by John Crowley | May 18, 2026 | Uncategorized
Workforce Strategies: Building the Workforce
of the Future When the first National Careers in Trades Week launched in April 2025, it was a coordinated measure by SMACNA, SMART, and the International Training Institute to see if the nation was ready to have a different conversation about work. One year later, the returns are in. The Wall Street Journal covered it. So did CNN and Fox News. Local outlets coast to coast ran features and interviews. And the initiative walked away with a Gold W3 Award in the Educational & Instructional section of the Social Campaigns category, one of the most recognized honors in digital outreach.National Careers in Trades Week was back April 6 – 10 this year, and it was bigger, better funded and more urgently needed than ever. This year, the Mechanical Contractors Association of America (MCAA), the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA), the National Energy Management Institute (NEMI), the Sheet Metal Occupational Health Institute Trust (SMOHIT) and the Heavy Metal Summer Experience joined the founding coalition, and new research commissioned by SMACNA from Wakefield Research tells a story that no amount of marketing could have manufactured. The American public — Gen Z, in particular — is already coming around to the trades on its own.The industry just needs to meet them there.A LABOR MARKET AT A CROSSROADSThe 2026 edition of National Careers in Trades Week arrived at a peculiar moment in the American economy. The broader job market has stagnated — fewer postings, harder-to-land positions and a white-collar hiring freeze in sectors that once felt bulletproof. But skilled trades tell a different story. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, professions in the skilled trades are projected to experience faster-than-average job growth from 2024 through 2034. The BLS Occupational Outlook predicts more than 600,000 construction job openings annually, and the median annual wage in the trades has risen to $58,000 — up from $55,000 just a year earlier — surpassing the median for all occupations, depending on your local collective bargaining agreement.For union members, the picture is even stronger. Nationwide, full-time union construction workers earn a median that is more than $23,500 per year higher than their nonunion counterparts, according to BLS median weekly earnings data. And the Construction Labor Research Council reports that wages across the industry are rising above 4% annually as employers compete for workers in an increasingly tight labor market.In the sheet metal and HVAC space specifically, the stakes are especially clear. Approximately 35,000 sheet metal workers are expected to retire in the coming years. Over half of the current workforce is already over 45. For every five workers who leave the trade, only two are entering it. The deficit is structural, and it is deepening.“There is a lot that has changed about our country over the years: technology, artificial intelligence, you name it,” says Michael Coleman, general president of SMART. “But one thing that won’t ever change is this simple fact: We need skilled trades workers to build our country.”SMART members are building hospitals, managing air quality in schools and ensuring that apartment and office buildings operate efficiently. But the union — and the industry — cannot sustain that work without a new generation of workers ready to carry it forward. THE TEENS ARE ALREADY LISTENINGThe headline finding from this year’s Wakefield Research study, commissioned by SMACNA, is striking in its directness: 75% of teens aged 13 to 18 say they would consider a trade job over going to college. Not “might consider,” but “would consider” as a viable and appealing alternative, if they knew the pay was higher than average.The survey asked what would tip a teenager toward the trades, and the results reveal a generation that is thinking practically and economically. Thirty percent cited higher pay, good benefits and paid apprenticeships as the most compelling factors. Twenty-four percent said the opportunity for promotion would sway them. Twenty-one percent said knowing that their work was vital to the economy would matter. And 19% pointed to the sheer growth in available positions.These are the calculations of a generation that has watched student loan debt cripple its predecessors and has drawn conclusions. College enrollment rates have been declining since 2010, according to data from the National Center for Education Statistics with enrollment rebounding slightly since 2022.The Wall Street Journal captured this shift in a widely circulated piece that dubbed Gen Z the “toolbelt generation,” a label that has since stuck across the national conversation about workforce development. The numbers behind it are concrete: enrollment in vocational-focused community colleges rose 16% to its highest level since the National Student Clearinghouse began tracking such data in 2018. Enrollment in construction trade programs rose 23%. HVAC and vehicle maintenance programs rose 7%.An earlier Thumbtack survey of Gen Z graduates found that about nine in 10 said learning a skilled trade offered a more reliable path to economic security than college. And a Jobber survey found that 75% of high school and college-age respondents said they would be interested in vocational schools offering paid, on-the-job training — the very model that apprenticeship programs in the sheet metal industry have perfected over decades.The gender data is also notable. Interest among Gen Z women and men in the trades is now nearly equal — 52% versus 57%, respectively. That near-parity represents a structural shift from previous generations and an opportunity that the industry should be actively cultivating.“Skilled professions offer rewarding career opportunities for all people, including young adults, women, veterans and anyone who is looking for a career change,” says Frank Wall, CEO of SMACNA. “The wages and job security that trade careers offer provide a faster means to home ownership, upward mobility and saving for retirement that other pathways don’t always ensure.”PARENTS ARE ON BOARD, AND THAT CHANGES EVERYTHINGOne of the most underappreciated findings in the SMACNA research is about the parents of these teenagers. In the 2025 Wakefield Research survey of 500 parents with children currently enrolled in high school or college, 89% said it was smart for young adults to consider pursuing a trade career, given the job market, the economy and the weight of college debt. And 86% said they would be open to or would actively encourage their child to pursue that path.Forty-seven percent said their child had already mentioned wanting to go into a trade. That parental shift matters enormously. For decades, the cultural current ran in the opposite direction — the four-year degree was the expected destination, and anything else carried an implicit stigma. That stigma is eroding, and it is eroding at the family dinner table. When a parent hears that a sheet metal apprentice can earn up to $87,500 in their first year and can reach $120,000 to $200,000 in wages and benefits within four to five years of completing an apprenticeship, depending on your local collective bargaining agreement — with no college debt — the math becomes difficult to argue with.The industry’s task is not to persuade a resistant public. It is to amplify a conversation that is already happening and give it the language, the data and the pathways it needs to turn interest into enrollment. A COALITION THAT HAS GROWNThe 2025 inaugural National Careers in Trades Week was anchored by SMACNA, SMART and the ITI — the organizations with the most direct stake in recruiting the next generation of sheet metal and HVAC workers. The 2026 edition has expanded that coalition significantly, and the additions signal something important: this is no longer a single-industry recruitment campaign. It is a cross-trades movement.In 2026, new partners included the Mechanical Contractors Association of America (MCAA), the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA), the National Energy Management Institute (NEMI), the Sheet Metal Occupational Health Institute Trust (SMOHIT) and the Heavy Metal Summer Experience. Each brings its own member base, its own regional networks and its own workforce development infrastructure to a shared platform.NECA CEO David Long framed his organization’s participation in terms that resonate far beyond the electrical industry. “A career in the electrical industry offers more than a paycheck; it offers purpose, stability and opportunity,” he says. “Electrical construction professionals are building the systems that power our economy, keep our communities safe and bring us light at the flick of a switch. This industry provides high-quality training, competitive wages, strong benefits and clear pathways for advancement, allowing individuals to successfully transform their lives and families while contributing to a more connected and sustainable future.”The expansion of the coalition also positions National Careers in Trades Week alongside a parallel federal push. The U.S. Department of Labor announced that National Apprenticeship Week 2026 — set for April 26 through May 2, under the theme “America at Work: Making America Skilled Again Through Registered Apprenticeship” — will run just weeks after National Careers in Trades Week. The event is tied directly to the Trump administration’s goal of reaching one million active apprentices and to presidential executive orders on skilled trades, AI education and national industrial reinvestment.Since the start of the current administration, more than 363,000 new individuals have started apprenticeships — a figure that the Department of Labor is actively building on. The timing of both weeks created a month-long national drumbeat around workforce development in the trades, with National Careers in Trades Week generating the public awareness and National Apprenticeship Week translating that attention into specific pathways.THE ECONOMIC CASE, BY THE NUMBERSFor contractors, workforce developers and educators looking to make the case for a career in sheet metal and HVAC, the 2026 data package is the strongest it has ever been. Here is the picture as it stands, depending on your local collective bargaining agreement:$58,000 — Median annual wage in skilled trades (2025), up from $55,000 the prior year, exceeding the median for all U.S. occupations.$23,556-plus — Annual wage premium for full-time union construction workers over their nonunion counterparts, based on BLS median weekly earnings data.600,000-plus — Construction job openings projected annually through 2034, with faster-than-average growth across the trades.$87,500 — What a SMART sheet metal apprentice can earn in their first year, including wages and benefits, depending on your local collective bargaining agreement.$120,000–$200,000 — Wages and benefits achievable within four to five years of completing a union sheet metal apprenticeship, depending on your local collective bargaining agreement.$0 — Student debt incurred through an earn-while-you-learn apprenticeship, compared to an average of $34,000 for a four-year bachelor’s degree.5 to 2 — The ratio of trade workers retiring to new workers entering the field. WHAT THE TRADES ACTUALLY OFFEROne of the recurring themes in the National Careers in Trades Week campaign — and in the broader public conversation that the Wall Street Journal, CNN and Fox News helped amplify — is that the trades have shed the image of being low-tech, low-status work. That image was never accurate for sheet metal and HVAC, and it is now actively counterproductive.HVAC systems account for 30% to 40% of building energy use. The workers who design, install and maintain them are on the front lines of the green building revolution, reducing carbon emissions, increasing energy efficiency and enabling the kind of high-performance infrastructure that chip plants, data centers and healthcare facilities require. Modern laser welding, drone-assisted inspection, BIM coordination and AI-enabled project management are reshaping what it means to work in the trade. The workers entering the field today will spend their careers at that intersection of physical mastery and digital fluency.The entrepreneurial pathway is also underappreciated. Many of the most successful contractors in the SMACNA network started as apprentices. With experience, those workers can open fabrication shops, manage service operations, move into project management and estimating, or eventually own their own businesses. It is one of the fastest routes to business ownership available in the American economy without requiring a degree.And unlike industries that have seen jobs migrate offshore or dissolve into automation, sheet metal and mechanical work must be done on site by skilled hands in the buildings where Americans live and work. These jobs cannot be outsourced. In a labor market that has grown increasingly uncertain, that is not a small thing.“Union apprenticeships aren’t just a career path,” Coleman says, “they’re a gateway to a stable, rewarding future. By investing in the next generation of trade workers, we’re building a skilled workforce that will power our industries and communities for decades to come.”APRIL 6 – 10: YEAR TWO RESULTSNational Careers in Trades Week 2026 ran April 6 through April 10 with cross-industry visibility efforts designed to reach job seekers, students, parents and the broader public. Throughout the week, participating organizations, including SMACNA, SMART, ITI, MCAA, NECA, NEMI, SMOHIT and HMSE, coordinated outreach across digital platforms, media and local markets.For SMACNA members, National Careers in Trades Week represented both an opportunity and a responsibility. The research is there. The public appetite is there. The partnership infrastructure is there. What translates all of it into actual workers walking through the door of a local JATC is local engagement — contractors and industry partners showing up in their communities, talking to high school students, hosting tours, partnering with career and technical education programs, and making the invisible visible.SMACNA members participated by visiting nationalcareersintradesweek.com for resources, toolkits and event information. The Heavy Metal Summer Experience, which gives young people a hands-on introduction to sheet metal work, continues to serve as one of the most effective on-ramps the industry has developed, and its reach is growing.While the first National Careers in Trades Week landed on the front pages of the Wall Street Journal, CNN and Fox News, the second had the wind at its back with a stagnant broader job market, a generation actively looking for alternatives to college debt, parents who are ready to have the conversation and a coalition of trade organizations larger and better-resourced than the one that launched this effort just one year ago.Photos: Sheet Metal Werks, Heavy Metal Summer Experience, Ernest D. Menold Inc. EDITOR’S NOTE: For more information on National Careers in Trades Week, visit nationalcareersintradesweek.com. For resources on the SMART apprenticeship program and the International Training Institute, visit iti-sti.org.
by John Crowley | May 14, 2026 | Uncategorized
How Contractors Can Avoid Three Common Mistakes During Periods of Growth However, given the cyclical nature of construction, assumptions that hold true during slower periods may not hold when project demand accelerates. Project-by-project budgeting, fluctuating material prices and labor availability challenges make it difficult to predict and allocate resources accurately and effectively. As contractors navigate the “peaks and valleys” of the construction cycle, avoiding three common mistakes can help maintain growth momentum and prevent avoidable strain: Cash Flow Blind Spots When Workload Increases Cash flow may be more challenging to manage when project volume increases quickly. During slower periods, some contractors rely on borrowing between jobs to cover labor, equipment or overhead. Larger jobs often require significant upfront mobilization costs, and without disciplined forecasting and timely billing, a shortfall may be more challenging to identify. Regularly monitoring cash flow by contract size, timing and billing structure keeps working capital aligned with the contractor’s goals and provides a stronger foundation for larger opportunities. In certain situations, it actually may require infusion of additional capital or possible a request to the company’s bank for a temporary or permanent increase in available line of credit.Relying on Outdated or Incomplete Cost Data on New Bids Every bid is built on assumptions about labor, materials and subcontractor pricing. In busy cycles, those inputs can shift quickly, which means the costs or productivity expectations from the last project may not apply to the next one. When those changes aren’t communicated or updated, estimators may base bids on outdated assumptions, creating a gap between what the job was priced to deliver and what is required in the field. Keeping cost data current and sharing field updates regularly helps contractors price work accurately during growth.Not Reviewing the WIP Schedule Frequently EnoughWith more jobs running at once, underbilling, fading margins, or shifting timelines can surface quickly. If the WIP is not reviewed regularly, these issues may go unnoticed until the financial impact becomes more difficult to control or correct. Consistent WIP reviews help contractors communicate real-time job performance with lenders and protect profitability as project volume rises. Keeping these schedules up to date provides an early warning system and helps ensure that financial decisions reflect the true status of each job. It is recommended that WIP schedules be prepared and analyzed at least monthly.”Periods of high demand allow contractors to reinforce the systems and best practices that will support them in slower months.”Periods of high demand allow contractors to reinforce the systems and best practices that will support them in slower months. Using growth periods to sharpen forecasting, improve job visibility, and update cost data helps contractors sustain momentum, not only through the current workload but also as market conditions shift. For more information, contact Ronald J. Eagar, CPA, CCIFP Partner at Grassi, at reagar@grassiadvisors.com, through www.grassiadvisors.com or at 516-336-2460.
by John Crowley | May 14, 2026 | Uncategorized
Ins and Outs of Automation This article focuses on automation, but AI can easily be substituted in as well. While concerns often resurface during election cycles, the reality is that automation has been part of our industry for decades. Rather than embracing it blindly or resisting it outright, it’s worth looking at how these tools may actually affect our workforce and our work.The most common concern is job loss. This fear is valid and deserves to be addressed thoughtfully. Some roles do disappear when automation is introduced, but that does not automatically translate to net job loss. A frequently cited example is the introduction of ATMs in the 1970s. While many expected bank tellers to be replaced, banks ultimately hired more employees as automation reduced routine tasks and enabled expansion. The work ended up changing, often becoming more customer focused and meaningful.A similar dynamic exists in construction. Equipment such as coil lines, plasma and laser tables, and multi-axis cutters can reduce labor on repetitive cutting tasks. But when viewed across the full workflow, one or two operators can feed multiple downstream workstations. Automation removes bottlenecks and allows more people to stay productive in higher-skill assembly, welding, and installation work.Another concern is the loss of craft. In practice, the craft doesn’t disappear, it just shifts. Tradespeople still rely on deep knowledge to ensure machines produce accurate, high-quality parts. The most demanding skill often shows up later in the process, where workers assemble complex systems, adapt to changing jobsite conditions, and ensure components fit into a constantly evolving building.Automation also enables contractors to take on more work. While labor hours may be reduced on individual assemblies or projects, improved speed and accuracy allow firms to bid competitively and increase overall capacity. With strong backlogs across much of the industry, efficiency gains often translate into more total work, not less.One of construction’s strengths is how these tools are developed and adopted. Many automation solutions are created in collaboration with contractors, unions, and shop workers, with a focus on improving safety and efficiency rather than replacing people. That collaboration has also created new roles in engineering, installation, and maintenance.Automation isn’t going away. What matters is how we continue to adopt it thoughtfully, collaboratively, and with respect for the workforce that makes this industry run. Travis Voss is the Director of Innovative Technology and Fabrication at SMACNA. He leverages his background in the tech field to explore, adapt and potentially develop technologies and workflows for the construction industry, particularly as it undergoes its digital transformation.
by John Crowley | Mar 9, 2026 | Uncategorized
The Infrastructure Work Pipeline When Sabrina Sussman talks about transportation, she does not start with lanes, bridges or budgets. She starts with people trying to get to school, work or a doctor’s appointment and what happens when they can’t. In a SMACNA webinar with Seth Lennon, SMACNA’s Director of Content Development and Media Relations Policy, Sussman explains that she “fell in love with transportation” only after stumbling into a job at the U.S. Department of Transportation and realizing “it doesn’t matter what you’ve built if people can’t get there.”Now, as Chief Program Officer for Nashville’s “Choose How You Move” initiative, Sussman oversees a $3.1 billion, 15-year, voter-approved program to overhaul sidewalks, bus service, corridors and traffic signals across one of the fastest growing metros in the country. The work is infrastructure on paper, but in practice, it is a massive pipeline of projects that will require the skills of sheet metal and HVAC contractors in transit facilities, control centers and dense urban corridors for years to come.From Accidental Transport Nerd to Nashville CPOSussman never planned a career in transportation. She moved to Washington, D.C., wanting to work in government on health or education policy and took a position at USDOT, telling herself, “government’s government, you can always pivot.” Instead, she stayed — twice. Early roles at USDOT, a stint in New York City Hall and time at Zipcar gave her a front row seat to how cities and the private sector share responsibility for how people move.Most recently, she served as chief of staff and deputy to U.S. Deputy Transportation Secretary Polly Trottenberg, and as a senior adviser to then Secretary Pete Buttigieg, working on the rollout of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and a wave of federal investments in roads, bridges, airports and transit. “You go where the money is when it comes to infrastructure,” she says, noting that the law marked a “generational investment” after decades of underfunding. For contractors, that shift at the federal level is now being echoed — and in some ways amplified — by cities and regions that are self-taxing to build their own projects.Inside “Choose How You Move”Nashville’s turning point came in 2024, when 66% of voters approved a half-penny sales tax dedicated solely to transportation. Under Tennessee law, localities that want big infrastructure must largely “self fund,” so the city put a detailed Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) on the ballot, promising specific projects in exchange for that tax.“It was a $3.1-billion program over 15 years,” Sussman says. “It includes 86 miles of sidewalk, nearly 600 traffic intersection signals and 10 all access corridors” — the heaviest, most congested corridors in the region — with safety improvements woven throughout. Every block and intersection is identified on a public map, giving contractors an atypical level of certainty about where work will be and what will be built.One year after the referendum passed, Sussman cut the first ribbon, marking the completion of an early “quick win” project: a transit signal upgrade called a queue jump that lets buses enter the intersection a few seconds before cars, so routes move faster. At the same time, her team is launching short-, medium- and long-term work: signal replacements and fiber in the near term, and full corridor redesigns and large sidewalk packages in later phases. For mechanical and sheet metal firms, those “all access corridors” and transit enhancements mean future work tied to stations, shelters, operations centers and high performance systems in buildings along those routes.Potholes are Nonpartisan, and So is the WorkIf there is a theme to Sussman’s message, it is that transportation is fundamentally local and fundamentally bipartisan. She jokes that one of her favorite conference ribbons reads “potholes are nonpartisan,” because “when people drive down the street or are at the airport, it doesn’t matter who’s in power; what matters is that their infrastructure needs help and support.”She believes that local leaders are now wrestling with the same questions Washington faced during the infrastructure law debate: “How do we fund infrastructure investments?” and “Have those networks that supported our prosperity kept up with the growth?” Cities like Nashville, Charlotte, Columbus and Austin are answering by asking voters directly to approve transportation referendums, and they’re often succeeding. For SMACNA contractors, that means the next boom in work may not just follow federal megaprojects; it will track these local “self-subscribed” programs where the money and project lists are set for a decade or more.Where contractors come in is to fill the capacity gap. “Nashville and Middle Tennessee don’t have all the people that we need to pull this off,” Sussman says. She calls “Choose How You Move” not just a transportation program but “also a workforce development program,” adding that the city needs contractors to “be welcoming and inventive and encourage new folks to come to town” to help deliver the work.Her tips for SMACNA members are direct: Track which localities are pushing big infrastructure packages; that is where the work and funding will be.Be “good, trusting partners” who help cities deliver projects faster, not just cheaper.Offer ideas that cut red tape and timelines without sacrificing quality because “the best way to ensure that public investment continues is to deliver.”She describes one example from Nashville where a contractor pointed out that restrictive city rules allowed only six working hours a day on certain sites, dramatically slowing completion. “If we’re only allowed to work on a job site for six hours a day, it’s going to take a really long time,” the contractor told her, prompting a rethink about longer hours and trade-offs between short term disruption and faster delivery. For mechanical contractors used to carefully phased shutdowns and tight commissioning windows, that kind of honest feedback is exactly where they can add value.Why This Matters for HVAC and Sheet Metal ProsWhile much of Sussman’s story centers on sidewalks and signals, she stresses that transportation projects are not one-and-done; they are systems that must be built, operated, maintained and continuously upgraded. “Transportation and infrastructure are not about build it once and move on,” she says. “You have to build it, operate it and maintain it. Those investments take work over many years.”That long tail of work touches SMACNA contractors at multiple points: Airports and terminals. Aging terminals designed for a pre-9/11 world are being rebuilt to handle new security, passenger flows and energy performance standards — from Kansas City’s complete terminal replacement to expansions at Nashville’s BNA. Those projects require complex HVAC, high-end architectural sheet metal and advanced controls.Transit and corridor facilities. Bus rapid transit lanes, stations, depots and signal houses are all mechanically intensive spaces where reliable, efficient systems are critical to uptime and safety.Operations centers and data infrastructure. As Sussman notes, many of Nashville’s traffic signals are 50 to 60 years old and untouched; upgrading them means new equipment, new rooms to house that equipment and reliable cooling and ventilation for electronics and staff.She underscores that much of this work is now technology driven, whether in signal systems, data collection or facilities that must support continuous operations. “It’s weird to think about roads as tech projects, but they are in a lot of ways,” she says, noting that while people replace phones every 15 months, many cities are still running traffic control hardware from the 1960s. For contractors comfortable integrating building systems with digital infrastructure, that shift plays to their strengths.Where Contractors Can Shape the PipelineSussman repeatedly returns to the role of labor and contractors in getting “Choose How You Move” across the finish line. An outside campaign backed by advocates and unions helped make the case to voters that Nashville’s congestion, which Forbes labeled “the worst commute in the country,” wasn’t inevitable and could be fixed with a dedicated investment.She encourages SMACNA members to replicate that model elsewhere:If your city is even “pondering” a transportation referendum, “jump in, offer to help and ask them how you can really help make that case,” she says.Be honest that these programs provide both desperately needed infrastructure and “jobs for your members,” and explain that clearly to the public.Engage at every level — federal, state and local — because “it’s not just one flavor of advocacy that gets those jobs done.”Her advice to a contractor eyeing opportunities in places like Boston’s MBTA repairs or airport expansions is practical: monitor FAA passenger data to see which airports are growing fastest, watch for big capital announcements (such as BNA’s recent $4-billion expansion plan) and proactively meet with owners to understand schedules and procurement paths.Looking ahead, Sussman sees a future where “all of the above” is the only realistic answer: more capital investment, more maintenance, more retrofits and more experimentation with new modes and technology. Cities that have expanded transit networks once like Seattle are now passing subsequent measures to operate, maintain and improve what they already built.Her deputy in Nashville talks about “continuous improvement” or going back to corridors as technology and use patterns change instead of treating them as finished forever. That mindset mirrors where many leading HVAC and sheet metal firms already are as long-term partners across a facility’s life cycle, not just low-bid installers.For HVAC and sheet metal companies, Sussman’s message is both a challenge and an invitation. Transportation is becoming more local, more voter driven, more tech heavy and more dependent on contractors who can deliver complex work quickly while protecting public trust. “Cities are doing some tough work,” she says. “Go to them and ask them if you can help be a part of that.”
by John Crowley | Mar 9, 2026 | Uncategorized
RESIDENTIAL: Boost Your Residential HVAC Business with Social Media In today’s digital age, residential HVAC contractors face a new imperative: mastering social media. Cody Shook, Director of Social Media for SMACNA National, shared insightful strategies at the 2025 SMACNA Annual Convention in Maui to help HVAC businesses harness this powerful tool.“Social media isn’t just a trend. It’s a catalyst for real business growth,” Shook says. “When done right, it builds brand trust, generates leads and keeps your company top of mind in clients’ communities.” Shook offered these seven tips for social media success. Know Your Starting Point. Shook outlined three typical social media stages for HVAC companies: those without any presence, those struggling to launch effectively and those already seeing success who want to maintain momentum. “It’s critical to identify where your company falls, so you can tailor your approach,” he advises.Prioritize the Right Platforms. For residential HVAC contractors, Shook highlighted the importance of focusing on priority platforms like TikTok, Instagram and LinkedIn. “Each platform has a unique audience and vibe,” he says. “TikTok is great for short, engaging videos that show your work and personality. Instagram helps showcase visuals and stories. LinkedIn is ideal for professional partnerships and building authority.”Consistency Is Key. When asked about posting frequency, Shook shared data-backed best times and recommended cadence. “Aim for nine to 18 posts a week distributed across platforms,” he says. “Post when your audience is most active. For example, Instagram followers peak on weekends from 10 a.m. to noon.”Use Smart Tools. To manage content efficiently, Shook recommends tools like Hootsuite for scheduling and analytics, CapCut for captioned videos and Canva to create eye-catching graphics. “You don’t have to do everything manually,” he explains. “Automating posts and tracking results makes a huge difference for busy contractors.”Content That Connects. Residential HVAC customers relate to authentic stories and helpful information. Shook encourages showing behind-the-scenes work, spotlighting team members, promoting safety practices and celebrating milestones. For instance, sharing a quick video of an apprentice mastering a welding station not only humanizes your brand but also celebrates your commitment to craftsmanship.Engage Positively, Always. “How you react publicly to posts can define your company’s reputation,” Shook explains. Use upbeat, community-focused comments when engaging with partners or clients. Avoid negative interactions, even when tempted. Turning customer feedback into a positive story is a win-win.Own Your Story Beyond the Post. Shook reminds contractors that “your story doesn’t end when you hit ‘post.’” Follow up on engagement, reshare collaborator content and leverage SMACNA’s PR resources for larger media pushes. “Social media success is about sustained conversation and genuine connection,” he stresses.Why Social Media Is Worth Your TimeCiting studies, Shook shared compelling reasons to invest in digital presence. “Over 70% of consumers who experience a brand positively on social media are likely to recommend it,” he says. “Nearly two-thirds of homeowners search online before hiring a contractor, and many trust online reviews as much as personal referrals.”And when it comes to your time and resources, Shook sums it up, plainly. “Don’t think you’re too busy for social media. People spend almost five hours a day on their phones; your next customer could be just a post away.”For residential HVAC contractors ready to grow their businesses, leveraging smart social media strategies is essential. As Shook explains, taking the first step with authentic content, consistent engagement and smart tools lays the foundation for long-term success in an increasingly digital marketplace.
