Though security companies exist in the physical world, most advertising and marketing have moved online. Business owners must be there to win new business and retain current ones – but how? Here are five digital marketing strategies your security business can use today.
1. Build a strong online presence
Your site is your first impression. It’s essential to have a professional and user-friendly way to help potential and current clients find out more about you. For example, your site should make contacting you to schedule a consultation easy. But it’s not just that – to be found in the first place, you need to use terms people are searching for online. Use commonly searched keywords like “security guard services” or “access control.” If you use a term like “[your city] security company,” you can create a page targeting that and write blog posts that use those words and related ones.
You can also tailor your site’s meta descriptions, title tags, and header tags to use terms that fit people’s interests. These methods help bump you up to the top of the page! Higher search engine rankings drive traffic to your site, which enables you to generate leads from people actively searching for security services.
How to start:
- Perform keyword research to find what terms your target audience is using.
- Make sure your site is mobile-friendly and loads quickly.
- Create a Google My Business profile to improve local search visibility.
2. Market via social media
Go where the people are! Use social media to build brand awareness, connect with your audience, and share content that’s interesting to your audience.
For instance, you can share news about the security industry, give tips, post checklists, surveys, polls, and company updates on your social media platforms. At least use LinkedIn, Facebook, X, and Instagram, and expand to other platforms if you have time (and youth!).
It’s helpful to show your company’s expertise by posting case studies and testimonials with actual statistics on how using your services improved their security. (“Went from 100 incidents a year to 10!”) Social media can help you promote events, webinars, and any other online or in-person activities you want to get more exposure. Sharing authentic photos or videos of your security team always makes people take notice.
Suppose you’re going to increase your online footprint even more. In that case, you can create and pay for Facebook ads targeting your local audience and ask satisfied clients to leave reviews on your Facebook page and Google My Business listing.
Get started:
- Create content that interests your target audience.
- Post on your social media channels.
- Follow and engage with other people in your industry to increase visibility.
- Buy ads, ask for reviews, and respond to online comments and messages.
3. Participate in email marketing
What’s the first thing you do when you wake up? Most people reach for their phones and check email, messages, and notifications. To get some eyeballs on your business, participate in email marketing that reaches your customers.
Security firms can use email marketing to find leads, promote services, and build relationships with existing customers.
Send a simple email newsletter with security industry news and company updates and promote upcoming events or special offers. Mass email programs are easy to use and a way to get people to know more about your security business without much extra work. Regular email communication keeps your company in the minds of your customers, and drip campaigns can turn leads into paying customers.
To start:
- Build an email list of addresses through lead magnets like free consultations and safety checklist downloads.
- Use a professional email marketing platform like Constant Contact or similar.
- Send automated emails for different stages of the customer journey.
4. Focus on outreach and lead generation
The entire nature of the security industry requires building trust and demonstrating expertise, often in a business-to-business model. It’s important to find who needs your services, make yourself visible to them, and work with them to increase your footprint.
A method for finding interested businesses is using pay-per-click advertising like Google ads, which lets you use keywords, location targeting, and tracking to see which ads attract attention.
Another way to expand your reach is to partner with related businesses for cross-promotion. For example, you can work with real estate firms to offer security assessments to new owners. Other potential partners include insurance, construction, and property management companies.
LinkedIn is the platform for work connections. You can use paid LinkedIn advertising to target specific job titles and company sizes and then directly reach out to potential clients. It’s also helpful to join industry groups and participate in discussions to get your name out there.
Start now:
- Launch a targeted Google ads campaign
- Connect online with other businesses for cross-promotion
- Use LinkedIn’s search filters to find potential clients based on industry, job title, and company size
5. Retain your customers
Once you have customers, how do you keep them? Of course, you must provide excellent customer service and support and stay in contact with them. As a result, satisfied customers can become your best way to get referrals and generate long-term revenue.
First, it’s helpful to provide multiple channels for support – phone, email, and live chat. If people have a problem at 3:00 a.m., they want to be able to reach you. Check-in with your customers! You can send digital surveys to ask about their satisfaction, and this also helps you address any concerns or complaints before they become more significant problems.
Loyalty programs go a long way to encourage repeat business. You can offer discounts for services and less expensive upgrades for established clients and provide offers tailored to their needs. All these little touches can show them you value their business.
What to do:
- Set up a system for 24/7 support with trained staff
- Use online survey tools like SurveyMonkey or Google Forms to create and distribute customer satisfaction surveys
- Create a loyalty program with increasing benefits for long-term clients
With these five strategies, security firms can expand their reach, build trust, and build client relationships. By adapting to the digital world while keeping one foot firmly in the physical world, security businesses secure their clients and future success.
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