Compared to most B2B marketers, blogging still plays a minor role for most manufacturing and industrial companies. Look at these charts from two different surveys to illustrate my point.
The first chart is from the survey – Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs’ fourth annual B2B Content Marketing: 2014 Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends—North America.
Blogging is in the top five B2B content marketing tactics used. Interestingly, it is tied with In-person Events at 76%. Events and trade shows are always rated as number one in effectiveness.
Now compare this to the findings from GlobalSpec’s 2013 Trends in Industrial Marketing. Blogs are rated much lower at only 32%.
It is clear to me from my regular conversations that manufacturers and industrial companies understand and want the benefits of thought leadership and SEO from industrial blogging. Many of these companies have even taken the first step in launching a blog but the big problem is sustaining one over time.
Lack of time, producing enough content, producing the kind of content that engages and lack of budget are probably the reasons I hear most often. These are not different from the challenges faced by other B2B marketers. You’ll find lots of helpful articles that I have written that are categorized under Industrial Blogs and Business Blogs.
IMO, the single biggest reason for industrial blogging being low on the list of marketing priorities is the existing mindset. Somehow, blogging and content marketing in general are still seen as another form of one-off campaigns. Many of these industrial companies are not prepared to invest the time and the money for the process to develop and produce results.
It is really up to industrial marketing consultants and other marketing professionals to make them understand the difference. It requires a cultural change to convince the decision makers to stick with blogging. Studies like the one from CMI/MarketingProfs are a big help to me. The hard data provides proof of concept when I discuss industrial blogging with my engineering and technical clients.
Happy Holidays!
Let’s chat to determine if this will be a good fit for both of us. It will be a friendly conversation to get to know each other better, not a high-pressure sales pitch.
Samuel J Tan says:
Achinta,
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on the subject. Often you will find that bigger companies are set in their ways of doing business.
While we cannot deny the effectiveness of conventional marketing channels; online marketing through blogging, podcasts and webinars are seen as more for the modern entrepreneurs.
My take on this is Industrial Marketing lacks the capabilities to engage with its potential clients on a personal level which is usually achieved through mediums such as blogs, podcasts or webinars.
– Samuel J Tan
Achinta Mitra says:
Samuel,
Thanks for stopping by and adding your comments.
Tom Repp says:
Achinta,
I agree. So many laggards and so many opportunities for our industrial marketing friends. I wrote a couple posts about this very subject recently.
-Best Practices for Business Blogging: http://bit.ly/1gH64Vt
-Industrial Sales Reps Don’t Need Business Cards Anymore: http://bit.ly/1b5kEkn
Bruce…I love the “Manifesto”. Right on Brother! Great job condensing a terrific opportunity for industrial marketers. I might add we practicing what we you preach at Market Pipeline. We are generating good content and measuring with HubSpot and now we have customers participating in “Modern Marketing 2.0” with the success that you talk about in your SlideShare presentation. This stuff works.
Achinta Mitra says:
Tom,
Thanks for sharing your resources.
Bruce McDuffee says:
Hello Achinta,
Good insight and I like the comparison of the 2 graphs. But, I think you hit the nail on the head when it comes to the mindset of industrial companies. They are so focused on their product portfolio and the sales function. Marketing has never been more than the folks in the back who set up shows, make the brochures and do what sales and product managers tell them to do. I know you’re an advocate of the power of a modern marketing leader and team. Marketing could do so much more for most industrial companies out there.
I just wrote a piece of content called, ‘The Manufacturer’s Growth Manifesto’ and would love to get your thoughts if you have a few minutes:
http://www.slideshare.net/BruceMcDuffee/the-manufacturers-growth-manifesto-final
Thank you and have a great holiday!
– Bruce McDuffee
Achinta Mitra says:
Bruce,
Thanks for the insights and your comments. It seems to be part of the traditional mindset where marketing is considered as merely sales support.
I’ve downloaded your SlideShare deck and will read it. Thanks for sharing the link.