In the past, marketing and advertising were pretty straightforward affairs. You might place an ad in the local newspaper, send out a mailer, or even pay for aspot on the radio or TV. Today, marketing is a lot more complex - but it also has the potential to reach even more people. It is also much more possible to get real-time, measurable analytics about your marketing efforts through the use of technology.
One important aspect of any marketing strategy is content marketing. For energy companies, this can include written content as well as audio and visual content, such as blog posts, podcasts, videos, and images. Our examples of great energy company digital marketing can help you decide what type of content marketing would work best for your business.
At Inclind, we offer a full range of website design and development services for energy companies. Our work includes custom integrations, website redesigns, support and maintenance, and conversion optimization so that you can maximize your marketing efforts with a clean, well-designed website. Reach out today to talk to a member of our team about your website design and development needs.
What Is Content Marketing?
Content marketing is a type of digital marketing strategy. Instead of pitching a product directly to potential customers, it focuses on creating relevant and consistent content - like blog posts or videos - to attract and retain an audience. The goal of content marketing is ultimately to get people to take a specific action, such as buying a product or service.
There are four basic types of content marketing: written content such as blogs, audio content like podcasts, videos, and images. Most businesses - including energy companies - use a combination of these content forms to reach audiences on their websites, through social media, and with ads. For example, a business might establish a YouTube channel with content relevant to its products or services and then also share written content on its website on similar topics.
Content marketing can help to build brand awareness. It is also a great way to build trust because customers will view your business as an expert in the field when they see timely, informative content from you. When you establish trust, customers are more open to engaging with your company - such as by signing up for service.
This type of marketing can also set your company apart from the crowd. Anyone who spends any time online these days is besieged by spam and ads. Content marketing is different because it isn’t a direct sales pitch. Instead, it offers valuable information that puts the customers first.
Content marketing is also necessary in the modern age. One of the top ways customers find companies is through online searches. Consistently updating your website with helpful information demonstrating your company’s expertise can improve your search engine rankings, a practice known as search engine optimization (SEO).
For most companies, content marketing isn’t just a nice extra - it is a necessity. If you want to add content marketing to your overall digital strategy, we have some great ideas for how you can do that as an energy company.
Examples of Great Content Marketing for Energy Companies
Understanding the need for content marketing is the first step. You will then need to do the hard work of developing and implementing a strategy. We have listed a few great examples of different types of content marketing from energy companies that you can use to help you get started.
Georgia Power’s Dedicated Social Media Center
Georgia Power understands that a lot of its customers get their news and information from social media. That is why it opened up a state-of-the-art social media center in its Atlanta headquarters. At this center, the company offers updates on severe weather and power outages, plus relevant information on things like energy efficiency, solar energy, and safety tips. When severe weather occurs, the center is staffed 24/7 to provide updates and respond to customer inquiries.
The company also communicates with more than 6,000 customers per month with questions about billing, service, payment options, and more. It uses digital tools to respond to most customer inquiries over platforms like Twitter and Facebook in as little as 10 minutes. Most online chat requests get a response in under a minute. Outside of weather emergencies, the center is staffed from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. during the week.
FirstEnergy’s Online Resources
Energy company FirstEnergy Corporation has a smart section on its website that offers tips and tricks for saving energy. This section doesn’t try to sell customers anything. Instead, it provides information about everything from programs and incentives offered in various states to home energy analyzer tools to information about smart meters and electric vehicles.
This is an excellent example of content marketing because it offers information that customers can use to lower their energy bills during an era of rising costs. Although the company doesn’t directly benefit from distributing this content, it helps build brand loyalty and shows that FirstEnergy is a trustworthy company.
Chevron’s Informative YouTube Channel
Oil giant Chevron has a diverse marketing strategy, which isn’t surprising given its size. It is active on social media and regularly updates its website, “newsroom,” with informative content. It also has a YouTube channel with more than 40,000 subscribers.
Offering videos is a great way to engage with consumers more directly. Many of these educational videos explain basics, like how energy is produced. There are also employee spotlights and videos for specific regions of the country and world. These videos don’t come across like commercials - instead, they build trust because they simply seek to provide information to the public.
National Grid’s Clean Energy Podcast
National Grid is an energy company serving the Northeastern United States. Its website includes traditional content marketing techniques like press releases, videos, and images. The company also has a podcast dedicated to exploring clean energy.
Anyone interested in alternative energy can find these podcasts on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. They are also available directly on National Grid’s website. The episodes are not devoted to the company’s products but instead focus on important issues - like how energy-intensive generative AI can be - that interest a wider audience. Again, this is a great way to build trust - National Grid isn’t doing a hard sell but simply providing relevant content.
Duke Energy’s Multi-Faceted Approach
Duke Energy uses a multi-pronged approach to content marketing to reach its customers where they are. In addition to social media - complete with graphics and videos on Facebook, Instagram, and X - the company has a newsroom on its website and a YouTube channel. Its “Illumination” site also offers what it deems enlightening and informative stories.
This website—a subsite of the main Duke Energy page—uses text and photos to reach people. For example, one of the featured posts includes vintage images of one of its steam stations. Stories about employees who all work for the company are also included. This type of content feels much more organic than a hard sell, which is why it works well as a content marketing strategy.
Take Your Energy Company Website Further with Inclind
Like every other business, energy companies need smart, engaging websites to meet customer needs. Of course, simply having a website isn’t enough. You should also utilize digital marketing strategies like content marketing to meet customers where they are and build a reputation as a credible, trustworthy brand.
Inclind offers award-winning website design and development services to energy companies throughout the United States. We pride ourselves on providing technologically advanced solutions with a more comprehensive approach to helping our clients thrive. We can help you build a customer-friendly website and utilize our skills to ensure you get the most out of your site and other digital properties. If you’d like to learn more about our web design and development services for energy companies, we’re available to talk. You can fill out our online contact form or call 800-604-8139 to talk to one of our experts about your website.