The Thomas Blog

The Basics Of Instagram For Manufacturers

When it comes to content marketing, social media plays an undeniably huge role in how businesses manage their online interactions with consumers and partners. You’re likely already familiar with the “Big Three” social media channels — Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. 

These networks are just the tip of the digital iceberg; the social media landscape is vast and teeming with a wide variety of platforms. In order to master your social media game, it’s important to understand these networks and how they can be utilized.

One of the most popular social media networks is Instagram. Synonymous with ethereal, nostalgic filters, and heavily edited photographs, this image-based platform might not seem like an obvious choice for an industrial social media marketing strategy. However, with its high popularity and excellent engagement rate, integrating Instagram into your social media marketing strategy is definitely worth considering.

Top 3 Pitfalls for Industrial Sellers

Over time, sellers learn that not all customers are created equal, and some customers are more difficult to sell to than others.

That's because the industry is evolving and the buyer’s journey of an industrial customer is changing along with it. As an industrial business, how are you managing these changes — are you keeping up internally, or are you facing roadblocks when it comes to connecting with the right buyers and closing your sales?

In this post, we discuss three common pitfalls industrial sellers experience, important things to remember about the industrial buying and selling process, and how to make sure you're on the right track to closing those deals.

3 Unlikely Places To Connect With Engineers Online

As a manufacturer, you deal with many different types of buyers — procurement pros, purchasing agents, MROs, general managers, etc. However, perhaps no type of buyer is more valuable — and more desirable — than an engineer.

That’s because engineers aren’t concerned with pricing and contracts, they care about the nitty-gritty — form, fit, and, function. If you can meet their needs, you can increase your chances of getting spec’d into designs and recommended for projects. However, too many manufacturers sit around and wait for RFPs to roll in before they concern themselves with meeting the needs of engineers. By that time, however, it’s already too late. You need to continuously and proactively build connections with engineers to understand more about them, to speak their language, and to position yourself as a proven, trusted partner.

Where can you make those connections? All across the web. In this post, we’ll explore the unexpected — and overlooked — places across the web where you can connect with engineers.

10 Stats You Didn't Know About Thomas

Industrial buyers are typically 70% of the way through their purchase decision process before they reach out to a supplier.

If you are a manufacturer trying to grow your business, this is an eye-opening, game-changing stat. It means that the buyers you want to do business with — the ones you need to connect with in order to grow your company — are researching, designing, evaluating, shortlisting, and, ultimately, making their purchase decisions online, all with very limited interaction with your sales people.

How, then, can you forge the connections you need while staying top of mind throughout the long and complex buying process?

The Social Media Accounts (And Hashtags!) You Should Be Following

In the digital age, the shop floor isn't the only place that manufacturing puts in work. Today, many industrial companies are incredibly active on social media, sharing their stories and interacting with fans and followers.

If you want to get in on the conversation, or see how a manufacturing company can effectively leverage social media as a sales channel, these are the accounts you want to follow. 

What I Learned Growing Up In Manufacturing: From Sales To President Of Onex

Onex got its start in 1966 as a refractory distributor for the foundry industry. As the industry declined in the 1980s, Onex began expanding its product offerings by manufacturing precast shapes, installing refractory materials and partnering with vendors to build furnaces.

Today, Onex is a “one-stop shop” for industrial furnace needs offering both refractory and combustion services as well as designing and building new, custom furnaces.

Meet Ashleigh Walters, President of Onex, a second-generation family-owned and women run business. Walter's experience in the manufacturing sector dates back to 2000 and she has shared her journey through industry. 

5 Uncommon Ways Industrial Businesses Use Videos to Boost Sales

Industrial businesses looking to capitalize on the power of videos in the B2B sales cycle often include product demos, virtual plant tours, and customer testimonials/case studies on their company websites and other places industrial buyers frequent.

Those are the most common — and in some cases the most crucial — types of videos, it's important to understand that there are many more ways to use videos as part of your sales and marketing. (And since research from Kissmetrics shows that the likelihood of a purchase increases by 64% to 85% after watching a product/service-related video, you could be missing out!)

Facebook vs. LinkedIn vs. Twitter For Industrial Companies

Are you missing out on an amazing resource that can make your business' growth goal a reality — the answer might be in social media. Over 90% of companies, both business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C), are currently making use of social media for marketing purposes. But with such a wide range of social networks to work with, and new ones popping up every day, navigating these options can often seem daunting.

While there are other social media networks that could be added to this list, we’re focusing on the main channels for B2B marketing purposes. Below, we’ll delve into three of the most popular social networks — Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter — and explore how industrial companies and manufacturers can make the most effective use of these versatile platforms, leading to more valuable prospects, increased leads, and, of course, boosted sales.

6 Manufacturing Awards In 2019

Praise and recognition are essential to a healthy workplace, but awards and ceremonies take those achievements to the next level. Awards help promote your brand, showcase your team's work to company leaders, and look great on your resume.

For manufacturers, industry awards are a valuable way to get company exposure and credibility, and we've rounded up six manufacturing awards to put on your to-do list and apply to this year.