5 Ways Custom Home Builders and Remodelers Can Use Storytelling in Marketing

Custom builders and remodelers are in a unique position to use storytelling for their marketing. There are many reasons why contractors should add this technique to their arsenal. Some of the benefits include increased trust, customer retention, better conversion rates, and higher ROI.

First, what is storytelling?

Storytelling includes the 4 Ps: people, place, purpose, and plot. For construction storytelling, the 4 Ps look like this:

People: Your clients who decided to build or remodel.

Place: The project's location (this is good for organic SEO).

Purpose: The reason why your clients decided to build or remodel. What motivated them? Did they want more space or to modernize their home, or were they concerned with aging-in-place?

The Plot: This is the story about your project, including how it started and what the clients hired you to do. Be sure to include the project scope, the materials selected (and any advantages they offered such as energy efficiency or sustainability) and at least one challenge that was problem-solved while working on their project. This will emphasize your expertise.

Storytelling helps build trust with customers because it shows them that there are real people behind these projects not just a logo or marketing materials. With storytelling, contractors have an opportunity to position themselves as experts in their field who care about each client's needs and will take the time to learn about their unique situations. It also gives customers a more personal connection with your company.

Are you thinking about getting started with storytelling? Here are five ways.

Storytelling tip #1: Your website or blog

Begin with your website or blog. One of the biggest mistakes that builders and remodelers make is only posting project photos on social media. Your projects must live on your website, as this should be the hub that all your digital marketing efforts tie back to.

Storytelling tip #2: Social media

Once your project story has a firm foundation on your website, post project photos (with snippets of your story) on social media. Don't forget to include a link to the story on your website so that your social media followers can read the whole thing.

Storytelling tip #3: Newsletters

Include your project story in your monthly newsletter as a feature article but don't stop there. Make sure that you always include a snippet about one of your project stories in your newsletter.

Storytelling tip #4: Video

Turn your project story into a short video using a combination of photos and narrative. This video can be posted on your website (use a YouTube or Venmo plugin), YouTube (the #2 search engine after Google), and your social media channels.

Storytelling tip #5: Award Submissions

Project stories are the perfect starting point for any award submission. Fill out whatever forms the sponsoring organization requires, but also include the project story as additional material. Conversely, if you have award submissions that you haven't yet turned into project stories, make these a priority, especially if they've already won awards!

Storytelling is one of the best ways to show off your construction process and how you solved a problem. These sorts of projects create opportunities for prospects to learn more about what you do while also showcasing your creativity! Whether through project stories or awards submissions, storytelling provides contractors with many chances to position themselves as experts in their field who care about each client's needs.

If you're ready to start telling stories that will build trust with customers and attract new leads into your marketing funnel, drop me an email at tess@tesswittler.com.

About the author: Tess Wittler is a content marketing creator and consultant for the home-building industry. Download her cheat sheet “12 Ways to Use Project Stories in Your Marketing Efforts.”