Pool Service Marketing: 25 Ways to Market Your Business

How to Market Your Pool Cleaning Business with Digital Marketing

Digital marketing involves promoting your service to potential customers using online channels such as social media platforms, email, and search engine result pages.

It enables you to reach customers, helping to grow your business.

Here are some digital marketing strategies for pool cleaning businesses.

1. Local SEO

This involves optimizing your websites with local keywords, such as “pool services near me,” to boost your ranking in local search engine result pages (SERPs).

Local SEO is perfect for pool service companies that serve specific geographical areas. It makes it easy for customers and prospects in your service area to find you and helps you appear on local map packs.

Google Local Map Pack is a search engine feature that contains three businesses alongside their details—name, ratings, and service description—and a map with pinned locations. This search feature makes it easier for new customers to find and contact local businesses.

Here’s how to implement local SEO to increase the odds of featuring in the local map pack.

• Create and complete your Google Business Profile (GBP): Create a GBP and fill it with your details—company name, address, phone number, reviews, and operational hours. Regularly update the details to ensure accuracy. 

• Discover and use local keywords: Identify local keywords such as “pool company Austin” using Google Auto-Complete and Related Searches. Use them sparingly in your website copy, blog articles, meta descriptions, and meta titles to boost rankings.

• Gather online reviews: Encourage customers to leave online reviews by urging technicians to request feedback after each job and leaving a postcard with step-by-step instructions on how to do so.

2. PPC

PPC or pay-per-click advertising allows pool service companies to strategically place ads on Google properties, social media platforms, and other search engines like Bing.

By using PPC advertising, pool service businesses can grow their online presence and capture the top position of search engine result pages to reach homeowners at the exact moment when they need their services.

To run an effective PPC campaign, find relevant keywords using Google Keyword Planner and other specialized search engine optimization tools. Also, use attractive visuals and a benefit-focused landing page and ad copy.

Beyond creating your ads, continuously monitor and improve your campaign using ServiceTitan’s Home Services Marketing platform.

The platform lets you assign unique trackable phone numbers to each marketing campaign, allowing you to measure its performance using revenue generated.

The platform also has an AI-powered tool called Ad Optimizer that trains Google, using conversion data, to display your ads to high-quality leads, resulting in a higher conversion and return on investment.

Another major advantage of the platform is its analytics dashboards, which display each campaign's performance across various metrics, providing actionable insights for reallocating marketing resources and responding quickly to market shifts.

3. Social media content

Social media platforms like TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram provide an excellent opportunity to engage with your audience and showcase your brand’s personality.

Pool service companies can use social media to demonstrate their expertise and attract potential clients by using behind-the-scenes videos like Blue Trident Pool Service does in this TikTok.

https://www.tiktok.com/@bluetridentpoolservice/video/7342586411045932330 

Here are a few social media content ideas to engage and educate your followers.

• Educational webinars: Use live webinars to share your pool service expertise with pool owners, covering topics like “how to avoid over-chlorination.”

• Technicians at work videos and images: Personalize your brand by highlighting your employees. You can show a typical workday, how employees solve complex pool issues, etc.

• Customer testimonials: Share video testimonials and positive reviews from satisfied customers to attract others, use social proof, and demonstrate your expertise. 

• Before & after transformations: Showcase the dramatic difference your pool cleaning services make by sharing impressive "before & after" photos of cleaned pools.

Although social media is an excellent tool for promoting your services, you should post more educative and engaging content. People visit social media primarily to engage with others, not hire a pool service technician.

4. Social media advertising

Beyond posting organic content, you can broaden your social media reach and connect with non-followers by running social media ads.

Social media ads allow you to specify your target audience using their demographics, location, interests, and previous internet activity. You can also choose from various content formats, such as videos and images.

Another key benefit of social media advertising is that, in most cases, the ads resemble organic social media posts. Hence, people who distrust ads are less likely to scroll past them.

To get started with social media advertising, perform audience research. Find out their interests, frequently used platforms and relevant pain points.

Once you understand your target audience, determine your goals. Then, create and launch your ads on a platform they frequently visit.

Finally, consistently monitor your ad’s performance to adjust and reallocate resources if necessary.

5. Email marketing

Email marketing is a powerful channel pool service companies can use to connect with prospects and customers in the intimate space of their inboxes.

You can use it to promote your services, advertise special offers, upsell customers, and deliver personalized content.

However, considering the cluttered nature of email inboxes, you must implement strategies to stand out and avoid recipients’ spam or trash folders.

• Optimize for mobile

• Use short subject lines

• Ensure your emails provide value—safety tips, swimming pool maintenance tips, discounts, fun facts, etc.

• Personalize your email to each customer’s needs.

ServiceTitan’s Marketing Pro Email platform makes it easy to implement the above-listed tips by allowing you to target specific customer segments with content relevant to their current needs.

For example, you can send a newsletter titled “importance of balancing pool water chemistry” to customers whose pools are almost due for maintenance.

ServiceTitan’s Marketing Pro Email platform lets you create professional-looking emails using templates and set up email sequences to nurture prospects into customers.

After setting up the automated email sequence, you can use the platform’s intuitive dashboards to track each email’s performance. These dashboards deliver actionable insights you can use to improve your emails and pause underperforming campaigns.

6. Local Services Ads

Running local service ads (LSAs) is a great way for pool service companies to connect directly with prospects actively seeking their services.

These special paid ads typically occupy a prominent position at the top of search engine results when prospects in your local service area search for your services online using local intent keywords.

Their prominent placement and ability to appear precisely when customers search for pool services make them a powerful tool for targeting high-intent customers.

LSAs are also very cost-effective, as you only pay when there’s a conversion—i.e., when a customer calls or sends a message.

To boost your ad’s performance, use high-quality photos, complete your GBP, respond to customer reviews, and track its performance.

ServiceTitan’s Local Services Ads integration streamlines the LSA creation, management, and follow-up process from one central location.

The platform empowers you to manage all leads and job bookings your LSAs generate, allowing you to respond quickly and follow up on unconverted leads.

Furthermore, ServiceTitan’s Local Service Ads platform has a robust analytics dashboard that delivers real-time actionable insights.

These insights help you track your ad’s performance and optimize it to increase its return on investment.

7. Local listings and directories

Local listings and directories are websites containing lists of local companies and their brief details—name, address, phone number, website links, and customer reviews.

Listing your company in online business listings is a powerful marketing strategy.

Customers often turn to local listings and directories like Yelp, GBP, and Home Advisor to find local pool service companies. Furthermore, local listing directories rank on the first page of Google search results for high-intent keywords.

Beyond claiming your listing in local directories, proving your credibility using positive customer reviews is key to convincing prospects to book your services. That’s where ServiceTitan’s Reputation Management platform comes in handy.

ServiceTitan’s Reputation Management platform is created to empower home service businesses to manage and track their online reputation, preserving their credibility. The platform allows you to:

• Create automated customer review request workflows triggered immediately after a technician completes a job.

• Manage all customer reviews across different listing platforms in one central hub, helping you respond quickly and preserve a positive online reputation.

Review customer feedback and identify areas of improvement.

With ServiceTitan’s Reputation Management platform, you can generate multiple reviews, influence potential customers, and gain a competitive edge.

8. Local websites

Nowadays, most people rely on local websites to keep abreast of local news, making earning features in them a solid marketing plan.

Local customers who read about you in the news are more likely to view your company as credible, building trust that can translate into job bookings.

Here’s how you earn features on local news websites.

• Find all the local news outlets in your service area. Note the topics they cover, their deadlines, and their writers and editors.

• Grow your local prominence by joining industry-relevant bodies and your local chamber of commerce. Network with members and volunteer to speak at community events so journalists see you as a trusted expert source and approach you for quotes.

• Build relationships with journalists and feed them stories alongside supporting quotes. You can also deliver your press releases and community engagement efforts.

• Participate in local community events such as charities, fund-raising, and fairs and invite journalists to cover them.

Generating mentions in local news websites can grow your brand’s local awareness so customers consider you first whenever they have a pool service challenge.

9. SMS marketing

According to a Klaviyo survey, 29 percent of customers prefer communicating with businesses via SMS. 

That’s why 80 percent of business owners use SMS to communicate with customers, and 70 percent are increasing their SMS marketing budgets in 2024.

You can use SMS marketing to send targeted promotional content, surveys, discounts, and remarketing messages.

Here are some best practices for increasing your SMS marketing campaign’s effectiveness.

• Only send SMS messages to customers who subscribe to the service. Don’t mass text to different customers without confirmation.

• Offer customers the opportunity to opt-out to obey legal requirements for marketing communications.

• Identify yourself in the message rather than assume customers will recognize you.

• Send the message at the right time, like immediately after the appointment.

• Shorten your message. Keep to within 160 characters.

To incorporate these tactics and boost your SMS marketing effort's effectiveness, consider using ServiceTitan's SMS Platform.

This powerful tool empowers you to create custom audiences using specific criteria, such as unfilled estimates, and send them personalized messages relevant to their needs.

The tool also has opt-in and opt-out workflows to comply with SMS legal requirements.

Another massive feature of ServiceTitan’s SMS platform is the SMS automation feature, which allows automated SMS campaigns to nurture leads into customers.

By leveraging ServiceTitan’s SMS Platform, swimming pool businesses can engage customers and send targeted messages to them.

10. Social media groups

Social media groups are a great digital marketing strategy. They can help you cultivate an engaged online audience likely to become loyal customers and showcase your expertise to prospects.

To leverage social media groups, either join existing groups or create your own.

If you’re joining existing ones, seek permission from the group’s admin before you post to avoid getting banned. Also, give detailed responses to customer questions and link back to articles on your website where necessary.

Follow these tips to create and grow your own engaged social media group.

• Determine the group’s goal to attract the right audience. The goal should clearly state the type of people you want to attract and how you plan to use the group to fuel business growth.

• Outline the goal in the group’s About section. Do well to mention the prohibitions and penalties for defaulters.

• Incentivize customers to join with free ebooks, access to exclusive events, or participation in monthly sweepstakes.

• Post educational and engaging content regularly. You can also host webinars, games, challenges, Q&As, and live streams.

How to Market Your Pool Cleaning Business with Traditional Marketing

Forget the myth that traditional marketing is dead. It is still an effective channel for reaching non-internet users or older generations.

Therefore, pool service businesses must incorporate digital and traditional channels to create a comprehensive marketing strategy.

Here are some traditional marketing strategies for pool companies.

Let’s take a closer look at each one.

1. Flyers

Flyers are essentially glossy pieces of paper with marketing copy and appealing visuals printed on them.

They are a low-cost marketing strategy, especially for local businesses like air duct companies with a tight budget. 

You can use them to drive local engagement by delivering promotional services directly to potential customers or placing them strategically in your community.

Creating a flyer doesn’t require significant technical knowledge or resources. Platforms like Canva, SmallSEOTools, and BrandCrowd offer free design software with ready-made flyer templates and step-by-step instructions.  

Simply customize a template with your company information and a compelling message for a professional-looking flyer.

2. Outdoor advertising

Outdoor advertising encompasses marketing strategies tailored toward reaching prospects while they are on the move. 

This traditional marketing channel is an excellent way to reach potential customers who might be oversaturated with digital marketing messages.

Here are examples of low-cost outdoor advertising options to consider.

• Yard signs: An affordable option for promoting your business in your immediate area. You can strategically place yard signs near your business location and at job sites.

• Vehicle wraps: Turn your company vehicle into a mobile billboard with vehicle wraps. Include your logo, slogans, and a brief copy promoting offers such as discounts.

• A-frame signs: Place promotional banners on portable sidewalks and other areas with high foot traffic.

• Bus stop banners: Consider placing banners with marketing messages at bus stops to target prospects waiting for their rides

Regarding outdoor advertising materials, passersby must read and understand the message quickly. Therefore, use clear visuals, an explicit message, and a clear way for people to contact you.

3. Direct mail

Direct mail, although old-fashioned, is an effective way to reach potential customers.

Sending tangible marketing materials such as postcards and brochures directly to customers’ homes has a long-lasting effect, keeping your company top-of-mind for their future pool service needs. 

Direct mail also helps you stand out from the barrage of digital ads customers are accustomed to.

Guy Fashano, MSI Mailing Systems sales manager, knows about direct mail’s effectiveness and has used the channel for years.

“It's physical, personal, and every piece you send is going to get touched and recognized at some level,” he says.

“Once you start pumping, it'll keep performing for you as long as you keep investing in it.”

ServiceTitan’s Direct Mail software helps air duct companies create, run, and manage targeted direct mail campaigns tailored to each customer’s needs.

This software has several templates for creating emails customized with your brand elements and promotional message. This saves design costs and allows you to create attractive promotional materials in minutes.

Even better, ServiceTitan Direct Mail software lets you tailor your mail to individual customers by building an audience list based on specific criteria, such as unsold estimates. 

Such resonance between your mail and the customer’s needs boosts conversions.

ServiceTitan’s analytics dashboard facilitates performance tracking, enabling data-backed improvements to maximize your mail’s profitability.

4. Radio advertising

Although requiring a steep investment, radio advertising can help air duct businesses like yours build local brand recognition. In the United States, weekly radio consumption increased from 12 percent in 2007 to 70 percent in 2023.

Radio advertising also empowers you to target specific demographics using the genres and programs they listen to. For example, you can place your ads in a weekend home improvement program popular with homeowners.

However, radio advertising is only effective if listeners understand and can recall the message. So, use clear and concise radio ad scripts paired with easy-to-recall jingles or catchy taglines.

Pro tip: It’s advisable to avoid using your phone number in a radio ad. Memorizing phone numbers during a radio ad can be challenging. Instead, use your website domain (if it’s short) or a popular landmark.

5. Trade shows

Trade shows are a great opportunity for air duct companies to exhibit their services, connect with customers physically, and keep up with pool cleaning industry trends.

Air duct companies can also use trade shows to learn what competitors are doing and hear what customers say. This helps you create counter strategies to outmaneuver competitors and adapt to the evolving market.

Before going to a trade show, determine if the attendees are related to your company. Also, arrive with marketing materials—leaflets, business cards, and merch—and collect email addresses to follow up with.

6. Business cards

Well-designed business cards help demonstrate professionalism and establish credibility. Their human element creates a stronger personal connection with prospects than digital platforms.

These tiny paper squares also keep your company top-of-mind long after the initial interaction, prompting customers to contact you whenever they need your services.

When designing your business card, use a memorable template and make your contact details legible. Also, pick a durable, high-grade material so the card appears professional and lasts longer.

7. Business partnerships

Another powerful pool service marketing strategy is forming partnerships with complementary businesses. These partnerships can be used to cross-promote each other's services, develop bundled packages, and expand your reach.

When picking business partners, the key criteria is to ensure they are complementary—i.e., they have a customer base likely to need your services. Some examples of complementary businesses include the following.

• Pool supply stores

• Pool builders

• Landscaping companies

8. Referral programs

This marketing strategy is used to fuel word-of-mouth referrals. It involves using incentives to encourage customers to recommend your company to others.

Referral programs are a powerful marketing strategy, as most customers will buy based on recommendations from someone they know rather than from an advertisement.

They also have a very low cost-per-lead, as the amount you spend on the incentive is lower than what it costs to acquire a lead via other pool service advertising strategies.

To create a referral program, pick an incentive that encourages customers to sign up. You can run a pre-program survey to gauge customer interest in your referral program and a selection of enticing incentives.

Remember to promote your referral program via your newsletter, website, and social media handles.

9. Local newspapers

Local air duct companies can use advertising in local newspapers as a potent traditional marketing strategy to target potential customers within their local service areas.

Newspaper advertising is affordable and flexible, offering different designs and formats—half-page or full-page spreads, insert cards, and booklets. 

It also helps you leverage the trust newspapers have built with customers by acting as an objective news source.

You can get maximum benefit from newspaper adverts by using the following tips.

• Use active verbs to keep your message brief.

• Encourage readers to take action.

• Include your contact details.

• Advertise in the newspaper’s print and digital formats.

Creative Pool Service Marketing Ideas to Consider

Beyond digital and traditional marketing strategies, think outside the box to generate creative marketing ideas to avoid competition for prospect’s attention.

Here are some examples of creative pool marketing ideas.

1. Sponsor a local sports team

Helping a local sports team may cost you thousands of dollars. However, doing so portrays your brand as one that cares for the community. 

It also helps you connect with potential customers and build brand awareness.

Before picking a local team, find out which teams need sponsorship.  You can inquire from their administrators or your employees. Then, create a sponsorship package that’s subject to a yearly review.

Pro tip: Consider picking a team related to your business, such as the local water polo or swimming team.

2. Offer a free pool care workshop                                                                                 

Organizing free workshops helps you demonstrate your expertise. It also shows you genuinely care about pool owners beyond the revenue they generate.

You can organize the workshop at your business location or pick a central place like the community center. You can also encourage people to attend by offering pool cleaning discounts.

3. Run a pool photography contest

A pool photography contest is perfect for engaging prospective customers. 

The buzz generated from the contest can grow your brand’s local community reach and attract potential customers.

Before running a pool photography contest, pick a theme that communicates your goal. It should be short and catchy.

Then, pick a platform to host and promote the contest on your website and social media handles. State the entry guidelines, prizes, and submission timeline. Specify the image format, size limit, and submission method—direct uploads, hashtags, brand tags, etc.

Bonus point: Collect participant email addresses for future email marketing campaigns.

4. Offer discounts to local heroes

Another creative marketing strategy is to offer discounts to local heroes such as police officers, veterans, paramedics, and firefighters. 

It strengthens your brand image as a business that supports local heroes while attracting loyal customers who value your commitment to the community.

Heroes who benefit from your discounts can also recommend your services to people they know, generating pool service leads.

Establish an eligibility verification system before offering local hero discounts, such as valid IDs and collaboration with local organizations. Then, promote it on social media, your website, and newspapers.

Beyond offering discounts to local heroes, consider hosting fundraising events for causes dear to the local heroes you’re targeting.

5. Host a pool safety webinar

Pool service companies can position themselves as experts by hosting a webinar on a critical topic such as pool safety. 

Homeowners with young children will gladly attend such a webinar, establishing the company as the go-to pool safety inspection and maintenance expert.

To encourage engagement, adopt a discussion format, ask questions, and include live demonstrations. You can also partner with experts such as medical personnel to make the webinar more credible and attract a wider audience.

6. Sponsor a relevant local event

Sponsoring local events can increase your visibility and allow you to interact directly with customers and business owners in your local community.

It demonstrates your commitment to the community, fostering goodwill and building top-of-mind awareness. 

Apart from offering sponsorships, you can encourage employees to volunteer at such events and give free pool consultations. Use the event to network with other business owners and potential clients.

Over to You

Marketing is a key part of every pool service business’ continued operation. Digital, traditional, and creative marketing strategies generate new customers in the short and long term.

Consider using pool service software like ServiceTitan to create, track, and manage your marketing efforts from one software. 

ServiceTitan is an all-in-one, cloud-based solution pool service companies use to automate and streamline their marketing efforts to grow their customer base. Join thousands of contractors nationwide already using the software.