How to Get Free Publicity For Your HVAC Company

Limited advertising budget? You can still get the word out. Here's how!

All companies that want to succeed must remain in the public eye. After all, businesses need their brands to become widely-known, and a great, traditional way to achieve that result involves advertising and marketing as far as your budget will allow.

These days, however, those budgets have gotten smaller and smaller because of myriad economic forces beyond anyone’s control (with the possible exceptions of corporate giants like Coca-Cola and Apple). Shrinking advertising and marketing budgets have taken their toll on smaller companies, including those in the HVAC industry.

More than 80% of American homes have some kind of air conditioning, making the market for essential HVAC services stiffer by the day. The more the competition gets heated, the more you need to get a leg up when it comes to getting the word out about your HVAC company. Whether or not you have the funds for full-on advertising and marketing campaigns, it still pays to try out ways to get free publicity for your HVAC company. We’ve listed some below:

Issue press releases.

Old-school press releases still work, although in a world consumed by the internet and social media, they are, at best, a hit-or-miss affair. The media choose whether or not to pick up a release, but if they do, then that’s free publicity for your newest product or service.

Develop a relationship with the press.

Want your press release noticed more easily? Maintain a good relationship with the press that covers your industry. The media, after all, are always hungry for information, and you can serve as a source for insider insights (and maybe even some juicy gossip). Journalists appreciate a willingness to share information, and will likely express their gratitude with features about you and your HVAC company on their respective platforms.

Write about top online influencers.

Another group of people you need to cozy up to for free publicity? The online influencers in your niche. Write complimentary (and preferably accurate) articles about these influencers, post them on your company website or blog, and wait for them to get wind of your post. You can even email them about your article if you’re feeling aggressive enough. If they like your post, then they will likely share what you wrote to their audience through their own sites and blogs.

Do charitable work.

Giving back to the community won’t just make you feel good; it will also give you a certain amount of free media mileage. You won’t even have to break the bank! You can provide services like free AC cleanings in lieu of cash contributions. You can easily find places to accept donated work, and your company will get a great photo op as a result.

Stay active on social media.

Everyone’s on social media these days. If you could reach even a tiny percentage of that audience, that would more than make a difference. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and other social media platforms provide plenty of free publicity. Create a social media account for your HVAC company, write posts, share relevant articles and videos, and join Facebook groups and Twitter feeds to get your brand the exposure that it needs.

Win awards.

Most industries—HVAC included—have a slew of award-giving bodies, and it would do wonders to win one or two in your niche. An award is always a big deal, and the press loves to write about winners. Keep an eye out for opportunities to nominate your company for something fitting. Just remember that if you win an award, you need to capitalize on it by writing and disseminating your own announcement on every platform available to you.

Book speaking engagements.

If you have made a name for yourself in the HVAC community, then speaking at events relevant to the heating and air conditioning industry (or business in general) can only bolster your company’s reputation. More speaking engagements mean a bigger and wider audience, and that kind of publicity will pay dividends for your company.

Craft viral posts.

We live in an incredibly-wired world, and any content we post that goes viral brings in a ton of attention for a website or blog. As long as a post is interesting, entertaining, informative, relevant, or useful, it stands a chance of getting shared by just about anyone who sees it. Obviously, going viral is easier said than done, but you may as well aim high!

It would be nice to have the resources to do some big-ticket, blanket advertising. However, even with limited resources you still have the option to angle for free media coverage.

Michelle West is the Senior Content Editor of Precision Air and Heating, an AC repair company in sunny Arizona. Michelle enjoys writing about topics that help people all over the country make their homes more efficient and environmentally-friendly.