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Category Archives: Manufacturing

If You Build It, They Will Click

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Manufacturing A Social Media PlanIn order to compete in today’s economy; it’s becoming increasingly obvious that social media and technology are a vital part of a business’ online marketing mix. It is also widely known that the manufacturing industry has been slow to adopt these practices:

These numbers are even lower for smaller manufacturers, yet these companies have the most to gain in developing social media strategies, as much of their new business relies on word-of-mouth. One of the best ways for manufacturers to begin building a stronger share of voice in the social media world is to turn to your supply-chain partners. You will have a much better chance of finding your customers and giving them an opportunity to participate by using your supply chain-partners as a gateway to untapped prospects.

  • 18% of manufacturer respondents (out of a total of 60% from all industries surveyed)…
    • Have no idea how their primary supply chain vendors/partners are using social media sites or services to interact with customers
    • Say their primary supply chain vendors/partners are not using social media sites or services to interact with customers
  • 12% of manufacturer respondents (out of a total of 40% from all industries surveyed)…
    • Are very familiar with how their primary supply chain vendors/partners are using social media sites or services to interact with customers
    • Have a general understanding of how their primary supply chain vendors/partners are using social media sites or services to interact with customers (via PDF: “Research Study: Social CRM in the Supply Chain”)

*Please note: The manufacturing industry was one of 11 industries that responded to the above survey.

Although social media can benefit businesses in all industries, there is one particular challenge facing those in manufacturing. Heightened pressure exists to lower overall standards of quality and reliability as companies struggle to maintain profits. When social media is utilized for a specific product, demand increases, which is considered a good thing in many cases; however, manufacturers are then forced to shorten production times to meet it. As a result, fewer resources are available for quality testing.

Now that you know why you might want to use social media, learn more about how manufacturers should approach social media.

 

 

Posted in Manufacturing, Social Media | Tagged ,

 

B2B Manufacturing and Social Media: How To Begin

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While many manufacturing businesses are using social media, many don’t know why they have a Facebook page/Twitter handle or why they are trying to get more followers. Others are contemplating social media and don’t know where to start.  Regardless of where your business falls, you should step back and think strategy.

A strategic approach to social media first involves knowing why you want to be involved and your goals for participation. Then, you need to determine who you want to connect with, where they gather and what topics are important to them.  Knowing the “who,” “where” and “what” starts with in-depth social media research:

Identify conversations: 

  • Map the volume of conversations about your brands/products to events (marketing events) and determine which ones generate the most buzz
  • Identify the top online channels and their demographics
  • Determine the topic of conversations
  • Understand the tone of the conversations
  • Mark cyclical and seasonal trends and emerging topics

Understand your audience:

  • Who are your target audiences online?
  • Where are the audiences talking about your brand already?
  • Is your company engaging in conversations with your audiences?

Gather intelligence:

  • Define your audiences and where they gather
  • Identify advocates and influencers
  • Listen to the top conversation topics (what matters to your audience)
  • Analyze your brand data
  • Conduct a competitive analysis

Once you have conducted the research, it’s time to build a social media plan for B2B manufacturing:

  • Develop a content strategy
  • Determine how you will connect with your audiences
  • Define your goals for social media and what/how you want to influence
  • Develop a plan based on what makes sense for your brand, your interaction tolerance, and how other channels will be integrated
  • Monitor, measure and optimize

Stay tuned for another blog post tomorrow on social media & manufacturing: “If You Build It, They Will Click.”

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Photo courtesy of Voka – Kamer van Koophandel Limburg via Flickr.

Posted in Content Marketing, Manufacturing, Social Media | Tagged , , , , ,

 

Online Marketing Drives Measurable Results for Manufacturing Companies

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Earlier this week, Scot Lowry, CEO of Fathom Online Marketing, wrote an article for IndustryWeek entitled “Lean Sigma Marketing.” In it he discusses how valuable it can be for companies in the manufacturing industry to incorporate online marketing into their traditional marketing efforts.

He calls the process Lean Sigma Marketing, because just as the manufacturing sector combined Six Sigma and Lean Manufacturing to produce optimal results, he suggests that today’s traditional offline marketing can be enhanced by incorporating online marketing tactics. A combination of the two processes can drive more measurable results and help manufacturing companies bring in a continuous stream of qualified leads.

It can be easy for a manufacturing company new to the world of online marketing to get caught up in all the industry buzz and lose sight of the ultimate goal: To drive costs down and sales up. In order to stay on track, the article suggests that companies focus on the following:

  • How and where customers buy
  • What the cost of each lead is
  • What the present sales/lead generation processes are, and how much they cost
  • What customers are searching for and where they are searching
  • How to stay in touch with customers and prospects on an ongoing basis

With this information identified, it becomes much easier to develop a strategy that will meet each company’s goals, bring qualified leads to the door and produce profitable sales.

In his article, Scot stresses that a combination of the best offline and online marketing efforts can result in leaner, more efficient and more results-driven marketing. Or, as he would call it, Lean Sigma Marketing.

Read his complete “Lean Sigma Marketing” piece in IndustryWeek to get additional information on how online marketing can benefit the manufacturing industry.

 

Posted in Fathom Company News, Manufacturing, Online Marketing, Online PR, SEO | Tagged , , , , , , ,

 

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