In the age of the internet, your business simply has to be online to survive. Without your address on Google Maps, clients won’t be able to find you. Without a professional-looking website, prospects will think your business is unreputable and move on to the next MSP on the list. But with digital marketing, your MSP can do so much more than just survive online–it can flourish. Here are three digital marketing strategies that MSPs are having major success with, right now.
1. Paid Ads
When it comes to digital marketing strategies, paid ads are a cornerstone for a reason, and the MSP sphere is no different. While search engine optimization (SEO) is a great way to get your website boosted higher in Google’s rankings, pay-per-click (PPC) ads are a pay-to-play channel to reach high-intent buyers that puts your MSP’s page right at the top of search results.
MSPs are having great ROI with bottom-of-the-funnel PPC advertising, says Giovy Cornejo, digital marketing strategist at TMT. “Those are your Google or Microsoft paid search ads. This strategy is great for business owners who are looking to scale and have a competitive budget. That’s because what they’re doing is essentially ensuring they’re going to get visibility on their website by bidding on the keywords in their market.” For example, Las Vegas-based MSP X’s website would show up as a sponsored ad at the top of the page every time someone searches “IT support Las Vegas,” because they’ve bid on the keyword “IT support Las Vegas” in Google.
The MSPs who have the most success with PPC ads have call tracking installed on their websites, allowing them to internally audit all phone calls coming from their ads, Cornejo says. A quality phone script and a willingness—and ability—to field calls reaching out for an immediate solution is critical. “It might be a business calling because their Wi-Fi is down,” says Cornejo. “We don’t often see people calling [to sign up for managed services] at that very moment. The majority are calling to fix an immediate problem. It’s super important that whoever answers the phone can identify whether that prospect could be converted to a managed services client down the line. That piece will separate the MSPs who have success and a high return on PPC ads, from those who aren’t able to close leads.”
Roland Parker, founder of Impress IT Solutions, an MSP in Katy, Texas, was having mixed results with PPC ads until his team created two specific landing pages for his niche—one for manufacturing and one for construction. Then, they focused on ads that led to that landing page. “In the past, we tried a broader, ‘IT support for your business’ approach,” Parker explains. “Now, we focus on those two verticals. I think [the success] was a combination of moving away from just doing Google ads and also being more industry specific.” This strategy has led to both a higher ROI on their paid ads and higher-quality prospects and clients.
While Parker is seeing success with targeting specific industries, Cornejo cautions that niche PPC targeting can drive costs up due to a narrower audience and often takes longer to deliver results. “Generally, when launching a PPC campaign, I recommend targeting ‘Business IT Services’ in your market, as this approach leads to higher conversions and lower overall costs,” she explains.
2. Email Marketing
“Email marketing is essential for any successful business,” says Danny Hawman, executive vice president of TMT. “But the real power lies in segmentation—sending the right message to the right audience.”
Many businesses hesitate to email frequently, fearing they’ll annoy prospects. Hawman disagrees: “The real issue isn’t sending too many emails—it’s sending the wrong ones.” Generic, one-size-fits-all emails get ignored, while targeted messages drive engagement and conversions.
Segmentation divides your list into groups—active customers, warm leads, and even prospects who’ve gone dark. “If your message doesn’t speak directly to where they are in their journey, it’s just noise,” Hawman explains. For example, if a cyber breach hits an industry you serve, clients need reassurance, while prospects need urgency to take action.
Another key strategy is drip marketing, which keeps your company top-of-mind until a prospect is ready to act. “You never know when their ‘damn’ is going to break,” Hawman says. “A system failure, security breach, or industry shift can suddenly make IT a priority. If your emails have provided value and credibility, you’ll be the first company they think of.”
In the end, effective email marketing isn’t about sending more emails—it’s about sending smarter emails. With segmentation and consistent, valuable messaging, businesses can build trust, stay relevant, and drive real results.
3. Webinars
If you’re not doing webinars yet, you should be. There’s a reason every marketing expert in the MSP industry is pushing MSPs to host webinars—they work. And it’s especially easy to rake in an audience when discussing a hot topic, like AI.
“MSPs have four to five times the number of registrants [when hosting a webinar about AI],” says Mike Stodola, CMO at TMT. “AI is the hot topic right now, but in years past, cybersecurity and compliance were trending.”
When it comes to marketing webinars, the most important component is the title, says Stodola. “[The title should] clearly explain to people the outcome they’re going to get from the webinar,” he explains. “Most people like to have a fancy title that doesn’t really mean much, like ‘Cybersecurity Secrets.’ That’s not the outcome. Something like ‘3 AI Tools That Will Help Small Businesses Be More Profitable and Productive’ tends to be more successful.”
What isn’t nearly as important is the length. “Too many people get hung up on a webinar needing to be 45 minutes or 60 minutes or whatever,” Stodola says. “Quite honestly, a 20-minute webinar that’s packed full of information is great. It’s easier to keep people’s attention with a [shorter webinar] that has great information. Don’t worry about the length—worry about the outcome.”
With a subject like AI that changes so rapidly, you can host a new webinar every month and continue to grow your audience. However, don’t host webinars without giving your attendees a “clear path to the next step with your company,” says Stodola. “[You have to] tell them to engage further. Stress that you want to be seen as their partner in technology, not just an IT guy. Along with that, you can talk to them about doing a 15-minute discovery call. Put that bridge in there.”
Nadeem Azhar, owner of PC.Solutions.Net, an MSP in Houston, Texas, has seen major ROI from webinars–to the tune of three first-time appointments (FTAs) from a single webinar of about 20 attendees. His success is specifically due to his partnerships with clients and vendors. While Azhar has been hosting webinars for years, having his partners deliver the educational portion of the webinar has been exponentially more successful than doing so himself. All Azhar did was give away free assessments and answer questions, both in the webinar’s chat and in the official Q&A section.
Azhar attributes the good results to not pushing their services or talking about how good the MSP is. “No one wants to hear that because we’re saying it ourselves,” he says. “We’ve found letting someone else talk about us while we’re on the sidelines to be the most successful.”
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Digital Marketing Strategies: It’s All About the Follow-up
As good as they are, every one of these digital marketing strategies is worthless without follow-up. “Don’t just assume people are going to take that next step,” says Stodola. After all, all your prospects are busy running their own businesses. It’s essential that you follow up while the lead is hot. For instance, it’s hot right after the webinar or after someone fills out a website form,. Don’t wait for them to lose interest or stumble onto another MSP’s website.
“We, as human beings, stink at follow-up,” says Hawman. “When someone raises their hand and says they’re interested in learning more about our company, we think, ‘Oh, well, if they’re interested, they’ll call us.’ Statistically, that’s not how it works. The moment someone requests information from you and gives you any kind of permission [to contact them], you have a duty to your company to follow up with them.”
Keep At It
With follow-up and consistency, these three digital marketing strategies can grow your list and generate more leads for your MSP.
