Content ideas for trades and service providers: occasions from everyday work

In short: content comes from what happens in the business anyway: jobs, customer questions, materials, team and season. Take photos regularly, collect your customers' questions and plan roughly by season. Publish first in your Google profile and on your website, then, if there is time, on social media. And only show people and customer projects with consent.

Which formats exist, newsletter or blog, is covered in the article create a newsletter; how to set up a content plan in the article social media marketing. This one is about the question before that: what do I write about? As of October 2026.

Five sources every business has

• Jobs: every completed project is a post. Task, solution, result, in three sentences and two photos.
• Customer questions: what is asked on the phone again and again interests others too. “How long will it last?”, “Do I need to be at home?”, “Roughly what does it cost?”
• Materials and tools: why you use this material and not another. How a machine works. What the difference between two options is.
• Team: who works for you, a new apprentice, an anniversary, a passed exam.
• Season and occasion: what is due at which time of year, see the list below.

For helpful content, Google asks whether it clearly demonstrates first-hand knowledge (Google Search Central: helpful content). That is exactly what trade businesses have: real work, real experience, real photos.

Ideas by season

A rough list by season helps you avoid starting from scratch every week. Adapt it to your trade:

• Winter, start of the year: a look back at the year's best projects. What is changing in the business. For heating engineers: a note on funding, such as boiler replacement, for which applications can be made again from 4 January 2027 according to Austria's renovation programme (sanierungsoffensive.gv.at, German). Check the status and conditions first.
• Spring: season start for gardens, façades and outdoor work. What should be planned now. Apprentice competitions your apprentices take part in; the Chamber of Commerce organises the dates in each province.
• Summer: announce company holidays in good time. Heat and sun protection, work that goes well in summer. A look at the site at sunrise.
• Autumn: heating season, servicing, what should be done before winter. Trade fairs you exhibit at. New apprentices starting in autumn.
• Advent and year end: thanks to customers and team. Opening hours over the holidays. A picture of the Christmas party, if everyone agrees.

On top of that come occasions only your business has: a company anniversary, a new vehicle, a new machine, an award.

Formats that take little time

• Before and after: two photos from the same spot. The simplest and often most effective format.
• Question of the week: one customer question, a short answer, one picture.
• 15-second video: one move that shows how it's done.
• Profile: one team member, three sentences, one photo.
• Project summary: task, solution, result.

Where the content belongs

First in the Google Business Profile. That is where customers in the region search. Google offers posts of three types: “updates”, “offers” and “events”. Posts without a date range are archived after six months (Business Profile Help: posts). For photos, Google recommends JPG or PNG between 10 KB and 5 MB, sharp, well lit and without heavy filters, and videos of up to 30 seconds. The newest media are shown first (Business Profile Help: photos and videos).

Then on the website. Projects as references, customer questions as paragraphs or pages of their own. How to turn them into good copy is covered in the article writing website copy.

Social media as an addition. For private customers often Instagram, for business customers and recruiting the LinkedIn company page. One photo can appear in all three places, each with suitable text.

Photos of people and customer projects

This section is not legal advice, but an important note. In Austria, section 78 of the Copyright Act protects images of people: they may not be published if this would violate the legitimate interests of the person shown (RIS: section 78 UrhG, German). The Austrian Chamber of Commerce points out that this protection applies in addition to the GDPR, that interests have to be weighed, and offers a sample consent form (WKO: photography and advertising, German).

In practice: show recognisable people, whether employees or customers, only with their consent, ideally in writing. For customer projects, ask before publishing even if nobody is in the picture, because a house or business is often recognisable. Better not to show house numbers, number plates and private objects in the background.

A painting firm with a photo folder

The case is constructed, but typical. A painting firm with five employees posts irregularly because on Friday there are never any photos. The solution is simple: every work phone has a folder “For customers”. Whoever is on site takes a before and an after photo from the same spot, provided the customer has agreed. In the office there is a list of the questions customers ask on the phone.

Every Friday the owner picks one before-and-after and one customer question. The picture goes into the Google profile, the question and answer onto the website. In spring she adds a post on the season start, in autumn one on the weather in which painting is still possible. The effort: half an hour a week.

Our view

The best content for a trade business is the content it already has. It doesn't have to be perfect, but genuine and regular. What often helps is a fixed routine: who takes photos, who selects, when it is published. How content, profile and presence work together is shown in the articles marketing for trade businesses and our overview marketing for small businesses.

Checklist

• Is there a photo folder where all pictures for customers end up?
• Are customer questions being collected?
• Is there a rough list of ideas by season?
• Who selects, and when is content published?
• Does content go into the Google profile and onto the website first?
• Is there consent from the people and customers shown?

Frequently asked questions

Where do I get ideas for posts as a trade business?

From what happens anyway: completed jobs, before and after, questions customers keep asking, materials and tools, the team, and the season. A list of ideas by season makes it plannable, and a photo folder on your phone makes sure material is there when you need it.

May I publish photos of customers and job sites?

Only show recognisable people with their consent, ideally in writing. In Austria, section 78 of the Copyright Act protects images of people, in addition to the GDPR. The Austrian Chamber of Commerce provides information and a sample consent form. Also ask the customer before showing their house or business. This article is not legal advice.

Where should tradespeople publish their content?

First in the Google Business Profile, as a photo or post, because that is where customers in the region search. Then on the website, for example as a reference or an answer to a customer question. Social media is an addition if there is time. One piece of content can appear in several places.