No niche is too small if it’s yours.
Seth Godin
Industrial engineering brands might be the last type of brand you’d expect to have a social media presence. For a long time, that was true. But back in 2012, we entered the social media space for our first industrial client, and we haven’t looked back since.
In the beginning, it certainly wasn’t easy. With the continually shifting technological landscape, it seemed like a new social media platform was popping up every month. After getting a handle on those, the next step was deciding WHAT to share. Our clients already had plenty of interesting and informative content available on their websites: photos, technical brochures, presentations, videos, news, press releases, career opportunities, and more.
Little by little, with trial and error came experience. Seven years later, we’ve become more confident in our digital marketing and online branding strategies for our clients. But social media has never stopped changing, and it probably never will. We’re ready to keep learning, keep evolving, and keep tackling the challenges that come our way.
When considering social media for industrial brands, keep the following topics in mind.
Different platforms, different strategies
On social platforms like Facebook and Instagram, it’s all about visuals. With Facebook, we also focus on the stories, trivia, and human-interest aspect of our brands. We want our community members to be involved in the experience. Twitter, on the other hand, is where we really focus on sharing technical information. We can connect with other companies in the industry and answer questions from our customers. For this reason, we often focus on Twitter with a high level of communication every day. We’ve also got touchpoints on other platforms such as YouTube and SlideShare, where our clients can share very technical information for engineers or clients of their own.
Magnifying reach
An important aspect of any type of marketing campaign is identifying the target audience and the message. After that, we can focus on actually reaching that audience. Social media is one of the best ways to broadcast a message directly to a selected audience – and much of the time, it’s completely free! On top of that, it’s easy to track and quantify the metrics of how well a certain post or campaign is performing. With access to this data, marketers and brands can receive valuable insight to audience attitudes, feelings, and behaviors. From there, messages can be reinforced or re-adjusted.
Enhancing relationships
Connection is an essential part of the human experience. That doesn’t change just because we start talking about a relationship involving a brand. With social media, the brand is able to change from an “it” to an “us” – which includes the people who make the brand, as well as the people who engage with it. Not only that, brands have a way to listen to and learn from their customers in real time. It’s an opportunity that shouldn’t be ignored. Brands can offer better and enhanced user experiences from their products and services, thanks to the live feedback from the target audience.
Exchanging knowledge
What better way to stay on top of market trends than being a part of the conversation? By following and engaging with others in the same industry, brands on social media can get front-row access to what’s happening elsewhere. It’s a great way to keep on top of industry trends. Not only that, but there can be a high-quality information exchange with consumers. We mentioned before that we often share very technical content with our followers on platforms such as Twitter. When they ask us a question, we as the social media managers may not necessarily be able to answer right away – we need to call in an expert. But once that expert does respond with the answer, the customer walks away with new industry knowledge and (hopefully) a reinforced positive image of the brand.
Social media marketing – no matter the industry – is so much more than just spamming your followers with links and endless self-promotion. It should be a conversation, carefully thought-out; an investment of time and effort.
Whether you’re a beginner looking for a place to start, or just looking for a more hands-on approach to your digital marketing strategy, we can help. We offer coaching and consulting services, to exchange our own knowledge with others and build a stronger community of social media marketers.
Let’s find your communication destiny – together.
Our Moment of Bliss
“One day, you will find how to be rogue.” – Cobra Man (Rogue from Toxic Planet)
Join our playlist on Spotify and step out of your comfort zone. Even for a day.
