Originally Published as: Promoting Your Business Through Social Media
Randy Chaffee brings four-plus decades of experience to the post-frame and metal roofing industries. Author of #1 Amazon Best Seller “Asphalt and Algorithms,” he is a board member for the Buckeye Frame Builders Association and the National Frame Building Association. Find his podcast at facebook.com/BuildingWins or call (814) 906-0001 at 1 p.m. Eastern on Mondays to listen in.
Why wouldn’t we? That’s the question that keeps coming back to me every time I talk to post-frame builders about social media. We’ve got a mix in this industry. Some folks lean into it. Others dip a toe in and sprint back like they brushed against a live wire. A few still avoid it completely. We’re a boots and toolbelt crowd. We trust a job well done, a straight line, and a firm handshake. We always have.
But here’s the truth, plain and simple.
If we don’t tell our story, someone else will tell their version, and a whole bunch of people won’t hear anything at all.
And that one truth sits at the center of everything I’m about to say.
We grew up believing quality speaks for itself. Most days, it still does. A building stands straight. The doors hang true. The metal shines like it should. But the world changed. Today, the story doesn’t travel by pickup alone. It moves through pockets, screens, family group chats, and the casual scroll over morning coffee.
Word of mouth didn’t die. It multiplied.
I wrote about this shift in Asphalt and Algorithms because I lived it. Back when my world was all miles, farm driveways, coffee counters, and county fairs, our reputations moved one handshake at a time. They still do. The only difference now is that the same handshake can be seen by a thousand more people if we choose to show it.
And I come back to my question.
Why wouldn’t we?
Builders who hide, and builders who show up
We build structures meant to last longer than we do. But reputations don’t outlast us unless we give them room to travel.
Let’s talk straight.
A lot of builders dabble. A post here and there when the sun hits right or the screw lines run laser-straight up the wall and over the roof. Then months of silence. Some avoid social completely. They say things like “No one I sell to is online” or “I don’t know what to post.”
Reasonable-sounding, sure. Just not accurate.
Your customers are online. Their sons and daughters are online. Their neighbors are online. Even the farmers who swear they aren’t scrolling are still checking Facebook before dawn. They may not comment, but they see you. Silence doesn’t keep you safe. Silence keeps you invisible.
A builder who shows their work builds trust before the first phone call.
A builder who hides has to climb that hill from zero every time.
One takes hours. The other takes seconds.
Seconds matter.
It’s not posting. It’s storytelling.
We like facts in this business. Tolerances. Spans. Snow loads. Screw counts. Social media feels messy compared to that. No right answer. No blueprint. That’s why so many avoid it.
But posting isn’t the skill.
Storytelling is.
A picture of a building is just metal and lumber.
A photo of the crew tightening the last screw at sunset with a caption like:
“We beat the weather. Doors go on tomorrow.”
That’s a story.
Buyers don’t only buy structure. They buy pride. They buy workmanship. They buy the people who show up in the mud, the heat, and the wind, and get it done anyway.
Stories make that real.
Content ideas that build trust without selling
Most builders freeze because they think social media means selling.
It doesn’t.
Selling happens after trust builds.
Here’s the kind of content that builds trust in our world:
• Day in the life moments
Coffee at 5 AM. First load strapped down. Muddy boots in the cab. Real life. Real work.
People trust that.
• Build progress updates
Day one stakes and strings. Mid-week framing. Roof going on.
People love watching a space come alive.
• Show the crew
Names, personalities, jokes.
Customers hire the builder and the team, not just a completed building.
• Lessons learned
A gust of wind took your hat. Wrong trim color showed up.
Laugh at yourself and others laugh with you.
• Customer moments
A handshake in front of a new hay barn beats any ad ever printed.
• Pride shots
Straight lines. Tight laps. Clean jobsite.
Good work markets itself.
None of this screams “buy now.”
But it makes people want to — and want to buy from you.
Where builders can win online right now
You don’t need every platform.
Pick one. Own it. Add another when it feels natural.
Here’s the landscape:
Still the hometown crowd. Most customers are here.
Progress photos and finished shots shine.
Industry connections, suppliers, commercial work. Good place to stand tall.
YouTube + Shorts
Walkthroughs, build tips, roof installs, slab prep. People search here every day.
TikTok
Fast, raw, real. Screw lines, truss lifts, rain delays, crew humor. Authentic wins.
Choose one. Commit for 90 days. Don’t disappear when likes are low.
Visibility grows like a barn frame. One post at a time.
A rhythm even the busiest builder can follow
Start simple.
• One build update a week
• One behind-the-scenes moment
• One simple value tip
• One finished project post per job
Keep it raw. Keep it honest. Don’t overthink it.
You don’t need perfect. You need present.
The bottom line stays the same
We build structures meant to last longer than we do. But reputations don’t outlast us unless we give them room to travel.
If we stay quiet, we shrink.
If we speak, we grow.
And if we tell our own story, the right people hear it, the wrong people stop guessing, and the future opens wider than the shop doors on delivery day.
So I’ll close where I started.
Why wouldn’t we?
