Unfortunately, it’s not the simplest industry out there to understand. It can be tricky to translate the details of an intricate wind-power project to customers, and leaders in the industry often disregard marketing as a priority.
Renewable energy projects often focus on building their teams with engineers and tech-minded individuals to get the work done, and recruiting marketing professionals is usually low on their list of priorities. Despite this, as government initiatives and deadlines draw closer and the market continues to grow, renewable energy companies are experiencing additional competition. While it may not always seem the case, marketing renewable energy businesses has never been more important.
Understanding your customers
Renewable energy companies can have a range of different target customers. Some companies are focused on reaching out to large businesses, some to governments, and others to customers. As is the case with marketing in any industry, it’s essential to understand who your target customer is. Once you know who you’re targeting, ask yourself the following two questions:
· Where does my ideal customer get their information? (Which websites, magazines or social media platforms?)
· What are my customer’s main concerns / pain points?
You can answer these questions with a little bit of basic market research. You can also use LinkedIn or Facebook to find examples of individuals who would be good customers, and match patterns between their behaviour and interests.
Once you have this information, we recommend building a persona. A persona is a brief profile of your target customer that you’ll refer to throughout the duration of your marketing activity. Your persona will be pivotal in helping you shape your messaging, brand, content and activity.
We’ve put together a quick template to help you create a customer persona here.
Getting your message out
At its most basic level, it’s absolutely vital to establish a social media presence for your renewable energy company. Think back to your persona and target customer, and work out which social media platforms will have the most impact for your business.
Make sure to create a messaging strategy that explains your business’s mission statement and USPs in a way that is clear and concise for your target customer. Once you have this messaging, use it across your social media channels along with relevant hashtags that will attract individuals to learn more about your business.
You can also explore social media boosting and advertising options to try and expand the reach of your social media posts. Most social media platforms have in-depth audience targeting criteria that you can utilise to attract more target customers.
Finally, it’s also important to consider PR in your marketing strategy. If your renewable company has a significant milestone to celebrate, then look at your PR options to get the message out there.
You can create press releases and find relevant publications that would be interested in sharing your news to their audiences online. It’s always worth trying to build relationships with local and relevant press.
Getting your website right
Once you have developed a messaging strategy which is tailored to your ideal customer, you’re in a great starting point to start writing your website content. Refer to your customer’s preferences when writing the content, and ensure that it is consistent throughout, while continuously promoting your mission, USPs and brand value. You should create a blog to share your insights, and clearly explain your business proposition throughout all of your content.
Unfortunately for you, websites aren’t just made up of content. For a website that cuts through your competition, you’re going to need a slick brand and web design which represents you in the best way. Fortunately, you can also draw inspiration for this from your target persona. Take a look at some of your competitors and think about what kind of brand will connect with your target audience most effectively. Once you have an idea of what you want, make sure to always keep it unique and targeted.
If you’d like a consultation to discuss your brand and website identity, feel free to contact the team at Jooba today. We’ve had numerous successes with marketing renewable energy businesses, building strong brands and websites, and paving the way to exponential growth.
The Jooba team can also support your renewable energy business with social media, messaging, content, advertising, SEO and more.
Learn more about our previous work in the renewable energy sector here
Interested? Let’s talk.
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