Are you finding yourself waking up in the middle of the night being a complete worrywart about your business… Specifically wondering how you’re going to:

• ramp up your social media
• stave off those fake online reviews
• sustain your business over the slowest time of the year for HVAC

Do I have a surprise for you… It’s precisely what we’re covering this month!

You’re probably wondering: “Wait… how did you know that, Chris?”
I have 4 words for you: Youtube. Dream. Telepathy. Certification.

1.) Navigating the Nuances of Social Media

If you’re like most HVAC companies out there, posting on social media just feels foreign. Why??? After talking with numerous HVAC business owners, it boils down to these 4 things: 

A. HVAC isn’t “fun” enough for social media: Generally speaking, it’s a valid statement. BUT ALSO… think about all the other industries that are less fun, AND 1000% crushing social media. Here are a couple of remarkably boring companies that are doing social media right:

• Dollar Shave Club – few things in this world are more mundane than razors and shaving. True story: I grew a sad beard to avoid doing it. Yet, this razor distributor (yawn) has used humor and wit on social media to acquire over 237K followers on IG, 1 million razor subscribers, and then got acquired for a BILLION dollars.

• Mint – this personal finance and money tracking app use colorful donuts in their social media posts to draw attention in, and then follows that up with helpful/useful information. They have 15 million app users, 32.3K followers on IG, and continue to grow. 

The key takeaway is that for ANY industry to find success on social media they need to be helpful. It’s all about perspective and your approach. If you’re funny and enthusiastic, lean into that. If you’re not that, don’t fake it. But always be incredibly helpful and provide value. 

B. Tried but got no results: The problem isn’t that you tried. It’s that you created content that the market determined wasn’t good, and then you gave up. On top of that, you’re looking for immediate results. Unfortunately, this recipe doesn’t work.

It’s important to remind yourself that:

• every business (big or small) starts with zero followers and likes
• the content you created when you “tried” wasn’t good enough – own it and do better 
• your first 10 or 100 posts will feel like you’re singing in the shower, where you and maybe your annoyed neighbor will be the only ones to hear it – keep testing and posting to find out what works for your business

C. Don’t understand the benefits: Many of you view social media as just some cool or hip way to connect with your audience. This couldn’t be further from the truth. When used correctly, you can wield the power of connecting with your target market while giving them actionable insights.

What are these actionable insights we speak of? Glad you asked!  They are:

• Driving traffic to your website
• Creating a loyal community around your business
• Generating a new stream of leads and sales to help grow your company

Coupling this with the facts included in this infographic below 👇, it’s a win-win situation.

D. Don’t have the time: We get it. Your time is valuable. Running any business is hard, and social media marketing can be a daunting task on top of all the plates you’re spinning.

Until like yesterday, we were in the same position. Just kidding, but seriously, only recently have we taken steps to UP our social media presence.  

What steps did we take? Great question! 

• Step 1: Expanded our digital team
• Step 2: Created new business pages on social platforms
• Step 3: Created content native to each platform
• Step 4: Test, review, evaluate, repeat

You are cordially invited to follow our channels as we navigate through the nuances of growing our “boring” social media pages. They are:

• Instagram (launched Sept 3)
• Pinterest (launched Sept 7)
• Facebook (launched Nov 2018)
• Youtube (Much more coming soon)
• LinkedIn   

2.) Fake HVAC Reviews

Every day, small and large HVAC companies alike receive reviews on sites like Yelp and Google. For the most part, reviews are great for your business and customers. In fact, 93% of potential clients read your reviews before deciding to call or work with you.

The problem with reviews is that they are systematically biased and easily manipulated by:    

• Online trolls with too much time on their hands / looking for a little mischief 
• A local competitor hoping to hurt your online reputation and drive customers to their business
• Someone that was incentivized with money, gift card, or a king-sized Snickers to post a bad review

Online reviews are an essential part of doing business in today’s world. However, there is no way to control them. What people say about you online can have a huge impact on your bottom line. We all know that positive reviews help to build trust with potential customers, but negative ones can destroy it.

Learn more on how you can take back control of your online reputation and combat fake online reviews – we dedicated a whole article on the subject for you. You’re welcome.

Alternatively, you can let us do the work for you. Learn how our digital team can monitor and track your online reputation for you as part of our local marketing services.

3.) How To Double Or Triple Your Slow Season Sales

With the fall season in full effect, you may start to notice a down-tick in business. This has nothing to do with your reviews. 🙂

Rather, it’s the season. Fall and spring bring nice, open window weather. This means HVAC systems go into hibernation and as a result, the demand for system repairs and replacements comes to a screeching halt.

To boost sales during this season, you gotta get creative. Fortunately for you, we have some ideas on where to start. 5 ideas to be exact, which include:

1. Free In-Home Consultations
2. Offer Exclusive Fall Season HVAC Deals
3. Focus on Preventative Maintenance Agreements
4. Create Marketing Content
5. Learn and Sell IAQ (because, clean air isn’t seasonal) 💡

I won’t go into the deep-dive details on each of these here. Instead, I encourage you to check our new article that does. You can find it here.

Related Links to Resources, Content, Videos, and More

• Quit chasing after indoor air quality leads! Qualify your business for FREE ones instead.  
• There’s an online library where you can spy on your competitor’s Facebook ads – read this to find out how.
• Let’s look at some of the trends in HVAC sales consulting services and how they can be used by professionals who are looking for opportunities in the booming housing market.
• Wanna see Robin get slapped by Batman over a heated debate on open windows and mechanical ventilation? Now you can. 🙂

Until November Friends!