Trades only · Gold Coast & Brisbane
Most agencies treat a plumber like a small e-commerce brand. That's why it doesn't work. Trades marketing is a different job — the customer is local, the decision is urgent, and the proof is visual.
Why it's different
Twenty thousand views is worthless if the viewers are in Perth. A trade business needs a few hundred of the right people in a thirty-kilometre radius. That changes what you post, and it changes what counts as a good month.
When someone's hot water dies, they search "hot water repair" plus their suburb and call one of the three businesses in the map. That box is often worth more than the entire social feed — and it's the thing most agencies never touch.
"Elevate your space with our premium solutions" loses to "this deck had two years of Queensland sun on it." Your customers can tell the difference instantly, and so can the algorithm.
The argument, made visually
Before
After
Why it works
No agency wrote this. The tradie did the work; the job is making sure the photo exists, looks good, and turns up in front of someone in that suburb every week rather than once a quarter. That is most of what trades marketing actually is.
How the pieces fit
These aren't competing channels. They do different halves of the same job, and running one without the other is most of why trades marketing budgets get wasted.
Google Business Profile set up properly, service areas defined, categories right, photos current, reviews replied to. This is what puts you in the map pack for "electrician" plus a suburb. It is the highest-return hour in trades marketing and it costs nothing but attention.
They found you, now they're looking you up. Your Instagram and your website are the reference check. A feed with four posts from 2023 loses the quote before you've spoken.
Before-and-afters, finished work, the crew, the tidy-up. Content that answers the two questions every customer actually has: can you do this properly, and will you be a pain to deal with.
Most people who see your work don't need a tradie today. Consistent posting means you're the name they already know in eight months when they do — and it quietly does your hiring for you too.
By trade
Switchboard upgrades and safety content perform well because they create urgency from something the customer can see in their own home. Compliance and insurance messaging converts the commercial side.
Emergency work is won in the map pack, not the feed. Social's job is the planned work — bathroom renos, hot water replacements, leak detection before it's a flood.
The most visual trade there is, and the most under-posted. Before-and-afters are close to unbeatable here because the transformation is total and instantly legible.
Long jobs, so build the content as a series. Progress across weeks holds attention and demonstrates process — which is exactly what a nervous customer spending six figures is trying to assess.
Seasonal and highly visual. Timing content to the front of the season matters more than volume — people plan outdoor work months before they book it.
Weather-driven. Queensland storm season and the first hot week in October are the two moments that decide the year. The content should already be scheduled before either arrives.
One month, five jobs
These five ran for the same painter in the same month. Each is doing a different job — which is the part most trades get wrong when they post the same finished-job photo forty times.
Where we work
Emberson Marketing is based on the Gold Coast and works north through Logan to Brisbane, and south into Tweed Heads and the Northern Rivers. One person on your account, not a rotating team.
Next step
A short call, no pitch deck. We'll go through what you've got, what's worth keeping, and what a month of proper content would actually look like for your business.