4 MIN. READ
The importance of digital marketing cannot be understated for manufacturing businesses, as more and more B2B professionals flock to digital channels. The radical change in personal interaction due to COVID-19 responses has dictated that more B2B interactions use virtual, online and remote practices as much as possible. With the pandemic slowly fading, that change is here to stay and marketers are doubling down on digital in 2022.
Consider these statistics:
• As two-thirds of businesses reported a decline in revenue amid the pandemic, marketers went digital-first, shifting 90% of their budgets to digital campaigns. The trust in digital is real.
• 80% of B2B sales interactions between suppliers and buyers will occur in digital channels by 2025.
• On a related note, traffic to the industrial marketplace IndustryNet doubled in 2021 signaling industrial buyers have reached a greater level of comfort with finding new suppliers via digital interactions.
• 70%-80% of consumers research a company online before making contact
• One HubSpot survey found that 84% of consumers say they were driven to make a purchase because of a brand's video
• That same survey also found that 88% of marketers report positive ROI for their video marketing.
• Blogs are 63% more likely to influence a purchase than a magazine.
• 44% of B2B companies’ top marketing spend is digital.
• The #1 organic search result on Google boasts a click-thru rate of 31.7%!
• Content marketing generates 3 times more leads than the traditional route and costs 62% less.
Manufacturing has specific needs that make it unique among industries. Not only do these companies produce finished products, but in many cases, they produce individual components as well. This places them at multiple locations in the supply chain, meaning that there are often double (or more) the number of marketing opportunities.
2021 was the year of supply chain disruptions. Due to this, more and more manufacturing companies are looking to source parts and materials stateside, making 2022 the year to creating compelling digital content that supports your brand. After all, the manufacturing world is fascinating, rife with potential for creating interesting and engaging digital content for the right audience.
Selecting the right combination of tactics will help ensure you are generating maximum exposure for your budget in 2022.
Content Marketing for Manufacturing
As they say, “content is king.” Just consider the fact that 92% of marketers report their content is a valuable business asset.
Content marketing technically includes video, social media and blog articles as the mediums for connecting with prospects and customers.
The dedication to producing quality content on a consistent basis can be a challenge for a manufacturer in perfect conditions, let alone in a pandemic-induced staff drawdown.
Video content can be particularly effective at showcasing manufacturing methods, quality control and scope of work. Rather than reading a lengthy article about capabilities, a short video or series of videos can deliver the same information in a fraction of the time.
What’s more important is that videos have been proven to boost revenue 49% faster than other methods.
Websites featuring videos drive up to three times as many visitors as sites without videos as well.
Read more: Telling Your Made in USA Story: Why American-Made is Marketing Magic
In terms of the actual content or topics presented in content marketing, they don't have to strictly cover capabilities and statistics.
Every manufacturer has a unique story to tell. Rather than focusing on just metrics, content marketing can include company history, significant contributions to society and edification from their customers.
Many manufacturing companies are family owned and have existed for decades. A sizable percentage have been in business for a century or more. This can be used to demonstrate proficiency and longevity in their sector in a way that is both personable and professional.
Telling stories about themselves may be a tough sell to an industry that deals with precision rather than abstracts. However, manufacturers need to understand that building a connection with prospects is an important part of attracting new business.
Helping Manufacturers Find Potential Customers
It doesn't matter how interesting or compelling content is if nobody knows it is there. Pay-per-click (PPC) is one of the best ways to get new eyes on the content that has been created.
By placing ads that are linked to specific keywords, you can optimize not only the number but also the quality of visitors to your website and content archives.
PPC takes a lot of time to do properly, as the method involves a lot of keyword research, ad creation and campaign analysis. However, the cost-benefit ratio is in the manufacturer's favor when compared to traditional advertising methods.
Of course, simply posting a video or a couple of blog posts and then taking a six-month hiatus from digital marketing will not have the desired effect.
Companies need to commit to a plan of action as it pertains to their digital marketing strategy. For many companies, this means partnering with a dedicated marketing expert who can not only help create an approach that works best but can also help the company follow through on delivery, analysis and continual updates.
Hitting Your Niche
As a manufacturer, finding the right platform and audience for your digital content is arguably just as challenging as creating content itself. Why? Because industrial B2B is exceptionally niche. Let’s say your company specializes in very specific types of gaskets or manufactures plastic enclosures for PCBs. You probably have some serious industrial knowledge to share and as a manufacturer, you know there’s a market for your product and interest in your content. This is especially with more and more sourcing and purchasing happening domestically in the COVID-era.
You know that once you reach the right audience, your ROI is going to be high because you operate in a highly specialized field.
But reaching industrial prospects in these very specific markets is not as simple as posting to a general press release service and hoping it will reach the right audience.
So, where can you reach an audience for which this type of content will resonate and lead to more exposure and sales for your business? Social media is a great platform for this, as more and more industrial companies are jumping into social media each day.
Using the #ManufacturingMonday hashtag is a great way to get some eyeballs on your product. The #USAMfgHour tweetchat (every Thursday at 2pm CST) is a also good avenue to explore, with new industrial companies joining the conversation each week. Not sure where to start? Click here to see a list of influential manufacturing accounts to follow on Twitter.
LinkedIn Groups are also gaining in popularity and there are a number of industry-specific groups that can help you network with potential prospects and post your company’s content.
Reaching out directly to industrial decision makers is possible with IndustrySelect, the industrial database for sales, marketing, business development and prospecting. Try out a free demo here.
With Google’s plans to end support for third-party cookies for its Chrome products sometime in 2023. (AKA “cookiepocalypse”) direct advertising provides the opportunity to choose specific ad partners and place your ads on sites relevant to your audience. The key is to choose websites your target audience is likely to visit.
Read More: The Coming Cookiepocalypse: What the End of Third-Party Cookies Means for Manufacturers
The industrial marketplace IndustryNet is an example of a ad partner that can deliver your message to the right audience and provide greater exposure for your company. IndustryNet, a service of MNI, helps millions of industrial buyers find U.S. suppliers each year, so the site has a massive built-in audience of industrial sourcing and purchasing professionals. About 20,000 industrial companies advertise on this site, which allows them to publish content on the popular IndustryNet blog, appear in the weekly IndustryNet Insider email newsletter, stand out to potential buyers in their industry with a dedicated listing page. Advertisers who publish their content on IndustryNet are also promoted on a MNI’s massive social media platforms.
https://industrynet.com/
https://www.singlegrain.com/video-marketing/just-stats-science-video-engagement/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikekappel/2020/07/22/marketing-your-business-during-covid-19/
https://www.thomasnet.com/articles/top-suppliers/manufacturing-companies/
https://www.convinceandconvert.com/content-marketing/the-keys-to-writing-compelling-creative-content/
Note: This article was originally published in February 2021. It has been updated to reflect new statistics and trends for 2022.
