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I’m sure you’ve all heard the old adage, "A picture is worth 1,000 words." It has been a common phrase used throughout my lifetime. However, as we head into the new year, I wonder if a picture is worth 1,000 words, then what is video worth?

For plumbing and HVAC contractors, the competition to stand out in a crowded marketplace is fiercer than ever. Enter video marketing — a dynamic tool that has rapidly evolved from a "nice-to-have" to an absolute necessity. As we head into 2025, video content continues to dominate online platforms, driving customer engagement and influencing purchasing decisions like no other medium.

Whether it’s a quick how-to guide, a customer testimonial, or a behind-the-scenes look at your team in action, video allows contractors to showcase their expertise and build trust with potential clients.

I had the chance to sit down with Nancy O’Hare-Zika, owner and president of Yellow Dog Creative, a full-service trades marketing agency helping home service businesses to tell their stories, to discuss why video is no longer optional for home service businesses.

"Video has always kind of been a really important part of the marketing landscape for plumbing, heating, cooling and electrical companies," O’Hare-Zika explains. "However, things are changing specifically related to ranking and Google. Honestly, I believe that it's always been true that video is the only way to make an emotional connection with your consumer. That was always a good enough reason, but now we know the amount of weight that Meta is placing on video content — and it’s really the difference between companies that are successful in Google Marketing or not successful.

"What we're seeing or what we believe is happening is there is just more credibility that is being placed on companies that have video content," she continues. "For example, if everyone has a blog or landing page on financing, but Nancy's Plumbing has not only a page dedicated to financing but also a related video on the page, on YouTube and on social media, I might get three brownie points in the eyes of Facebook where the other companies without video may only get one point. It really just gives you an edge up. That is in addition to the ability to tell a really beautiful story with video that you just can’t achieve through the written word."

One of the best things about using video is contractors don’t have to break the bank — they can simply take out their smartphone of choice and start recording. However, O’Hare-Zika advises it’s best to have a mixture of professional and self-shot videos.

"If you are just dipping your toe into video marketing, the best way to start, quite honestly, is with your phone — that is the first step to getting comfortable in front of a camera," she says. "You could sit and record yourself talking in a Zoom chat. It doesn't have to be a huge production that costs thousands of dollars. It can quite literally be as simple as you talking about why garbage disposals fail around the holidays. So you sit there in your van, or sitting on the back tailgate of your van — doors are open so you can kind of see the behind-the-scenes. It can be anywhere from six seconds to two minutes long. You want to stop around the 2:20 mark — you're probably not going to get anyone to stay around longer than that anyway. But shoot for 10 to 40 seconds long and do a little tutorial on things you should be putting down your garbage disposal and things you shouldn't be, and put that on social media. Put it on your YouTube channel. If there's one thing in 2025 I would like every plumbing, heating, cooling contractor to do is create an email address using Gmail and make sure you have a YouTube channel. It's simple and it's free! Put every one of these little videos on there. It’s great if you put it other places, but at a minimum, in 2025, put it on your YouTube channel! Make sure you’re putting something up once a week."

Every single platform consumers use on a daily basis involves video.

"People do not want to take the time to read about why a tankless water heat is more efficient. But if you have a video on the same topic, most people will always choose to listen or watch before they read," O’Hare-Zika points out. "That’s because we're the YouTube generation. YouTube is the second largest search engine, next to Google. ChatGPT is very quickly moving up there as a search engine, which is not what it was intended for, but it's what's happening. But YouTube is still an incredible player in the world of search. So that is why you have to make sure that you're in that space."

There are plenty of ways for contractors and their plumbers and techs to use video in the field to become the trusted expert.

"We work in an industry that is not pretty, it's not glamorous," O’Hare-Zika says. "We're talking about poop, we're talking about stuff getting clogged in drains, food getting ruining your garbage disposal and icky, dirty filters. It might not be beautiful and it might not be romantic, but I'll tell you something, it speaks louder than words, right? So anytime you can use video to show the part of our industry that isn't very pretty, that really hits home. People have no idea what the inside of their water heater tank looks like, because if they did, they would be replacing it every three to four years, because when you cut one of those things open and you see the amount of sediment, it’s vile. Let the consumer get a glimpse of the inside and use it as an educator. That’s another reason why video is really going to continue to grow just leaps and bounds above every other form of marketing."

She also adds there’s no need to over-complicate creating video.

"It doesn’t have to be difficult — there’s people like us who are willing to help them get started and dip their toes in," she says. "You can also set up your own little sound studio in your office for less than $800. It’s super easy to do. People just need to jump in, play with it, and figure it out. I think they will be really surprised at how efficient they can get at producing their own video content."

O’Hare-Zika also adds that contractors can also reach out to Yellow Dog Creative — she and her team are happy to jump on a call and just have a conversation! Check them out at yellowdogcreative.com.