COVID-19 Industry Update

Profit Roofing Systems
April 26, 2022

How has COVID-19 pandemic changed the roofing market? How has your roofing business been affected? Where can you go from here?

And what are those grants that Facebook and Google have been throwing around?

We have all the info you’ll need right here!

First things first. Let’s see what those ad grants are all about.

So, as the global health and financial crisis have hit most of the globe, Facebook concluded that giving out a little financial support could go a long way in helping small businesses get back on their feet.

To be more precise, we’re talking about $100M in cash grants and ad credits to help during this challenging time.

The eligibility criteria are already out and they are not very restrictive so most of you could probably get your piece of the pie.

In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, they are also letting you announce temporary service changes on your Facebook Page and in searches on Facebook, so that your clients can clearly see how and when you will be working during the outbreak.

Now, when it comes to your ad campaigns, there have been a few changes that may affect them, too.

Facebook itself had to introduce some changes into their day-to-day work due to the outbreak, i.e. start working remotely, out of office.

This inevitably comes with some small hiccups, such as delays and errors in ad reviews.

And to avoid this, you should simply submit the ads for approval long before you actually need them, to have them ready on time.

Facebook is also fighting exploitation of certain products by banning face mask ads, hand sanitizer, test kits and similar ads, as well as the spread of misinformation by introducing the option to quickly research claims seen in Messenger online.

And when it comes to seeing your Messenger, you can now enjoy its new simplified design that Facebook introduced along with a new feature for Facebook story creation – the “Mood” creation mode.

This could come in handy for sharing customer reviews for example or some other exciting news.

And one last change that can help you grab your users’ attention is the option to convert regular 2D Images into 3D!

They will even appear to be of higher quality and will undoubtedly increase your engagement.

For more information, check full articles:

Google is also doing its part in helping SMBs get through this pandemic more easily.

They are handing out as much as $340 million in credits for Google Ads, which can be used throughout 2020 across any of Google’s advertising platforms.

The credits will appear automatically on your dashboard, so you don’t have to go through any application process, but the catch is, however, that you have to be an existing advertiser.

In other words, if you haven’t run any Google Ads before, you will not be offered these credits.

One of the reasons why Google is helping out in ad credits is that many businesses affected by the COVID-19 have decided to pause their campaigns and take a step back.

Everyone is treading lightly and being extra cautious with how they spend their money.

This, however, has resulted in much lower ad spend, which has, in turn, led to ad prices plummeting to an all-time low.

This is expected to last until the second half of the year, because analysts believe that many are simply shifting their budgets to the second half of the year, which will drive up competition and prices.

You may want to use this opportunity then, while the prices are very low and there is very little competition to advertise harder than before and get out of this crisis on top.

After all, you won’t be charged for ads that people don’t click on.

For more information, check full articles:

Despite the crisis, Google is advising businesses to only limit and NOT disable their sites during temporary closures, and we couldn’t agree more.

Shutting down your site may have serious long-term consequences for your visibility and undermine all the work that you’ve done.

Now is the time to focus on getting your brand stronger than ever, to work on your site, to stay in touch with your clients, so that it will be easier to resume business once the pandemic subsides.

However, if you decide to temporarily close one of your GMB listings, the good news is that your rankings will not be affected.

Google has introduced the option to mark the listing as temporarily closed if your physical location is shut down, but online it will be treated as an open business.

Apart from that, you can also add additional COVID-19 related updates to your GMB, such as new operating hours, safety precautions that your business is taking, changes to regular service, etc.

Some GMB features, on the other hand, have been temporarily removed or limited, so that Google can prioritize critical health-related services.

Therefore, new reviews, review replies, and Q&As will not be published for now, and any business information edits will be published with delays.

It doesn’t come as a surprise that there have been a lot of changes in Google searches as well.

Trends are changing in an unprecedented manner, as we have found ourselves in some pretty unprecedented circumstances.

That’s why it’s now more crucial than ever to use Google Trends and see how your industry has changed, what people are googling with regard to roofing, so that you can adapt to the changes.

But, as always, we’ve got you covered in this area as well and we’re already on top of all the trends and changes that are taking place.

For more information, check full articles:

Now that you’re all caught up, let’s keep up the good work and continue to dominate together!

If we can help you with something or you have any additional questions, feel free to contact us anytime!

Matt Jacob has been in the marketing business since 2008, working exclusively with roofers for more than 5 years now. He has come to know all the tricks of trade inside-out and he is committed to helping roofers by sharing some of the most important ones. Find out where your best opportunities lie, as well as which challenges lurk out there for roofers – all in his detailed blogs.

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Profit Roofing Systems

Matt Jacob has been in the marketing business since 2008, working exclusively with roofers for more than 5 years now. He has come to know all the tricks of trade inside-out and he is committed to helping roofers by sharing some of the most important ones. Find out where your best opportunities lie, as well as which challenges lurk out there for roofers – all in his detailed blogs.