Social media for trades, filmed on the job and posted with permission

Why social media works differently for trades

Social media rarely produces a call in the moment; it produces familiarity that pays off later. Someone who has watched your crew finish three decks on Instagram trusts you before they ever search "deck builder near me".

That changes how you should judge it. Search ads catch people who already need you. Social content builds the short list in their head before they need you, so when the roof leaks or the basement project finally gets approved, your name is the one they remember. Expect it to lift your other channels rather than to stand alone.

It also means volume beats polish. A 20-second clip of a real job, filmed on a phone and captioned well, usually outperforms a slick brand video nobody can relate to. The goal is not to look like an ad agency. It is to look exactly like the crew who will show up at the door.

The three things we help you build

We focus on three pieces, because they are where most trades businesses stall:

• Short video for trades crews: a filming routine that takes minutes per job, plus editing, captions and posting.
• Before-and-after content systems: consistent angles, a consent step for the homeowner, and a library you can reuse for years.
• Platform playbooks: what to post on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube Shorts and LinkedIn, and which two deserve your time.

When a piece of content is clearly working, paid social for trades puts a small budget behind it so more people in your service area see it. You can compare all four on the services overview.

Photo consent comes first, not last

Every post that shows a customer's home starts with a clear yes from that customer. A simple text before the job ("Mind if we take a few photos of the work for our page? We'll keep your address and family out of it.") and a saved reply covers most situations and builds trust instead of eroding it.

Just as important is what stays out of the frame: house numbers, licence plates, mail on the counter, family photos, children, alarm panels and the view from the front window that gives away the street. Our customer photo consent guide walks through the basics step by step and points to the Canadian privacy regulators for anything beyond that. It is practical advice for owners, not legal advice.

What we do, and what we don't

We are a social media, marketing and business consulting service. We plan content, coach crews, edit and publish, run modest ad campaigns and report what happened. We are not a contractor. We do not install, repair or service anything, we never quote jobs, and we will never compete with you for work.

Trades.Social is part of the Sedighi.ca and SAZ.ca group of companies. We are Canadian, headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, and the work is led by Ali Sedighi, MBA, who has more than 17 years of digital marketing experience and has built over 150 live HVAC websites. You can read more on the about page.

Proof, and what it does and doesn't show

Our published results come from HVAC marketing programs, not from social media alone, and we present them that way. BCWide.ca saw 3× leads in 90 days, and HVACDeal.ca produced 500+ leads at a 12:1 ROI. Those results show that the method of tracking calls, fixing the weak link and repeating what works is sound.

They are not plumbing, roofing or painting results, and we won't pretend otherwise. The results page explains what transfers to a trades business and what doesn't.

A realistic first 90 days

The first three months are about building a habit, not going viral. A typical start looks like this:

1. Weeks 1–2: we review your current pages, pick two platforms, and write a shot list for your three most profitable job types.
2. Weeks 3–6: the crew films on real jobs, the office collects consent texts, and we publish two to four posts a week.
3. Weeks 7–12: we look at which posts got saved, shared and messaged about, then put a small ad budget behind the strongest two or three.

If a post leads to a call, we want to know. Ask every new customer how they found you, and you will learn more in a month than any dashboard will tell you.

Coverage across Canada

We work with trades businesses in every province and territory, meeting by video call or in person, plus phone, text and email. Climate shapes what you can film and when, and some regions bring their own rules, such as French-language requirements for Quebec social content. The areas we serve page covers each region.

Start with one conversation

The first 30-minute consultation is free for eligible trades businesses, and plans are month-to-month. See pricing for the numbers, or read the FAQ first. When you're ready, call, text or email, and send two or three recent job photos so we can talk about your real work.