SOCIAL MEDIA GIVES AIR CONDITIONING A SPIKE

By Kyle Gargaro Editorial Director, The ACHR News

Have you heard of the Windmill window air conditioning unit? I know as of a few weeks ago, I was not aware of the product. Even if you have not heard of this product at this point, the odds are pretty good that your kids or grandkids have. That is because the product has blown up and gone viral on social media—specifically, TikTok. TikTok is a social media site that hosts short videos from users.

This window air conditioner has all the makings of a social media star. It is a slick looking product, is easy to install, and solves a problem for the younger gneration. One TikTok user posted a short video of the Windmill air conditioner, and it quickly got over 6000,000 likes.

So, that proves that HVAC can be “cool” on social media. See what I did there?

This leads to the next logical question—what are you as an HVAC contractor doing with social media to increase sales at your business?

One interesting company that recently appeared on my radar was Social Jazz. It is a company that automates social media content for your business. It was created when small business owner Paul Baccaro realized that he was so busy with the abundance of tasks needed to run a business that his company had not posted on social media in over two months.

“That is when I got the idea for Social Jazz,” Baccaro said. “It is hard trying to stay on top of things.”

The company provides ready-made content from a growing catalog of posts around IAQ, preventative maintenance, and product change-outs. It combines that with a social media plan for the entire year that automatically publishes.

Of course, it is suggested that HVAC contractors augment those posts with some company-specific posts—items like introducing new employees or photos of company events. Anything that connects you to your audience.

Social Jazz is one way to solve the social media problem, but there are certainly others. While a dedicated position in the company is not feasbile for most contractors, perhaps it could be part of the marketing employee’s job. Or, since a lot of HVAC companies are family businesses, instead of sweeping floors, maybe the first job of that high-school-aged kid is to run the company’s social media accounts.

There are a few things to keep in mind when contractors, Locals, or chapters are handling social media:

1. If you are going to do it, do it right. You do not need to open an account on each social media platform. That will be impossible to handle. Find out where your audience is and go there. Do fewer social media platforms better. A good rule of thumb is to post two to three times a week to stay relevant and top of mind for your followers. 2. Keep in mind for HVAC that Facebook is still king.

Instagram and TikTok are picking up momentum for the younger gnereation and will be more important as

Milleniaials gain more buying power. But for right now, there is a pretty good chance your consumers are wasting time on Facebook. 3. Watch the metrics. The vanity metrics are good: numbers of followers, shares, and likes. But also track which sites get customers to contact you. For instance, here at the ACHR

News, we track how many people come to our website each month from our respective social media sties. That is much more important to me than any other number.

The important thing is not to be intimidated by the prospects of social media. It is where the majority of your customers are, and it is a relatively cheap form of communication. If it is too much for you, get some help, but make sure your HVAC contracting company is there. ▪

Kyle Gargaro is editorial director of The NEWS. He can be reached at 248-244-1720 or kylegargaro@achrnew.com. Gargaro has been with The NEWS since 2004., first as legislation editor, then managing editor, and now as editorial director. He holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism.