Is your business in the renewable energy industry? Are you looking to improve your content marketing strategy? Here are the best kinds of content strategies for the renewable energy industry:
- being educational,
- establishing credibility,
- building trust and increasing transparency.
SEO Sydney‘s content strategies for the renewable energy industry not only help to build a positive reputation for your business but can also improve your search result rankings. If your website already has content, it is important to also update your content regularly since the freshness of content is looked upon favourably by Google’s algorithm.
Ahrefs demonstrates how updating content boosted traffic by 139% and also gave an example of how refreshing content led to traffic increased by 468%. Also, branding is important for SEO since better brand recognition boosts your Google search rankings. Branding can be incorporated with the content that you produce on your website and social media pages. Your business could also achieve increased traffic of this magnitude with the content strategies below.
Be educational
Content that educates existing and potential customers about the importance of switching to greener energy and about the amount of savings they will experience to their energy bills is one of the best kinds of content strategies for the renewable energy industry. This is especially valuable information for them to consider when shopping around for renewable energy products. An infographic can be a visual format that your renewable energy business can use for educating your target audiences about this.
Below is an example depicting the major types of renewable energy sources. It is important to accompany these types of infographics with text on your pages to help with your business’s SEO. For an infographic like the one below, the accompanying text could further explain how your particular product is one of the major types of renewable energy sources and how it can be suitable for your customers in comparison to another renewable energy source. Hence, linking content back to what your business offers can be a good technique for making it relevant to what the customer may be searching for.
Content used in infographics could be repurposed into longer-form content such as blog posts to educate and inform existing and prospective customers about your products. Blog posts could be about how homebuilders and homeowners can benefit from renewable energy and about how much more your environmentally friendly renewable energy sources are compared to non-renewable energy sources. Information about the use of renewable energy sources locally, nationally or internationally can also help to educate your customers on the value of switching.
Related to the idea of eco-friendly and sustainable living, one of our clients Ecoliv has a blog post that educates its website viewers about how to incorporate more sustainable purchasing habits and experiences in their lives during the Christmas holiday season. This is useful for eco-conscious consumers who may have considered the offerings that Ecoliv has. This scenario could be similar to how your customers are interested in sustainability and would appreciate seeing a blog post on your website about eco-friendly living. Afterwards, they may browse your website for what you offer in terms of renewable energy sources since your offerings relate to eco-friendly living.
Furthermore, your blog posts could consist of information about rising electricity prices and solar panel rebates and incentives that help customers save money. The content in these blog posts are highly relevant to what your customers are searching for when researching renewable energy sources and it is pertinent that your business’s website shows authority and knowledge on this topic.
Establish credibility
Establishing credibility is one of the best kinds of content strategies for the renewable energy industry because purchasing and getting solar panels installed is a large investment for many of your prospective customers. Using pictures and videos on your social media accounts and linking this content back to your website can not only help with your SEO but also help customers decide between buying from your business or your competitors.
Participating in conversations about sustainable and renewable energy, the importance of renewable energy sources and suggestions about ways that businesses and people can save money and help the environment are examples of how your business can establish more credibility when using social media. These conversations could be led by your business’s professionals in your business who have years of experience and knowledge your customers may find valuable. The tone, style, content and branding on your social media pages should align with that of your website for consistency. The following video explains how your business’ social media presence can benefit your SEO.
If your products and services are certified, a blog post that explains the importance of buying certified products and services such as solar panels that are accredited by a Clean Energy Council could be created.
For example, to establish credibility and authority in the solar energy space, Solargain’s blog contains posts about a range of topics related to solar energy, rebates, renewable energy and advances in technology that customers can read and learn more about. Keeping up with the latest technologies and trends in the relevant renewable energy source space is important, too.
GEM Energy makes itself available on Facebook Messenger to its customers and its pages on various social media platforms such as its Instagram or Twitter, both of which are linked on its website. These social media pages can contain visually appealing images about your business’s awards, projects, products, certifications and more. As shown, your website can be linked in an Instagram post’s caption that customers can go to for more information on your business’s services and products.Â
Case studies of how past customers have benefitted from switching to your renewable energy products can also be an effective way of establishing credibility further and showcasing the success that your customers have had. Pictures and videos should be included as part of these case studies and have title tags and optimised meta tags included. Examples of videos or text to include could be the thoughts of a primary school’s principal after installing your business’s solar panels on the school’s classrooms or the thoughts of a hotel manager on the hotel’s energy bills after switching over to geothermal energy for the hotel’s heating. Using statistics and numbers (such as an estimate of energy cost savings) to support these case studies helps with credibility and provides an idea of the significance of switching to your renewable energy products.
For example, Leading Edge Energy includes a section on its website specifically for successful case studies of how much money in energy costs that its customers have saved since installing its solar panels. Your case studies could be specific like Leading Edge Energy’s format where its customers have detailed their situation before engaging with Leading Edge Energy and the aftermath of using the company’s services. The use of numbers is an effective way of providing evidence of the success that your products and services have had for your past customers. Furthermore, these case studies can be used for customers to compare their situation to the situation of your past customers.
Also, positive reviews from past customers that have been posted on Google, social media and feedback/satisfaction forms could be included on your website. According to BrightLocal, 82% of consumers read online reviews when searching for local businesses. This signifies the importance of including positive reviews that are easily readable and accessible for prospective customers browsing your websites to view.
Trione Energy is an example of a solar panel business in Melbourne that features its positive Google reviews on its homepage for visitors of the website to easily read and for Trione Energy to demonstrate its credibility.
Below is an example of a testimonial featured on Champion Energy’s website that can demonstrate to prospective customers how the business has dealt with them in the past and how they have helped them successfully install their solar systems. Again, the objective is to demonstrate your credibility through content because this helps to depict your business as a reliable provider of renewable energy sources and these act as more reasons for viewers to trust your business. These testimonials add content to your website and also helps reassure potential customers about the quality of your service and products. It may encourage them to buy your services and products or to call for a quote and a discussion about what you can do for them.
Build trust and increase transparency
Building trust and increasing transparency are also one of the best kinds of content strategies for the renewable energy industry. Including a Frequently Answered Questions (FAQ) section on your website is important to reduce the number of calls and emails from customers for increased efficiency. It is an important page that is searchable and relevant for your customers and for improving your Google rankings. This page could answer commonly asked questions and address common concerns from prospective and existing customers.
How the technology works, warranty, quality standards and what customers can do in the event of a particular problem and how your business can help are relevant topics to cover on this page. Then, FAQ schemas or structured data can be implemented to display the questions and answers on your FAQ page. This provides more information for customers to look at when searching for your company’s products. It not only improves your company’s visibility but also trustworthiness if your competitors do not have schema markups.
For example, whether solar is a suitable energy source for business owners is a commonly answered question that SunrunSolar answers. This answer reassures them that there is a variety of solar panels to choose from and that the solar panel company’s consultants can assist them in choosing what will work best for their business’s needs. To take this further, your business could tailor the question to the types of customers you mostly have, such as those in education or residential homeowners.
To build trust, creating relevant and high-quality videos is a great way of introducing how your business works and how it provides renewable energy to the community. Introducing the employees who help to operate your wind farms or who help install your solar panels through engaging videos can help you connect with your customers. Your employees should wear branded or professional clothes so that when customers see the employees on installation day or go to your stores, they will have already established a sense of familiarity and trust in your business. If you are a solar panel provider, you could request the assistance of one of your professional installers to share their expertise on the topic of solar panel installations. Including transcripts and descriptions with videos are also ways of making these videos accessible, searchable and helpful for your SEO purposes.
These videos can also be used to tell your business’s story as another way of differentiating your business from your competitors. Repurposed content from your blog posts about the importance of switching over to renewable energy sources and how your offerings may be relevant to certain segments of your target market could be used too. It is important to include a call to action at the end of these videos, or all pieces of content so that afterwards your audience would be guided as to what it should do.
For example, SunrunSolar’s video on its homepage helps the company connect with its customer by telling its story and identifying itself as a renewable energy industry leader. Videos like this help SunrunSolar differentiate itself from its competitors. Understanding what your customer needs when it interacts with you for the first time and answering these problems through videos can be used as part of your content marketing strategy.
Your business could also link to a TED talk or video from a reputable source about the importance of switching to greener energy. This will provide further reassurance to prospective customers that they have made the right choice of entering your website for information.
Additionally, people searching for keywords now prefer image results over standard results. Hence, you should include relevant high-quality images of your renewable energy products as part of blog posts, headers and landing pages for increased visibility. It’s also an opportunity for more people to stay on your pages for longer. Making sure that a positive first impression is made will also improve the web page visitor’s experience. Including alt tags to your images also can positively impact SEO and improve accessibility for visually impaired readers.
The photos you use can be original photos taken of your renewable energy products or photos taken by your customers of their newly installed energy sources. An example above is shown of GEM Energy’s customers’ new solar panels installed by the solar panel provider. GEM Energy compiles these case studies in an entire web page to feature pictures of past installations it has done for customers from a range of industries. With the use of projects done on established businesses such as GEM Energy customers, Bridge Toyota and the Friendly Society Private Hospital, your customers will be more likely to choose your business over a competitor.
The other benefit of doing this is that if the website viewer is a prospective customer has similar needs to your past customers, then the solar panel system details for past projects may be useful and relevant for them. There are also free images available for use as headers and pictures to accompany descriptions of your products and services from sites such as Unsplash.
Content strategies for the renewable energy industry summary
Using content such as infographics, photos, reviews, testimonials, videos and blog posts is useful as part of your marketing strategies to build trust, increase transparency, establish credibility and be educational. These are the best kinds of content strategies for the renewable energy industry for building awareness towards your business, standing out from other renewable energy businesses and building a positive reputation for your business. Refreshing old content and creating content that is relevant for prospective and existing customers will also help with your business’s SEO.
Also, positioning your company’s offerings with the idea of sustainable living through, for example, social media or blog posts is a way of creating content that aligns with your customers’ core need of saving money on energy costs and being eco-conscious. These content strategies for the renewable industry provide ideas for your content to focus on and to ensure your content is valuable for customers in an educational and informative way.
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