Social Media VIDEOS? Steal This Framework!

What do we do when we’re getting our face on camera?

Social media video framework — that’s what we’re covering here, and we have Jim Ahlin here to lay it all out and walk us through it.

About Jim Ahlin

Jim Ahlin, the co-founder of Roofer Marketers, has written two books on digital marketing for roofing contractors, and he’s the host of the Roofing Success Podcast. As an IKO-preferred digital marketing contractor for IKO ROOFPRO, Jim is also a member mentor in the Pitch Pro Movement.

Jim does digital marketing for roofing companies every single day. He GETS it, he KNOWs it, and he’s sharing his proven framework for creating better, more engaging social media videos here with us.

Before we get into it, if you’re interested in joining the Pitch Pro Movement — or if you have questions for Jim about digital marketing for the roofing industry (like where to invest your marketing dollars for the best return or what’s the right strategy for your specific roofing company) — I do recommend joining Jim in the Pitch Pro Movement. He runs two sessions per month, and he hangs out in the discussion board, so you can ask him questions.

Social Media Challenges for Roofing Contractors

Roofing contractors have a few problems that they need to solve when it comes to social media content in general. Those typically include:

1. Consistency: Most roofing companies are inconsistent with their social media posting.
2. Time: That creativity to come up with social media posts takes TIME. How many times have you sat in front of your notebook thinking, I’ve GOT to come up with something! What should I post?!?
3. Views: We get intimidated, and we worry about how many people are going to see our social media posts. We think, Are those posts going to be engaging enough to my audience?

With all that, we can stall out and just fail to execute.

Why Make Videos in Roofing Sales?

Beyond just the standard social media posts is video. In fact, going forward in 2022 and beyond, video is going to communicate your message on a much, much higher level than a simple written post with an image.

One reason for that is TikTok. It moved us past the simple posts of Facebook and Twitter, blowing things away in terms of audience engagement. People just flip through those short videos, and it’s a quick way many folks love to consume content.

Of course, pictures are still useful for roofing sales marketing — like those:

• Before-and-after photos of your projects
• Screenshots of great reviews from your customers.
• Office stills and photos of roofing contractors working at job sites

Still, if you can show those things with video, there are going to exponential benefits.

So, we’re going to go over a 5-step framework on how to create social media videos for roofing sales.

This step-by-step guide will help you keep the flow and get much better at creating video content.

Keep in mind that this is a skillset that develops with practice. That’s why you NEED to do it. Also, do NOT expect results to be amazing immediately. In the first video you put up, you just need cadence, and you need to know what to say on camera.

Now, let’s dive in.

How to Create Social Media Videos in Roofing Sales: 5 Steps

When you’re creating videos to market your roofing sales business, here is the 5-step framework that can make the whole process much easier:

1. Come up with the video topics ahead of time: This is going to give you a roadmap for the content you’re creating.
2. Shoot videos in batches: When you’re in video-shooting mode, it’s easier to crank out a few (or a bunch) at once. I even know someone who hires a video guy to come out for a day, so they can record all of the content he needs that day. That’s because it’s just easier to create this type of content in batches.
3. Learn how to freestyle in a framework: In other words, you need to have a framework, so you’re not just sitting there wondering what to say — and so you don’t forget key elements, like introducing yourself and sharing that call-to-action.
4. Amplify your reach through repurposing: You want to be able to use this video content you’re creating in multiple places.
5. Remove yourself from the posting process: It’ll get done if you don’t have to do it, right? And if you can’t pass off the posting and remove yourself from the process, then batch your time to set these posts up. That’s the most efficient way to handle it on your own.

Now, let’s take a closer look at each of these steps and the most effective ways to complete each one.

Roofing Sales Video Tip #1: Come Up with Topics Ahead of Time

To get you started, here are some great ideas that work well as topics for roofing sales videos:

• Success stories: Talk about a specific project. Tell the story of what the homeowner was going through, the problem you solved, and how you solved it. These before-and-after stories can be really compelling.
• Character stories: Share your origin story. Explain how you got into the roofing sales game and what you’ve experienced along the way. You can also share the story of someone on your team or profile the entire team, showing how everyone came together as a company to solve some problem for a homeowner.
• Expert stories: Teach something in your videos. These can be how-to videos, insights on when to repair versus replace a roof, or even motivational videos sharing your favorite mantra or what keeps you going when things get tough in roofing sales.

These simple categories of video topics can be an endless source of new ideas because you can keep doing them over and over again with a new angle.

Also, when we talk about topics and coming up with ideas, Google Keep can be a helpful tool for managing your video idea list. It lets you maintain a “live” list, so you can check off topics as you do those videos and add new ones as you come across them.

Those new topics can come from YouTube comments and suggestions, customers’ questions, or wherever. Just jot them down in your topic list as they come up, and that can make it a lot easier later when you’re brainstorming video ideas.

Roofing Sales Video Tip #2: Shoot Videos in Batches

When it’s time to batch-shoot your roofing sales videos, here’s what you need to consider and focus on:

• Location: You can shoot these videos out in the field, in your office, or while you’re walking down the road. You can also film while you’re standing in front of your truck, or you can stick your phone in its holder and film from inside your truck. Those can all be really effective videos.
• Professional quality NOT necessary: You do NOT need a professional video shoot with the “Lights, Camera, Action” deal. You just need to get it done. Remember, progress is more important than perfection (that’s from Dashaun Bryant, a fellow mentor in the Pitch Pro Movement). Done is better than not done, and you have to start with what you’ve got.

Here’s some more expert advice on filming in batches:

• Shoot in any professional environment that’s a true representation of your day-to-day work life: Don’t shoot your videos while you’re giving your kid a bath or something.
• Don’t overanalyze the backdrop: Here’s a behind-the-scenes scoop on Roofer Marketers. The red backdrop in their videos has been with them since their first days, when they got started working and filming out of a basement. Now, they have a studio office with lights, acoustic paneling on the walls, professional cameras, and microphones all around. And they’re still using the red backdrop. It’s now become kind of a signature of the brand.

Again, the point is to just do it and don’t overcomplicate it. It doesn’t have to be too crazy.

Roofing Sales Video Tip #3: Learn to Freestyle in a Framework

Now, there are multiple frameworks that you can use for your social media videos. And this “framework” is simply what you’re going to say and the order in which you’re going to say it. A basic framework goes something like:

1. I want to say this first.
2. Then, I’ll say this second.
3. And so on.

Here is a basic roofing sales video framework that you can use. Feel free to move some of these parts around to figure out what works best for you.

1. Branding: This could be as simple as saying your name and the name of your roofing sales company. It go like, “Hey, Jim Ahlin here with Roofer Marketers” or “Jim Ahlin with ABC Roofing.”
2. Your promise: This is what you’re going to share and explain during the video. It’s essentially your topic in a little more detail. For example, your promise can involve saying something like, “I’m going to share with you how to determine the cost of a roof in Minneapolis, Minnesota.”

3. Your seed: Why does this topic matter? Why are you talking about it? Why should your audience care? Those are your “seeds” to get people interested. Here, you can say something to the effect of, “This is one of the most common questions that we get from homeowners in [wherever, USA].”

4. Your topic and training: Now, we’re going to talk more deeply about the topic, explaining the issues or elements. For the roofing costs topic (in #2 above), we’d elaborate here by talking about the pitch and slope, as well as the peaks and valleys. You can talk about ice and water shield, drip edge, roof accessories, and the materials that you use (like metal versus asphalt shingle). In other words, you get into all of the elements that go into determining the cost of a roof, which is the topic or focus of that video.
5. Your call-to-action: Tell your audience what you want them to do if they want more information. You can say something like, “Hey, if you’d like to receive a detailed estimate on your roof, please visit our website at abcroofing.com.”
6. Your signoff: Close the video with a simple, friendly “goodbye” message. You can say, “Thanks for joining me on this video. Look forward to talking to you again soon.” And end it there, after that signoff.

You want to hit all of these elements for any topic you’ve picked for your video — whether it’s a success story, a character story, an expert story, or whatever. Just drop that topic into this framework and have that conversation every time.

In fact, you can start to see that framework if you watch enough of The Roof Strategist’s videos. Start picking them apart, and you’ll see the “bones” or framework of them. Because that’s what professional speakers do.

They use a framework to structure presentations because it:

• Keeps them on track
• Prompts them with what to say and when
• Reminds them to hit all of those key elements, every time

This whole concept and framework, by the way, is like a formula, similar to the SLAP, ARO, and the Car Park formulas. And we use formulas because they’re an easy way to repeat a process and make it natural.

Roofing Sales Video Framework: Two More Tips

As you use and adapt this framework, here are a couple of helpful strategies to try out:

1. Bring the promise in front of the brand: Attention is in limited supply on the internet. And, as Sabri Suby says (paraphrasing here), your message needs to reach out and grab your prospect by the jugular. That’s aggressive, but it works. Because if you just open up with “I’m so-and-so,” that may be not enough to keep someone interested.
2. Address the consequences: What’s the ideal outcome versus the consequences of not having the information you’re sharing? Sometimes, pointing out the consequences as part of the seed can be a powerful attention-grabber.

How to Apply This Roofing Sales Video Framework: Example

Let’s go through an example, so you can see exactly how to use this framework when you’re creating a new video.

Our example video is a success story about Peggy, and the script below is parsed out by each step in the framework, like this “[in brackets]”:

[The promise]: I’m standing here on Peggy’s roof, and she had water pouring through her ceiling onto the grand piano before she called me. Rest assured, everything is safe.

[Branding]: My name is Adam with So-and-So Roofing Company.

[The seed]: We just helped Peggy with the WORST leak of her life. And, fortunately, it is no longer.

Now, when you see leaks, you NEED to take care of things now because it’s not just the roof, it’s the entire inside of your home and your precious belongings.

And if you don’t address it, you risk running into long-term issues, like mold and rotting. But handling it quickly saves you a ton of money and protects everything inside.

[The topic and training, intro]: In this video, I’m going to teach you the telltale signs that a leak is coming and how to take care of it right away.

[First call-to-action]: By the way, if you are facing the leak, you can contact us at this number 555-555-5555.

[The topic and training, in depth]: Now, the top 5 telltale signs of roof leaks are 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 [this is where you’d fully explain the topic].

[Second call-to-action]: And, by the way, if you need help or you need your roof inspected, again, please call 555-555-5555, and I’d be happy to help.

Then, end with a friendly sign off, so you leave them feeling good. We don’t end on a sales note. In other words, don’t stop after saying something like, “Sign up now.”

Instead, end with a positive sign off, like:

Whether you need us now or another roofer in 10 years, you now know exactly what to look for to keep your property safe.

With this framework, you can just plug the pieces right in.

Now, you can go and shoot roofing sales videos, and it’ll take you MUCH less time to do it.

Roofing Sales Video Tip #4: Amplify Your Reach & Repurpose Your Videos

Now that you’ve made your videos, there are several ways that you can use this content. You can post them on:

• Facebook
• Instagram
• TikTok
• Your website (as a blog post)

Sometimes, you may have to make shorter clips, taking just part of a video or trimming it down to a short segment (like 10 seconds — check out the 10-Second Roofing Sales Pitch video, by the way).

As you repurpose your videos and push them out to different channels, here are a few important things to keep in mind:

• Show your personality: Don’t worry about being perfect. Be natural. Let your natural personality shine.
• Don’t worry about splicing and editing: These are more advanced things. Don’t worry about them and don’t let them hang you up. Just do the video, put it up in multiple places, and go from there. Grab one piece for TikTok, another for an Instagram story, and another one for Facebook. Ideally, try to make each one different.
• Don’t recreate everything: You can come up with one big, broad topic and then create a bunch of videos around that one topic. In other words, you can make a lot of shorter videos that are all related to that bigger or more fundamental topic.

Roofing Sales Video Tip #5: Remove Yourself from the Posting Process

Offload posting to someone on your team. And instead of posting manually, you and your team can save time using software to upload, schedule, and publish posts. Many options let you do that from one dashboard, publishing across several networks or spaces.

Some options include:

• SocialPilot
• Sprout Social
• Meet Edgar
• Sendible

A great feature to look for in this software is the “evergreen post” option.  That means you batch your content into queues, setting up a calendar with a precise time and day for each post to go out — e.g., Monday at 3:00 p.m., Tuesday at 8:00 a.m., and so on.

While you set a schedule for each day, you don’t schedule the actual post. You just:

1. Set a schedule
2. Build a queue of the content for that schedule
3. Drop the content into the queue as it’s created
4. Move the posts around, after the software sorts and plugs them into the queue (This is as easy as dragging and dropping).

So, let’s say you shoot those 5 videos for the week and then you get busy, no one sees those videos. But, if you immediately drop them into the queue, they will just keep going out, and you can focus on other things.

Plus, with evergreen queues, if you stop posting maybe 6 months from now, it’ll automatically recycle your old posts.

Recap: 5 Steps to Creating Engaging Social Media Videos in Roofing Sales

Summarizing all the ground we’ve covered, here’s a quick recap of the 5-step framework you can use to create better roofing sales social media videos:

1. Come up with video topics in advance.
2. Shoot your videos in batches.
3. Learn to freestyle within a framework.
4. Amplify your reach by repurposing your videos.
5. Take yourself out of the process.

In terms of the video framework, here’s a great one you can use and adapt:

1. Branding your videos
2. Your promise
3. Your seed
4. Your topic and training
5. Your call-to-action
6. Your signoff

So, your challenge now is to get started!

Pick three topics and shoot three videos that are 2 to 3 minutes a piece. Use a webcam or an iPhone. And remember:

• Don’t overthink it.
• This WILL become habit with time.
• Start small, with those 3 videos.

Get More Roofing Sales Strategies, Tips & Videos

If you want to join Jim and I in the Pitch Pro Movement, just call or text (303) 222-7133 for more info. We have memberships for individual sales, single owners, and teams, and we’d be happy to chat with you more and see if it’s a good fit. Jim spearheads everything related to marketing in the Pitch Pro Movement, so it’s basically like having him as your chief marketing officer for hire when you join this program.

You can also subscribe for the latest roofing sales training videos and/or get a copy of my Pitch Like a Pro roofing sales training video library. It includes every roofing sales video I’ve ever done, organized by category, along with a bunch of tips, tricks, and more. It’s great for new people and seasoned veterans, and it’s updated all the time to help you and your team smash your income goals and give every customer an amazing experience.

And don’t forget to check out my Marketing Battle Pack for instant access to 70+ pieces of my proven, turnkey roofing sales and marketing materials. It’s an entire suite, specially designed for sales teams, managers, and owners, providing:

It’s affordably priced and comes with a 100% money-back guarantee. There’s also a playlist of instructional videos in there, explaining every single thing. So, you can watch the videos, and you’ll know exactly what to do.

Thanks for joining me, and I look forward to sharing more with you in the next blog.