Why $47K in Bad Ads Made Roger Wakefield a Marketing Master for Trades

Welcome back to Market Movers: Building Brands and Links with Linkifi! Your backstage pass to building brands through SEO, digital PR, and entrepreneurial creativity. Hosted by Nick Biggs and Chris Panteli of Linkifi.

This episode features Roger Wakefield, a master plumber turned marketing and media force. With over 40 years in the trades, Roger built a successful plumbing business and then took social media by storm, growing the largest plumbing YouTube channel in the world. He now helps tradespeople level up their businesses through digital tools, SEO, and AI-driven strategies.

 

Key Talking Points:

🔧 $47K Lost on Bad Marketing—Then He Took Over Roger shares how traditional marketing firms failed him and why learning video, SEO, and content changed everything.

📹 Why Plumbers (and You) Need to Be on Video Even small, local companies can crush it on social. Roger explains how a simple clip about helping "Ms. Johnson" can go viral—and generate calls.

📈 From Cold Calls to SEO Authority Discover how Roger became Google’s go-to “plumber” by turning every job into searchable content that ranks and converts.

🧠 AI in the Plumbing Industry? Absolutely. Leak detection, predictive maintenance, training automation, and smart home integrations—AI is already changing plumbing. Roger breaks it all down.

🚿 Why Smart Homes = Big Future for Plumbers Plumbing isn’t just pipes anymore. Roger explains how voice-controlled showers, smart valves, and app-connected appliances are the future—and why you should care.

🎥 Use YouTube to Feed Every Channel Record one job, upload to YouTube, then slice it for Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn, Instagram—Roger's repurposing strategy is a masterclass in multi-platform visibility.

 

Quotes from Roger Wakefield:

“When you grow the largest plumbing YouTube channel in the world, you can just say—search ‘plumbing.’ You’ll find me.”

“If you’re a plumber and you’re not making videos, you’re missing a goldmine. Social media builds trust faster than any ad.”

“Smart home technology is here. If you’re not learning it, you’ll be left behind.”

“AI won’t replace plumbers—but plumbers using AI will outpace those who don’t.”

“Don’t teach facts. Tell stories. That’s what gets shared, remembered, and booked.”

Takeaways & Strategy Highlights:

✅ Make Videos About Real Jobs Record what you're already doing. Focus on real stories—helping a neighbor, solving a problem—and build trust at scale.

✅ Repurpose for Every Platform Shoot one long video on YouTube. Slice it into short-form content for TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram. One job = endless content.

✅ Dominate Local SEO with Specifics Post content like “Slab Leak in Saxie, Texas”—and dominate that search term. Google loves hyperlocal context.

✅ Use AI as a Business Brain From performance tracking to predicting busy seasons, AI can help you optimize pricing, inventory, and staffing.

✅ Build a Google Knowledge Panel Search yourself. If you don’t show up, start creating media—blogs, videos, interviews—to own your brand authority online.

 

About Roger Wakefield:

Roger Wakefield is a licensed master plumber and founder of the largest plumbing YouTube channel in the world. After getting ripped off by marketing agencies, Roger took control of his own lead generation—learning YouTube, SEO, and social media to make his phone ring. Today, he teaches tradespeople how to grow their business with content, branding, and emerging tech like AI and smart homes.

 

🔧 YouTube: Roger Wakefield 👥 Connect on LinkedIn 💡 Watch and learn more at rogerwakefield.com

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