n Hot Seat Finding your company’s voice

Our publisher was recently asked to speak on a panel to discuss social media in the skilled trades and share some of the best practices to follow for businesses. In lead up to the event, we as a company had many different debates on how our approach has changed over the years.

Most of our social media was developed about five years ago. Since then, we have continued to grow our reach and following. One of the most important lessons we’ve learned over the years, which sounds basic in nature but important nonetheless, is that winging social media just doesn’t work. There needs to be daily activity on your various accounts and the content itself needs to be relevant. We now throw around terms like “social media planning.”

As a media company, social media allows us to share our articles and other content outside our normal publication dates and to a new demographic.

We have seen a shift in how we produce our content, which I highly suspect is due to the pandemic. We are also seeing a shift towards more digital content nowadays.

We are looking at developing projects such as one-day online training conferences, product reviews, on-the-job walk-throughs, and even short training videos. People rely on social media more today than ever before.

Social media doesn’t necessarily have to be just for the larger companies out there. More and more of the smaller contracting companies are turning to social media to share their installations and best practices.

Platforms like TikTok and Instagram are great for sharing those pictures or videos you take during your day that seem to stockpile on your phone. There have been a few profiles that I regularly follow on Twitter that have some interesting conversations. Some are just entertaining and give you something to chuckle and shake your head about.

It can be quite daunting figuring out which platforms your company should join. So, I’d say my best advice for those pondering the idea of joining the social media community is to start out with one of two and go from there. If you want to simply share some fun pictures with your network, then stick to the ones that are best suited for that specific medium. If you are more moved by the written word and would rather express your opinions, again, pick the ones that are more geared toward the type of voice you are looking to create for you company.

And above all else, try and have some fun.

January/February 2023

Volume 33, Number

ISSN 1919-0395

Publisher Mark Vreugdenhil (289) 638-2133 ext.1

Cell: (416) 996-1031 mark@plumbingandhvac.ca

Editor Leah Den Hartogh

(289) 638-2133 ext. 2

Cell: (289) 830-1217 leah@plumbingandhvac.ca

Assistant Editor Francesco Lo Presti (289) 638-2133 ext. 3 francesco@plumbingandhvac.ca

Contributing Writers

Glenn Mellors, Greg Scrivener, Michael Ridler, Ron Coleman

Design and Production Tim Norton/Janet Popadiuk production@plumbingandhvac.ca

All and by Plumbing & HVAC staff unless noted. who purchase/ specify/approve the selection of plumbing, piping, hot water heating, fire protection, warm air heating, air conditioning, ventilation, refrigeration, controls and related systems and products throughout Canada.

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