Social Media Strategy for Industrial Manufacturing

The world of social media can feel intimidating since it seems like there’s a new platform to learn every week. Just when we were all getting used to Instagram, Snapchat ramped up. Now Snapchat has faded into the background to make room for TikTok. Sensory overload and lack of focus can leave you wondering, “Where do I even start?” Or even, “Why does social media matter when I work in the industrial sector?”

Social media isn’t just reserved for B2C companies, there’s plenty of space for B2B to play (and win), as well.

Leveraging Social for Brand Awareness and Consideration

Captures interest and makes you visible to a larger audience

People drive by industrial buildings every day and often have no idea what goes on inside, or how closely those manufacturers are tied to many products in their lives. A general lack of awareness though isn’t a sign that people don’t want to learn. Shows like How It’s Made and the uptick in viral videos tell us that there’s a vast audience interested in this kind of content. All we need to do is start putting content out there for them.

Social media is a great way to show the manufacturing process and how products are made. We can buy print media all day long and tell people what you do, but social media has a unique ability to go beyond the network of people your company is directly connected to.

Keep your business top-of-mind until customers are ready to buy

Your prospective customers are also on social media and the content they see on these platforms will influence their buying decision. Social media is also a great way to fully engage prospective customers until they’re ready to buy, and putting content out regularly helps build greater awareness and keeps your business top-of-mind. When they’re ready to buy, your company has already built such a strong foundation of familiarity and trust that choosing to do business with you becomes a natural next step. 

Using Social Content to Boost Recruitment and Retention

Tap into the “job-seeker’s market”

The market for talent now is more competitive than ever and expectations are high among job seekers! Prospective employees often want to see what it’ll be like to work for your company before they apply, and definitely before they accept a job offer. Social media is a great place to show some of these everyday company perks that aren’t listed on your website. Regularly posting this type of content will give you a big advantage over other employers.

Engage your current team and prospective candidates

This is your chance to show some personality! Let people know that your company is more than brick and mortar (or a giant web of zoom calls)–show what makes it a place where people want to stick around. Creating great content that celebrates your company’s community will not only appeal to prospective talent but is also a way to build pride and appreciation with current employees.

Company events, awards, day-in-life posts, and employee anniversaries are just a few of the things you can post.

Posting on Social to Improve Website Performance

A great long-term benefit to posting consistently on social media is that it boosts your SEO rankings. When more and more of your content starts circulating the internet from a multitude of sources, search engines will deem your company as a relevant, reputable industry resource, and will eventually reward you with higher SERP rankings. In other words, more people will find you when they search for the products and services you offer.

If for no other reason or benefit, you should be posting on social media to impress search engines (the gateway to getting buyers’ attention on the internet). The more search engines trust you, the more referrals you’ll get to your website—and it’s likely that these users (who are searching the internet for your specific products or services) are ready to buy.

Setting Up for Success

A comprehensive and effective social media presence doesn’t happen overnight. It takes a strategic approach, careful content planning, and a lot of patience, but the ideas we talked about in this article are a good starting point for getting your social media accounts up and running.