Following is a guest post from our friends over at Long & Short of It, masters of ideation, customer insights and market research. They like to say they “dig and find lots of data and then turn it into actionable insights.” Following is their guest post.
A brand isn’t your logo, your tagline, or your latest campaign. (You already know that.)
It’s a perception. It’s how customer or potential customers experience you. It includes everything they hear, see, and touch about you. And if you’re not shaping that perception intentionally, it’s being shaped for you.
Where things usually go off track Most companies pour time and money into tactics and campaigns but skip the foundation that makes them work: the brand platform. The result? Marketing that feels scattered, inconsistent, or forgettable.
The part people overlook A strong brand is built in the quiet moments between campaigns. It’s in the tone of your emails, how your team answers the phone, what your website says (and what it doesn’t), and how your product or service actually delivers on the promise your marketing makes.
A couple of brands that prove the point Think about Trader Joe’s. They don’t advertise much, yet their brand is unmistakable. From handwritten signs and Hawaiian shirts to playful packaging and friendly conversation at checkout, every detail reinforces approachability and discovery.
Or YETI. They don’t just sell coolers. They sell a lifestyle. Each detail, from the way their products are built to the stories they tell, reflects durability, adventure, and doing things the hard way because it’s worth it. Their brand isn’t created through marketing campaigns; it’s built through consistency in everything they do.
The difference it makes That’s the difference between running marketing campaigns and building a brand. Campaigns should work for your brand, not define it. The message, the tone, and the experience should all reinforce who you already are.
Where to look if marketing feels hard If your marketing feels like it’s starting from scratch every time, or harder than it should be, it’s probably not the campaign, it’s the brand underneath it. Slow down. Define what you stand for, what you promise, and what you want people to remember. Strengthen that foundation, and the rest starts to click.
Social media has become one of the most effective ways for manufacturers to connect with contractors, distributors and more. But one question always comes up when planning a content strategy, should you focus more on organic or paid social media?
Each plays a different role in building awareness and engagement, especially in the trades.
Organic Social
Organic social media includes everything you post for free, updates, project photos, employee spotlights, how-to videos and customer stories.
For manufacturers, organic content builds trust. It helps you stay visible to your existing audience, show thought leadership and nurture relationships over time. When a contractor sees your posts regularly, they begin to associate your brand with reliability.
The challenge is that organic reach has declined across nearly every platform. Algorithms now favor content that generates engagement, so only a small portion of your followers might see each post. You can’t simply post, you must stay active, respond and create content your followers want to see and share.
Paid Social
Paid social media consists of ads, boosted posts or sponsored campaigns, which lets you reach new and highly specific audiences. You can target by region, job title or even interests, ensuring your message gets in front of the right people.
For example, if you’re launching a new tool or promoting a training event, paid campaigns can generate awareness quickly and drive measurable results. They can also help you test different messages and visuals to see what resonates most with your audience.
However, without strong creative, a clear goal and ongoing optimization, it’s easy to spend money without seeing much impact. Successful paid campaigns require planning, testing and refining to make sure every dollar is working hard for your brand.
Why You Need Both
Organic and paid social work best when they support each other. Organic content builds credibility and trust, it shows who you are and why you matter. Paid content amplifies that message, helping you reach new people and drive traffic to your page or website.
For example, a contractor might first learn about your brand through a sponsored post, then continue to engage with your organic content to learn more about your products and expertise.
Finding the Right Mix
The best strategy depends on your goals and audience. Start by developing strong organic content that reflects your brand’s voice and provides real value like educational tips, behind-the-scenes looks or customer success stories. Then, use paid campaigns strategically to boost high-performing posts, promote new product launches or highlight trade show appearances.
Paid campaigns can help you reach new audiences fast, but your organic presence is what keeps them engaged for the long haul.
When you strike the right balance between organic and paid social, you build more than awareness, you build trust, credibility and long-term brand loyalty.
Hashtags, first used in 2007, were once all the rage. Every social media post, whether it be on Instagram, Facebook or some other platform, was adorned with a set of personalized hashtags. Day of the week hashtag trends such as #throwbackthursday and #TGIF or popular single-word hashtags like #cute and #fashion were used in abundance. However, the once beloved way of using hashtags has long since faded away. So, how can businesses and professional organizations use hashtags in their social media posts in a way that is relevant to the current times?
Below are three elements to consider when using hashtags in 2026.
Content Categorization and Discoverability
In contrast to their former, more casual use on social media, hashtags are now used to categorize content. Whether it be on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok or another social media platform, hashtags allow the platform to categorize content and help users find posts. Using straightforward hashtags that refer to the content or industry allow for users to find posts, examples of this being #newproduct or #plumbing. In addition to this, users can click on these hashtags, and they will be brought to a feed of all the posts that have used that hashtag. Clicking on these hashtags enhances discoverability by showing related posts from the same or similar brands.
Audience Targeting and Engagement
Using audience targeting when implementing hashtags into social media ensures that a brand’s content reaches the correct audience. In order for a brand to curate their posts towards their target audience, they should use specific hashtags such as industry-specific, location-specific, etc. When an audience that is genuinely interested in your brand’s posts, they are more likely to engage with the post with likes, shares, comments and more.
Therefore, focusing on audience targeted hashtags will increase engagement and subsequently signal to the platforms algorithm that the content is valuable.
Social Listening
Social listening tools can be very useful because they track hashtags related to a company’s brand or products and identify user’s responses to those hashtags. Monitoring social media channels for feedback and mentions from your brands audience can assist in making curated and custom hashtags. These hashtags can then be used for user-generated content when customers use the hashtag. All in all, using social listening tools will help a brand understand their audience better. Take a deeper dive into social listening with Sonnhalter’s blog “What is Social Listening?.”
So, the answer is yes, hashtags are still relevant in 2025. Considering the technological advancements social media has had from the year 2007 to current times, hashtags are more important for brands to use now than ever. Hashtags have evolved from simply describing a social media post to allowing brands to categorize posts, learn about their audiences, increase engagement and more.
Everyone in the industry wants to get their message in front of contractors. But simply hitting “publish” on a blog post or video doesn’t guarantee the right people will see it, let alone act on it. To make real impact, your content needs to be tied to a clear strategy and delivered in a way that speaks directly to the contractor’s day-to-day needs.
Contractors are busy. If you want to earn their attention, your content should solve a real problem like showing them a faster technique, a more efficient tool or a way to train their crew without slowing down the jobsite.
But here’s something brands often overlook; you don’t always need more content. You need to make better use of the content you already have. One great piece can fuel multiple tactics, reaching contractors where and how they prefer to consume information.
Here are five ways to get more use out of a single piece of content:
Turn it into a video series
Break down a piece of content into short videos your sales team can share directly with customers or post them on social to extend reach.
Host a webinar or live Q&A
Use your original content as a jumping-off point for an educational session. Record it, post it on your site, and promote it through email or social channels.
Create an infographic
If your content includes stats, processes or how-to tips, design a visual version. Infographics are perfect for quick engagement via e-blasts, LinkedIn or trade publications.
Leverage testimonials
Repurpose your content into a real-life scenario. A contractor’s voice, whether written or on video, can bring your solution to life in a way that builds credibility and trust among your audience.
Pitch it to a trade publication
Your content could be the foundation for a feature article or guest column. Most trade outlets welcome new, practical content tailored to their readers.
Develop a blog
You don’t always have to start from scratch when writing a blog. Look at what you’ve already created from sales collateral, case studies, videos, webinars or even internal presentations. For example, turn frequently asked customer questions into a how-to article or summarize key points from a recorded webinar into a written piece. Repurposing content not only saves time, but it also helps reinforce your message across multiple platforms.
In the trades, efficiency matters and that applies to your marketing, too. Instead of constantly creating new content, focus on using what you already have in smarter ways. From videos to blogs to infographics, repurposing your content gives you more chances to connect with contractors where they’re paying attention.
Season’s greetings, from the Sonnhalter team! We are grateful for another successful year, and we couldn’t have done it without our wonderful clients, business partners and friends like you. The Sonnhalter team will be taking some time off over the holidays from December 24th to January 4th. We hope that you enjoy this holiday season and time with your family and friends! We’ll see you in 2026!
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