Communication is the foundation of a good business.

But this is the age of the internet! 

With a solid online presence, your customers can start getting to know you and your business before they ever speak with you.

How?

Through your professional business website and social media accounts.

Online marketing is similar to networking in your community and complements community outreach well. Unlike in-person marketing, however, your online presence works for you 24/7.

Internet marketing creates a web of opportunity to help your spray foam insulation business grow more quickly than ever before.

Create a Business Website

Online marketing in today’s world is difficult - if not impossible - without a professional website.

Customers expect to be able to thoroughly research your spray foam products and services before making their purchases.  

Your business website helps build trust with your clients, and sales can directly result from well-written web copy. (“Copy” in this context refers to the written content on your site.)

We know that building a website can be scary. 

But you aren’t the first spray foam contractor to cross this website-building bridge, and you won’t be the last.

People build websites every day.

Today is your day!

If you’re not interested in building a business site yourself, a web designer can be an invaluable resource.

But if hiring the work done is not an option, or you want to go it alone, we can help you get started!

Building a website doesn’t have to be difficult - but you will need to make some decisions.

Decide on a Domain Name

First, you need to decide on a domain name for your website.  

You’ve already come up with a name for your business, so this should be relatively simple! 

To find the perfect name for your website, try a few variations of your business name. (Our “domain name” is sprayfoammfg.com)

You want your domain name to be intuitive and short.

(So www.bestsprayfoaminsulationcompanyintheworld.com is WAY too long!)

Once you have settled on an option you like, ask yourself if the variation you think looks the best also sounds great.

Say it out loud. 

Is that domain name pleasing to the ear? 

Does it easily roll off the tongue?

You’ll often speak your primary website URL aloud to others - so make sure to try it before you buy it!

Not sure if your desired domain name is available?

Try visiting the site!

If you get an error message, or you’re prompted to buy the rights to the website, you’re likely in business!

On to the next step: choosing a hosting service.

Choose a Hosting Service

Time to secure your business’s domain name through a hosting service!

There are many hosting services to choose from, and they all have different perks and prices. Bluehost, GoDaddy, and DreamHost are a few popular options.

Shop around a bit to find which service is the best fit for your business.

What’s a hosting service?  

Your hosting service provides space on their servers and a consistent internet connection for your website so that people all around the world can access your site at any time.

Most hosting services also help you secure your domain name and provide access to a website publishing platform (like WordPress or Wix), so you can easily design your website.

Read a few articles, watch a few videos, and decide on a hosting service that works for you.

Once you make that decision, you can secure your domain name and start building your site.

Build Your Spray Foam Business Website

No one was born knowing how to build a website.

You’ve got to start somewhere, so just start!  

The internet is full of video tutorials outlining how to build a website - and you can do all sorts of cool things!

At first, though, all you need to do with your site is create a place for your customers to learn about you and your business (including legal policies), contact you with any questions, and pay you for your services. 

That’s it!

If you want to make your site fancy, you can!

But don’t get stuck trying to make things perfect.

You can fiddle around with the web design details until the cows come home, but no website is ever “perfect.” We promise.

So get things to a good stopping point, take a minute to be proud of what you’ve done, and get your spray foam insulation website launched!

Launch Your Spray Foam Business Website

Take a look at how far you’ve come!

You’ve decided on a domain name, chosen a web hosting service, secured your domain name, and built your website. 

High five! (So proud right now!)

Once you are happy with how your site looks, all that’s left is to launch your website.

Keep in mind that you can still make changes to your site after you launch it.

“Launching” simply means that people can see your website when they visit your domain name.

Ready? 

Launching in 5…4…3…2…1…BLASTOFF!!!

And there it is! “One small step for man” has taken you to the landing page of your freshly launched website.

Congratulations!

That was one “giant leap” forward! 

(Sorry. We love space around here.)

If you need more help with your site (or you just want someone else to do this for you), don’t forget that you’re not alone!

There are countless resources available online to walk you through the more in-depth “techie stuff.” 

The internet is an amazing place. Your spray foam business website will fit right in!

It is time to start promoting your website on some of the widest-reaching networks of all time - social media platforms.

Set Up Social Media Accounts

Social media is a giant monster of a marketing tool!

Once you have a website, you can easily link your business social accounts to your site and vice-versa.

You’ll want to create new social accounts specifically for your business - and you’ll probably want to be active on multiple platforms to reach the widest audience. 

But you don’t need to be on EVERY platform. 

Sharing your scheduled social media time across too many platforms will make all of your social accounts look anemic.

Instead, pick one or two platforms and keep up with those accounts.

Every social platform has a specific focus and target audience. Take a tour of each one, and choose the platforms that make sense for your business. 

We find Facebook and Twitter to be the best lead-generating options for our business, but every business is different!

Think about your target customer, figure out which social media platforms he or she might use, and commit to using those.

Business social accounts are all about generating leads and making you money.

To do that, you’ll need to spend enough time on each of your accounts to grow your online network, but you don’t want to get lost down the social media rabbit hole!

Time is money, after all. Especially for spray foam contractors!

If you find yourself getting distracted by social media, consider using a third-party app - like Later or Hootsuite - to schedule your social media posts in advance. This practice can save you TONS of time and cut down on your stress.

Find a system that works best for you and create a social media strategy for yourself. 

Set goals, evaluate your growth over time, and don’t be afraid to change tactics when needed.  

Experiment! Make it fun!

When it comes down to it, the worst thing you can do for your social media presence is nothing.

However, you decide to approach your social media platforms, remember that your social media marketing game will grow and change with time- like your website and your business.

As long as you keep up with the platforms you choose, social media can be a vital source of leads for your business.

Conclusion

Online marketing is essential to the success of your spray foam insulation business!

With a professional website and one or two regularly updated social media accounts, your business can grow exponentially faster than it could have before the age of the internet.

Using both in-person and online marketing techniques will help create a firm foundation for your business.

Get your name out there, build prestige with each job you complete, and take one day at a time.

You’ve got this!

Remember that you are not alone in this process - Spray Foam Equipment & Manufacturing is here for you!

If you need more help with marketing and want to learn how to bid a spray foam insulation job like a BOSS, consider signing up for our live zoom training! Stay tuned for more details.

Until next week, SPRAY ON!

- The Team at BOSS