Instagram marketing is an untapped promotional resource for many HVAC companies. While most companies already utilize Facebook Ads for their business, few take full advantage of Instagram.
If you’ve already taken the time to establish an Instagram Business Account, cheers to you! You have the foresight to understand that this social media platform is gaining traction across most demographics.
Quick Instagram Marketing Tips for HVAC Companies
- Create an Instagram Business Account
- Take Original Photos With Natural Light
- Experiment With Different Photo Angles
- Engage With Comments and DMs
- Write Compelling Captions
- Ethically Curate Other Posts
- Share Funny Memes
Pew Research Center reports that 50% of U.S. adults use Instagram. This is a tremendous opportunity to connect with potential HVAC clients who regularly make their rounds on social media.
Source: Pew Research Center
Create an Instagram Business Account
The best way to create an Instagram Business Account is to follow this guide from Instagram’s official website. I think you’ll find it easier than you expected.
And since Facebook owns Instagram, you get many of the same great metrics and feedback on posts and the ability to add pertinent business information to establish your page as an excellent citation for Google rankings.
In the following post, I’ll share some easy tips for stepping up your Instagram marketing for heating and cooling services.
By maximizing your presence on social media for a given platform, you can better invest efforts for what is likely to result in more calls and, ultimately, more business for your HVAC company.
Take Great Photos for Instagram Marketing
The visual-heavy aspect of Instagram can make many HVAC professionals groan, imagining it will take a photography background to gain any traction whatsoever. But this isn’t actually the case!
You don’t have to be a natural behind the camera — or even own a fancy DSLR camera — to make your Instagram account pleasing to the eye and a great source of referrals.
Let’s review a few simple tips that you can implement to improve the photos or Stories (videos you can post for a 24-hour period) that you share on behalf of your HVAC business in your Instagram marketing:
Natural Lighting Makes for the Best Photos
Isn’t it great news that you don’t have to keep a small photo studio in the corner of your shop? And aren’t you relieved that my advice isn’t to invest in a bunch of expensive photography lights?
No, you don’t need to do any of that. (Although you can. You do you.) The absolute best, most flattering photos tend to be those that utilize the power of natural light.
Any given consumer camera- and I’m heavily in favor of relying on the camera on your smartphone, to which this still applies- will perform best with plenty of natural light.
You don’t have to understand “manual mode” to take great pictures for your Instagram ads or feed posts, but you’ll benefit from the automatic settings when you let the light hit that lens.
For example, if you’re taking a photo of one of your HVAC technicians (which I highly recommend and will talk more about why in just a second), have them stand near a window during daylight hours and shoot with the window to your back.
Now, direct sun isn’t flattering due to the inevitable squints and overexposure you’ll reap. But daylight coming in through a large window will light your subject beautifully, and the resulting photo will be much more likely to get Likes (that running count below your photos, indicating a user’s appreciation).
Try Different Angles to Get Better Instagram Photos for Your HVAC Page
You may be surprised by how much more interesting your photos are when you try a different viewpoint. For example, it can be flattering for faces to take the photo from ever so slightly above eye level, creating a slimming effect on the face and body.
On the flip side, shooting from below chin level is less flattering. (Most of us have experienced this firsthand and can probably spot our better angles. The truth is, rarely is a flattering angle unique to one person.)
If you’re featuring a certain piece of equipment, a vehicle from your fleet, or a close-up of recent heating or cooling repair, try framing the focal point in a position other than the center.
It’s our tendency to plop the main thing in the middle, but it’s actually more visually interesting to focus on the person or thing that is more justified to the right or the left.
Think of the frame you’re capturing as a rectangle with three vertical sections broken up into thirds. Imagine where the lines would be separating the rectangle equally.
Take one photo with the focal point in the middle section and another with the focal point in the crease toward the right or left section. In most cases, the latter photo will be more engaging and thus invite more views, likes, and maybe even comments!
Engage with Comments and DMs to Boost Instagram Marketing
I mentioned the algorithm earlier, and engagement is another critical factor that Instagram considers when placing a post on a user’s feed.
Not only does it factor in what that user—or your potential customer—likes and views, but the extent to which you respond to comments and “DMs” (Direct Messages that users can send via the paper airplane icon) can also boost your posts.
Engagement is the name of the game on social media, so staying on top of notifications can improve the performance and visibility of your HVAC company’s Instagram ads.
Easy Tips for Creating Great Captions for HVAC Instagram Posts
Here’s the key to writing content for your HVAC Instagram posts/ads: Talk to your audience on social media just as you would a potential customer in real life.
Your heating and cooling website content might be more polished and professional. While you should never be borderline unprofessional, you can loosen your tie on Instagram.
- Remember Your Audience – Never lose sight of the fact that social media is meant to be social. Keep the tone friendly and light, remembering that heavy-handed messaging that looks like an ad will likely be ignored (or even hidden).
- Technical Jargon is a Buzzkill – You don’t need to “dumb it down” completely, as using industry-relevant terms will make you look authoritative and help your clients feel a little more confident as they pick up on the lingo. But don’t fill captions with a technical description and call it a day; write out a full sentence, and keep it in layman’s terms whenever possible
- #HashtagsAreYourFriend – Posts with a gazillion hashtags instantly look like spam. Don’t go overboard; utilizing relevant hashtags is a great way to help drive traffic to your posts. A great way to keep the captions clean is to use a max of one hashtag in the main caption, post it, and then add a few additional hashtags in the comments section. Never use more than five hashtags in total.
When Struggling to Create, Curate!
You don’t have to create every post for Instagram marketing for your HVAC business account from scratch. There is much to be said for tapping into Instagram’s social network aspect and sharing relevant content from other users.
Stealing Instagram Content is NOT the Same as Curating
Before I type one more sentence, let me be very clear: you should never steal content. What’s the difference, you ask? If you simply screenshot a great image from another user and repost it, you’ve stolen that image.
Even if the photo has a watermark, you’re essentially trying to profit from their work without giving proper credit. Utilizing an app like Repost is a great way to share content from Instagram on Instagram without breaking copyright or behaving badly.
When I say curate, I mean to look at your overall feed and create a nice balance of your own original content and borrowed/shared content. Incorporate photos of your team, your repairs, and your equipment, as well as photos that you find from other logical pages (that aren’t competitors, duh).
Maybe a builder in your service area shares photos of their new development. Repost the image, welcome the builder to the neighborhood, and tag the builder and any associated Instagram pages for the development/neighborhood.
Memes Make People Smile
Now, please don’t let your feed lose its value by cluttering your professional page with silliness, but sharing a few funnies here and there pertinent to heating and cooling issues is a great way to show that you or your company has a personality.
Even with Memes, reposting the right way is essential, so if you see an image shared that is linked back to the creator, navigate to the original post and share from there.
Instagram Marketing’s Impact on HVAC Businesses
Instagram reports that over two million advertisers use the platform to drive business results. This is no small figure, and it makes perfect sense for heating and cooling companies like yours to get in on the action.
As a homeowner, I am far more likely to shift my already-established pattern of checking my Instagram (and yes, I’m one of those 50% adult users) when searching for home service needs, especially if they’re right there in front of me with a beautiful feed or engaging HVAC Instagram marketing ad.
