It’s that time of year for “Out with the old and in with the new,” and social media tactics for HVAC contractors are no exception.

As contractors enter 2024, there’s a few social media resolutions to focus on that can make a big difference. Part of that is starting good new habits, such as increasing post engagement, posting more multimedia content, and ensuring everything posted by the contracting company is authentic. And the other part of these social media ‘resolutions’ is dropping old practices that just won’t work in 2024.

Changes in 2024

So what about social media is expected to change in 2024? According to Jeff Bowab, vice president of sales at RYNO Strategic Solutions, while nothing is really changing, the social media world is getting to a point where short form video content, such as reels, are more and more prevalent.

“Ads are the old way that we did things … and really, video content is becoming much more important,” Bowab said. “And the good news is, once you get in a rhythm of shooting content, you can repurpose content across all of the [social media] platforms.”

Both Lauren Devens, digital marketer at BNP Engage, and Molly Bakewell Chamberlin, president of Embassy Global LLC, said they expect the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to become more of a norm in order to save time creating content.

“A tool that we like to use — Canva — has their magic studio that's powered by AI, so HVAC contractors can … make some informative graphics, videos with voiceovers, and edit imagery to look more professional in just a few seconds using these types of tools,” said Devens.

However, when it comes to AI, “The use of AI content generation tools may be beneficial for inspiring new ideas, but they simply are not intended to be used, nor can they be relied upon, to generate the types of authentic and industry relevant content that truly resonates with HVAC industry customers and prospects,” Bakewell Chamberlin said.

Social Media Resolutions

Now that it’s 2024, here are some social media resolutions to help start the year off right:

1. Prioritize Audience Engagement.

What does this mean? It’s simple, really: respond to comments from followers.

“To encourage future interactions and help build relationships with their clients and partners,” explained Devens. “I often see that many brands tend to just post and don't really look at the comments or shares that they get. But if people are taking the time to comment, then that would be great if they could make sure that they're liking and responding to encourage similar engagement moving forward.”

On the same vein of audience engagement, contractors can also encourage their teams internally to be more engaged.

“Aim to increase internal employee and field technician engagement by offering incentives for bringing forth their ideas and contributions to the company's social media, and by encouraging a team-oriented approach to social media calendar development and implementation,” said Bakewell Chamberlin.

2. Share User-Generated Content

Sharing content from followers is a great way to make social media feel really, well, social — the way it’s intended to feel.

An example where Devens has seen great success is when a commercial HVAC client of hers started encouraging their followers to post pictures of the company’s branded vehicles whenever they saw them out and about.

“So people would see their van out parked in front of a location, or driving to their next job, and it was really exciting to receive photos from their audience, and their followers consistently liked the types of posts that were more than just a standard ‘view our services’ type of posts,” Devens said.

3. Start using TikTok

Sometimes the HVACR industry can be a little behind the curve when it comes to social media and how to access it. It is still, after all, a relatively new thing for them.

Bowab said that TikTok, from a content aggregation standpoint, is one platform where HVACR contractors can really build their brand, and some of the most successful companies are already doing so.

“Let's face it, TikTok is the fastest growing social media platform in the world right now, and the audiences are only getting bigger day by day,” Bowab said.

When it comes to the type of content to post on TikTok, any type of FAQ-related content is a good bet. People are already calling contractors all the time asking when they need to get a new HVAC system, when they need to change their filters, how long systems or filters will last, etc.

“So, build content, and storylines around those things; it's going to resonate with people,” Bowab said. “And once you become the go-to person for content (information), they're going to want to follow you for all of your tips and tricks. And once you have that person — let's say that they're not a customer, they find you on TikTok, and they start following your content — they're going to trust you once they need your services, and the barrier of entry will be very low to convert them over to a customer.”

Bowab continued that when trust has been established, because the prospective customer has seen that informative content already, the return on investment will be really high because those converted customers won’t be price shoppers.

“They're going to trust that the price that you want to charge them is fair, based on them following you,” Bowab explained.

4. Gather More Data

When contractors gather more data from the social media efforts they are already participating in, it will allow them to not only measure how their current content is performing, but also which of their followers are most interested in it.

“Aim to gather more demographic data from the team's social media efforts, toward helping to shape, refine, and drive future content strategies, and to refine focus on generating content that is more expressly tailored to that same target audience demographic,” said Bakewell Chamberlin.

5. Grow Your Followers

It’s easier said than done. Actually, way easier. Every company on social media has the goal of expanding their reach, increasing their followers, and landing more customers. But how often is this goal actually at the forefront of an HVAC contractor’s mind?

“Aim to grow new followers to each social media channel by at least 20% per month via consistent quality postings, and via special monthly offers, giveaways, and promotions,” said Bakewell Chamberlin.