Florida · November 8, 2026

Hurricane season marketing for Florida contractors: what to run before, during and after a storm

Plan Florida hurricane season marketing in three stages, before the storm, during it and after it. Before a storm, run inspection and prevention offers and build storm campaigns you keep paused. During a storm, stop most ads, update your Google profile and keep the phones covered. After it passes, turn on only the campaigns your crews can serve, answer every call within minutes, and keep every ad about the inspection and the repair, never the insurance claim, because Florida law restricts that. The season runs June 1 to November 30 and peaks around September 10.

By Marco Savone, co-founder of Scusa Media. Sold and marketed for a Metro Detroit exterior remodeler before starting the agency.

Why a plan beats a reaction

Storms flip demand in a day. The week after a hurricane, calls for roofs, trees, water damage and generators can jump far past what a crew can handle, then fall off just as fast. Contractors who build their campaigns and follow-up before June 1 catch that demand. Contractors who start after the storm often pay more for every lead, miss calls and compete with storm chasers from out of state.

Quiet years matter too. NOAA forecast a below-normal 2026 season, and the first hurricane of the year did not form until October 7, the latest first hurricane since 1905. Homeowners still asked about roof age, insurance renewals and impact windows. A quiet year is when you earn the reviews and rankings that pay off in the next busy one.

Before the season: March to May

Run prevention offers while people are thinking about the season and there is still time to book: roof inspections, impact windows and shutters, whole-home generators, tree trimming, gutter and drainage work, seawall and dock checks, and AC tune-ups.

Give owners a real reason to call. Florida law says an insurer cannot refuse to write or renew a home policy just because the roof is under 15 years old, and roofs 15 or older get an inspection path if they have at least five years of useful life left (section 627.7011). An inspection that tells the owner where their roof stands is useful to them, and it keeps your message about the work.

Mention help that exists, carefully. Florida's My Safe Florida Home program reopened in August 2025 with $352 million for hardening work like impact windows, doors, garage doors and roof-to-wall connections, for eligible low and moderate income homeowners. Funding and rules change, so link to the program's own site instead of promising anyone a grant.

Build the storm campaigns now and keep them paused: emergency tarping, roof leak repair, water removal, tree removal and generator service. Write them in English and Spanish if you work in Miami-Dade, Broward or Hillsborough. Set the service area to the towns you can actually reach in a storm week.

Early season: June to August

Keep steady ads running for normal work. Finish your Google Business Profile: every service, every service area, real job photos and hours you can keep. Ask every customer for a review that mentions the job and the town.

Test your follow-up before you need it. Missed-call text-back, a booking link in the first text, a callback rule with a backup person, and after-hours coverage. In a storm week the phones are the bottleneck, not the ads. Our missed-call text-back guide covers the setup.

Check your Google Local Services Ads account. Google checks your Florida license for roofing, HVAC, plumbing and electrical, plus insurance and background checks. Make sure the license, insurance and service area are current now, because approval can take weeks and you cannot rush it after a storm.

When a storm is coming

Pause most ads a day or two before landfall in your area. People are preparing, not hiring, and your crews need to be safe. Keep a small budget on shutters, board-up or generator service only if you can still deliver it in time.

Update your Google Business Profile hours and post a short update: when you expect to reopen, how to reach you and what you will handle first. Set your voicemail and text-back message to say the same thing.

Skip fear ads. 'Is your roof ready?' two days before landfall reads as pressure, and it does not book work you can finish in time.

After the storm: the first two weeks

Turn the paused campaigns on once conditions are safe, and only for the work and the areas your crews can serve this week. If you can take 20 jobs, buy about 20 jobs' worth of leads. Ads you cannot answer burn money and earn bad reviews.

Answer everything, fast. Text every lead within a minute and call within five. Ask for the address first so you can sort by area and damage, and tell people honestly when you can come.

Stay inside the rules. Section 489.147 of Florida law bars roofers from ads that encourage a homeowner to file a roof insurance claim, and from offering gifts, cash, rebates or a deductible waiver in exchange for an inspection or a claim. Fines can reach $10,000 per violation. Every contractor ad must show the license number (section 489.119). Florida also gives homeowners extra time to cancel some roofing contracts signed during a declared state of emergency, and advertising contracting work without a license during a declared emergency is a felony (section 489.127). This is not legal advice; check current rules with your own counsel.

Talk about the work. 'Roof inspection after the storm, licensed and insured, photos of every issue we find' is about the work. 'We will get your insurance to pay for a new roof' is the kind of message Florida restricts.

After the rush: weeks three to twelve

Ask every storm customer for a review as soon as the job is done. Reviews earned after a storm carry you through the next quiet year, and they help you rank on Google Maps and in AI answers.

Follow up on estimates that did not close. Many homeowners are waiting for an adjuster or a second quote. A short text every week or two keeps you first in line without pressure.

Shift the budget back to normal work, and start next year's prevention offers early. Tampa Bay saw how fast storms can stack up in 2024: Hurricane Helene pushed a 5 to 7 foot storm surge into the bay in late September, and Hurricane Milton made landfall at Siesta Key about two weeks later.

How it changes across Florida

Miami-Dade and Broward: run storm campaigns in both languages, explain the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone building code on roof, window and door pages, and market to condo boards facing milestone inspection deadlines.

Palm Beach and Southwest Florida: many owners are away in summer. Offer photo reports, remote approvals and fast texts, so they can hire you without flying in.

Tampa Bay and Pinellas: after 2024, flood mitigation, elevation, drainage and seawall work sits next to roofing. Lead with trust, a real local address or service area, and reviews from neighbors, not urgency.

Questions people ask next

When should Florida contractors start hurricane season marketing?

Plan it in March, run prevention offers in April and May, and have storm response campaigns built and paused before June 1.

Should I pause my ads during a hurricane?

For most work, yes, about a day or two before landfall in your area. Update your Google Business Profile hours and post how to reach you. Turn campaigns back on when it is safe and your crews can respond.

What can a Florida roofer not say in storm ads?

Florida law bars roofers from ads that encourage a homeowner to file a roof insurance claim, and from offering rebates, gifts, cash or deductible waivers for an inspection or a claim. You must also show your license number. Keep the ad about the inspection and the repair, and check with your counsel.

How do I compete with storm chasers after a hurricane?

Be local and easy to check: your Florida license number, your real service area, local reviews, photos of local jobs and a fast answer. Homeowners have learned to look for those before they let anyone on the roof.

Local pages: Marketing agency in Florida · Marketing agency in Miami · Marketing agency in Fort Lauderdale · Marketing agency in Tampa · Marketing agency in St. Petersburg