Turn daily construction work into short form video content

Social media is an important marketing tool for many contractors, including Henry DeVries, owner of DeVries Custom Millworks. He uses YouTube, Instagram and other social platforms to share how-to videos to showcase his work, help other contractors learn or solve problems, and promote custom products he develops. We asked him about the whys and hows of social media marketing, and what you need to get started.

—Interview by Margot Lester, edited by Bianca Prieto

How do your how-to videos help grow your business? 

The great thing about social media for business is you don't have to have a pitch or a product to sell; you can just start documenting your work and throwing out ideas. By itself, it doesn't make money, but if you are consistent and authentic, it does get attention, and attention is a strong currency. I started growing our brand online about 18 months ago without a specific goal in mind, but I knew there was very little downside. The most common upsides I see are leads, brand deals, or—what I am currently doing—selling your own products. 

Some contractors worry about giving away free advice.  Do you?

I've learned more from social media than I will ever teach, and I’ve gotten a lot of [content advice] from other creators' content. Gatekeeping ideas is never a concern of mine. If potential customers in my audience see that we are doing honest, quality work, they will eventually convert to leads that are tough to steal. 

About how long does it take to produce the average video?

An average short-form video takes about 30 minutes to film, edit and post. That time will continue to drop with more experience. I use a dedicated phone for social apps and filming, and I made a camera arm for shop filming. I film and edit everything myself.  

What’s been the most surprising thing about doing these videos? 

Some of my best-performing pieces of content are videos I spent the least amount of time on. More time and effort does not equal better performance. Effort and quality do mean something, but not every video needs to be a production. You can have any type of video perform well as long as it’s informative, authentic, relatable or even just funny. When you combine all of these attributes, you get the highest-value content. 

What advice do you have for contractors who want to start marketing on social?

Just start! It took me a long time to start and when I did, I thought I needed to create something special. Really, you just need to post what you are thinking or doing that day. Focus on consistency rather than perfection. If you try to make every video "perfect", you'll rarely post anything. Just like how in the trades there's nothing like on-the-job training, you won't get good at content unless you post a lot—and that means failing a lot. 

Get more tips about using social media, advertising on local radio and other ways to promote your business.

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The Level is curated and written by Margot Lester and edited by Bianca Prieto.