Top 10 HVAC Digital Marketing Strategies for Local Businesses in 2021

Your HVAC marketing team is working tirelessly to ensure a successful Q4 and prepare for 2021. If you're like most American home service businesses, you're likely still recovering from economic losses due to the pandemic. But you're not slowing down. You're continuing to evolve and adapt to deliver outstanding service to your customers.

How can you grow your business in this new socially-distanced world? We've covered some of the top digital marketing strategies for local HVAC businesses in 2021 and beyond. Here's a quick run-down:

1. Evaluate your HVAC brand
2. Share 5-star customer reviews on your Google My Business page
3. Get active on LinkedIn
4. Post videos on Youtube
5. Use Facebook strategically
6. Text your customers
7. Keep your business open 24/7 with web chat
8. Ensure your website is optimized and mobile-friendly
9. Work smarter, not harder, on email marketing
10. Choose the right metrics to track

Top 10 HVAC digital marketing strategies for local businesses in 2021 and beyond

You might be feeling fired up and a little overwhelmed at the same time. We totally get it. That's why we've covered some actionable HVAC digital marketing strategies to unlock explosive growth year on year.

# 1. Evaluate your HVAC brand

Customers love a peek behind the scenes of their favorite brands.  If you've been in the business for awhile, you've undoubtedly invested a lot of time into building your brand. You already know this involves more than just your logo, tagline, and brand colors.

Your brand should shine through in every blog, social media post, and customer interaction. Breathe some life into your brand with a little emotional resonance.

For example, you might share a challenge your small business overcame. Or perhaps a heartwarming story about a family member who taught you to repair appliances from a young age. This adds humanity to your brand and builds trust with your customers.

Tip: Even if you've worked hard to create a solid, memorable brand, it's a good idea to revisit your story every now and then. This year has presented unique challenges. Don't be afraid to lean on them in your marketing messaging.

#2. Share 5-star customer reviews on your Google My Business page

Updating your Google My Business page regularly boosts your SEO and increases your chances of ranking #1 on local services pages.

If you're not already sharing customer testimonials on your GMB page, now's a good time to start. Show appreciation for your happy customers and build trust with prospects.

Google actually recommends that you share customer testimonials on your GMB page. Google even generates posts automatically for your best reviews.

Although publishing those generated posts is a great way to save time, we recommend that you personalize your posts. Add a bit of your brand. Share your appreciation for the reviewer and perhaps a thought on the job.

An example from one of our clients

Consider this example from one of our clients, Golden West Plumbing and Heating, an HVAC and plumbing company in Denver. One of their technicians was stung by a wasp while serving a customer. In their review, the customer praised the technician for his dedication. Golden West scheduled this Google My Business post with the accompanying review:

“Sometimes getting stung by a wasp is the price you have to pay to deliver outstanding service! Thanks for this glowing review, Kristen. And kudos to Brendan for going above and beyond!”

Let's break down what this post does well:

• Shares thoughts on that specific job
• Thanks the customer for taking the time to leave a review
• Praises the technician for going above and beyond the call of duty

Pack those elements into each post and watch your page grow!

Tip: Turn your customer testimonials into branded images to add a visual element to your GMB page. Using a free photo editing service like Canva, create a template that you can duplicate quickly. One of our own plumbing and HVAC clients, Golden West, created 10 weeks' worth of testimonials for their Google My Business page in less than an hour!

#3. Get active on LinkedIn

LinkedIn isn't just a portfolio site for corporate leaders — it's the ultimate professional social networking site. LinkedIn is likely an untapped space to promote your local HVAC business. LinkedIn Groups are invaluable for connecting with other industry leaders and discovering new HVAC digital marketing strategies.

When it comes to posting, don't just leverage your company page. Much like Facebook (which we'll cover later), LinkedIn prioritizes content from your connections. Encourage your team to post on LinkedIn to maximize brand visibility and reach.

Here are 10 LinkedIn post ideas from our own HVAC clients that perform well:

1. How your company started
2. Involvement in your local community
3. How you solved a problem for a homeowner or business
4. Life & business lessons
5. An epiphany moment in your business
6. The story behind your brand colors and logo
7. Show off your team members
8. What customers love most about your company
9. What your typical workday looks like
10. A special mission or cause your local HVAC business supports

#4. Post videos on YouTube

YouTube is another golden HVAC digital marketing opportunity for local businesses. According to Ahrefs, these industry-specific keywords generate between 1k and 3.5k YouTube searches per month:

• HVAC training videos
• HVAC troubleshooting
• HVAC technician
• HVAC repair
• HVAC basics

Tip: If you're planning to invest a lot of time into YouTube, consider using a tool like Keywords Everywhere to unlock valuable data on YouTube search volume, trends, and more.

#5. Use Facebook strategically

In August 2020, the social media giant announced new restrictions on the number of ad campaigns allowed per page. Small businesses spending less than $100k per month on ads can run up to 250 ads at a time. These new limits will take effect in Q1 2021, which means local HVAC businesses relying on paid ads still have time to pivot to organic.

Although Facebook's algorithms prioritize content from friends and family over businesses, the platform is still useful for business with the right approach. According to Hootsuite, some important Facebook ranking factors affecting business pages include:

• how often you post
• the kind of content you post (images, video, text, etc.)
• the popularity of your posts

If you post diverse, quality content consistently, the algorithms will reward your efforts by increasing your reach.

Tip: If you're active on YouTube, consider repurposing your video content for Facebook. High-quality videos longer than 3 minutes perform especially well on the platform.

#6. Text your customers

SMS marketing is an underrated HVAC digital marketing strategy. It costs a lot less than paid ads on average, and it takes less time to set up than an email campaign. Plus, with open rates as high as 98%, it's one of the best ways to reach your customers.

Chances are your competitors aren't texting their customers, which will put you two steps ahead. Add your message listing to your Google My Business page and a click-to-text button on your website

Tip: Set up a number where customers can text you. Send a text blast to a targeted list of customers in just a few clicks through ZyraTalk's intuitive dashboard.

#7. Keep your business open 24/7 with HVAC web chat

More than half of customers expect businesses to be accessible 24/7, according to an Inc.com survey.

But when you hear the term “web chat”, you probably don't think “marketing”. Isn't chat for customer service?

There's no denying that web chat forever changed the customer service game. It eliminates everything from long hold times to phone anxiety.

But HVAC web chat isn't just a customer service tool. It opens up all possible avenues of communication with your business. Your customers can schedule an appointment in just a few clicks at whatever time suits them — even when your business is closed.

Tip: Shop around for a web chat solution tailor-made for local HVAC businesses. Check out our guide on how to prepare for your web chat demo to ensure all your questions are answered.

#8. Ensure your website is optimized and mobile-friendly

HVAC topics are one of the fastest-growing Google search queries year on year. Mobile-friendliness is a major ranking factor. Here are a few ways your mobile-friendly site can reap the rewards of high industry search volume:

• Update old blog content and service pages
• Optimize your site for local SEO
• Test your site's mobile-friendliness with Google Mobile Usability

Tip: Repurpose common questions from your customers into high-ranking content. Not only will this improve your search ranking, but it will also provide valuable content to customers and prospects. 

#9. Work smarter, not harder, on email marketing

Reaching out to the customers who are engaging with your emails is a surefire way to attract and retain more happy customers in 2021.

If you're not seeing the results you'd like, now's a good time to re-evaluate your approach. Chances are your customers don't have the time or interest to read a long newsletter full of company updates.

Test these email marketing ideas for local HVAC businesses instead:

• Can't-refuse incentives to generate referrals and reviews
• Contests or giveaways to reward your loyal customers
• Automate campaigns to save time and money
• Limited-time, email-only discounts for maintenance services

Tip: Have your customer service reps contact customers engaging with your emails to generate more revenue and booked jobs.

#10. Choose the right metrics to track

Don't get lost in a sea of analytics. As you prepare for 2021, set KPIs you want to track and stick to them. We've said it before and we'll say it again: organic traffic alone is practically meaningless unless it's generating leads in your service area.

Here are a few ideas for KPIs local HVAC businesses should be tracking:

• Organic traffic from search queries optimized for your local area
• Paid traffic from Local Services Ads
• Conversions from local search and ads
• Clicks-to-call
• Reviews received

Tip: Choose the metrics that matter for your business and confidently ignore the rest.

HVAC digital marketing strategies for local businesses in 2021: wrapping up

As 2020 comes to a close, it's safe to say we're all looking forward to a better and brighter year in 2021. The pandemic upended life and business as we know it. As we all work to recover from losses this year, implementing a solid digital marketing strategy is essential. Test out some of these HVAC digital marketing strategies for your local business to attract and keep more happy customers.

We wish your HVAC business success and prosperity in 2021 and beyond!

Looking for more ways to grow your business in 2021? Check out our post for 5 ways to generate more HVAC leads.