Social media can be a powerful marketing tool for manufacturers. In fact, there are significant business benefits of using social media — far beyond just generating likes and clicks.
1. Social Media For Establishing Thought Leadership
You have unique knowledge, valuable perspective, and innovative ideas. Social media allows you to showcase them. By sharing your insights and advice with your audience, you can attract new followers and build a strong, trustworthy reputation in the digital space.
It's important, however, to remember that social media is not meant to be used as a sales tool. Sales content is not likely to engage your audience in conversation — especially if theyre not actively looking to source your services. The main objective when sharing content on social media is to engage with your audience. To do that, you need to create compelling content that engages and educates.
A great example of a manufacturing company that is using social media to develop their thought leadership is The Rodon Group, which provides custom plastic injection molding solutions.
In a recent post on Twitter, Rodon highlighted a new, educational eBook that helps prospective customers manage costs and establish realistic budgets. This is a great example of leveraging content marketing to become a resource of information and a thought leader.
Plastic Injection Molding 101 - Determining the Cost of a Mold https://t.co/6PWENwEdB7 by @jillaworth
— The Rodon Group (@rodongroup) March 29, 2018
2. Social Media For Networking
While traditional networking events like tradeshows and association meetings can still be effective, they can be expensive — and they're also incredibly hard to scale.
On the other hand, social media makes it easy to connect with other professionals all over the world, both inside and outside industry. By leveraging different networks, you can enhance business relationships by educating prospects and nurturing existing ones. You can also make connections with contacts who would be difficult to reach offline.
One way to quickly scale your personal network is to tap into existing networking groups. For example, if you want to connect with more engineers, you might consider following the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) on Twitter. The group has more than 49,000 followers, and its members regularly engage in conversations on shared issues, trends, and challenges. Following these members, and engaging in helpful and meaningful conversations with them, can help you expand your network.
We talked #manufacturing with the next generation. Their responses were amazing. 💭⚙️ pic.twitter.com/dZJMRr6JH5
— SME (@SME_MFG) October 30, 2017
3. Social Media For Developing And Maintaining Client Relationships
As more people become active, and comfortable, on social media, the medium is quickly becoming a platform for customer service and engagement. Customers seeking answers to their questions or resolution to their issues turn to social media for immediate help, bypassing other customer service channels like email and phone.
This shift presents both challenges and opportunities for manufacturers. On the one hand, companies must be responsive and communicative with their customers, which can put added pressure on their shoulders. On the other hand, by demonstrating a great commitment to their existing customers, companies will be able to attract new ones.
As a manufacturer, social media presents a tremendous opportunity to establish your company as a thought leader, grow your network, and build better relationships with current customers. If you need some help realizing all the benefits of social media, our team can help. Get in touch with our industrial marketing experts for a consultative, one-on-one discussion about your business goals.
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