos.
Share in Vulnerability
Quite often, people reach out to HVAC companies when they are in urgent need. Sharing in that vulnerability is a great way to connect with customers.
Consider spotlighting members of your staff in your marketing materials. For example, in a print ad, you can lead with their experience and dedication, but include a list of their interests outside of work or a funny quote.
You might be surprised what sticks with potential clients when they see an HVAC ad featuring genuine vulnerability.
Other Great Methods of Humanizing Your HVAC Brand:
- Sharing Customer Testimonials
- Lead with Desire to Help over Profit
- Transparency in Pricing
- Multi-Option Quoting (Share that customers can choose the level of service that’s right for them.)
Pacing Outreach – Don’t Flood Your Customers with HVAC Ads
Remember that most people’s attention is limited and often overloaded. Part of speaking with clarity means knowing when and how frequently to reach out and contact existing and potential clients.
“Instead of relentlessly demanding more consumer attention, treat the attention you do win as precious,” notes the Harvard Business Review. “When it comes to interacting with your customers, more isn’t better.”
And it’s been proven that customers can overdose on your marketing messages.
The 2012 Digital Advertising Attitudes Report conducted by Upstream and YouGov found “Sixty-six percent of those polled in the U.S. say they would unsubscribe from a brand’s promotions if they were too frequent,” as reported by BizJournals.com.
Keep this preference in mind when planning your ads! Make sure your customers are not receiving ads or emails from you every day.
Tips for Making HVAC Funny Ads
A great way to humanize your brand is through humor. It helps to keep things light, but there’s risks involved in going for the joke.
Humor is a great way to build comradery with your co-workers. But venturing into silliness on marketing materials requires consideration and skill since you’re widely expanding your audience.
It is entirely possible to make HVAC funny. There’s plenty of ammunition, although plumbers do have a corner on cracking those sagging-pants jokes.
The most important component to remember is to make yourself the butt of the joke. **Ahem, plumbers once again showing how it’s done.** Never poke fun at customers!
Just remember, if you wouldn’t tell the joke to your kids, maybe save it for the breakroom.
Conclusion
In the end, how you use your HVAC ads will define which potential clients come calling. You need to discover the why behind your business, and who you wish to attract with your marketing materials.
After reading this, you now have a better understanding of where to direct your HVAC ads.
As you begin to define your brand voice and how you wish to have your business perceived, you may discover which ads are reaching the best new clients.
And with all that new business, you might just need a field management software to keep things running smoothly. Be sure to book a personalized demo with FieldEdge to see how much we can help you organize your HVAC marketing efforts!
