Jordan O'BrienTwitter is one of those things that the custom integration community is still getting a handle on, no pun intended. While major manufacturers tend to have a solid presence, the smaller companies and the custom install guys are hit-and-miss and most don’t have quite the same following or interaction as the big boys—nor the time to do so, with their busy schedules.
Keeping up in the social media game is a job in itself, and one that requires consistency, diligence, creativity and more. Of course, those attributes sound like the typical traits of a successful custom installer, no?
Perhaps that’s part of why many installers who are on Twitter have gravitated to the handle @LiveInstall and hashtag #LiveInstall, which is quickly becoming a popular hangout for installers to share their wares. As of today @LiveInstall boasts more than 2,200 followers—well beyond the typical CE pro—and has sent more than 14,500 Tweets.
One reason for the handle’s success is that installers get to see other installers’ work, which often includes before, during and after pics companies will post of their current projects (and label with the #LiveInstall that almost always assures it will be seen and re-Tweeted). It’s an easy way to promote your work too to the general public that might stumble upon a re-Tweet or perhaps have found and followed @LiveInstall thanks to a general interest in A/V. And actually, a recent #smarthomehour and @SmartHomeHour were created to reach out directly to homeowners on how to create a smart home, so consider those followers prospects even while you’re interacting there.
There was even a gathering of such participating installers during the recent Essential Install Live! show in England, put on by CE Pro sister publication Essential Install (which also runs a #LiveInstall column). According to the bio, @LiveInstall Tweets are curated by @customised, aka Kris Gamble of Scotland-based Customised, who has more than 2,000 followers himself. Not surprisingly, there’s a strong contingent of UK-based installers who frequently post pics, but the word seems to be getting around to the States.
As such, we plan on occasionally rounding up some of the installation work to share with CE Pro readers, who we hope will add their efforts to the mix—more social media growth couldn’t hurt the industry, right?
For starters, here’s a slideshow to give you a glimpse of some installs that have been shared just within the past month (with their accompanying Twitter status message, which you may notice often includes a manufacturer’s handle so they can get a shout-out as well; we’ve added the location of the install firm).