Welcome to Simplified Sparky Marketing.

Marketing has moved insanely fast in the last 12 months. With my finger on the pulse of my electrical business and Simplified Sparky, the change has been wild. AI came on the scene and disrupted everything—it's the new search. People are literally talking to their phone to find you now. That's completely ruptured the SEO game.

But today I want to focus on video and why it's so powerful. Getting comfortable being uncomfortable as an electrical contractor is going to become the new norm. If you look at the kids coming through, they're extremely used to taking videos. They're jumping on FaceTimes, sending videos to their friends. It's part of their culture, how they're growing up, and how future generations are going to search for your electrical business.

If your electrical business is going to be around for a long time, you better strap in and adapt. You need to get used to this whole video business.

Where Electricians Go Wrong

There's no right or wrong way to technically market your business. Anything you do isn't incorrect—there's just better ways to do it, in my opinion. But I'm seeing electricians consistently make the same mistakes on social media.

They record the work they're doing. They literally place a camera in the corner and film themselves fitting off work. They're taking footage with meta glasses in the wrong context. Say somebody's fitting off a car charger. If that person doesn't have an electric vehicle—if they're driving a fuel car—they don't know what a charger looks like. If you've got this charger open on the wall with conduit and cables flinging around, odds are people don't know what that is. The only person who knows is an electrician.

This is why it's extremely important that you crawl inside the head of your ideal client and think: What would they think this is? Do they know what this is? Should I inform them what this is?

These are the little things you need to put in place. That's why you're not getting views, shares, or likes on your video.

And if you are getting likes and shares, it's one of two things. Either it's an electrician pointing out something you've done wrong and sending it to other electricians to have a go. Or it's electricians saying, "Good job." That's where people go wrong. That's where you're a deer in the headlights thinking, "I don't know marketing. I'm just making these videos because that's what you do."

What you need to do is tell the client what you are doing, why you are doing it, and what problem you are solving.

The Real Difference Maker

Last week we did a Q&A inside Simplified Sparky, and one of the members wasn't sure what to do in a local community group. I said, "Make a video. Stand out." There were other competitors posting the same generic stuff every electrician does.

A day later, he sent me a video recorded with the structure I gave him. I would give it a 9.7 out of 10. I was like, "Post that." That's what brings me great joy—seeing loopholes in the market where people aren't doing things, and I've got the knowledge to help.

When I tell somebody to do something, they do it. There's no better satisfaction. Inside Simplified Sparky, there are two or three guys making videos who've never made videos before. The first few videos are going to be shit. It's going to make you feel extremely uncomfortable. You'll do several takes until it gets right. But there's a structure and framework to it.

The Builder Problem

What kills me is electricians standing outside their completed project saying, "Hey guys, it's James from ABC Electrical," hands crossed, then walking inside. You know what people are looking at? They're not looking at your lights or LED strips or fancy pendants. They're looking at the structure of that beautiful building the builder erected. They're thinking, "That's a nice house." The last thing they're looking at is your downlights or power points.

Technically, you're marketing for the builder. You might even get DMs saying, "Who built that house? I want the builder's details."

And here's what breaks my heart—a videographer reaches out to this electrical company, leverages off previous work, shows them the video with likes and shares, and says, "James from ABC Electrical had amazing results. Want to do video? We've got a $2,000 package." The videographer is looking after number one—their revenue.

But I'm telling you, the sooner you realize you have to solve a client's problem and become the authority, become the go-to electrician in your area—that's when everything changes. You have to relate the problem to the client so they think you're the person who will come to their home or building and be the kingpin electrician. That's the real shift you need to make.

Leading from the Front

I wanted to start this mentorship five years ago, but I didn't have the balls to do it. I blamed everything except myself. I thought, "I need the right camera, the right microphones, the right lighting, the right backdrop." I cared way too much about it.

Here's the thing—I'm recording this podcast today from Ireland, just shouting into my laptop. The audio's going to be a little off. And I've spent thousands of dollars on microphones and equipment I don't really need. The most important thing is that by listening to this, you get the cogs moving in your head to think, "Maybe I should be making video." And there's no maybe about it. You should be making video.

Now, I speak to my clients about this. I'm a hypocrite regarding my electrical business. I don't have videos on my Instagram. The reason is my marketing is like a tap—I don't need to run video because I've got enough leads from different avenues. But I want to lead from the front. I'll be uploading videos very shortly because I want to show the guys that this is what you need to do.

It's not good for me to say it and not do it. I see shitty coaches out there easily telling electricians what to do, but if they're not actually doing it in their own business, how do they know if it works? How are they proving themselves as a coach?

What Equipment You Actually Need

You only need what's already in your pocket. Your phone. iPhone, Samsung, whatever you have. That's all you need. Give your lens a wipe with your sleeve and start recording.

Do you need a microphone? No. Just use your phone.

People cherish and love raw video. Raw video has become a trend this year—literally shot through your phones. Last year there was a wave of horrible AI content, heavily filtered. Vans blowing up, shit dropping from the sky, seventeen vans popping out of one van. It was horrible and got old fast.

But natural video is relatable. People see it on their phones every day. They FaceTime with it. It's natural. Just take your phone and get a little tripod if necessary. There's a thing called the Magic Arm—fantastic bit of kit. You can clamp it to anything with a little holder for your phone. That's all you need.

You literally don't even need to duct tape your phone to something. You do not need equipment. All you need is your phone and a little bit of structure.

Next Steps

I wanted to give you a light touch today because we're going deep with this on Wednesday with the members. We're going into the whole structure, what you should be saying, the hooks, the millennial pause—all these little things.

Start getting very comfortable being uncomfortable in your electrical business. If you need help, all the links to find me are in the description below.

See you next week.