Insights

Manufacturing companies face unique challenges in securing new and repeat business. Finding the time to connect with people who need and want your services can be difficult in a world characterized by more and more communication channels, particularly digital ones. Time and budget constraints present more obstacles.

How do you get heard through the clutter? Help customers find you with inbound marketing! Inbound marketing attracts interested parties to you, rather than relying on the traditional advertising tactics of days past. Plus, its measurable and saves time and money!

Content is the heart of inbound marketing by building awareness, generating leads, and working day and night to convert leads into customers. Content seems to be everywhere, but how do you condense it in a way that not only makes sense to your target audience, but convinces them to ultimately become a customer for your product or service? The change in how people look for content online presents profitable opportunities for manufacturing companies to market more efficiently, effectively, and affordably. According to the B2B Manufacturing Content Marketing 2014 report, sponsored by Oracle Marketing Cloud, 86% of manufacturing marketers have adopted content marketing. To make the most of your content efforts, here are the steps you should follow to achieve effective and efficient manufacturing content marketing.

1. The digital revolution

According to 2013 ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau stats, 2.7 billion people across the globe are online - almost 40% of the world’s population.  Looking at the developed world, 78% of all households are connected to the Internet.  According to eMarketer estimates, “there will be 140 million smartphone users in the US by the end of this year, up from 121.4 million last year and set to reach 159.9 million by 2014.”

Choosing the right inbound marketing agency partner is a big deal.  To be fair, there are a lot of agencies that do their jobs well. But there are many that learn as they go, and you don’t want them learning on your dime. If you’re not quite sure what you’re looking for (or should be), this post addresses some key considerations as you search for digital marketing services.

People love visual content. It is engaging and easily digestible. Why are there so many pictures of cats on the Internet? One, a LOT of people like cats. Two, it takes one second to process that cute image. As a manufacturer, visuals are one of the easiest and most engaging forms of content you can produce. And it doesn’t matter if your product isn’t the most glamorous or interesting. Its application is. But I digress. Let’s talk about 4 of the biggest benefits of visual content production for manufacturing companies. We’ll also throw in a few engaging visual content ideas for good measure.

We’ve discussed ways to prep for your tradeshow and what to do with your leads when you’ve got them (check out our blog post, How to Convert Your Tradeshow Leads to Online Prospects), but what about ways to engage the day of the show?

As a manufacturing or tech company, trade shows or similar events present one of the most important opportunities you have to connect with people and get your products seen.  It also represents one of the biggest time and money investments for your business, so you want to not only have a great showing and get tons of traffic, but also secure leads and, ultimately, sales.  Here are a few tips to getting the most from your event.

For manufacturers, trade shows are an integral part of marketing efforts.  They present opportunities to connect with customers, showcase new products, and stimulate interest in products and services, in addition to providing a way to check out the competition.

Trade shows also require a ton of time and effort, not to mention the costs associated with renting floor space, registration fees, and lodging and transportation for employees. Want to capitalize on all the time and effort spent on having a great showing at your trade show? 

Social media can help you increase the engagement and interaction before, after, and during the show to get the most bang for your buck. Read on for 5 ways you can use social media to ramp up your trade show marketing efforts.

Moving Leads Online: A Key to Improved Customer Relationships

As a business in the manufacturing industry, you secure a large amount of prospects or leads from trade shows or other in-person events. The question is, how do you stay connected with them after the dust settles? Here is a perfect opportunity to get more from those leads by moving them somewhere you can track their interests: online.

The internet has changed the way consumers, both business and individual, look for information, and how they expect to receive it.  We are accustomed to typing a query in a search bar, pressing enter and getting answers.  We expect companies to have at least a user friendly website, and trust them more when we can connect with them via whatever social media channels are important to us. We expect to build relationships with them, and we want to be able to do it online.

You have a specific target market that you know well and you keep a close eye on your competitors.  But if you only chase offline leads, you’re ultimately limiting your growth potential.  We shared some impressive results companies, manufacturing and otherwise, have achieved with inbound marketing in our post, How Manufacturing Companies Are Using Inbound Marketing, but let’s explore how manufacturing companies can get started with inbound marketing.