Blogging in the Heating and Air Conditioning and Related Industries
Recently, I spoke at a convention where I was asked an interesting question, “Can blogging benefit the everyday, ordinary business?” This was a very valid question and as I stood in front of 900 or so specialists representing industries such as heating and air conditioning, plumbing, electrical and roofing, my answer was a resounding, “Yes!”
These businesses, although slightly less glamorous than some, represent the backbone of everyday living and are without a shadow of doubt, extremely necessary to just about everybody at some point in time. We understand people aren’t going to read their blogs from pure fascination – there has to be more to the content than just technical jargon. Most people don’t think about plumbing or heating and air condition until they have a problem, and then they need those problems repaired pronto.
What Should a Company Blog About?
Blogging can still be highly effective for those in these industries if they apply certain strategies in their efforts. Those strategies can include topics that are going to be helpful to the average homeowner such as
- quick fix techniques
- how to know when you need a plumber or electrician
- include community focused information such as upcoming events nearby.
It can be even more basic; you could blog about:
- where your work crews love to eat lunch
- problems and issues that you see within your own community
- secondary repairs to your trade
- customer service stories
There is actually a whole host of subjects available for you to blog on if you just open the door to let those ideas come in.
How Can Blogging Benefit my Company?
The upside to this style of blogging is that, A) people are going to start talking to their friends and family about where they read how you could repair or help resolve problems within their home, and B) search engines love this type of information; Google wants to know you’re alive and well and not trying to pull tricks with some kind of trumped up search engine optimization content.
If you talk about restaurants in your area as well as other establishments, potential customers are going to view you favorably and may think of you first when they need your services. You can even link to their websites or Facebook page to take it a step further and all of this can result in a win/win for everyone. An additional bonus is that readers can get to know their plumber or their electrician on a more personal level, even before meeting them in person.
If you are familiar with the term “branding,” blogging provides avenues to brand a company, particularly when you consider the fact that most people don’t think about these types of companies unless or until they are in need.
People are most likely going to call a company they are already familiar with and this constitutes the whole goal in blogging through social media – to make yourself familiar to your readers.
I can personally testify that this works because I have a friend on Facebook who is a plumber and he shares all kinds of fun stuff. He is uppermost in my mind and if I have a problem, guess who I’m going to call? It sure isn’t going to be someone who I’ve pulled out of a Yellow Pages listing; it’s going to be him.
So don’t worry if your business isn’t glamorous; your company still has great content to share with your community and you don’t need to be afraid of blogging. Start sharing your company’s values and interests and see what blogging can do for you.