Chiara Monteton regularly takes her around 40,000 followers to the rooftops of Bochum - at least virtually, using her smartphone.

Whether lying in the dirt while slabs are being torn down, on the roof with a drill in hand or seriously with glasses in the office: the roofer uses pictures like this to stage herself on Instagram.

As a young woman in the trade, the 25-year-old stands out.

On the social network, she not only represents an entire profession, but also her parents' company.

Doreen Dormehl

Editor for social media.

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“You always hear prejudices about construction sites: They are all drunk at twelve o'clock, there are only idiots walking around. Or you have the other extreme: the craft advertising campaign, in which all of this is portrayed very heroically, ”says Monteton. Somewhere in between lies the truth that she is trying to depict. The young woman has advanced to become an influencer for her guild. In story format, i.e. in 15-second image and video sequences, it shows the ups and downs of everyday working life - and above all those of the everyday lives of trainees, to whom she was until recently: Findings from vocational school, fooling around with colleagues , toiling in rainy weather.

Insights like the one she gives Chiara Monteton on Instagram are valuable for companies;

much more authentic than they could be shown on official company websites.

More and more employers are therefore discovering social media for themselves and using the platforms as a marketing tool or as a job market.

And their own employees as ambassadors and figureheads.

A survey by the media company “Social Media Examiner” from the year 2021 among more than 4,000 marketing managers around the world can be read on the statistics portal Statista.

According to this, 93 percent of those surveyed use Facebook in their company.

The Instagram photo app was used by 78 percent;

72 percent said they wanted to expand their presence there.

"We have to be where our future trainees are"

Chiara Monteton posts on behalf of her parents' family business, which she may want to take over one day. She started making contributions at the end of her first year of training in 2019. “Actually, I only had three beautiful pictures of myself on the roof that I wanted to upload,” she recalls. But she quickly found fun in being regularly active on social media. Women in the craft are still rare. According to the Roofers Association, the total share of women in roofer training was 2.03 percent in 2020. “So why not show that we can do that too?” Says Monteton.

She got into the trade via detours. After dropping out of her studies, she did a shortened training as an office clerk in her parents' company. The climax at work? “Drive out to the construction site!” Finally, she saddled up with an apprenticeship as a roofer. Your activity on Instagram is time consuming; She spends about two hours a day editing pictures, writing explanations for her videos and answering comments. What she likes most about being an influencer is when she receives feedback.