Solar

Video ads for solar installers in Ireland: how Evolve Eco Solutions got 12,000+ leads

By Stefan Twomey, Co-Founder, Performance Marketing23 September 20262 min read

Short answer: solar is a considered purchase, so the ads that work are the ones that build trust before the enquiry. For Evolve Eco Solutions that meant unscripted customer testimonials, short explainers on the SEAI grant and payback, YouTube to catch homeowners while they research, and Meta to retarget them with social proof. Over eighteen months that funnel produced more than 12,000 leads, and it is still running.

The problem every Irish solar installer has

Before we started, Evolve was spending real money on shows, radio and traditional advertising and still could not predict where next month's leads would come from. Founder Warren put it plainly: "Lead consistency was a big problem." For a business planning install crews and cashflow, feast-or-famine leads are the whole problem, not a marketing detail.

Radio and event ads cannot build trust at scale, and they cannot prove which euro produced which lead. Homeowners research solar for weeks and only buy from an installer they trust. That is a job for video.

1. Make trust the creative

We filmed Evolve's actual customers, unscripted, talking about their install. Real homeowners outperform any brand ad in solar, because the only thing a nervous buyer wants is proof that someone like them was happy. The same is true for SolarSmart, where we have filmed customer testimonials on retainer for over eighteen months and the videos get played in live sales pitches as well as on social.

2. Answer the questions before they are asked

Short explainers on the SEAI grant, on payback, on what an install day actually involves and on when to install. By the time a homeowner enquires, the company has already earned the conversation. These are cheap to produce in a batch and they keep working for months.

3. Run YouTube and Meta as one funnel

The two platforms do different jobs. YouTube catches homeowners actively researching solar, because that is where they are watching "is solar worth it in Ireland" videos. Meta then retargets those same people with testimonials and offers until they convert. Two platforms, one lead machine, managed to a cost per lead rather than a vanity metric like views.

4. Work like the marketing department

One point of contact, fast creative changes, proactive suggestions. Warren's words: "nearly like having an in-house marketing team." The reason the results compounded over eighteen months is that the campaign never stopped being optimised, which is the opposite of a one-off campaign that runs for six weeks and dies.

What to do if you are an installer reading this

• Ask your last ten happy customers if they will talk on camera for twenty minutes. Most say yes.
• Film the four questions every buyer asks: grant, payback, install day, savings.
• Put proper conversion tracking on your site before spending a euro on ads.
• Run YouTube for research intent and Meta for retargeting, and judge both on cost per lead.

If you want us to do it with you, book a free strategy call. We have done it for solar companies across Ireland and we will tell you honestly whether it fits your business.