Why ads alone don't make customers trust your service business

Ads can get people to know your business exists, but seeing an ad doesn't mean they instantly trust you. Before contacting you, an interested customer may look you up. A library of useful content gives them something to go through while they decide whether they feel comfortable hiring you.

Someone can know what you do and still feel like you're a stranger

Think about a billboard. One person can use it to talk to many people at the same time. Facebook and Google ads work in a similar way: you can put your business in front of people who've never heard of you before.

That can be a really fast way to introduce your business. Someone sees the ad, understands what you do, and gets interested in your service.

But they may still feel like they don't know you. Knowing your business name and knowing what you offer doesn't answer everything they want to know before making contact.

They might have been burned before. They want to stay informed this time, so they look you up.

Give interested customers a library they can go through

This is where your binge bank comes in. It's a library of content that someone can explore when they want to learn more about your business.

Your ad might be their first introduction. Your content gives them a way to keep getting to know you without having to call right away.

For a home service business, a useful starting point is the questions people ask before they hire you. Consider creating articles or videos that explain:

• What someone should understand before choosing the service.
• How you approach the work and why you make certain decisions.
• What a customer can expect when they contact your business.

Use your actual process and knowledge. Answer the question the way you would if someone asked you directly. Each piece should help them understand something, rather than repeat the same sales pitch.

Check what happens after someone sees your ad

Before treating more ad exposure as the whole answer, look at what an interested person can find next.

Search for your business by name. Open your website and social profiles as if you've never heard of the company. Can you learn anything beyond the service list and contact information?

If there's little to explore, start with one question you regularly hear before a customer books. Give it a clear answer, publish it somewhere easy to find, and make related answers easy to reach from there.

You don't need to create an entire library at once. You can build it one useful answer at a time. The point is to give someone who wants to learn more a place to do that.

Let the ad introduce you and the content explain you

An ad and a content library have different jobs. The ad can get someone's attention. The library gives them more information to use when deciding whether to trust you.

That doesn't mean every visitor will call or that trust happens immediately. It means the person who's interested has somewhere to go beyond the ad.

Protocol Text is a marketing services business based in Lincoln, Nebraska. If you want help thinking through what customers find after they notice your business, learn more about Protocol Text.