\nChelsea Fenton, member of The Laborers\u2019 International Union of North America and construction TikToker.<\/p>\n
Permission granted by Chelsea Fenton<\/p>\n
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Today, Fenton has more than 26,500 followers and believes that social media is the best free tool to advertise about the pros of the construction industry, especially for women who might not realize these job options are available.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\u201cThe algorithm is easy to push content to a certain demographic of people,\u201d she said. \u201cI have built my community around women \u2014 70% are women \u2014 and people hype each other up. TikTok is one of the easiest ways to get a message across to a lot of people.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\nFenton\u2019s posts talk about her growing up in the trades and her experiences throughout her career, and tries to offer an emotional connection, such as when she worked on the jobsite while pregnant.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\u201cIf you can make yourself relatable, you will attract people,\u201d she said. \u201cA lot of people don\u2019t really know these are careers that you can do without being $100,000 in debt. My most successful video was me just talking about how much I made, how I bought a house at 27 and showing them the positives.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\nEddy Lopez (@ez_home) owns his own construction business in Washington state and currently has more than 2.6 million followers checking in to his account to see his latest DIY projects and viral construction videos.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\u201cIt was during the pandemic when I started posting, at first just for fun, and there were a lot of people who loved the tips and DIY posts, and five years later, the platform is used to run our business,\u201d he said. \u201cAnything you can use to teach people is really good content; people love the before-and-after posts.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\nLopez has had lots of conversations through his posts with those interested in getting into the trade and believes that his TikTok library has helped recruit thousands to the industry.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\u201cYou need to hook people right away, and keep things short and simple,\u201d he said about the posts. \u201cIf you stay consistent and keep posting, sooner or later, the algorithm is going to reward you.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n