What You Might've Missed in Marketing and Manufacturing This Summer

Well, folks, we’ve passed Labor Day Weekend, which means summer is officially over.

Amidst the craziness of July 4, summer vacations, and family barbecues, it can be hard to stay afloat of industry trends. As you settle back to the usual work routine, you’ll want to catch up on everything that’s been happening in marketing and manufacturing while you were away.

Here’s a roundup of the biggest industry trends you may have missed this summer.

How to Master Effective Email Outreach

We’ve all been guilty of moving cold emails straight from our inbox to the trash. So what’s the secret to getting through to your prospects with these types of messages? The key is to focus on what they want, not just what you want. Put yourself in the customer’s shoes and ask, what’s in it for me? 

You can show a prospect you truly care about their business goals by:

• Using inclusive language, such as “we” instead of “I”
• Validating their stresses by showing empathy and understanding of their everyday challenges
• Talking about their end goals to show you can be a supportive partner in achieving them
• Always being helpful with your outreach

How to Drive Traffic and Boost SEO

Mastering the right SEO strategy takes a lot of trial and error. Google constantly tweaks its search algorithm – which contains over 200 unique signals – to rank results for customers. Consequently, you could think you’ve nailed optimization one week but then suddenly see a drop in traffic the next.

To stay ahead of these changes and help boost your Google ranking:

• Target realistic keywords instead of overly competitive ones
• Leverage social media to build brand awareness and drive site traffic
• Customize your URLs to reflect simple keyword-relevant structures, instead of just numbers and symbols
• Ensure your website is mobile-friendly to land bonus points in Google’s ranking algorithm

How to Score Conversions with Web Design

A website’s homepage is hugely important when it comes to lead generation. While it can be tempting to load yours up with product and certification info, this almost always leaves a cluttered mess that will hurt both SEO and overall user experience.

No matter the industry, brilliant homepage designs tend to have a few things in common:

• Parallax scrolling (also known as parallax design)
• Hover state
• Grid layout
• Design consistency
• Interesting typography

How to Make Sense of Social Media

Manufacturing may not seem like an industry that depends on social media presence but, trust us; it can be a huge driver of site traffic and RFQs. Once you jump online, you’ll find that many of your customers are already there, ready to connect with you.

 Here are a few ways to kick start your presence on Twitter:

• Research your customers and competitors to see what’s working and what’s not
• Create a robust profile with a fresh description and a link back to your company’s website
• Browse headlines within your industry to begin posting relevant stories and original content
• Build your network by searching customers, vendors, industrial publications, and individuals (including your own staff) to follow
• Interact with other users by replying, retweeting, and liking relevant posts that align with your brand

Final Thoughts

These are just a few highlights of this summer’s hottest industry trends. As we prep for the return to busy season, you can keep up with what’s next in marketing and manufacturing by subscribing to our newsletters or following us for more updates.