It’s in your life everyday. Your phone is in your face, your laptops at your fingers. At the push of a button, you can connect with the world and potential customers. Your opportunities are endless. This … is social media.
The influence social media has when marketing for manufacturers is monumental.
Social media has the ability to help manufacturers gain authority, drive traffic, and show an overall personal side of the manufacturing business.
At first, social media seemed to only attract the younger generation. As social media matures, so must you.
You must take advantage of the free platforms that are presented to you where you can build relationships, trust, and become an expert in your field.
Although there is no handbook as to how you are to act or what you should say, there are a few guidelines that you should follow.
Be Heard but Be Smart
Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn are all great speaking platforms for your business. If you get careless and use them in the wrong way, you will simply look bad. Here are three DO’S and three DON’TS when marketing for manufacturers and their social media campaigns.
DO’S
- Engage – be a human, not a robot. Facebook loves variety. Change it up everyday and keep your audience coming back for more. Hashtag your way to new customers on Twitter. Use images and tweet frequently throughout the day. Answer questions, ask questions, be the voice your audience is expecting to hear. Join conversations of other related groups. Share current industry news while following your peers and “liking” their pages. LinkedIn likes articles, so post your longreads there.
- Promote yourself – share your accolades and accomplishments. Be an expert in your field. Show your audience who you are and build that trust as an industry leader.
- Post often – this may sound simple, but once a week isn’t enough. If you only ate once a week, you’d be pretty hungry, right? Don’t starve your audience; give them the nutrients they need to be hungry for more. An active voice is one that’s heard. Leads want to be spoken to, and often.
DON’TS
- Post anything personal – it’s your business, so keep it professional. Keep family issues at home.
- Misspell or use bad grammar – this kills your credibility. Immediately. End of story.
- Plagiarize – nobody likes a fake. Write original, fresh content. Copying will just make you look desperate… and tacky.
Be Social with Your Media
Social media is one of the most powerful marketing tools you can use. When marketing for manufacturers, make sure you’re using it effectively, properly, and often.
Social media is just a tiny part of a successful inbound marketing campaign. To help you get a good start and learn more about inbound marketing, download our checklist below!
To your inbound marketing success!
~Brodie
