Social media for business?

Erin Holohan Haskell

Are you are using social media sites (like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.) to connect with current and potential customers? What has your experience been like? Do you think it has benefited your business?

Tinman

Yes, I use all three. I'm not sure there's been much in the way of tangible results but it's good exposure that may pay dividends later.
On Twiiter, you're limited quite a bit by the amount of information you can share. I like that forum more for what I gain by following others rather benefits of someone following our company.
I don't have a personal Facebook account but I do have one for my business. We get lots of positive feedback for the things we're doing as a company.
LinkedIn...I could take it or leave it.

Tinman

Although getting updates as to what Robert Bean is up to makes it worthwhile to stay on LinkedIn...a very bright guy.

Hilly

Think beans updates are all I look at too on LinkedIn

KC_Jones

This might not exactly answer your question, but I thought it was insightful. I work for a large OEM manufacturer in the industrial refrigeration and HVAC market. I recently found out they hired someone full time to manage all our social media, specifically the 3 you mentioned. For them to do this I assure you they are taking it very seriously. What benefit they will have I don't know, but they don't do anything that doesn't have dollar signs attached to it.

DanHolohan

I'm glad you're getting to know Erin. She's smarter than I am and has been in the background of HeatingHelp.com for years. Next year, she'll be the boss.

Erin Holohan Haskell

Thanks so much for sharing.

Stephen, I like what you said about the benefits of following others too. Great point. I'll be sure to connect with Robert Bean on LinkedIn. Thanks to Hilly for the Bean mention too.

KC_Jones, that is interesting. I could see it being a full-time job for a large manufacturer, especially if their strategy is to engage directly with customers and make personal connections.

Has anyone used YouTube to showcase their work? The buzz is that videos are getting more weight in Google rankings these days, especially since Google owns YouTube. It seems like there are advantages to going this route if you're looking to attract attention for your company and highlight your skills. Your thoughts?

Robert O'Brien

I do but have not seen any benefit,yet! Have kicked around the Youtube idea but haven't put ideas to action

Harvey Ramer

I have been passively using facebook to post job photos and give my audience helpful tips. I can't put my finger on direct results however it is a way to stay in touch with customers.

nicholas bonham-carter

Who is Mr. Bean?--NBC

Harvey Ramer

nicholas bonham-carter said:

Who is Mr. Bean?--NBC

Robert Bean, Heathyheating.com Extremely smart!!

Tinman

He also was a regular on this fine website many years ago. Back in the days of Cheese, Frank from Philly, ken Secor?, Mike Swampeast? I think I may have got some of those names wrong.

Tinman

Dave Yates and Steve Ebels too.

Harvey Ramer

SlimPickins, RadMix, Earl Bunnerman, FireDragon, Simply Rad, Furnace Fighter

I wasn't here in the very beginning but there are a lot of names I haven't seen in a long time.

hot_rod

Working for a manufacturer, we have started to pay a lot of attention to all the social media opportunties.

We also have a clever gal, Mary, that handles most of the social aspects of media at Caleffi.

The key is learning how to track what is working and WHY.

Eric Aune would be another young-un that embraces and play well in social media. You should get his take on the subject sometime.

It does have the feel of a younger generations preferred communication medium. The up and coming customers.

4Johnpipe

I use social media...I have some customers who prefer to contact through that forum. I was surprised to find soon after I set up a Facebook business page some casual acquaintances would tell me things line..."you're a plumber I thought you were and electrician and you do heating!". It definitely pays off to what extent I'm not sure but it is a form of advertising...

rick in Alaska

I live in an area of around 7,000 population, am 240 miles from anchorage, and at the very end of the road. Our customer base is very limited and concentrated, and mostly old school. Therefore, good old fashioned word of mouth is best for me. We are getting more retired people coming in from "America" who do use a lot of internet searches, but not many.
I might have to look at it more in the future though.
Rick

KC_Jones

Another aspect of the social media is finding employees. Social media can get the word out if you are looking. When you aren't actively seeking employees many times people will recognize the quality work you are doing (from your page) and seek you out for employment or at least getting a resume in with you. It's all about networking these days making connections etc. The world in a lot of ways has been shrunk down by the internet. I am not looking for work, but I am regularly contacted by head hunters on LinkedIn asking if I am looking or if I know anyone in my field that is looking. It isn't for everyone, but as we progress forward it is definitely taking over especially with the younger generations. IMHO

Bob Bona_4

I gently use Facebook - to get the word out via pictures. I personally don't like formal advertising there, bc I get annoyed when "friends" are just "friends" to push their wares. I have not built a business specific page yet.

Hilly

Caleffi's youTube channel is one I use a lot. Use a Chromecast and watch @Hotrod while cooking in the kitchen.

GW

You Tube...is there a "video editing for dummies" out there somewhere? I spent some time on a larger installation some time ago and tried my best with iMovie. When I hit the "optimize" button it got funky. I never posted it, I need help with editing

Robert O'Brien

There's a business opportunity! Taking raw footage from contractors and turning it into useable video presentations

Erin Holohan Haskell

Thanks so much for the great feedback.

Dan Vastyan would be a good person to connect with about video editing. His company specializes in videos for the HVAC industry: http://www.deltac.biz/video.html

HeavyHauler

Hi All!

Great thread. It's cool to see some discussion on this topic. It seems that manufacturers are all pushing video real hard this year. They've focused on social media for a few years and are now poised to make the best use of those venues with video.

As far as installers are concerned, I think video is still kind of foreign, or appears too difficult, much like social media did three or four years ago. I think there's a lot of potential for it though, especially for those contractors who have a good Facebook and Twitter following.

Here's a column I wrote some time ago for Mechanical-Hub (Eric Aune's ears are probably itching a this point) on the subject of video for contractors. It's a "Do's & Don't, Tips & Tricks". http://mechanical-hub.com/drive-traffic-your-way-with-video

And here's a video I made for Rocky Pavey this time last year. You'll have to forgive the poor audio quality. The nature of the trip limited me to my small camera and a cheap microphone.


I'm working on getting another really neat video up right now and will post it in this thread when it's live.

As far as video editing is concerned, it's pretty hard to produce anything beyond the most basic videos without investing a pile of time and money into purchasing and familiarizing yourself with a program like Final Cut, but that shouldn't matter. As a contractor, your videos just need to deliver the message and show the product. In my opinion, you don't need whiz-bang fancy programs to show a homeowner the value in your services. I've seen some pretty good material produced on iMovie and even Windows Movie Maker.

One really cool trend I've seen on YouTube is the time-lapse or fast-forward video of a complete boiler swap out. It's pretty cool to show a homeowner how efficiently you work, and the before/after comparison. It only takes one camera and no audio, so it's super easy to produce.

There's more info at the Mechanical-Hub link I shared, but the three biggest factors to consider when shooting are lighting, audio and a steady shot. Even with cheap equipment, if you nail these three elements down, you'll have a professional looking video that can represent your company well. Don't make the mistake of being careless during filming, expecting to doctor it in editing software. You can make good footage a little better, but you can't make bad footage acceptable, generally speaking.

If you want to talk about good gear to buy or where to start, feel free to send me a message. I'll help in any way I can.

DV

Steamhead

What's MySpace?

Erin Holohan Haskell

Great info, Dan. Thanks!

Speaking of time-lapse video, here's one that John Cataneo and his team made on a recent job: https://heatinghelp.com/systems-help-center/converting-from-gravity-to-pumped-flow/

Jim, I agree about the importance of having a professional website. Nice of you to give that guy a heads up.

GW

Maybe I'll scope out local community college, I would like to learn video; kinda prefer doing it right or not doing it at all. I doubt I have the energy to learn it on my own. Like linking a voice file to you video....too much for my brain.

there's this one dude I subscribed to, an hvac guy down south. It's more for entertainment than anything else, but he does have a grip on basic video production.

HeavyHauler

Gary - You're probably talking about Ron Walker. He's a super nice guy, ex-Marine if I recall correctly. Been in the trade for years and decided to start a shift in the way training is accomplished online. Pay attention to what he's got going on. I know he has some fantastic stuff planned for the near future.

Ron does video very well, but his setup is simple. Goes to show you that it doesn't need to be elaborate to convey a clear message. He does use professional editing software, which allows him to mix live footage with the animations and images he utilizes. It's a great end product.

If you buy editing software - I'd suggest Final Cut Pro X - you'll be pretty impressed with how intuitive it is. You'll learn the basics after just playing around for a few hours. But, www.lynda.com is a fantastic learning resource, not just on editing software but on cameras and filming as well. Learn at your own pace and on your own schedule. Great site, and not cost prohibitive. Worlds better than a community college for what you're trying to accomplish IMO.

Have you ever considered hiring an undergrad (or even a savvy high schooler) to do this kind of thing for you short-term? He/she could start producing videos for you, and teach you more along the way than you'd learn in a classroom. Then, when they graduate and are off to conquer the world, you should be at a place where you can do it on your own.

I wanted to shoot my own wedding video a few years ago, but being the groom, I was obviously pretty limited throughout the big day. I started shooting all B-roll footage myself months before the wedding, then hired a kid to come run two cameras the day of. I was very, very impressed with his skill and he cost me like $500 for the entire day. I put the video together and was thrilled with the outcome.

Erin Holohan Haskell

I second the recommendation for http://www.lynda.com. It's cost effective and you can do it on your own schedule. I used it to learn all of the Adobe design programs. And it looks like they've expanded their course offerings. Good stuff!

HeavyHauler

Here's the other video I was referring to. This one promotes both the heating contractor and his services as well as a system component. The link will take you to Taco's video library. See the top left video: http://www.taco-hvac.com/en/media_library.html

Aaron_in_Maine

I have a Facebook page for the business. I use it to post pictures of things I find that baffle the mind and to post pictures of new work when I remember to take them. The only paid advertising I do is on here. Word of mouth is most of my new customers.

GW

Israelhvac. Kind of fun to hear him talk, southern kind of guy.

I'll check out final cut pro x and lynda.

Thanks for the comments

EricAune

What and awesome conversation. Thank you for starting it, Erin. The amount of contractors using social media today has grown leaps and bounds over just three or four years ago. I've always looked at it as the current "word of mouth" way to get your name out there.

Sure you can use some of your marketing dollars for social media and that may benefit your business but like all other marketing vehicles, no one is forcing you spend. That's what attracted me early on; the "pay to play" requirement will only get your stuff in front of more people but not paying will not exclude you entirely. The rules/algorithms have changed over the years but the fact remains that it does not have to cost your business anything to have a presence.

We work with Dan of Delta C on a regular basis. That said, I agree with his viewpoints and ideas about video as a marketing tool for plumbing, hydronics and HVAC contractors. Whether you are or not, your customers are regular video consumers. Sites like YouTube [of course] eats up more bandwidth than most other public websites combined. The fact that YouTube is owned by Google is reason enough to have a presence there if you're desire is to have a higher placement in local search results. As far as producing your own videos, literally anyone CAN do it. Just log onto YT and you'll find plenty of evidence this statement is true. Quality is a whole other end product though and taking some time and with a few trials just about any contractor can produce an acceptable, useful video for marketing purposes.

I too like the time-lapse install videos. I know of only a few but each one was extremely simple to create and has so many uses as a marketing tool. I've been playing around with it myself but I haven't had that "one" project that lends itself to a good camera angle or decent lighting that I would prefer for a final cut.

Tim McElwain

Well I am an old dude and not really up on all this social media. I am on Facebook but not for business specific purposes. I have been trying to get my granddaughter to make me a Facebook site for business, she is just very busy.

I am on LinkedIn just not sure how it can be used to promote business. I use it for purposes of developing my e-mail list by asking those I am linked up with if they would like to be on my e-mailing list.

I for one could probably use some help with developing a Facebook site for business and also need to get someone to make me a Website. Please for those who have heard me bemoaning the website deal don't jump all over me. I just had several years back a bad experience with someone who was supposed to build me a site. Enough said!

Dan has been very gracious to me over the years in allowing me to post my training and manuals here on the site. I also sell a couple of my manuals through HeatingHelp.

I get a whole lot of business from the articles I write in HVAC Insider and the Insider Bulletin Board which post my seminars, dates and contact info. I also appreciate Mechanical Hub posting my schedule. I recently started writing for Indoor Comfort Marketing magazine and they also post my schedule on their website.

I am also all over Google just not sure how I got there. But every little bit helps.

Erin Holohan Haskell

Great points all around. Thanks for sharing, everyone.

I agree with @EricAune that video is definitely something worth keeping an eye on. It's no surprise that Google is the largest search engine, but did you know that YouTube comes in second with 3 billion searches a month?

And speaking of Google, be sure to check your company's listing on there to make sure it's current. Oftentimes when customers Google "hvac contractor" or something similar, local listings will come up based on your company's address. A contractor owned our home before us and never switched his listing to his new address, so whenever anyone would Google our address for directions, his company name would come up. I had Google remove the listing.

@Tim_McElwain, will you be at the OESP Show in Hershey? If so, I'm giving a seminar about Proven Ways to Boost Your Business Online on Monday, May 18 at 10:45am that may answer some of your questions - especially about websites. I have a background in web design, so I know how technical you can get with a website if you want to. Nowadays, however, sites like wix.com and weebly.com will help you get a simple professional website up and running on your own. I've tried both of these sites and while they do not offer all of the bells and whistles you may get if you hire a designer, they are excellent, cost-effective options if you need a simple and clean website quickly. And I think both offer free trials.

Tim McElwain

Thanks Erin, I will be at OESP and will try to get to your presentation.

KC_Jones

So the company I work for now is now on Instagram. This was added by the employee who is managing social media. They are really taking this seriously. So that is Facebook, Twitter and now Instagram.