10 Things Contractors Can Post Online | Iron & Lens Media

What Should a Contractor Actually Post Online? 10 Things You Already Have on the Jobsite

You don't need to come up with clever social media ideas every week.

If you're a contractor, most of your content is already sitting right in front of you.

Every job has progress, equipment, materials, problems being solved, details coming together, and eventually a finished result. The challenge usually isn't finding something worth showing. It's remembering to document it.

Here are 10 things you can start capturing on the jobsite.

1. Before and After Photos

This is one of the simplest ways to show what your company actually does.

Take a photo before work starts, then try to take another from roughly the same position when the project is finished.

Decks, roofs, remodels, concrete, siding, landscaping, excavation and plenty of other trades naturally lend themselves to before-and-after photos.

You don't need an expensive camera. A clean phone lens and a few seconds spent framing the shot can go a long way.

2. Work in Progress

Don't wait until everything is finished.

Framing going up, concrete being poured, walls coming down, equipment moving dirt, roofing being installed or a project halfway through can sometimes tell more of the story than the finished photo.

Progress photos also give you something to share during longer projects instead of disappearing online for weeks.

3. The People Doing the Work

People hire businesses, but they're also hiring the people behind them.

Show the crew.

That doesn't mean everyone needs to stop working and pose for the camera. Some of the best photos and videos are simply people doing their jobs.

Cutting, welding, measuring, operating equipment, installing material or working through a problem can all make good content.

Just make sure anyone you feature is okay with being photographed or filmed.

4. The Details You're Proud Of

Not every photo needs to show the entire project.

Sometimes it's the clean trim work, a tight weld, a finished corner, perfectly lined-up hardware or another small detail that demonstrates craftsmanship.

You know which details separate good work from rushed work.

Show people those details and explain why they matter.

5. Equipment in Action

If you use interesting equipment, people generally like seeing it work.

Excavators, skid steers, cranes, concrete equipment, specialty tools and even a well-organized work truck can make useful content.

The machine itself isn't really the story.

What you're accomplishing with it is.

6. Problems You Solve

Not every job goes perfectly.

Maybe you uncover old damage during a remodel. Maybe the site conditions force you to change the plan. Maybe something was installed incorrectly years ago and needs to be fixed.

Those situations can make some of the most useful content you have.

You don't need to trash whoever worked on it before you.

Simply explain what you found, why it mattered and how your crew handled it.

That shows knowledge instead of just claiming you have it.

7. Material Deliveries and Project Starts

A stack of lumber or a trailer full of material might not seem exciting when you see it every day.

To a customer, it can represent something different: a project becoming real.

Project starts, material deliveries, equipment arriving and the first day on site can all help tell the complete story of a job.

8. Questions Customers Ask You

Think about the questions you answer over and over.

“How long does this usually take?”

“Why do you use this material?”

“Can this be repaired, or does it need replaced?”

“What happens if we find damage underneath?”

If customers keep asking something, there's a good chance other people are wondering the same thing.

Answering those questions through a quick post or video gives you useful content while demonstrating what you know.

9. A Different View of the Job

Sometimes the best way to show the scale of a project is to change the perspective.

A wide shot can show the entire jobsite. A close-up can show craftsmanship. Drone photography or video can show a project, property or piece of equipment from a perspective people normally don't get to see.

Different views help tell different parts of the same story.

10. The Finished Project

This one's obvious, but it's also the one you don't want to forget.

Before everybody packs up and moves to the next job, take a few minutes to document the finished work.

Get several angles. Clean up anything distracting in the frame. Take both horizontal and vertical photos if you can.

You put the work into building it.

Make sure you leave with something that shows what you built.

You Don't Need to Become a Content Creator

The goal isn't to spend your entire workday thinking about social media.

You're a contractor. The work comes first.

But if you get into the habit of documenting a few moments from each project, you'll gradually build a library of real material showing what your company does.

Those photos and videos can be used on your website, Google Business Profile, social media, project galleries and future marketing.

You don't have to invent a story.

You're already doing the work worth showing.

At Iron & Lens Media, we help contractors and blue-collar businesses across North Central Missouri document that work and turn it into a digital presence that reflects the reputation they've built in the real world.

Real People. Real Work.