These days, it seems like there’s a TikTok subculture for everyone. BookTok, where ultra-niche books go viral through sounds and skits. Cottagecore, which romanticizes peaceful country living. Trade-based social media accounts have been growing in popularity as well. Case in point: AHR Expo’s Instagram account, which during the 2023 event shared hundreds of photo and video stories posted by HVACR trade pros posting or streaming from the show floor.

And the industry is taking note.

“A number of people I spoke with in Atlanta cited the opportunity to interact with online peers and influencers in-person as the tipping point while deciding whether or not to attend the AHR Expo,” wrote Dan Vastyan in a recent ACHR NEWS article. “When successful, energized trade professionals share their work, advice, successes, and failures online, it encourages others to learn and do their best work.”

One panel at the Expo focused on just how to do that, bringing together some of the industry’s top social media stars to discuss the how, when, and why of social media in HVACR.

Panel members
Ben Poole (@hvactactical)
Aaron Bond (@bond_aaron)
Chris Stephens (@hvacrvideos)
Eric Aune (@mechanicalhub)
Jamie Christensen (@northwest_hvac)
Jeff DeMassari (@jeffjdemhvac)
Jessica Bannister (@hvacjess)
Michael Flynn (@flynnstone1)
Omar Harris (@omartheplumber)
Rachel Sylvain (@hvacrara)

What goes through your mind when creating content?

JD: Just post it. When you're authentic, it doesn't matter what you put on your page. People just want to see it.

AB: The [accounts] that have large, massive followings are usually more organic … The key for us is just be yourself, be organic, and post content that makes you excited.

CS: People look to me, look to everybody up here for a different reason. But the one thing [in common] is they're subscribed to that person. The people come for my personality. For a while, I would just put out content like boom, boom, boom. Then I realized … I needed to put myself into [the posts]. So I put little things in there like when it was really late at night and I was really stressed out and exhausted. And I found that my viewers (for me) liked that and related to that. … They have to go out on those late-night calls, too. So at the same time while I'm sharing information and I'm giving knowledge out, they're also looking for me.

How do you grow your audience?

BP: Nobody here on this stage has paid to grow their audience. We've never unlocked the secret formula. But what we figured out are little tips and tricks along the way of how it works, but really all of us have just highlighted what we do in our passions every day. … If you’re passionate about it, it’s going to come through to your audience.

AB: I wish I understood the algorithms, but I don’t. What did help me was understanding that social media is social. … Go and talk to people that are posting relevant material, regardless of the platform. Content is king. You have to engage on that content, build your network.

EA: I believe if you understand who you want and who your audience is … that’s honestly the most important thing. And then don’t ignore your audience. You have to develop that audience and develop content that is focused on [who that audience is]. Just stay focused on what you believe your audience is looking for.

For the young tech that is trying to do what you are all trying to do, how do they manage doing social media and their work?

EA: Safety is No. 1. If you're going to make a video and set your phone up and start using tools and things and you're worried about what that video looks like … Be safe, be smart.

JC: I might post a story and stuff during the day, but a lot of the times I'll get the content while I'm working and later when I get home, that's when I start doing the editing for a real post.

BP: That’s the best tip if you’re a young tech. Shoot the video, edit it later.

What aspect of business does content creation help the most? Recruiting? Brining in new customers?

JD: I pulled a lot of jobs off Instagram and it worked pretty well. … And I get lot of talent that wants to come in and work with us.

How can you still protect a customer’s privacy when filming content?

MF: You don't have to show the whole project. You can zoom in on a couple of things that you can post.

BP: Yeah, like don’t show the name of the building. There are easy ways not to disclose information.

How do you respond to negative comments?

JD: You either kill them with kindness or you don’t respond.

OH: You’re not going to change their mind.

AB: I struggle with not engaging negativity.

EA: For me, I have to focus on the fact that it's not about me — it's about that person. They wanted to be heard for one reason or another. And maybe sometimes the best response is no response.

Does posting content on a personal account as well reach a different audience, or does it keep your current audience engaged?

EA: If I put a video with my dog in it, people love that. I’m just going to tell you right now.

CS: I try to keep it as professional as possible. But I've noticed the same thing, too. I do question-and-answer livestreams on Monday evenings and at the end of my livestream, my dog — since he was a puppy — has come into my livestream. So I usually don't even address it anymore. I just leave the camera running and turn the audio off. And I let him come in and give me a big kiss or something and the audience eats that up. … I've had to throw some of my personality and for my own sanity, because I'm constantly shelling out content. It's starting to affect my mentality.

JB: I come from a very unique perspective, I'm a woman in the trade now, and I love showing people that I’ve got a long hair and it takes a lot of effort, and I work out a lot, and I think people like to see that and it really resonates with them, because it's something that they believe in.

Where do hashtags come into play?

CS: We don't control hashtags, and that's the disconnect between social media. Hashtags are what people are searching for. We take a guess by putting a hashtag in a video or a post that someone's going to search for that. Hashtags are part of the algorithm that's natural. So if someone goes on social media and they search for something that hashtag is associated with that, so we can't control what people are searching for. If you make a product that people are interested in, well then we're going to be lucky if that becomes a hashtag.

When you started, how did you deal with the mental struggle of posting content and not having a lot of followers or getting likes or comments?

RS: I struggle too with the confidence, and if what I’m posting is relevant … with what I’m going to post, and if anyone cares about what I have to say.

JB: I think that’s where the passion comes into play. If you’re really passionate, it doesn’t matter how many likes you’re getting. You’re just putting it out there because you want to.

As women in a male-dominated industry, how does that affect the validity of the things you post and what challenges have you faced?

JB: I just try to be authentic and be myself. If I don’t know the answer to something, I’ll try to get it from them and I’ll get back to them later. I personally like to post things about my struggles and my successes — and trust me, I celebrate every success that I have — and I think that’s important, because we do have a lot of fun on social media but HVAC is hard.

RS: In the last 10 years I've been in the industry, I [learned] the installation processes, I understand on an install what we need. And do I feel like we're brushed off a little bit when we put out input in, yeah. And it’s a struggle. But that’s where that confidence comes in. Like, wow, he invited me on this panel. I got 900 followers, but he's putting me in a category with hearing that.

JB: We need women to be posting and putting ourselves out there because we need to be seen. My whole story is my dad was a refrigeration mechanic my whole life. My brother followed in his footsteps naturally, but it never occurred to any of us that I could do it as well. And I honestly, truly believe it was because we hadn’t had any examples. I'd never seen a lady doing what my dad did. So how can I do that? And so that's why I post everyday things like “this is what I'm doing, this is what I'm struggling with, this what I've overcome.”

AB: And I'll tell you as a third-generation HVAC tech, admittedly my mindset was that women can’t do [HVAC]. It was such a flawed mentality. And social media has had a major influence in how I view women in the trades. I’m a huge advocate for it now … because of Jess, and the other women influencers that I watch that are in the industry. [Jess] is better than three-quarters of the techs that I have.

JB: We're not there yet. We’ve got a long way to go. But the ball has started to roll. And that’s the most important part, so let's just keep that momentum going. Because one day … we’re not going to need [Women in HVAC]. But we have to have it now because things are changing.