10 Proven Digital Marketing Strategies for Solar Sales Agents

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A solar panel has been the top of mind when it comes to outsourcing renewable energy. As the world is more inclined towards environmentally friendly and clean energy, the demand for solar power has dramatically increased.

digital marketing strategy for solar sales

The solar industry is now one of the fastest-growing industries in the world. In 2021, the global installed capacity of solar photovoltaics reached 302 GW and was projected to increase to over 1 TW by 2030. With such a rapid expansion, there’s never been a better time to get involved in solar sales.

However, introducing solar energy isn’t easy. When people are accustomed to quick energy sources like fossil fuel, shifting to this cleaner option will take years. After all, people have little to no information about this solar panel, and substituting current sources will be a huge challenge.

This is why solar sales agents need to educate their audience first before offering the product. With all the equipment needed to produce solar energy, people may think it’s a big investment to make. Yet they still don’t know if this investment yields a greater result for them.

Shortcuts:

Why should solar sales agents incorporate a digital marketing strategy?

It’s a big challenge to sell products people are unaware of, especially those that require a book’s worth of explanation about the product. In this day and age, however, sales agents don’t send booklets or throw flyers anymore. They are ineffective!

As technology advances and the internet rapidly grows, traditional marketing like that won’t attract customers. They would run away from it.

That said, products with complex information like solar energy should be introduced in the most entertaining yet educative way people can understand. This is where a digital marketing strategy plays a part.

Today, over 6.65 billion people own smartphones, and having mobile devices only means one thing: they are all connected to the internet.

The internet plays a bigger role in distributing information easily and quickly. More importantly, people with the internet can access multiple online channels where they can source and mine more things. And digital marketing has made it possible for this information distribution.

Digital marketing strategy enables business owners and marketers to connect with their target market without breaking the bank. It helps you reach a wider audience in the shortest time possible through SEO, social media marketing, email marketing, content marketing, and other means.

Solar sales agents can incorporate a digital marketing strategy to reach a wider audience and educate them about solar panels. By providing helpful and relevant content, you can attract people interested in learning more about solar energy.

What are the Benefits of a Digital Marketing Strategy for Solar Sales Agents?

As mentioned above, product education is essential for sales agents when offering the item to potential customers. Without product knowledge, people won’t be interested in trying out new sources for their needs.

Delivering product information while also promoting the product itself won’t be possible without the right marketing strategy. And since people are now accessing the digital world more than ever, using a digitalization technique can help solar agents sell their products.

Moreover, there are many benefits of using digital marketing for solar sales agents. The most important ones include:

1. Reach a Wider Audience

The internet has made it easier to connect with people from all over the world. With just a few clicks, you can reach someone on the other side of the globe. This is especially useful for solar sales agents as they can target homeowners and business owners interested in renewable energy.

2. Cost-Effective

Digital marketing is also one of the most cost-effective marketing strategies available. It is much cheaper than traditional marketing methods such as print, television, and radio advertising. Solar sales agents don’t need to give away flyers when explaining the panel. They can just make explainer videos and let the content describe it to the audience.

3. Increased ROI

Digital marketing also allows you to track your results and measure your return on investment (ROI). If you use online platforms like social media channels, you will find the analytics to monitor your marketing campaigns in real-time. With the data, you can see which strategies are working and which are not. You can then adjust your campaigns accordingly for your future reference.

4. Builds Trust and Credibility

People are more likely to trust a company that has an online presence. By creating a website and social media accounts, you can show potential customers that you are a credible source of information about solar energy.

Since people will search through the internet, having an online representation is a must. Now imagine if people you explain about solar panels can’t find any information about your company on the internet, they will hesitate to use your service. So, don’t lose this opportunity by not making any online presence in this digital age.

5. Educates Your Target Market

One of the best things about digital marketing is that it helps you educate your target market about solar energy more easily. Before digitalization, you may need to hold an offline event or contact prospects to explain why they need to shift to solar energy. This can take time and cost you more money as you need to rent a space and print the booklet for your audience.

In digital marketing, however, you can do this by creating helpful blog posts, viral infographics, and videos. All you need to do is make online content, publish it on your website and social channels, then promote it! It’s just as simple as that, yet it manages to reach out to a bigger audience than your offline campaigns.

10 Digital Marketing Strategies For Solar Sales Agents to Use

Digital marketing is a vast concept. It would be impossible to include all digital marketing methods and strategies here. So, this article will only focus on the most important ones that you should know and use as a solar sales agent.

As a solar sales agent, it’s important that you have a digital marketing strategy in place to generate leads and close deals. Here are the top ten digital marketing strategies that you can use to sell more solar panels:

1. Use Google Ads to Generate Solar Leads

Google Ads is one of the most popular online advertising platforms today. This is because it offers diverse and effective ad types that can capture people’s attention.

What makes it great for solar sales agents is that Google Ads allows you to target a specific audience. You can target people based on their location, age, gender, interests, and even past searches. This way, you can connect and offer your product to the right audience–especially those who really need it to solve their problems.

Google Ads is easy-to-use. You don’t need a master to set up your campaign. You can follow the instructions on Google Ads’ website and start creating your ad. If you want to get more creative with your ads, you can also hire a professional Google Ads agency to help you with your campaign.

2. Optimize Your Solar Website for SEO

Search Engine Optimization or SEO is the process of optimizing your website and content for Google search. SEO helps your website land on the search engine’s first page. If your website is easy to discover through certain keywords like solar energy, solar panel, or even renewable energy, the chances of getting more leads are higher.

Most people stay on Google’s first page and only consider the first few results as the most relevant ones that match their needs. So, they don’t check on the second page, let alone the third, and so on.

This is the main reason you should go with SEO or organic search; aside from that, you can pay for the ads. People always prioritize organic search result because it displays the credibility of the website.

See our guide on SEO for solar companies.

3. Try Pay-Per-Click Advertising (PPC)

One of the most popular and effective types of online advertising is pay-per-click or PPC. In this model, advertisers will have to pay a fee every time someone clicks on their ad.

PPC is a great way to generate solar leads because you only have to pay when someone shows interest in your product or service. This makes it a cost-effective option for solar sales agents who want to generate quality leads.

Moreover, PPC is straightforward and easy to set up. You can create your first PPC campaign using Google Ads or Bing Ads in just a few minutes. Just remember to target the right keywords, create compelling ad copy, and use attractive visuals.

4. Use Facebook Ads to Target Homeowners

Facebook Ads is another effective online advertising platform that allows you to target a specific audience. With over 2.93 billion active users, Facebook offers a large pool of potential customers for solar sales agents.

What makes Facebook Ads so effective is that you can target people based on their interests and demographics. For example, you can target homeowners who live in sunny regions and are interested in renewable energy. You can also target people based on their age, gender, and even relationship status.

Creating a Facebook ad is also very simple. You can create your first ad in just a few minutes using Facebook’s self-serve ad platform. When using Facebook ads, make sure to choose the display that fits your buyer persona. This will help you capture people who are the right fit for your product.

5. Use LinkedIn to Generate Solar Leads

LinkedIn is a social networking site for professionals. It has over 828 million members, making it a great platform for generating leads.

As a solar sales agent, you can use LinkedIn to connect with potential customers and build relationships. You can also join relevant groups and participate in discussions to get more exposure to your business.

LinkedIn makes a great platform if you’re going to do Business to Business (B2B) sales instead of Business to Customers (B2C) because people in this channel are professionals, and it’s common to connect with them to talk about your product.

When you use LinkedIn, make sure to aim for a LinkedIn power profile as you can get benefits like more profile views, inbound messages, and search appearance. This can be done by being active on this platform by sharing thoughtful information, connecting with other professionals, and joining groups.

6. Create an Infographic About Solar Energy

People love visual content more than written ones. Content such as infographics and images are more preferred when people learn about new information. This is because they are easy to digest and can convey a lot of information in a short amount of time.

As a solar sales agent, you can use infographics to educate your target market about solar energy. You can also use them to drive traffic to your website and generate leads.

Make sure to publish the infographic on your website as well as social accounts so your followers can share it with their closest ones. Infographic on a website is also great because they can help you rank higher on the search engine with their alternative (alt) text and keywords.

7. Use Twitter to Share Solar Content

Twitter is a great platform for sharing content and engaging with potential customers. With over 229 million active users, it offers a large pool of people to connect with.

Since Twitter is a microblogging platform, you can use Twitter to share helpful and informative content about solar energy. Try to make a Twitter thread and see how it can help people understand renewable energy and your solar panel product. Moreover, Twitter makes a trending topic easily across different platforms.

When you make a trending Twitter for your helpful thread or video, more people will be exposed to your content, and it can help you generate leads.

8. Use Google My Business (GMB) to Optimize Solar Sales

Google My Business is a platform that allows businesses to manage their online information. This includes their name, address, phone number, hours of operation, and more.

As a solar sales agent, you can use GMB to optimize your online presence and generate leads. Make sure to claim your listing and fill out all the information so potential customers can easily find you. You can also add photos, videos, and even coupons to your GMB listing to make it more engaging.

9. Host a Solar-Themed Webinar Event

Webinars are a great way to generate leads and increase brand awareness. You can host a solar-themed webinar to attract people interested in renewable energy.

Webinars make a powerful marketing strategy because you can offer valuable information and build a relationship with your audience. You can also use webinars to upsell your products or services.

When you host a webinar, make sure to promote it on your website and social media platforms. You can also partner with other businesses in the renewable energy industry to co-promote your event. You can also use GMB to create an event listing for your upcoming webinar.

10. Use Instagram Live to Connect with Your Customers

Instagram Live is a great way to engage with your target audience and create hype for your product. You can use this feature to show the behind-the-scenes of your business or give a tour of your solar panel system.

You can also use Instagram Live to answer frequently asked questions about solar energy. This is a great way to build trust and credibility with your audience.

When you go live on Instagram, make sure to promote it on your other social media platforms as well. You can also use Instagram Stories to give a sneak peek of your upcoming live video.

How to Convert Solar Leads On the First Call

Once your digital marketing strategy starts to deliver warm leads to you, make sure to have the right tools and the proper process in converting those leads into customers when you start warm-calling them.

You will need to get familiar with solar calculators that can calculate the energy production that is possible from the rooftop of the customer. There are multiple options available but Google’s Project Sunroof is a free option.

Paid alternatives give you more detailed, graphical information to show to your prospects and more calculations for different options.

Stay clear of any engineering jargon, it is tempting to deliver a solar sales pitch about kilowatt-hours or explain feed-in tariffs in too much detail. Get familiar with the jargon for those calls to engineers and solar buffs but the majority of people don’t care or won’t understand the nitty-gritty details. Understand the jargon but learn how to explain it to a 5-year-old.

The best way to explain the benefits of installing solar is by using visuals. And that might be hard over the phone. CrankWheel was designed for those sales calls. With CrankWheel, you can share your screen to any device, mobile or desktop. The prospect does not have to install or download anything.

You can also connect CrankWheel to your CTA buttons to get an alert once an inbound lead is interested in your offering. That enables you to call them immediately at the right moment and close in one call.

Wrapping Up

Digital marketing strategies are excellent for any business, and if you are selling solar from home, you can use them to generate leads and close more sales.

Make sure to create engaging content, optimize your online presence, and host events to attract potential customers. You can also generate solar leads with social media.

Solar sales agents can use these digital marketing strategies too and close deals. By using these strategies, you will be able to reach a wider audience, generate leads, and sell more solar panels.

You might be interested in our article on solar marketing strategies.

Try CrankWheel for free and convert more Solar Leads in the first call

About the author

Natasha Rei is the Digital Marketing Manager of Explainerd, an explainer video production agency. She ensures strategic goals are met by directing online and social media campaigns.