HOW TO MARKET YOUR HVAC BUSINESS FOR FREE
- Jeff Bennington
- Jan 1, 2022
- 3 min read
Updated: Feb 19, 2022
Many consultants suggest that heating and cooling companies spend 5-10% of their total revenue on marketing, but that was before the social media revolution took over the world. Many of the lead generation techniques such as pay-per-click (PPC), billboards, newspaper, radio, and mailers may net a phone call at an average cost of $100-$300. That’s a lot of money! And in today’s digital marketplace, that price can get out of control with online gurus that charge big bucks to do the marketing on your behalf. Listen, everyone knows that the best marketing is word of mouth because you have a great reputation. So why spend all that money to get that message out when you can do it by yourself, and do it for free in the most effective way possible--with video? Social media and video technology are changing the way the world interacts and the way businesses connect with their customers. Home service companies can join that revolution and get the same results.
I built a website several years ago on social media and we had 43,000 subscribers so I know how effective social media can be, and today video is so powerful that it's devouring all other forms of media. Here are some tips for you to follow that will teach your heating and cooling team how to master your social media marketing for free using video and social media. You can also watch my two part series on my YouTube channel. Links provided.
1. Do not use “Social Media” to place ads. There’s a reason it’s called social media. It was created to be a place where folks can connect “socially”, not get spammed by businesses. You can run an ad, but not on your page. Let your Facebook page be where you post your videos and pictures from your office, from your trucks, and when working on equipment. Include a link in your bio, but you don’t mention the link except the rare occasion.
2. Start slow. Post mostly videos every 2 – 3 days at first, and sprinkle in your best pics. Get your community and followers used to this new style.
3. Ultimately, you can make your social media a daily part of running your business. Create a point person. Don’t spend more than 1 hour a day. No need to.
4. Make sure you don’t ask for anything. Just share. Just SHOW the community what you are up to.
5. Show… WHAT YOU DO. HOW YOU DO IT… WHO IS DOING WHAT (think every position in your company) … AND WHY YOU DO IT.
6. Your community needs to know that you are there to solve problems. The more they SEE you doing this, the more they will trust you to solve their problems.
7. VIDEO is a better way to build trust than a print, or digital ad. And you NEED to be trusted if a customer is going to let you work in their home.
8. Use your team. Encourage your team to become your marketers. Pay them a $5 or $10 spiff for every short video or picture you use in your social media. Your younger team members know how to do this.
9. Create guidelines: No horseplay, no foul language, be sincere, get the best visual—think, the flame on an oxyacetylene torch, use the flame in a furnace---show the bird caught in the flue, show the dirty system before removal, show the cracked heat exchanger, show the burned-up inducer motor, and show a video of you polishing the front door at the end of an install…. Show the interior of your service vans.
10. Make social media marketing a part of your culture.
11. Utilize your growing social media as a recruiting tool. It’s okay to post videos asking your community if they know anyone who is interested in working for your company. Interested candidates might reach out to you if your social media presents your company as a top-notch organization.
12. WARNING: Only post “Before and after” pics on occasion and only with a member of the team who did the installation. This is boring and overused.
13. It's cool to post inanimate objects occasionally with an artistic flare, particularly on Pinterest and Instagram.
13. Get permission before taking pics or video. Most won’t mind. Just let them know you will not show details of their home, just the equipment and the techs doing the work and solving problems.
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