Digital marketing is an essential piece of any modern business, but a massive amount of information on the internet can make getting started overwhelming. And while a lot of tactics work for other industries, they’re not always transferable to private security companies.
Our business development and marketing webinar, facilitated by experts with over 50 years’ of combined experience in security operations and marketing, is a learning event you can’t afford to miss. It goes over the basics of digital marketing for security companies and covers best practices business owners can use to acquire new clients in the modern security market.
This article summarizes some of the key learning points of the webinar and shows you exactly how to get started building a simple and effective marketing strategy for the best return on investment in your security business.
Once you have established a brand identity for your business, it’s time to make a name for yourself and start bringing in revenue. These seven elements of security marketing are essential to any modern business. Even though they might seem intimidating, it’s very simple to get started!
1. Website
2. Content Creation
3. Local SEO
4. Social Media
5. Email Marketing
6. Online Advertising
7. Measuring ROI
Most, if not all, of your digital marketing strategies for a private security company will focus on getting people to visit your website. Think of it as your digital storefront. Getting people here will give you a better chance to speak with them on a more personal level.
And luckily for you, getting a website running has never been easier or cheaper. We have a detailed security website template designed for the security industry to help you get started. These seven sections should be a part of any security company website:
Content is an essential part of any security marketing strategy and one of the primary ways to establish yourself as a leader in the security industry. Blogs, guides, case studies, and videos are all great content pieces for generating website traffic and leads from search engines, plus they can be posted to your social media sites.
Always try to include a strong call-to-action (CTA) at the end of each piece. Examples of CTAs are:
Try to plan blog topics or case study interviews a few months in advance so you are not scrambling to keep up. We recommend creating a content calendar on a spreadsheet to track your content and publishing it on a regular basis, like a new blog article every week or two.
Search engine optimization (SEO) helps people find your private security business online. The higher your website appears on search engines like Google or Bing, the more traffic you will drive to your website. SEO for security companies, especially newer ones, should prioritize attracting local customers.
Think of search engines as a concierge at a hotel. Their job is to present online customers with the best options for any product or service they are looking for. Optimizing your information online and collecting customer reviews is a business’ way of convincing search engines that you are the best option.
How to Claim Your Google My Business Listing
Effective local SEO for security companies starts with local listings. Local listings are added to online directories, and some of the biggest directories are owned by the world’s top search engines. Start by establishing the search engines you should “list” your business on first. Google and Google Maps are king; plain and simple. Having your Google Business Profile completed is the best opportunity for people to find you. Claiming your Google listing is a simple process and can be accomplished by anyone with a Gmail account.
How to Claim Your Yelp Business Listing
The second place you should go is Yelp Biz. Yelp offers great visibility in searches based on location, like your target service area. Yelp Biz will likely have less competition than Google in categories like “security services.” It is also a great place to get reviews.
Register with Bing in 3 Easy Steps
Lastly, you should claim your business on Bing Places. Bing is referred to as the “afterthought search engine.” This means less visibility, but it also means less competition for younger companies.
Now that we’ve established the best places to list your security business, here’s what you’ll need to do to accurately list your business for free in just a few steps.
Social media has grown into a critical component of the digital marketing mix in the past 10 years. Prospects, customers, and potential employees will be looking for you online and likely visit your social media channels to get a better idea of who you “really are” before they reach out. With that in mind, social media marketing for security companies can be an effective strategy to connect with potential clients.
Utilizing Social Media Platforms
Understanding which social media sites make the most sense for your security business and knowing what kind of content to post on each can be confusing. If nothing else, use the big three to get more attention on your business:
Maintain Professionalism at All Times on LinkedIn
Keep it Mobile-Friendly on Instagram
Managing Social Media Accounts
Once your social media profiles are set up, it’s time to start posting and be “social.” Don’t let this part overwhelm you -- posting to social media shouldn’t take very much time. You only need to post about three to five times a week on each social media profile (LinkedIn can be less.)
If you use a social media scheduling tool like Hootsuite, you can easily schedule all your posts for an entire month in just a couple of hours. And if you’re still not comfortable? Delegate posting to an employee who knows social media.
The type of content you post is very important. The best piece of advice is to stay personable. Again, social media is how potential customers can get to know you on the internet. You want to advertise your services but not annoy people.
Email marketing is one of the most efficient ways to gather contact information from interested consumers. It makes it easy to stay in contact with them over time.
Email marketing is a middle ground for people who haven’t committed to your services yet and is a way to add value to current customers. In this section, we’ll go over how and where to get email addresses and what to do with them.
Keep your email form simple. Decide what information will be useful - usually this is at least a name and email address. Seconds matter in the online world, and the longer it takes for someone to fill out your form, the less likely they will do it.
Weekly or Monthly Newsletters Keep Prospects Informed
While the cost barrier is higher than other digital marketing tactics, online security company advertisements can be a powerful tool for reaching potential clients. Here are a few of the most common types of online ads that are part of the most effective marketing strategies for security companies:
Having all this information is great. But if you don’t know how to measure it, it’s difficult to know what’s working and what’s not. Return on investment (ROI) for any security marketing decision is critical. There are two ROI metrics that will help you track the impact of all of your digital marketing strategies and make cost-effective decisions.
How to Calculate the Cost of Acquiring a Security Contract
Measure Your Marketing Efforts Over Contract Lifespan
The key to digital security marketing is consistency across all points of contact with a potential customer: your website, social media profiles, online listings, and any other collateral you have are great places to start. When you are just starting your security company, the best thing about digital marketing is that the out-of-pocket costs aren’t very high.
Still, digital marketing can be confusing. Without the right focus and marketing tools, it can be easy to get lost in information and channels and spend money that never comes back to your business. By starting simple and keeping efforts low-cost and metrics-driven, you can ensure that your digital marketing strategies are not a waste of time.
For additional help in digital marketing, join our webinar and download our Security Marketing guide.