Top 11 Affordable Solar Marketing Strategies

1. SEO and content marketing

The most commonly used inbound marketing strategy is content marketing with SEO. (We know, that’s a lot of marketing lingo, but stay with us; we’ll translate!)

Content marketing refers specifically to creating online content (like blog posts, case studies, videos, etc,) that provides answers to things people are interested in. 

And SEO stands for search engine optimization — a fancy way of saying that you need to create the content in a certain way (like including keywords and links to authoritative sources) so that Google recognizes it and puts it higher up in search results. 

For example, let’s say a potential customer is researching solar panel costs on Google. They type into the search bar, “how much do solar panels typically cost?” Let’s also say you’ve published an optimized blog article on the topic titled, “A Complete Guide to Residential Solar Panel Costs.” 

If your article shows up at the top of Google’s search results and the customer clicks through to read the article, they’ll be taken to your website through the search process — not through an ad. This is SEO and content marketing in action; where SEO is making sure your content shows up in search results to attract potential solar customers. And while it may seem somewhat basic, it’s extremely effective. 

In fact, content marketing results in an average of 54% more leads than traditional paid marketing while saving businesses roughly $20,000 per year. 

When you think about it, it makes sense. Homeowners need content and information on solar to answer their questions. So there’s a huge opportunity to attract them to your website by simply creating content that does just that. It also starts establishing your company as a trusted source of information, which means the customer is more likely to come back to you when they are ready to buy.

3. Podcasts targeted at the solar industry

Another powerful strategy would be to create a podcast targeting others in the solar industry. Why would you do that if they’re not going to become customers? Because they could become partners.

And by attracting partners in the industry, you open doors for growing revenue in new ways. Plus, it lends authority to your voice in the industry, making you the go-to company for up-to-date, trusted information. 

Some ideas for topics suited to this audience include: 

• How to navigate state licensing laws
• Ways to reduce soft costs and improve profits
• Where to find good installation workers (hint, they’re roofers)
• Takeaways from the Solar Futures Study 
• What states are primed to be the next big thing in solar
• How to optimize your supply chain
• Ways to generate solar leads (that actually work)

5. Get listed on industry association websites

Another good inbound marketing strategy is to get listed on industry association websites. This lends credibility to your business and attracts consumers who are seeking a highly trusted source of information.

Top industry associations to join in the U.S. include: 

• NABCEP – The North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners maintains two directories on its website to help people find certified installers: The Company Accreditation Directory and the Certified Locator Directory. 
• SEIA – The Solar Energy Industry Association directory includes members from every aspect and vertical within the solar industry, from manufacturers and project developers to installers and financiers. Consumers can browse the directory by business type and/or location. 

7. Door-to-door solar selling

Going door-to-door is an effective outbound strategy for contractors — even though it might sound a bit old-fashioned at first.

One of the reasons going door-to-door is so effective is that your salesperson can see the homeowner’s roof and answer their questions in real-time. 

Another benefit of being able to see the roof is that your salespeople can prioritize “roofs with promise.” Experienced California solar salesman, Matt Fox, explains that a prospective client should have a roof that isn’t falling apart, isn’t too shaded, and doesn’t have too many vents. 

“What you want is a big, open plane without a lot of obstructions,” he told Sierra, the national magazine of the Sierra Club. 

So by walking the neighborhood and actually looking at roofs, your salespeople can optimize their time by choosing houses that are prime candidates for solar installation.

9. Run ads on social media sites like Facebook

If you post something on social media, studies show it’s going to reach just 5% of your followers. So you’d need to have a huge following to make a lot of impact in terms of sales. Paid ads, on the other hand, allow you to reach a much larger, highly targeted audience.

On Facebook, for instance, the platform will automatically show your ads to people who are most likely to find them relevant. But you can further target your ad delivery with the following audience selection tools:

• Core Audiences: Define an audience based on criteria like age, interests, and geography/location. 
• Custom Audiences: Get back in touch with people who have previously engaged with your business, online or offline.

Lookalike Audiences: Reach new people whose interests are similar to those of your best customers.

11. Use SMS messaging

SMS marketing is a powerful outbound marketing strategy because people open 98% of text messages. (For reference, the open rate for emails is just 20%, and that’s still good!)

If you’re new to SMS marketing, the first thing you need to do is build a database of phone numbers. And one of the best ways to do this is with a keyword text-in promotion — which just means asking people to text a keyword to a certain number to win something. (You’ll need to hire an expert to help you with this.)

You can promote the offer on your social media channels, through your email list, and with physical signage like yard signs, billboards, and more.

One of the biggest advantages of text-in promotions is that people are automatically opting in to receive messages from you in the future. Otherwise, you have to manually get permission to send anything to a mobile number. That said, you still want to be upfront that you’ll be following up when the promotion is over. And let them know how to opt out if they want to.

Once you get the phone numbers through the keyword promotion, the next thing you need to do is follow up with a message. The goal at this stage is to move prospects from text messaging to a phone call.

If you don’t get a response, then follow up again 1-2 days later with an urgency trigger (which just means saying something is time-sensitive, like “offer ends on November 30th”). If you still don’t get a response, they could still be looking for options and not quite ready to commit to a direct phone call. In this case, you can move them to a general leads contact group and follow up every month with a new promotion.