You manufacture the best product on the market, but you struggle with getting the news out. For whatever reason, customers who need what you produce can’t find you. If you haven’t considered it before, it’s time to think about content marketing. Do you think this isn’t possible because your product isn’t interesting enough? Are you worried about how to attract customers?
Content marketing for manufacturers is as viable as any other product or service. But, you need to present it the best way possible. Buyers want or need your product. Now, all you all need is to help them find you.
So, keep reading to learn how content marketing can promote your business, no matter what you produce.
Language Guide
Language GuideLet’s be honest. Much of the anxiety you feel about content marketing comes from not knowing the language. But you’re in the manufacturing business. So, learning to use content marketing ideas is a daunting task. It sounds like a lot of work taken away from your business, right?
Don’t worry. It doesn’t have to be that difficult. Terms like deliverables and initiatives work much the same way as in your industry. They translate well to content marketing, but we’ll have to define some other terms.
Web Speak
Still, it’s better to break down content marketing for manufacturers into simple language. So, we’ll begin with simple terms:
- content
- social media
- SEO
- links
You may understand these terms now, but it doesn’t hurt to refresh. Content is the material that explains a product or industry. It can be in written, video, or audio form.
Social media is a well-known concept which most of us use every day. Most of the time, they include standard outlets like Facebook or LinkedIn. But, websites are also part of the social media landscape. When they interact with visitors, it’s considered social media. Content marketing and promotion involve putting material on social media. A strategic approach to content marketing will boost SEO ratings for websites. A higher rating brings more visitors to your site.
Search Engine Optimization is how customers find sites with the information they need. The more content related to the subject, the higher the SEO for that subject. The more content on your site with that information, the higher your SEO presence.
Content marketers use attachments called links to direct readers to other information. Internal links direct readers to other pages on the same site. External links direct them to outside sites that have the relevant information.
These four elements are an easy way to understand the value of content marketing. However, making effective use of them requires a planned strategy. Of course, the best way to begin with any strategy is to keep it simple.
Simplify for Accessibility
Let’s begin with an explanation of content marketing and how it relates to your needs. There are, of course, differences for every style of business. Yet, with a strategy in place, the same rules generally apply.
Industrial content marketing begins with the knowledge base of your customer. You know your product and process well. Now you need to translate that knowledge to a language your customers grasp. You have a great place to begin if you can explain your product to a child. When buyers look for the part or product they need, they want to understand it in simple language.
Teach your customer rather than sell to them. The education you provide will elicit an emotional response in your favor. Keep in mind that technical jargon works better for buyers deeper down the funnel. But, when you’re trying to attract new buyers, a simpler approach is best. Your content niche for manufacturers then becomes a trusted source. As a result, new readers will engage with your accessible content.
Type of Content
Content marketing ideas are not confined to blogs and web pages. The various types of content are plentiful and sometimes confusing. Choose the content marketing and promotion that fits best for your business.
For example, some manufacturing marketing content lends better to video than others. However, if you can exhibit your product with an eye-catching video presentation, why not go for it? Nothing shows off a product or even a process like a good video.
A virtual tour of your plant might be the best way to explain your process. Manufacturing content marketers use different print media like white papers or Ebooks. Yet, these in-depth papers may be too long for your current content strategy.
Content Marketing for Manufacturers to Introduce Products
Most effective industrial manufacturing marketing begins with blogs or social media input. Informative blogs are a great way to increase your presence on the web. Keywords placed in the text of a blog will attract organic traffic to your site.
Case studies about your manufacturing process or product are great features. Statistics showing the benefits of your product will garner trust from readers. Again, the use of keywords attracts readers to you as the authority on your subject. Comparative studies can also help your content marketing and promotion strategy. Again, this is a chance to show how your product is superior to other brands.
Go Beyond the Blog
Blogging is a good method for beginning a manufacturing content strategy. But, don’t forget the value of social media. It may not seem like a natural fit at first, but you want to be where buyers are most of the time.
Did you know that 83% of B2B marketing involves social media activity? A Twitter or Instagram post can generate interest in your product if used on a regular schedule. There are many creative ways to inform and entertain on social media. The best part is that it’s brief and to the point.
Explaining Content Marketing for Manufacturers
Let’s begin by getting a picture of content marketing ideas and how they get used. You may have heard the term content funnel, but you don’t know how it relates to content marketing. The content funnel is the journey customers take from first interest to the act of buying.
Top of the Funnel
Your content marketing and promotion campaign will begin at the wider end, the top of the funnel. At this stage, marketers are only interested in creating awareness for the product. Your targeted buyer may not even be aware they need your product yet.
For example, you can produce a white paper study on a topic related to your industry. Discuss a market trend and how to improve the process. So, the key is to educate readers about the product’s benefits concerning their needs. Blog posts and social media content are generally the preferred sources for this.
Here, you can share industry insights or new developments in products. The information you share is more about the industry than specific to your business. Yet, there will always be links back to your site within the text.
Middle of the Funnel
This is the area where buyers are evaluating their needs. They understand the product now, so they become more interested in what is available. So it’s now time to focus on how your content niche for manufacturers fits with buyers.
Building trust is key here. Customers are looking for reasons to move in your direction. Case studies and other useful resources materials are what you need to win them over. Again, it’s less about selling than it is about providing valuable information. Show the buyer how your expertise is above the rest.
Bottom of the Funnel
Up to now, most of your content marketing has been informational. As a result, the buyer has a clear grasp of the product’s qualities and how it fits in their plans. They should feel confident about your knowledge as well.
So, the last piece is converting those readers into buying customers. The job here is to show them a path to getting what they need from you. If your manufacturing model is innovative, this is the place to promote that. Product videos are also a great source for converting buyers. Spec sheets or manuals can add value to the buying process as well. Offer comparisons to other products where yours is a clear winner.
The final stage of content marketing and promotion involves taking action. First, lead the customer with buying options that best suit their needs.
Sometimes, free trials or introductory offers will entice the final push to buy.
If possible, reviews from satisfied clients resonate with potential buyers. Likewise, success stories from other customers go well to proving your manufacturing skills.
For many manufacturing content marketers, the journey doesn’t end there. A fourth stage of the funnel is often talked about, customer retention. Content marketing still plays a role here.
The Extra Funnel
Asking for feedback is a great way to establish long-term relationships with clients. Your content marketing can encourage referrals with incentives. Your happy customer can also become an influencer for your business growth.
Also, a preview of future manufacturing products may fit with future buying plans. Doing this keeps your content marketing cycle moving forward.
Building a Winning Strategy
By now, you have a good grasp of how content marketing works. You should see also how a content marketing strategy will work with your business. Think about all the subjects related to your industry. There’s plenty to talk about surrounding the product you want to promote, isn’t there? You have discovered a content niche for manufacturers waiting for an audience.
No matter how complex the subject is, many readers need your expertise. Those are your prospective customers. Therefore, knowing your audience is the first key to effective content marketing.
Putting It Together
Yet, there are a few other ingredients to address. One of them is to learn how well your outlets are performing now. Don’t worry if the SEO scores are low. That’s why you’re here.
An industrial content marketing professional is beneficial at this stage. They will perform an analysis of your site and other media channels. As a result, you will get a clear picture of where your business is concerning the web. That information and some topics you can write about is a good start. But then, content marketers will help you drill down your words for the best SEO engagement.
The last piece of the puzzle involves two elements. The first is good writing. A seasoned writer knows how to reach your readers while also reaching Google. This is where content marketing and promotion melds with web technology. Then, to maximize your return on investment, you need a scheduled plan. Consistency is the key to impactful content marketing. And you need content for every level of the sales funnel.
It sounds like a lot to take in. But, by now, you have determined several content marketing ideas for your campaign. No matter how many topics, they all get repurposed to other channels.
What Is Repurposing?
A blog article written about a product or process can also become a video for social media. Case studies turn into blog posts and so on. The idea is, the more material that gets published, the more buyers will see your efforts.
Traffic gets generated to your business through constant messaging about your business. A lot of the time, you’re not even selling your business. That’s how content marketing works its magic.
What’s the Next Step
All the tools are there for you to make big impressions. Content marketing for manufacturers reaches customers the same way as other businesses.
Knowing how it works brings you steps closer to achieving sales success.
Now, all that’s left is to develop a winning plan. So, give us a call at 973-317-8765 and set up an appointment for a consultation. It’s time customers learned how to find the best product in the business. Yours.
