This is part 1 of 3 in the series about Facebook Ads for Your Cleaning Business.

“I want to take advantage of social media, but I have no idea how to manage it for my cleaning business.”

We all use social media… or at the very least are aware of it.

But whether or not you’re active on social media is entirely irrelevant. Most of the time, your clients and leads (potential clients) are most active there. And it’s YOUR job to find and engage with them.

Traditional forms of advertising, such as door hangers and direct mail, can cost businesses hundreds… even thousands of dollars. While print advertising is by no means dead and CAN work, it does happen to be very costly. However, Facebook Ads are a fraction of that cost.

This article will teach you everything you need to know about Facebook Ads. You’ll find out about:

Did you know you can run a Facebook Ad for as little as $5?

They’re as cheap and effective as YOU want them to be, because YOU set the budget and audiences… And this is where Facebook Ads can get a little tricky.

Here are some things you need to know about using Facebook Ads for your cleaning business:

Facebook Ads Find Leads for Your Cleaning Business

As of January 2019, there are over 2.2 billion ACTIVE Facebook users worldwide every month. And just in case you’re wondering, this why I’ll be focusing on Facebook (and not other social media ads)...

As you can see, Facebook knocks the other social media platforms out of the park. This is your golden ticket to finding and converting leads.

It only makes sense that you’d place ads where your target market is most engaging.

Picture this…

It’s a typical friday night at home. You just ate. The TV is playing in the background. You’re chilling on your coach in your pajamas.

You start scrolling through your News Feed.

You find out your old high school friend had a baby.

You keep scrolling.

You see your friend bought a new truck.

You keep scrolling.

Your best friend just tagged you in a funny dog meme, so you show the family. You comment, and then…

Keep scrolling.

All of a sudden, you stop and see an ad about a cleaning business you’ve never heard of…

What do you do?

My point for this story is:

You have to REALLY KNOW your audience.

There’s no room for guessing. You need to put yourself in the minds of your consumers.

They’re not on Facebook to see ads. They’re on Facebook to catch up with friends and family… or pass the time with some funny or interesting videos and memes.

Your leads and clients are NOT on Facebook to see you. You’re a stranger to them.

… But you don’t always have to be.

They may not be there to see you, but this is the best way to reach them and raise awareness for your cleaning business.

So you have to ask yourself this:

“How do I reach them?”


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How to Convert Leads on Facebook

But First, Let’s Talk a Little on How Facebook Business Works…

Here’s the thing. Facebook likes money. In fact, that’s their main goal… to make more of it. Therefore, they like ads. Period.

Facebook’s algorithm determines everything that pops up in your News Feed. And I mean, everything.

In a 2018 announcement, Facebook says they’re favoring everyday user experiences with friends and family over that of businesses. Regardless of whether this is truly about the user experience… or Facebook trying to make a quick buck…

What does this mean for YOU and YOUR cleaning business?

Basically, your posts are going to be that much harder for your leads and clients to see… unless it’s a paid ad. This is why it’s so important to start using Facebook Ads.

The Almighty Conversions

In order to convert your leads into clients, you need to get into the mindset of your current clients.

Before you start creating ads, you need to know:

Answer these questions, and then ask yourself: how can I put this actionable info into an actionable plan?

Once you get inside your leads’ heads, you can win the sale and convert them into clients.

What Makes an Great Cleaning Ad

Creating Facebook Ads is different than most… especially compared to newspaper ads.

Here are a few ways you can get your leads’ attention:

Just putting an ad in front of your target audience may not do the trick right away. They’re scrolling to see something that’s worth watching… that’s worth their time.

However, creating an ad about the top 10 ways to clean your shower or the “best cleaning supplies for your home” may be interesting enough for them to stop and watch… and maybe even share it.

Once you get their attention, they’ll be more open to becoming a client.

Also, don’t be alarmed if your leads don’t convert after they’ve viewed your ad for the first time. Try again!

You have to remember: you’re a stranger to them.

This is why just one Facebook Ad isn’t going to grow your business.

You may have to touch leads 2, 3, maybe even 4 times before they convert. If you only do one Facebook Ad, you might as well be throwing your money away. People need a chance to get to know you first before they commit to you.

You start out small, and then gradually ask more of your leads.


Hear how you can upsell your clients RIGHT NOW using these social media tips!


The Instagram Audience

Did you know Facebook owns Instagram?

This means you can easily reach the SAME target audience on Instagram - just by placing a Facebook Ad.

Plus, you don’t have to actually have an Instagram account to run ads on Instagram. When you place your Facebook Ad, you can also allow the ad to be viewed on Instagram using your profile pic and name from Facebook.

Upsell Your Cleaning Clients

SO… you know Facebook Ads are used to gain awareness, but did you also know they’re used to upsell your existing clients?

This goes back to that thing we talked about earlier… you need to meet your target market halfway. This means Facebook Ads.

This is why Facebook Ads are used for leads AND clients.

Newspaper ads don’t work for existing clients, because you can’t target your audience.

In other words, you don’t get to choose who sees your upsell ad. You can upload a list of your clients’ email addresses, phone numbers or locations to Facebook and match it to their profile - then run ads to that list.

Your clients may not pay attention to ads in the newspaper or the upsells you’re posting on your site… BUT they’re a lot more likely to positively respond to you on Facebook.

For the most part, your clients will be in a good, more approachable mood as they’re scrolling through pictures of their friends and family.

This is your best shot to upsell them on something good.

Though, keep in mind: creating a kickass ad means absolutely nothing, if you don’t have a great offer to back it up!

The Algorithm Workaround (For Now… )

Before we jump into using the Facebook Ads algorithm to your advantage, let’s talk about how it works…

The Facebook Ads algorithm determines the best ads to show users, while also maintaining the best user experience (so they won’t leave).

What does this mean?

They don’t choose ads based on the highest paying.

Everyone would be throwing wads of cash at them, if all it took was money to ensure your ad was seen by your target market segment.

In other words, the algorithm chooses meaningful interactions that will either spark conversation or “most enrich” the users’ lives.

This ensures that users keep using Facebook and stay on it, because they’re being benefited from it.

The Facebook algorithm holds an “auction” of sorts, where the ads that are targeting the same audiences are held against each other.

This “auction” chooses the order the ads appear in on the users’ News Feed.

It ranks the total value given to the user and positions them accordingly (first being the “auction winner”). In other words, the ads are ranked from most to least relevant.

Facebook takes 3 elements into consideration, when they determine the “total value” of an ad:

  1. Bidding,
  2. Estimated action rate
  3. And relevance (“user value”).

We don’t need to go into specifics here… but all you need to know is this: bidding too high or too low isn’t going to benefit your cleaning business.

Before setting a budget for each ad, consider your clients’ CPA (Cost per Acquisition).

Here’s a checklist for utilizing Facebook Ad’s algorithm:


Want to expand your marketing even further than social media?


Cleaning Business Marketing with Facebook Ads

Ever heard of the marketing funnel?... Or ToFu (and I don’t mean the food)?

When you’re running Facebook Ads, you’re doing them - whether you realize it or not.

The Marketing Funnel

The marketing funnel is the process your leads go through, as they convert. It’s basically a diagram of the conversion process:

Follow this marketing funnel in your ads. Think of it as building a new relationship. This means you’ll:

Always remember: if something isn’t working, test ads against each other, retarget and try again! It’s the key to any successful ad campaign.

A little piece of advice from a marketer: you’ll want to set up multiple ads at the same time on a recurring, weekly basis. Until you know what works, start with 2 or 3 and work from there.

Conclusion

This article is essential to growing your cleaning business. If you want to grow, Facebook Ads are the #1 way.

You’ll learn:

As a cleaning business owner, it’s important to raise awareness for your business and increase conversions. While this is true for any business, it’s especially true for cleaning.

Even as a cleaning business owner, many of you are still cleaning houses.

This means your time is valuable… and so is your money. You need something for a tight budget that grows all by itself (or almost does).

So stop avoiding the one thing that’s going to help you grow your business.

Follow this guide, and I assure you that you’ll be that much closer to achieving your wildest dreams for your cleaning business. Facebook Ads are the answer!


Part 2: The Lightning FAST Facebook Ads Guide for Cleaners

Part 3: How to Create a Cleaning Business Facebook Ad


By now, you’ve probably realized that you can't grow your business on referrals alone. This is why you need cleaning marketing.

Trying to grow your cleaning business on referrals alone is like wishing for the rain to wash your dirty car. Only it’s sunny outside. Also, you live in the desert.

I’ve got a better way to start marketing your cleaning business… In fact, I’ve got 13 of them.

We’ll go over things like:

By the end of this article, you will know some of the best-kept secrets to rapidly grow your client base… whenever you want.

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13. Keep Doing a Fantastic Job!

Above all other strategies, keep doing an awesome job!

When you commit 100% to quality, your clients…

To get a new client is an expense, but to keep one you already have is FREE. So consider your cleaning services to be one of your best cleaning marketing tactics.

12. How to Ask for Cleaning Referrals (the Right Way)

Word of mouth is one of the best ways to get great, long-term clients. Referrals work, because they can shortcut you past new clients’ “trust barrier.”

But it can be hard – and even a little scary – to ask for referrals.

Here are some quick tricks to make you requests more successful:

1. Target the right cleaning clients.

2. Choose the right time to ask.

3. Offer an Incentive

When someone loves your work, don’t be afraid to ask. Remember: “if you don’t ask, you will never get.”

Get more clients for your cleaning business!

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11. Why You Should Turn Your Car into a Rolling Billboard

Did you know that one vehicle wrap can generate 30,000 to 80,000 impressions daily?

That’s a lot of potential clients.

If you want high quality, long-lasting ads on your car, go with a vehicle wrap.

If you just want something that will get the job done now for as little money as possible, get some custom-made magnet clings.

No matter which option you choose, be sure to include your:

A quick word of caution: You do not want to put a big list of your services on your car. They are confusing, cluttery, and nobody really reads them.

10. 5-Arounds and Other Cleaning Marketing Tactics

What if you don’t want to stuff your cleaning marketing pieces into the mailbox … along with all that spam mail from banks and credit card companies?

I have good news: door-to-door flyers still work!

One of the best, most cost-efficient ways to distribute your cleaning flyers and door hangers is through 5-arounds.

What Are 5-Arounds? 

Also called 9 arounds, 25 arounds, etc. The idea is the same, even if the number changes.

Let’s say you have two employees: Sally and Dave.

Both of them are cleaning Ms. Smith’s house together. Sally finishes the upstairs, while Dave is still working.

Now, Sally can market your business for you. She takes a stack of your flyers, and places them at the five nearest houses.

5-arounds increase your visibility in a small area that you already work in. The best marketing shows up again, and again, and again.

Your leads will see your flyer on their door, and then see your car parked across the street… So your name sticks in their heads.

This also gives them the opportunity to go talk to their neighbors and ask about how great your services are.

I have seen a much higher conversion rate with 5-arounds than I do with other cleaning marketing strategies, simply because these allow you to keep showing up.

Plus, when your 5-arounds are successful, it can increase your route density and allow you to take over entire neighborhoods.

9. Direct Mail, Door Hangers, and Flyers: Create More Cleaning Sales “the Old Fashioned Way”

The truth is you can lump all of these into the same category.

There are only three real steps to executing any Direct Mail or Door Hanger/Flyer campaign.

  1. Create
  2. Distribute
  3. Test and improve

For beginners, you only need to worry about steps 1 and 2.

Step 1: Create

Like any cleaning marketing piece, and there are a number of elements you NEED to include:

  1. Your business name and contact info
  2. Something that identifies you as the solution to your target’s problems
  3. A clear Call-to-Action (for example: Call us now to book your services!)

But the most important part of your marketing piece is the OFFER, which should be so juicy nobody can ignore it.

Either way, you want to make sure this offer is BIG and BOLD on your marketing pieces.

Step 2: Distribute

Print marketing is expensive, so you have to avoid some pretty big mistakes when crafting your direct mail.

Here’s what most cleaning business owners don’t know: the most expensive part of Print Marketing is not printing out the flyers and postcards… The true cost comes from distribution.

Here’s why:

  1. It’s expensive to send out Direct Mailers
  2. Response rates are typically low because most people see it as junk (and it’s usually not relevant to most people you send it to)
  3. There are better ways to build your route density than Direct Mail

What’s route density? Route density = less time on the road = more money. We’ll get to this in the next strategy.

However, there are a couple of ways to make your direct mail efforts much more effective…

How to Do “Targeted Direct Mail”

Essentially, the idea is that you use software to select a few houses in a specific area, get their addresses, and send them your postcards directly.

This works better for two reasons:

Among the hundreds of other things Service Autopilot can do to make your business run better (i.e. more profitable), Service Autopilot has a tool called Smart Maps, which allows you to click on houses from the map and get their addresses so you can send Direct Mail only to the houses you care about the most.

This cuts down massively on wasted marketing dollars, and it ensures your routes are as dense as possible.

8. Build an (Invisible) Email Selling Machine

So far, most of these strategies have been about bringing new leads to your business.

But what happens when someone doesn’t buy at first sight?

Email is critical to your growth. It’s all about the follow-up.

Most people don’t buy on their first visit. In fact, it takes an average of 6 to 8 touches to convert a lead into a client. In other words, you need a way to keep coming back to your cleaning clients.

Email marketing is so successful because it reminds your clients that you exist, and that you can solve their problems.

  1. The first step is to actually start writing emails. This guide will show you how to write great marketing emails that will generate revenue for your cleaning business
  2. The next step is to build an Email Marketing “Machine.” You need to set up a series of emails (or an email campaign) to send to your clients over a set period of time.

It works even better if you can segment them into specific interests. Do they care more about clean windows? Laundry? Sparkling tile? You can keep track of this automatically with the right software, through an easy-to-use tag system.

There are a dozen different tools out there to send emails out in a series. But if you really want to segment your leads and upsell your clients for maximum effect, look at Service Autopilot.

Service Autopilot allows you to tag leads and clients, segment them, and automatically send them emails based on what services they have (or have not) bought from you.

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7. Move Your Cleaning Website to the Top of the Page With SEO

There’s an “old” joke amongst digital marketers:

Q: Where is the best place to hide a dead body?

A: On the second page of Google.

Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, is all about getting your website to the top of search results (on search engines like Bing, or Google)… because the higher your page ranks, the more visitors you’ll get.

SEO is about two things:

  1. Telling Search Engines what your pages are about
  2. Giving your website users the best experience possible

It’s a vast and complicated topic, but a critical to cleaning business owners because of your local competition.

Click here to read our full guide on SEO for cleaning businesses.

6. How to Get GREAT Online Reviews (and Deal With the Bad Ones)

Online reviews are the new way people “preview” your company before they hire you. The more quality reviews you have, the more likely people will be to hire your services.

To get 5-star reviews is actually surprisingly simple. It boils down to three simple steps:

  1. Ask for reviews from your loyal clients
    • Send them an email or leave them a note. Make sure you only ask when they are most happy with you (i.e. after you’ve done a really great job).
  2. Thank anyone who leaves you a great review.
    • You want to respond to all of your reviews.
  3. Respond to your negative reviews in the best possible way.

5. Quick Guide to Google Adwords for Cleaning Businesses

Google Adwords is a great tool for selling local services, like maid or housekeeping services.

The one advantage AdWords has over social media advertising is… intention.

When people go to Google, they go with the intention to find out something in particular. That means your cleaning ad should only pop up for people who go to google with the intent to buy cleaning services.

Half the work is done for you – you don’t need to convince them that they need to hire a cleaning company. You just have to convince them to hire yours.

AdWords is a monster of an advertising platform.

Some words of advice… 

1. Your most important keywords will all revolve around some variation of the following:

2. Negative keywords (keywords you do NOT want your ad to show up on) are almost as important as regular keywords

Here’s how to get really good at AdWords:

What if I don’t want to do AdWords myself?

Google AdWords might be the most challenging cleaning marketing tactic out there.

If you know you don’t want to do it yourself, I highly recommend you hire a freelance marketer or marketing company to do your AdWords for you. I’ve seen plenty of cleaning businesses go this route, and they’ve had solid results.

You want to look for a reputable, highly-reviewed marketing company that specializes in PPC (pay per click advertising).

4. Facebook Ads for Your Cleaning Business

I can’t say this loud enough: get your cleaning business on Facebook TODAY.

Most small to medium cleaning businesses can use Facebook Ads to get most of their new clients. And yes, it’s that powerful.

What’s so great about Facebook?

Two simple answers:

  1. Everyone and their dog is on Facebook right now.
  2. Facebook knows a lot about its users and their buying habits.

Facebook can target your most ideal clients, or focus your search to hit everyone in your an area. This is the perfect tool for local businesses.  

Since you can choose to control your budget with Facebook Ads, it’s more cost-effective than most other forms of cleaning marketing.

I’ve seen some cleaning businesses get new clients for as little as $5 per client.

8 Steps to Effectively Advertise on Facebook (with video instruction)

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3. How Can You Be the Pink Elephant?

There are two reasons clients will purchase something: cost and value.

Let’s say there are three brands of ice cream at the store.

Yummy Brand

Store Brand

Pink Elephant Brand

The store puts Yummy Brand and the Store Brand right next to each other on purpose.

Why? Because they know you’ll buy the Store Brand.

It’s cheaper and you know it’s probably the same. Logic dictates that, if two products are almost indistinguishable, you’ll always go for the lower cost.

So What About the Pink Elephant Brand?

This is the one you buy on special occasions. Everyone loves this ice cream.

There’s just something about it…

The Pink Elephant is designed to stick in your mind. I’ll bet you even have an image in your head of this brand’s ice cream carton (for me, it’s Ben and Jerry’s). 

Now, THAT’S effective marketing.

Becoming the Pink Elephant is all about focusing on your “differentiators.”

What makes you unique? What is something you provide that no other cleaning company can do?

There’s a scene from the 2007 TV Show, Mad Men, that perfectly illustrates this point: When you want to differentiate yourself, look at your competitors. Find out what nobody else is saying, then say it.

These are the “soft” marketing strategies that will make your ads easier to write, and more effective.

Apply these three strategies to every cleaning ad you put out there, and you will see your clients jump to buy your cleaning services.

2. Sell The Benefits, Not the Service

Whatever you are selling, sell the benefits, not the features. This is a marketing rule. Sell the benefits of your cleaning services.

For example, these are features:

You do NOT want these to be the “stars” of your ads. Instead, think about your clients.

What does Ms. Smith actually want from your cleaning services? Does she want to pay “only 49.99 per hour!” or … does she actually want “a nice clean home, without lifting a finger?”

Most clients want the same thing from housekeeping or maid services:

Notice I didn’t say “low cost?” Pricing is a complicated topic, but the truth is most clients don’t buy based on cost alone… We’ll talk about this more in the next strategy.

Here are some other benefits you can stress in your ads (this works both for Digital and Print Marketing!):

1. Talk Directly to Your Ideal Cleaning Client

This strategy will help you generate new, IDEAL clients for your business with better-converting ads… And, you will be able to write them FAST.

Less stress. Less time. More clients. What’s not to love?

So, what is the secret? Write your ad to one (and ONLY one) person. Never write an ad to everyone.

Who are your best clients?

Print out a representative picture of them, and put it up anytime you are writing an ad (in marketing, we call this a Persona or Avatar). In fact, sometimes I start my ads with, “Dear Mr. Smith.”

You can even add in specific information about your client, such as…

BONUS Strategy: How to Impress Your Newest Cleaning Clients

That last strategy was too obvious, right?

Well, here’s a tip to make sure that your new clients know how amazing you are. It’s very simple, but there are a lot of cleaning business owners who don’t do this… 

Let’s say Ms. Smith is thinking about hiring you.

While you’re still on the phone with her, you need to ask her these two very simple questions:

  1. What is the number one problem you want us to solve for you?
  2. What is one area we can focus on that will seriously impress you?

These two questions are absolutely invaluable to your business.

New clients will get the chance to explain their major problems. They will let you into their own thoughts, and set their expectations right away.

And, best of all, it will show how much you truly care.You can also ask these kinds of questions to better sell your cleaning services in person.

Grow Your Cleaning Business... Faster (and with Less Stress)

Instant invoicing

Better scheduling

Manage your clients and employees all in one system

Start Software Tour

Using Cleaning Marketing to Consistently Win More Clients

This is your winning formula:

Quality Service + Better Marketing = More Cleaning Clients

But it also means you get to choose what kinds of clients you take on.

When you use these cleaning marketing strategies, you can:

Armed with these 13 (+ 1) strategies, your profits can soar and you can finally get the cleaning business you’ve always dreamed of.

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Identify which jobs are profitable – and which ones aren’t. 
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Related: 17 Delightful “Leave Behind” Ideas for Your Cleaning Business


Originally published March 7, 2019 7:00 AM, updated Sept 1, 2020 4:43 PM