How to Market a Painting Business

You may be the Edward Hopper of house painting or the Paul Cézanne of commercial painting, but customers need to know your work to hire you. Famous painters of yore didn’t have the kinds of resources we do now to promote their expertise, so it took centuries to fully appreciate them. You don’t have that kind of time!

Get the word out about your painting services to build a strong customer base here and now. We’ll examine the most effective approaches to marketing for painters and the benefits of these tactics to grow your business. 

Social Media Marketing

Social media is at the center of our digital world, so, of course, it’s a vital component of painting company advertising. As you get to know your target audience, spend time on their chosen platforms, such as Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest, to highlight your painting projects.

Showcase diverse content.

Share what makes your painting business special—and give prospects a little motivation to get in touch. Content such as before-and-after project photos, time-lapse videos, customer testimonials, and painting tips could make them sit up and take notice.

Increase visibility.

Give your social media a boost to attract more eyeballs. You can add local hashtags to your posts to make them easier to engage with and share information with community groups to target prospects in your service area.

Enhance reach with social ads.

Social media ads can be designed and targeted to any goal, whether it’s driving awareness, boosting leads, or increasing conversions. A few ideas to get painting customers involved? Promote posts your customers will care about, offer contests or surveys to build engagement, or create ads to drive traffic to your website.

Blogging

Give your audience what they want and need. Marketing for painters isn’t just about a sales pitch—it’s about educating leads and customers and showcasing expertise. Your business’s blog gives you the power to:

Offer relevant content.  

Give your audience value. Consider writing articles on topics they care about, including color trends, DIY tips, and maintenance advice.

Establish your painting business as a local expert.

Pull potential customers in during their search journey. By featuring effective tips, details about your services, and even project case studies, you offer proof of authority and expertise that audiences will remember when they need service.

Maximize your painting business’s web presence.

Discoverability is a big hurdle in advertising for painting businesses. If your audience can’t find your content, what good is it? Improve exposure by using SEO best practices. Incorporate relevant keywords to help your content show up in search results and add relevant internal and external links to boost relevancy and drive traffic.

Paid Search 

Sometimes, you have to pay to play across search engines. Google is the biggie, but paid search marketing advertising for painting business is also available for Bing and other platforms. These ads aren’t fancy—they include basics, such as headlines and descriptive text—but they do provide valuable real estate to highlight your business at the top of search results.

Target your audience.

Take advantage of ad targeting capabilities by using keywords in ways that match your goals. Deploy ads with location-specific keywords, such as “house painters near me,” or service-specific keywords, such as “affordable commercial painters,” to drive website traffic. 

Track performance.

Get the most bang for your buck. Search ads enable your painting business to pay per impression (when your ad is displayed to a user) or per click (when a user takes a desired action). Use analytics to monitor return on investment, optimizing ad copy and landing pages and adjusting bids as needed.

Influencer Marketing

A decade ago, we barely knew what “influencer marketing” was. But today, it’s a vital component of marketing for painters, retailers, and everything in between, allowing you to: 

Collaborate with other pros.

DIYers, interior designers, and lifestyle influencers understand the painting industry. Flex your muscles to create mutually beneficial relationships where these voices authentically showcase your work. Partnerships give your business exposure while offering influencers compensation and perks, such as discounted services.

Build credibility.

Companies don’t control the narrative like they used to. Instead, consumers trust influencers over brands because they’re “real” or less “salesy.” Influencer marketing for painters keeps your business in the conversation as you leverage these relationships and credibility to share content that can reach new audiences, such as:

• Sponsored posts
• Project features
• Live demonstrations/how-tos

Referral Programs

Painting company marketing certainly requires creativity, but your budget is probably what keeps you up at night. Bring the best of both worlds together with referral programs that lower marketing and customer acquisition costs by leveraging your existing customer base.

Strengthen word of mouth.

Give your happiest customers more to smile about and become a part of the service conversation. Incentivize them to submit reviews and refer friends and family with rewards, such as discounts or free add-on services. Referrals work to build trust—plus, they convert at higher rates than many other marketing channels.

Utilize Google Business Profile

Every business is eligible to maintain a profile on Google, which is designed to give customers basic information and enhance online visibility. Are you using yours? It’s free marketing for your painting business, so make the most of it.

Claim and optimize your profile.

Start by officially claiming your company’s Google Business Profile to make changes to it. Once you do, you’ll be able to regularly update your profile details and add featured information, including:

• Contact info and business hours
• Seasonal promotions
• Before-and-after photos
• Customer reviews
• Featured posts

Your Google Business Profile improves visibility in search results and augments painting contractor marketing by supplementing SEO. Claim yours to create a new touchpoint and monitor how customers are interacting with your business.

Build an Email List

Email—whether it’s sharing details about new services or providing exclusive offers—is often a core part of marketing for painters. Your contact list will grow over time, and as it does, it will help you:

Improve lead capture.

Building an email list requires you to roll up your sleeves and get creative, targeting customers through diverse sources. Make the most of these to drive new leads.

• Website: Add subscription forms and sign-up buttons to your website to invite visitors to subscribe for information.
• Social media: Increase newsletter subscriptions on social media by highlighting advantages.
• In-person: Gather email addresses from customers during consultations, estimates, and post-job interactions and obtain consent for marketing emails.

Don’t want to ask without providing value in return? Offer incentives, such as exclusive discounts or helpful resources, in exchange for contact information. 

Build relationships.

Keep customers coming back for more with content that brings them closer to the business. Sending regular newsletters, promotions, and project updates nurtures relationships and ensures your company is top of mind when new and returning customers start projects.

Market Your Painting Business to Support Sustained Growth

Marketing for painters isn’t so different from any other industry, so make your voice heard. Customers spend their time online—reach them where they are! Social media, search, and your own content boost authority and visibility to help you grow.

Here are a few steps to start your journey:

• Set clear marketing goals to understand what you wish to achieve, whether that’s increased web traffic or more leads.
• Audit your online presence to find marketing gaps and opportunities, from SEO to customer reviews.
• Develop a social media posting schedule to showcase your work, behind-the-scenes content, and customer testimonials.
• Test paid search campaigns to identify keywords and ad copy that resonate with your target audience.
• Design a referral program to reward customers for referring others.
• Build relationships with local businesses and community groups to drive word of mouth about your painting services.

Keep your business running smoothly with Service Fusion for everything from estimates and scheduling to invoicing and marketing support. The software supports painting marketing  with ServiceCall.ai. Link calls, jobs, and estimates to marketing campaigns—plus, integrate a text-me-back widget on your website to continue conversations asynchronously to convert more visitors into leads. Discover how we can support your painting business today.