As a manufacturer, when you hear the phrase “social media,” it might also be accompanied by the daunting “Dun, Dun Dunnn” sound effect. While social media can seem like an intimidating or futile prospect for many manufacturing companies, the truth is that it’s a vital component to growing your business.

As of this year, 85% of manufacturers use social media as a primary marketing tool and 69% of people in manufacturing follow channels relevant to their field, which means if you have yet to hop on at least one of these platforms, it’s high time you should. But fear not! We have just the guide to help you get started.

The Benefit of Social Media for Manufacturers

Contrary to popular belief, social media networks are not exclusive to big-name retailers and food bloggers. Your CNC machining or semiconductor fabrication community is out there! You just have to join them. Manufacturers and industrial B2B companies can use social media to:

• Increase brand awareness
• Drive relevant traffic to your website
• Attract employees
• Cultivate brand loyalty
• Gain consumer insights

Which Social Media Platforms Should Manufacturers Use?

Short answer? It depends. Not every manufacturer has the same goals, target audience, or business structure—and an effective social media strategy doesn’t necessarily involve all platforms. So, let’s start by breaking down the common uses of each to determine which ones best align with the goals of your business:

• LinkedIn. Connect with other manufacturing professionals and position your company as a thought leader.
• YouTube. Increase your audience scope and establish your expertise with demos or other informative videos.
• Facebook. Expose your business to the broadest audience base of all platforms and drive users to your website.
• Instagram. Attract younger generations of employees by showcasing your company culture and personality.
• Twitter. Create dialogue with fellow industry leaders & address customer inquiries.

Creating a Social Media Strategy for Your Manufacturing Business

Once you’ve determined your social media marketing goals and which platforms you’ll use to accomplish them, it’s time to formulate your social media strategy. As a manufacturer, your target audience may primarily consist of suppliers and distributors, as opposed to consumers. In either case, it’s crucial to narrow in on their interests and what they want from you.

A good place to start is with your sales team. What kinds of questions do customers tend to ask consistently? What are the specific aspects of your products and/or capabilities you want to showcase? How do you differentiate yourself from your competitors? From there, you can start generating ideas about the types of content that would appeal to your audience and set various goals to measure their success. Gaining these types of consumer insights can help you better cater to their needs across all client-facing mediums, not just social media.

A Few Ideas to Get You Started

As any salesperson knows, you have to make people trust your company before they’ll want to buy from you. For manufacturers, social media is less about selling and more about connecting. The key is to be intentional about each post—what are you trying to accomplish? Here are a few content ideas to get you started.

• Want to build brand awareness? Publish blogs, repost content from other business leaders, or weigh in on relevant industry news.
• Trying to establish expertise and credibility? Share customer testimonials or post videos on YouTube highlighting your technologies and production processes.
• Looking to recruit qualified employees? Showcase your company culture with employee spotlights or shots of your team in action.

Bottom line, social media doesn’t have to be a complicated process. Snap pictures and videos on your phone, repost industry news, reply to messages and comments. You don’t have to break ground with each post—you can generate a loyal following simply by becoming a part of the conversation.

Post, Follow, Like & Share with the Help of Ecreative

Here at Ecreative, we understand manufacturers’ needs and the needs of their customers. Our team of marketing experts will work with you to create a social media strategy that aligns with your unique goals and keeps your business at the forefront of industry trends. Begin building or improving your social media presence today. Let’s Get Social!