Installer contributors and builders Leo and Tom – from R&R Building and Renovations Ltd – explain how they grew the social media side of their business.
If you had told us a few years ago that we would be writing columns for Installer, working with global brands, accidentally ending up on the telly and somehow finding ourselves in conversations about TV shows being built around us… we would have laughed in your face.
Mainly because the whole thing started with Tom eating a cold cheeseburger at eight o’clock in the morning.
Honestly. That is not even us exaggerating for effect. We were stood outside the van one morning before work. I looked over and Tom was eating last night’s cheeseburger for breakfast.
Naturally, because it was ridiculous, I started filming him. “What are you eating?”
“It’s a cold cheeseburger…” he replied, slightly shamefully.
“What time is it?”
I turned the camera to my watch. 7:58am. Tom just shrugged and said:
“I’ve got to run a half marathon this weekend. I’ve got to fuel it.”
For reasons we still do not fully understand, that reel went absolutely mental. Tens of millions of views later, our phones were blowing up and suddenly people seemed weirdly invested in the lives of two builders from Kent.
Organic growth
The funny thing is – we never planned any of it. There was no strategy. No content calendar. No ambition to become “builders on social media.” At the time, Instagram was mostly somewhere to put photos of work. A bit of a portfolio, really. Then suddenly, after the cheeseburger incident, we found ourselves having a proper conversation internally:
Do we lean into this? Or just ignore it? And if we did lean into it, there was one thing we both agreed on immediately: Integrity had to come first. That was the rule. Actually, scrap that. That was the only rule. Be authentically ourselves. Do not fake anything. Do not pretend to be something we are not.
Because without integrity, what have you really got?
At that point, we were not even thinking about brands or collaborations. We just thought, if we are going to continue making content, it has to feel honest.
The same people on social media had to be the same people turning up at somebody’s front door to survey their extension. And weirdly, that has played massively in our favour. We have lost count of the amount of times we have turned up to quote a job and a client has said:
“Oh, we follow you on Instagram – we feel like we already know you.”
Authentic content
That is a huge thing. Construction is a trust game. You are inviting people into your home, into your family life, and often into a fairly stressful period while work is going on. So the fact people already feel comfortable around us before we even walk through the front door feels really special.
They know what they are getting. Just us.
Sometimes that has come in hilarious forms too. The cake thing, for example. Completely accidental. A lovely client baked for us on one project and somehow that turned into a running joke online. Now we regularly turn up to jobs and people have bought cakes, doughnuts or baked something because they know it is part of the humour of R&R. Completely ridiculous. But also genuinely lovely.
Then somehow things got even stranger. We got invited onto the telly after someone saw us online. Suddenly we were product testing on TV, which felt completely surreal for two builders who were mostly concerned with whether we had remembered the laser and enough coffee for site.
Then one of the presenters started developing a TV concept around us and pitching it to channels. Again – ridiculous.
Even now, we still have moments where we look at each other and say “This is getting silly now.” And yet, somehow, here we are. The interesting thing is, social media has also brought some brilliant people into our lives. Not just followers – actual people.
Tradespeople who have become mates. Brands we genuinely rate and already used before any conversations ever happened. Good people. Good relationships. The team at Dissident Creative have been a massive part of that. Dan and the team there have become proper friends and together we have created some brilliant content and opportunities – including a few moments where we have all just stood there thinking: “How on earth has this happened?”
The upcoming Carhartt partnership probably tops that list. That still feels completely bonkers to say out loud.But the reason any of it works comes back to the original rule: Integrity.
We have turned down loads of opportunities over the last two years. If something does not fit us, we do not do it. Simple as that. Because people see through forced content. They know when someone is chasing a quick payday. And the minute trust disappears, the whole thing stops working.
At the end of the day, we are still builders first. Always. The content comes second.
Long after the reel disappears, the extension still has to stand up. The client still has to be happy. And somehow, against all odds, it all started with a cold cheeseburger.
Thanks for reading.
Leo & Tom
R&R Building and Renovations Ltd
Instagram: @randr_building
