Category: Industrial Content Marketing

  • Struggling with B2B Industrial Marketing? Your Essential Guide to Proven Strategies & Tactics

    Struggling with B2B Industrial Marketing? Your Essential Guide to Proven Strategies & Tactics

    B2B industrial marketing presents unique challenges compared to other forms of B2B marketing. Longer sales cycles, complex technical products, and a highly analytical buyer persona are just a few factors that set it apart. If you’re a marketer at a manufacturer, distributor, or engineering company, you know this firsthand.

    So, what can this post offer that you couldn’t find with a simple Google search?

    Answer: My personal thoughts and experiences as an industrial marketer and consultant. 

    As the Founder and President of Tiecas, a B2B industrial marketing agency in Houston, TX, I’ve spent the past 35+ years immersed in industrial and manufacturing marketing. I’ve witnessed countless industrial companies’ challenges and frustrations firsthand.

    Probably the most common complaint that I hear from Sales is that “Marketing just doesn’t understand engineering problems, and they generate ‘crappy’ leads that are not ready to buy.”

    But I’m not just another marketing consultant. As a Marketing Engineer (a Mechanical Engineer with an MBA in Marketing), I understand the engineer’s mindset and the complexities of the industrial buying journey. This isn’t just marketing theory – it’s wisdom born from decades of hands-on experience.

    Need proof? My team and I helped a mid-sized valve manufacturer increase leads by 31% by rewriting and revamping their product-centric content to address engineers’ real-world challenges.

    Ready to dive into a perspective you won’t find anywhere else? Let’s go!

    B2B Industrial Marketing—Overcoming Common Challenges Faced by Manufacturers

    B2B industrial marketing solutions

    In the industrial sector, the days of relying solely on your ace sales team to generate leads and close deals are dwindling. Engineers and technical buyers are empowered by ready access to information and prefer to do their own extensive research before engaging with suppliers. Industrial buyers rely heavily on supplier/vendor websites for in-depth product and service information.

    Gartner’s prediction that 80% of B2B sales interactions will occur digitally by 2025 underscores this shift. [Source]

    So, what does this mean for B2B industrial marketers?

    • Sales & Marketing Alignment: As mentioned earlier about my conversations with manufacturers, the “more leads” cry is often a misdiagnosis. Building an integrated sales and marketing machine is essential. Neither department can succeed in isolation within this new environment.
    • Engineers are Skeptical: Don’t mistake their thirst for information as a love for more marketing fluff. Trust is earned slowly. Your content needs to be technically sound, solution-oriented, and backed by data or proof points.
    • The ‘Seller Beware’ Era: Buyers hold the power, dictating the pace and terms of engagement. Your marketing must enable buyers to self-educate, building confidence in your solutions long before a sales conversation happens.

    How to Succeed: A Mindset Shift

    Here are three key focus areas for B2B industrial marketers that recognize this transformed buyer behavior:

    1. Become an Information Hub: Produce content that answers potential buyers’ questions, from technical specs to implementation case studies and post-sale support examples.
    2. Emphasize Problem-Solving: Frame your product/service as the solution to the buyer’s pain points, not just a list of features.
    3. Build Trust with Proof: Testimonials, case studies, and even unfiltered, engineering-focused FAQs demonstrate your expertise and track record.

    Important: This isn’t about overwhelming visitors with endless content. It’s about offering a clear, structured path guiding them through their buying journey.

    How can you reach engineers where they seek information and what content do they consume? I once collaborated with the Director of Applications Engineering with a manufacturer of leak testing systems. Our goal? Find and secure guest blogging opportunities in industry portals with a captive audience of design and production engineers from the automotive and medical device industries.

    Let’s get specific—in the next section, we’ll dive into the strategies and tactics that translate this understanding into results.

    Proven Industrial Marketing Strategies & Tactics Learned From the Trenches

    The order of the words “strategy” and “tactics” isn’t accidental! While I understand the urge for quick results, I strongly believe in developing a strategic roadmap before launching any marketing initiatives.

    For a quick overview of industrial marketing strategy, read the post, Industrial Marketing Strategy Must Be Documented for the Best Results.

    Your roadmap is your compass for reaching your destination, and at my agency, we take a strategy-first approach. B2B industrial marketing is a long game – consistent effort with a clear plan leads to sustainable results.

    Quick fixes like Pay-Per-Click (PPC) ads can be effective for standard industrial products, consumables, and parts. However, those who manufacture custom-engineered systems sometimes struggle to see the same effectiveness from PPC.

    Tip #1: Bring your SMEs to the Forefront

    Engineers relate to other engineers! It’s a powerful way to establish credibility. Your marketing team can do the heavy lifting but publish posts and articles under the byline of your Subject Matter Experts (SMEs). For more on this, see my previous post: Industrial Blogging Lessons Learned from Working with Technical SMEs. (By the way, I published that post in 2013, and it is still pulling in traffic. It proves the longevity of blogging.)

    Don’t expect your engineers to hand you polished content. Your job as an industrial marketer is to interview them with well-thought-out questions to extract valuable insights and turn them into cohesive content.

    Tip #2: The Right Content for Industrial Buyers

    According to a recent survey [Source], the top three content formats engineers value most are:

    1. Datasheets (40%)
    2. Technical publication articles (29%)
    3. Product reviews/testimonials (26%)

    It’s important to note that testimonials can be tricky in industrial settings due to NDAs or competitive concerns.

    Also, while datasheets are essential, they don’t create differentiation if your value proposition is similar to competitors’. For deeper insights on this, check out this article: How Manufacturers Can Use Content for Differentiation and Create a Competitive Edge.

    Engineers get bombarded with product-focused marketing. They crave solutions! I worked with a manufacturer of pre-engineered metal buildings to create their content. Instead of highlighting their latest robotics, we focused on the technology-enabled outcome: pinpoint accurate framing systems for hassle-free installation. This resonated with their customers, who cared far more about saving time and money than the tech itself.

    Understanding Industrial Lead Generation, Nurturing & Marketing Automation

    Balancing information with lead capture is key. It is a balancing act because you may be tempted to ask for every piece of information you think you need to qualify a lead. The resistance increases exponentially the more fields you force people to fill out. 

    Tools like progressive profiling and marketing automation help you collect valuable buyer data gradually. This is where understanding the difference between Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs) and Sales Qualified Leads (SQLs) is essential.

    Example Workflow:

    • Blog Post: Offer a downloadable guide as a call-to-action
    • Webinar: Invite guide downloaders to a technical webinar with your SME
    • Drip Campaign: Email webinar recording + a case study download + invitation to ask SME additional questions
    • Result: Qualified RFQs with an estimated 17% conversion rate

    This is a simplified example–adjust it based on your sales cycle length and specific offerings.

    Lead nurturing in industrial lead generation

    Organic SEO for Manufacturers

    Organic traffic is the lifeblood of sustainable B2B industrial marketing, but achieving top rankings requires strategic keyword research that goes beyond generic keyword research tools.

    • The Niche Keyword Challenge: Traditional keyword tools might suggest broad terms like “conveyor belt” for a conveyor belt manufacturer, missing out on valuable, targeted searches.
    • Generative AI Advantage: Using a generative AI tool can reveal long-tail keywords like “heat-resistant conveyor belt,” “food-grade conveyor systems,” or “conveyor belt replacement parts.” These terms signal higher purchase intent.

    To learn more, read “Could Generative AI Revolutionize Your Industrial SEO Strategy?”

    Trade Show Marketing: It’s Not Just About Showing Up

    The Content Marketing Institute’s recent study highlights a resurgence of in-person events. 60% of manufacturing marketers reported they used in-person events to get in front of their audiences versus only 28% in the previous year (Understandably due to the pandemic). More than half (55%) expected their budgets for trade shows and in-person events to increase.

    Investing strategically in trade shows can pay off for B2B industrial marketers, but only if you go beyond just ‘showing up.’

    Here’s a quick pre-show, during-show, and post-show checklist:

    • Pre-Show:
      • Develop an enticing offer targeted to your show’s audience (demo, consultation, etc.)
      • Promote your booth presence and offer across social media, email, and even targeted ads.
    • During-Show:
      • Capture leads with interactive elements, not just brochures.
      • Have a quick follow-up plan in place for hot leads.
    • Post-Show
      • Nurture all leads, not just those deemed “sales-ready.”
      • Analyze data: Which show activities yielded the best ROI?

    We did a trade show campaign for an international manufacturer of bandsaws used in the metal casting industry. They wanted to make a big splash at a tradeshow to showcase their products to the North American market. Here’s a direct quote from the client:

    “We had another very successful day yesterday also. At least 50 groups came to have a demonstration of the saw and I would put 30% of those as interested to know more. I am just sending emails to some of the red-hot leads. Fair to say the metal casting industry knows about us now!!” (See testimonials).

    Measuring Success in B2B Industrial Marketing

    Let’s be honest, C-suite executives care about more than just traffic and TOFU lead counts. They want bottom-line results. I once set up an online store for a manufacturer of safety equipment serving the refinery, marine, and cheese processing industries. This generated a new revenue stream and made the buying process frictionless for their customers.

    Proving the ROI of your industrial and manufacturing marketing efforts can be a major headache. Here’s why:

    • Long Sales Cycles: The journey from awareness to purchase can stretch over months or even years. Attributing wins solely to recent marketing activities is inaccurate.
    • Multiple Touchpoints & Stakeholders: Today’s industrial buyers interact with your brand across various channels and engage with multiple decision-makers. Pinpointing which marketing actions had the most influence is challenging.
    • Disconnect Between Metrics: While marketers track website traffic and leads, C-suite executives want to see revenue impact. Bridging this gap is essential.
    • The ‘Last Click’ Trap: Too often, credit is assigned based on the final touchpoint before a sale, undervaluing the marketing efforts for nurturing that happened earlier in the buyer’s journey.

    The Data Dilemma

    This problem isn’t just anecdotal. According to a Content Marketing Institute study, 48% of manufacturing marketers struggle to connect their content, data, and measurement across platforms. It’s clear that traditional analytics fall short in the complex B2B industrial landscape.

    What Can You Do?

    1. Embrace Attribution Models: Go beyond ‘last click’ by using multi-touch attribution models that assign value across the entire buyer journey.
    2. Align KPIs with Business Goals: Don’t just report on vanity metrics. Develop KPIs that demonstrate marketing’s direct impact on revenue and customer acquisition cost.
    3. Implement Closed-Loop Reporting: Robust marketing automation platforms can track leads from source to closed sale, giving you a much clearer ROI picture.

    For Deeper Insights: Check out these resources:

    Measuring success isn’t about finding the one magic metric. It’s about a continuous process of tracking, analyzing, and refining your marketing efforts.

    In the next section, we’ll explore emerging trends shaping the future of  B2B industrial marketing. Understanding these shifts will become critical for making data-driven decisions and demonstrating your value to leadership.

    The Future of B2B Industrial Marketing

    “Manufacturers should continue embracing digital transformation to contribute to a competitive and resilient future and to help tackle ongoing manufacturing challenges.” That’s a quote from the 2024 manufacturing industry outlook published by Deloitte. Manufacturing and the industrial sectors are in a state of exciting changes. 

    Here are a few key trends that will shape the strategies of tomorrow’s successful industrial and manufacturing marketers:

    Trend 1: Personalization Gets Smarter

    B2B industrial buyers demand relevant, tailored experiences. Generic marketing blasts just won’t cut it anymore. Marketing automation tools enable dynamic content delivery based on a buyer’s behavior, industry, or decision-making stage.

    Account-Based Marketing (ABM) takes this even further. ABM is a strategic approach focusing resources on a set of high-value target accounts. Campaigns are meticulously designed with personalized content and outreach designed to engage key decision-makers within those specific companies.

    Tools Matter: Platforms like HubSpot, Act-On, and others are essential for sophisticated personalization and ABM strategies. These tools let you track behavior and deliver the right content at the right time to the right people.

    You could also consider a simpler and less expensive tool such as MailerLite. It has robust capabilities for automation and drip campaigns. 

    Trend 2: Video’s Dominance

    Video is no longer optional for industrial marketers. According to the Content Marketing Institute, 90% of manufacturing marketers used video in 2022, and 80% plan to invest further in this format. It’s easy to see why, considering how engineers consume information.

    • Show, Don’t Tell: Videos demonstrate complex industrial equipment in action, providing far more clarity than lengthy descriptions.
    • How-Tos for MRO (Maintenance, Repair, and Operation): Short videos are invaluable for maintenance professionals, saving time and potential frustration.
    • Mix of Formats: Offer short, engaging clips, in-depth demos, and webinars to cater to buyers at all stages of their journey.

    B2B industrial videos don’t always need to be dry and technical. When appropriate, injecting a bit of humor can make them far more memorable. Need an example? Check out Fluke’s hilarious video for their clamp meter: ‘Fluke 376 FC True RMS AC/DC Clamp Meter with IFlex Review’ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KH8ewYS6Te4).

    Need to explain a complex technical concept in an informative and relatable way? Take a cue from B&D Industrial. Their “Tea with B&D” series tackles topics like mechanical seals in a surprisingly engaging format. This creative approach transforms a potentially dry subject into something memorable. Check out their video: ‘Tea with B&D-Episode 5: Mechanical Seals.’ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taU-bug5b1w). 

    Trend 3: The Rise of Generative AI

    Generative AI is poised to transform industrial and manufacturing marketing. Its impact goes beyond automating content creation:

    • Intelligent Keyword Research: AI tools can uncover long-tail, niche keywords traditional tools often miss. (See Could Generative AI Revolutionize Your Industrial SEO Strategy?)
    • Predictive Analytics: AI can analyze vast datasets to identify emerging trends and predict buying patterns.
    • Streamlined Workflows: AI can automate routine tasks, freeing up marketers for higher-level strategy.

    The Engineer + Marketer Advantage

    Human expertise + Generative AI –the Marketing Engineer

    While AI offers exciting possibilities for B2B industrial marketing, understanding the nuances of engineering needs and industry challenges requires human experience and expertise. This is where the Engineer + Marketer (moi) combination becomes a true competitive advantage.

    My team and I can combine technical knowledge with marketing savvy to create strategies and targeted industrial content that resonates with your audience. I ensure that these AI tools are used wisely to craft authentic messages that truly resonate with engineers and industrial buyers.

    The B2B industrial marketing is evolving rapidly. With my unique mix of engineering knowledge and marketing expertise, I help my clients by:

    • Cut Through the Noise: Implement strategic and proven marketing tactics without sacrificing the technical accuracy and trust-building that engineers demand.
    • Data-Driven Yet Relatable: Use analytics while crafting compelling content that speaks to engineers’ analytical minds and the need for problem-solving solutions.

    Stay tuned for more posts where I’ll delve deeper into these B2B industrial marketing strategies and tactics. Subscribe to our monthly newsletter, Marketing Matters (See form in the footer), to get the latest insights delivered straight to your inbox.

    Ready to future-proof your industrial marketing strategy? Explore our approach:

    Let’s Talk when you are ready to start a conversation.

    Some of the links mentioned in tools may be affiliate links.

  • Stop the Shotgun Marketing Approach! Let a B2B Industrial Marketing Agency Build Your Strategic Roadmap to Success

    Stop the Shotgun Marketing Approach! Let a B2B Industrial Marketing Agency Build Your Strategic Roadmap to Success

    How can a B2B industrial marketing agency develop a strategic roadmap and help you execute it for success?

    Imagine an industrial marketing strategic roadmap with a laser-sharp focus, a plan that directly aligns with your sales goals and delivers a predictable flow of qualified leads. What if you could stop wasting time and money on random tactics and transform your marketing into a true growth driver?

    Your vision can transform into reality with a well-thought-out strategic roadmap and a detailed plan of action for implementation.

    So, why should a roadmap be your first step? Let’s dive into the fundamental reasons why strategy must always precede action.

    Industrial Marketing Strategy Before Action—The ‘Why’

    Before diving into the nitty-gritty details of the “Why,” let’s look at what other manufacturing marketers are doing. You are not alone if you don’t have a documented strategy or roadmap.

    According to the findings from the Manufacturing Content Marketing—Insights for 2023, published by the Content Marketing Institute, 68% of manufacturing marketers surveyed said they either don’t have one or it is not documented. Unfortunately, a strategic roadmap only in someone’s head won’t help you implement it.

    “For content marketing to be truly effective, it needs a strategy with resources behind it. Too many content marketers operate alone or with a small staff trying to do too much. In fact, 62% of all manufacturing marketers surveyed told us that one person (or group) in their organization is responsible for all types of content produced.
    It’s unsurprising, then, that the year-over-year needle has also been stuck on overall success – with around 25% of those surveyed saying their organizations are extremely or very successful with content marketing.”

    Manufacturing Content Marketing—Insights for 2023

    These findings should convince you of the importance of having a strategic roadmap and how that translates to marketing success.

    B2B industrial marketing agency – How strategic roadmap relates to marketing success
    • Provides Direction: A roadmap acts as your compass, ensuring all marketing efforts move towards clearly defined goals. Without this guiding document, it’s easy to veer off course, wasting precious resources on tactics that don’t contribute to your bottom line. A well-defined industrial marketing strategy prevents this drift and keeps your team focused on actions that matter.
    • Creates Alignment: A strategic roadmap isn’t just about marketing; it’s about aligning your efforts with broader business goals. By integrating marketing and sales objectives into your roadmap, you’ll create a powerful synergy that translates into more closed deals and revenue growth.
    • Targets Effectively: It helps you truly understand your ideal customer, their pain points, and where to find them. Generic marketing messages fall flat in the industrial sector. A deep understanding of your audience—their challenges, motivations, and preferred channels—is crucial for laser-targeted messaging that cuts through the noise and resonates with the right people.

    Want to learn more about using content to stand out in a crowded marketplace? Check out our post on Content for Differentiation and Competitive Edge.

    Strategic Roadmap vs. Marketing Checklist

    While both a strategic roadmap and a marketing checklist play a role in successful industrial marketing, they serve fundamentally different purposes. Your roadmap answers the crucial “why” and “who” questions:

    • Why: A roadmap defines why you’re undertaking certain marketing efforts. It ties your marketing directly to your business goals, ensuring every action has a purpose.
    • Who: It pinpoints who your ideal customer is, including their industry, job roles, pain points, and where they seek information. It helps you plan everything—from messaging to channel selection.

    A marketing checklist, on the other hand, focuses on the “what.” It’s a tactical list of tasks needed to execute your strategy. Consider it the step-by-step plan that brings your roadmap goals to life.

    Think of your roadmap as the blueprint for your marketing house, the checklist as the list of materials (BOM), and the order in which you need to build it.

    The Marketing Engineer Advantage

    Now that you understand the importance of a strategic roadmap, let’s explore why a marketing engineer with deep industrial expertise is the right person to craft it.

    • Technical Understanding: Marketing engineers bridge the gap between complex technical concepts and compelling marketing messages. They don’t just understand your products or services; they grasp the nuances that truly matter to your target audience.
    • Buyer’s Journey Insights: A marketing engineer accurately maps the industrial buyer’s journey. This understanding of decision-making stages allows for highly relevant industrial content and targeted outreach at the right time.
    • Translating Complexity: They transform technical jargon into clear, benefit-driven language that resonates with potential customers. This ability to simplify without dumbing down is essential for attracting and engaging technically-minded prospects.

    Strategy to Action: Partner with a B2B Industrial Marketing Agency for Proven Results

    A well-crafted strategic roadmap is your blueprint for success. However, even the best-laid plans won’t generate leads or drive sales on their own. This is where partnering with a specialized B2B industrial marketing agency becomes crucial.

    An experienced agency possesses the tactical expertise to turn your strategic vision into tangible, measurable results. They execute proven marketing tactics like industrial content marketing, industrial blog writing, and industrial organic SEO, ensuring your roadmap delivers maximum ROI.

    Let’s discuss how the right B2B industrial marketing agency can transform your roadmap from a document into a powerful growth engine. An insightful place to start is with a comprehensive website audit. Using your audit’s findings, consider redesigning your industrial website to make it a lead-generating hub aligned with your new strategy.

    Track, Measure, Refine—Proving Your Industrial Marketing ROI

    • Data-Driven Decisions: A commitment to tracking and measuring key metrics is essential for understanding what’s working and what’s not in your industrial marketing. This data empowers you to make informed adjustments and continuously refine your strategy.
    • Tangible Results: Regular reporting on metrics like lead quality, cost per lead, customer acquisition cost, and overall ROI provides executives with clear evidence of your marketing investment’s value. Focus on how inbound strategies generate leads with a lower acquisition cost than traditional outbound methods.
      • However, attributing marketing’s direct contribution to sales and revenues is challenging in industrial marketing due to long sales cycles and complex decision-making processes. To learn more, check out our post on Unique Challenges in Manufacturing Content Marketing.
    • Continuous Improvement: Data-driven analysis creates a culture of quantitive optimization. Your B2B industrial marketing agency should be a partner in this process, using data to continuously improve strategies and tactics for lasting success.

    Let’s collaborate to achieve your growth goals. Read our Strategic Roadmap page and contact us for a personalized consultation.

  • Could Generative AI Revolutionize Your Industrial SEO Strategy?

    Could Generative AI Revolutionize Your Industrial SEO Strategy?

    Are you struggling to find the right keywords for effective optimization? Read on to discover how generative AI for industrial SEO can be a powerful solution.

    Have you heard the term zero-click searches? A zero-click search happens when a user performs a search but doesn’t click on a link that takes them outside Google. According to a Semrush research study of more than 600,000 searches, as many as 57% of users on mobile and 53% on desktop don’t click an organic or paid result.

    This highlights a significant challenge for industrial marketers: getting your specialized content in front of the right audience amidst increasing competition for search visibility.

    Generative AI, which involves large language models (LLMs), offers new solutions to this challenge. This technology can potentially change how industrial audiences search for information by understanding niche terminology and complex search intent.

    It can help industrial marketers adapt with tools for hyper-targeted keyword research and streamlined content creation.

    I’m sure you’ve heard of ChatGPT and a host of other gen AI tools out there, with new ones coming out almost every month. AI’s presence is felt not just in industrial SEO and content marketing. Generative AI is rapidly revolutionizing virtually every aspect of business in the industrial sector.

    According to a report by McKinsey & Company, industrial companies that have applied AI in industrial processing plants have reported a 10 to 15 percent increase in production and a 4 to 5 percent increase in EBITA. Can’t argue against those numbers.

    How Generative AI Solves Industrial Keyword Research Challenges

    The problem: Limitations of traditional industrial keyword tools

    Finding the right keywords to target in the industrial sector is notoriously difficult. Here’s why:

    • Small datasets: Many keyword tools rely on broad consumer search behavior, which may not accurately reflect industrial buyers’ specialized language and queries.
    • Lack of long-tail specificity: Industrial searches often involve highly technical, long-tail keywords (e.g., “high-temperature resistant gaskets for chemical processing”). These terms have low individual search volume, making them hard to identify with traditional tools.
    • Missed search intent: Understanding the reasons behind an industrial search is crucial for effective industrial keyword research. Are they comparing products? Looking for installation guides? Traditional search tools might not reveal this nuance.

    Generative AI Solutions

    Generative AI models trained on vast amounts of data can overcome these limitations, introducing new possibilities for industrial keyword research:

    • Understanding niche language: These models can analyze industry-specific content (technical documents, competitor websites) to identify terms and phrases your audience actually uses, enhancing industrial SEO strategies.
    • Generating hyper-specific suggestions: Gneative AI Tools can suggest long-tail keyword variations based on semantic understanding, uncovering untapped opportunities for industrial SEO.
    • Revealing deeper search intent: AI models can categorize search queries based on intent (informational, transactional, etc.), helping marketers tailor content accordingly to match their industrial audience’s search intent.

    Imagine trying to identify keywords for a manufacturer of industrial conveyor belts.

    • Before: A standard keyword tool might provide generic terms like “conveyor belt” or “material handling.”
    • After: A generative AI tool could suggest keywords like “heat-resistant conveyor belt,” “food-grade conveyor systems,” or “conveyor belt replacement parts,” revealing more targeted search terms.
    AI generated seraches

    Industrial Content Creation is Challenging

    Industrial buyers often conduct extensive online research before making purchasing decisions. Effective industrial SEO requires creating the in-depth content they need at each stage of the buyer’s journey. Creating consistent, informative, and technically accurate content is essential for industrial content marketing but presents some unique challenges:

    • Technical expertise: Effective and engaging industrial content often requires input from engineers or subject matter experts, whose time is limited. (See my earlier article, Industrial Blogging Lessons Learned from Working with Technical SMEs).
    • Overcoming writer’s block: Even experienced marketers can struggle to get started with niche topics like “Leveraging ANSI Centrifugal Pumps to Increase Productivity.”
    • Keeping up with demand: Industrial buyers expect a wealth of resources (case studies, whitepapers, etc.), which can strain internal content teams.

    Generative AI could provide innovative solutions to streamline industrial content creation but has some pitfalls that you need to be aware of.

    Avoid AI Content Pitfalls: Why Human Involvement is Essential for Industrial Marketing

    While generative AI offers exciting possibilities to streamline industrial content creation, it’s crucial to remember that these tools cannot fully replace skilled human writers and editors. Technical accuracy is the top priority when targeting engineers and industry professionals.

    Be aware of “AI hallucinations.” Manual fact-checking, verification, and thorough reviews by Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) are imperative when relying on AI-generated content.

    Even with direct human involvement, 62% of manufacturing content marketers struggle with creating content for the buyer’s journey, aligning sales and marketing, and internal communication, which are significant challenges manufacturing marketers face.

    Another essential consideration is the potential legal implications surrounding AI tools. Issues of intellectual property rights, confidentiality, and the use of proprietary information must be considered. A recent example, such as Samsung’s internal data leak on an AI platform, highlights the risks involved.

    Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE) is a new feature that utilizes AI to provide comprehensive answers and summaries directly within search results. This could transform how industrial buyers research and discover new products and solutions.

    To learn more about this cutting-edge search technology, read this informative article, Supercharging Search with Generative AI.

    Note: SGE is still experimental but has the potential to impact your industrial SEO strategy significantly.

    Here Are 5 Key Takeaways From This Blog Post:

    1. Zero-click searches are a growing challenge in industrial SEO, making it harder to get your content seen by the right audience.
    2. Generative AI offers innovative solutions to overcome traditional keyword research limitations, helping you identify niche terms and understand search intent within the industrial sector.
    3. AI tools can streamline content creation by summarizing complex information, generating drafts, and providing inspiration – but human oversight remains crucial.
    4. Accuracy and subject-matter expertise are non-negotiable in industrial content. Always fact-check AI-generated material and involve SMEs in the review process.
    5. A strategic blend of generative AI and skilled human creators is the key to producing high-quality industrial content that resonates with your target audience.

    At Tiecas, we take a balanced approach. We leverage AI tools’ efficiency while relying on our seasoned industry expert and a Mechanical engineer (Moi) to ensure the quality and integrity of your industrial content. Need help with industrial SEO and marketing strategy? Let’s discuss how we can boost your industrial marketing. Schedule your free consultation today. Let’s Talk.

  • How to Use Manufacturing Branding & Industrial Lead Generation as a Power Couple

    How to Use Manufacturing Branding & Industrial Lead Generation as a Power Couple

    In the industrial sector, the focus often falls heavily on driving lead generation, with branding seen as a secondary concern. But the truth is, a robust manufacturing brand creates a strong foundation for attracting the right prospects, building trust, converting Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs) into Sales Qualified Leads (SQLs) and shortening those long sales cycles.

    Many competing manufacturers offer similar products, so there is parity in value propositions, making it difficult for decision-makers to differentiate. Think of it this way: your brand is what sets you apart, defining your unique story and the distinct value you offer.

    In today’s digital age, manufacturing branding has evolved to be more about the customers’ perception of the company rather than what the manufacturer claims it to be.

    This post will provide practical tips and actionable steps to harness the synergy between manufacturing branding and industrial lead generation, fueling your company’s sustainable growth. It will also recommend when it may make economic sense to outsource at least some of the work.

    2 Key Components of a Successful Manufacturing Brand

    Define your company’s value proposition from the customer’s perspective. Manufacturers often focus on technical features instead of how their solutions solve their customers’ real-world problems. Don’t get me wrong, product specifications, datasheets, and performance data must be there; they are not optional. Engineers consider this type of content as the most valuable when considering work-related purchases. (See Content Preferences of Engineers and Industrial Buyers).

    However, to stand out, consider the specific benefits of your products or services. What pain points do you address? How do you help customers save time and money or improve their operations? Are they even aware they have a problem? This understanding is the bedrock of your manufacturing branding.

    Craft an “elevator pitch” that highlights your unique benefits. Having a concise, compelling statement about your manufacturing company is essential. It should clearly define who you serve, the problems you solve, and what makes you different from the competition. Quickly answer the What, Who, and Why questions to address their WIIFM (What’s in it for me ) concerns.

    This elevator pitch should be front and center on your website, sales materials, and day-to-day conversations—ensuring a consistent manufacturing brand message.

    With vast amounts of information vying for our attention online, people are more likely to skim and switch sources quickly. That’s why presenting your manufacturing company’s unique value proposition clearly and succinctly is critical. A strong “elevator pitch” allows you to make a powerful impression, even within today’s fast-paced digital environment and short attention spans.

    Industrial Content Marketing: Address Your Buyer’s Problems, Generate More High-Quality Leads

    Before jumping into content creation, a carefully planned and well-thought-out content marketing strategy is imperative. It’s the key to meeting the unique challenges of the manufacturing sector. You need a clear roadmap instead of implementing hit-or-miss marketing tactics.

    Armed with extensive online resources, industrial buyers are increasingly in self-select and self-serve mode, preferring to research and compare options independently before engaging with salespeople. Industrial content marketing offers a solution: by providing informative, helpful content addressing their pain points. You attract these buyers early in their journey and keep them engaged throughout the long sales cycle.

    Building credibility, earning trust, and establishing thought leadership are vital for manufacturing companies. Industrial content marketing is your platform to showcase your expertise. You demonstrate your understanding of industry challenges and solutions through technical blog posts, in-depth whitepapers, and insightful webinars. This builds a strong brand message of reliability, quality, and professionalism, making you the go-to choice when a buyer is ready to reach out.

    Targeted content tailored to each buyer persona ensures you’re speaking directly to their needs – whether it’s an engineer seeking specifications, a procurement officer interested in cost-saving analysis, or an executive wanting to know payback time and ROI. This constant reinforcement nurtures Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs) into Sales Qualified Leads (SQLs), maximizing sales team efforts and boosting win rates.

    Build Relationships, Fuel Referrals, Motivate Your Team and Attract Top Talent

    Build Relationships: Industrial content marketing puts your expertise and values on display. By providing valuable insights and solutions, you build trust with potential and existing customers, strengthening relationships for long-term success.

    Fuel Referrals: Happy customers become your most powerful marketing asset, naturally encouraging valuable word-of-mouth referrals. Content that showcases client success stories and addresses industry pain points solidifies your reputation.

    Motivate Your Team: A strong brand gives employees a shared purpose and a sense of pride. Content marketing can highlight company successes, employee achievements, and your unique culture, boosting team morale and engagement.

    Attract Top Talent: Potential hires research companies just like customers do. Compelling content that showcases your expertise, values, and company culture makes your manufacturing company a top choice for the most talented professionals in the industry, especially important for the younger generation.

    Use Industrial Content Marketing KPIs to Refine Strategy and Overcome Attribution Challenges

    Tracking and measuring your industrial content marketing KPIs is absolutely essential for understanding what works, what doesn’t, and where to focus your efforts. You can gain valuable insights by monitoring metrics like website traffic, lead generation, and engagement rates. This data allows you to make informed adjustments to your strategy, ensuring the optimal use of resources and maximizing ROI.

    However, it can be challenging to directly attribute marketing’s contribution to closed deals in long industrial sales cycles with multiple touchpoints. This is why breaking down silos by encouraging collaboration between marketing and sales teams is necessary.

    Open communication, shared goals, and a unified approach to tracking customer journeys will help everyone appreciate marketing’s role in driving business growth and demonstrate the power of a cohesive team effort focused on increasing revenue for the company.

    Tap Into Industry Expertise, Solve Your Bandwidth Issues, Scale Your Efforts and Not Your Team

    For many small to mid-sized manufacturers and industrial companies, the demands of consistent, high-quality content creation and marketing can be overwhelming for a lean marketing team. Wearing many hats makes it challenging to devote the dedicated time for strategic planning and the specialized content creation needed to reach engineers and industrial buyers.

    Manufacturing marketers wear too many hats

    “Many manufacturing marketers wear too many hats.” (Source)

    This is where partnering with an experienced industrial marketing agency can make all the difference. Agencies bring deep industry knowledge, technical expertise, and the skills to create engaging and relevant content—allowing you to scale your efforts without increasing headcount.

    If you’re ready to see how outsourcing your industrial content marketing can boost your ROI, start a conversation with us today. Our 35+ years of hands-on experience working with manufacturers, distributors, and engineering companies can help take your industrial marketing to the next level. Let’s talk.

  • Enhancing B2B Marketing for Industrial Companies with AI Strategies

    Enhancing B2B Marketing for Industrial Companies with AI Strategies

    Artificial Intelligence (AI) is emerging as a disruptive and transformative force in B2B marketing for industrial companies. By leveraging AI, industrial businesses are streamlining operations and redefining how they engage with their customers. This technological advancement offers unprecedented opportunities for personalization, efficiency, and insight- and data-driven strategies, enabling marketers to meet the complex demands of the industrial sector.

    As we dive deeper into AI’s role, it becomes clear that its integration into B2B marketing strategies is not just an option but a necessity for staying competitive in today’s rapidly changing industrial marketplace.

    Unlocking AI’s Potential: Top 5 Questions Answered for Improving B2B Marketing for Industrial Companies

    B2B marketing for industrial companies is dynamic, and changes are inevitable. Throwing AI into the mix is both super exciting and a bit daunting. Manufacturers are keen to tap into AI’s potential to boost their industrial marketing game, but they’re also hitting pause and have a bunch of important questions. It’s like they’re standing at the edge, ready to dive into the AI pool but wondering about the water temperature, depth, and even if there’s a lifeguard on duty.

    From what I’ve seen and experienced firsthand, here are the top five burning questions on everyone’s mind when it comes to using AI in B2B marketing for the industrial sector.

    1. How Can AI Improve Lead Generation and the Qualifying Processes?

    Manufacturers are keenly interested in how AI can streamline the lead generation and qualification process. Traditional methods can be time-consuming and may not always identify the most promising prospects. AI technologies can analyze vast amounts of data to identify patterns and predict which leads are more likely to convert into sales.

    This improves the efficiency of lead-generation campaigns and ensures that B2B marketing for industrial companies’ efforts are more targeted and effective.

    Marketing Automation (MA) technology is a good example of how Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs)are qualified and nurtured into Sales Qualified Leads (SQLs) through a quantitative, data-driven approach. MA uses smart algorithms to score leads by how they interact with your website, emails, and content. (See Industrial Lead Generation – MQL vs SQL).

    This scoring is based on actual data, making it easier to see which leads have shown an intent to buy without guessing. This means sales teams get leads that are not just interested but genuinely ready to have a meaningful conversation, making the whole sales process smoother and more efficient while shortening the long sales cycles.

    2. What Role Does AI Play in Personalizing Industrial Marketing Efforts?

    Personalization in industrial marketing is crucial for cutting through the clutter and engaging with engineers and industrial buyers. This audience is knowledgeable, has technical expertise, and has specific needs. They value content that speaks directly to their unique challenges and requirements.

    Manufacturers are exploring how AI can tailor marketing messages to individual prospects based on their behavior, preferences, and engagement history. This level of personalization helps in creating more relevant and compelling marketing content, which can significantly enhance the customer experience and boost conversion rates.

    By tailoring marketing messages to address their specific work-related interests and concerns, companies can capture their attention more effectively than with generic messaging. This targeted approach demonstrates an understanding of their professional challenges. It helps provide them with the right information at the right time they need to make more informed decisions.

    Personalization helps build trust and credibility, key components in nurturing a relationship with a highly knowledgeable and skeptical audience.

    3. How Can AI Help in Organic SEO for Manufacturers and Industrial Companies?

    AI helps industrial marketers identify trending topics and keywords by leveraging advanced data analysis and machine learning algorithms, significantly enhancing their organic SEO efforts. Here’s how it works in the context of organic SEO for industrial marketers:

    • Data analysis and pattern recognition: AI can identify patterns and trends in user behavior. By examining how engineers and industrial buyers search for solutions online, AI can detect shifts in interest or emerging problems these professionals are trying to solve.
    • Semantic search understanding: AI enhances the understanding of semantic search queries, which means it can interpret the intent behind searches, not just the literal keywords. This is where organic SEO is today as compared to the past when it was more about stuffing keywords in your content. This allows marketers to identify broader topics and questions their target audience is exploring beyond exact keyword matches.
    • Competitive analysis: AI algorithms can monitor competitors’ content and keyword strategies, offering insights into what topics are gaining traction in the industry and which keywords drive traffic to competitors’ sites. This information helps marketers optimize their content to improve their SEO ranking.
    • Content gap analysis: AI tools can quickly and efficiently identify content gaps. This enables marketers to produce and/or repurpose content to fill these gaps, targeting new and trending keywords their audience uses, thereby improving their visibility in search results.

    Incorporating AI into their organic SEO strategies enables industrial marketers to stay ahead of the competition, ensuring their content is both relevant and easily discoverable by engineers and industrial buyers actively searching for solutions. This strategic approach enhances their online visibility and builds authority, positioning their companies as thought leaders and building trust within their target audience.

    Google has released its new generative AI capabilities in search. Here is their article, Supercharging Search with generative AI.

    4. How Does AI Impact Industrial Content Creation and Distribution?

    Content marketing is a vital component of B2B marketing strategies for manufacturers; aimed at educating and engaging technical audiences. There’s a significant interest in understanding how AI can assist in creating good industrial content that resonates with engineers and industrial buyers.

    According to the Content Marketing Institute, 59% of manufacturing content marketers said their organization outsourced at least one content marketing activity. Technical content creation was the most outsourced marketing activity.

    However, it is not about finding cheap content creators; the biggest challenge in outsourcing is finding partners with adequate topical expertise (60%).

    AI-driven tools excel in generating content ideas, optimizing SEO, and automating distribution to hit the right audience in a timely manner. However, they can’t replace human writers and editors, whose skills are crucial for crafting the tone and establishing credibility, underscoring that the blend of technology and human expertise is essential for creating impactful and authentic content in digital marketing strategies.

    5. What are the Ethical Considerations and Potential Risks of Using AI in B2B Industrial Marketing?

    As manufacturers consider the possibilities of using AI in B2B marketing for industrial companies, questions about ethical considerations and potential risks arise. There’s a concern about data privacy, AI predictions’ accuracy (AI Hallucinations), and AI’s potential to spread biases. Manufacturers are looking for guidance on navigating these challenges responsibly, ensuring that their use of AI aligns with legal requirements and ethical standards while maintaining customer trust.

    ethical challenges of using AI in B2B marketing for industrial companies

    That is not to say there aren’t challenges in implementing generative AI in B2B marketing. I read an informative article published by Forrester that discusses the opportunities and challenges ahead.

    Incorporating AI into B2B marketing strategies for industrial companies offers a path to more efficient, personalized, and insightful marketing efforts. However, manufacturers must also consider the implications of AI technology, including its ethical use and the need for continuous learning and adapting.

    Ready to elevate your strategy and drive results from B2B marketing for industrial companies? With over 35 years of hands-on experience working with manufacturers and industrial companies, we bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the table. Plus, we understand the unique challenges of marketing to engineers and industrial buyers – we don’t learn industrial marketing at your expense. Reach out to Tiecas today.

  • Overcoming the Challenges of Industrial Marketing for Manufacturers: Strategies for Lead Generation and Growing Sales

    Overcoming the Challenges of Industrial Marketing for Manufacturers: Strategies for Lead Generation and Growing Sales

    Industrial marketing for manufacturers is complicated, with many moving parts that must mesh together to produce measurable and sustainable results, i.e., generate better quality leads that turn into sales opportunities.

    Let’s look at this problem from the perspective of an owner of a small to mid-sized manufacturing company, the Sales Manager, or the VP of Business Development, and finally, from the point of view of the Marketing Manager to understand why s/he needs outsourced help to improve their industrial marketing ROI.

    You may notice some overlap between the challenges for different roles. You may face other challenges but these seem most common in my conversations with manufacturers and industrial companies.

    Industrial Marketing for Manufacturers: Perspective of a Founder/Owner of a Manufacturing Company

    As the owner of a small to mid-sized manufacturing company, I face several significant challenges in growing our business. These challenges are common among companies of our size and often require strategic solutions to overcome. Here are some of the biggest hurdles we encounter and how industrial marketing can assist us in achieving our goals:

    • Limited Resources: One of the most significant challenges for small to mid-sized manufacturing companies is limited resources, including budget, manpower, and time. Industrial marketing for manufacturers offers solutions that allow us to maximize our resources. For example, industrial content marketing can be a cost-efficient way to engage with our target audience and showcase our expertise without requiring a significant financial investment.
    • Competition from Larger Players: Competing with larger manufacturing companies with more extensive resources and brand recognition can be daunting. Industrial marketing for manufacturers helps level the playing field by allowing us to target niche markets and communicate our unique value proposition effectively. By focusing on our strengths and differentiating ourselves from larger competitors, we can carve out a space for our brand in the marketplace.
    • Reaching Target Audience: Identifying and reaching our target audience of engineers, procurement managers, and other technical decision-makers within industries can be challenging. Industrial marketing strategies such as search engine optimization (SEO), targeted advertising, and content marketing enable us to connect with the right audience online. We can increase visibility and attract potential customers by optimizing our digital presence and delivering relevant content to our target audience.
    • Building Brand Awareness: Building brand awareness is crucial for small to mid-sized manufacturing companies looking to expand their customer base. Industrial marketing tactics such as social media, email, and thought leadership content help us increase brand visibility and establish ourselves as industry experts. We can raise brand awareness and attract new customers by consistently engaging with our target audience across various channels.
    • Demonstrating Value Proposition: Effectively communicating our value proposition is essential for persuading potential customers to choose our products or services over competitors. Industrial marketing helps us showcase our unique selling points through targeted messaging, case studies, and customer testimonials. By demonstrating our value to customers and addressing their pain points, we can convince them of the benefits of choosing our offerings. (See How Manufacturers Can Use Content for Differentiation and Create a Competitive Edge).
    • Generating Quality Leads: Generating high-quality leads is critical for driving business growth. Industrial marketing tactics such as content marketing, lead nurturing campaigns and targeted advertising help us attract leads that are more likely to convert into customers. By providing valuable content and solutions to our target audience’s challenges, we can effectively capture their interest and guide them through the sales funnel.
    • Measuring ROI: Like any business investment, we need to measure our marketing efforts’ return on investment (ROI). Industrial marketing provides us with tools and metrics to track the performance of our campaigns, allowing us to measure the impact of our marketing activities on business outcomes such as lead generation, sales, and revenue. By analyzing data and making data-driven decisions, we can optimize our marketing strategies for maximum effectiveness.

    Industrial Marketing for Manufacturers: Point of View of a Sales Manager/Director of Marketing

    As the Sales Manager or VP of Business Development of a small to mid-sized manufacturing company, I encounter several significant challenges in growing our business. These challenges often require strategic solutions to overcome and drive sustainable growth. Here are some of the biggest hurdles we face and how industrial marketing can assist us in achieving our goals:

    • Limited Market Visibility: One of the primary challenges is limited market visibility, especially when competing against larger players in the industry. Industrial marketing plays a crucial role in increasing our brand’s visibility and awareness among our target audience. By leveraging strategies such as content marketing, search engine optimization (SEO), and social media marketing, we can enhance our online presence and reach a broader audience of potential customers.
    • Long Sales Cycles: Sales cycles in the manufacturing industry tend to be longer due to the complexity of products and decision-making processes. Industrial marketing helps facilitate these longer sales cycles by providing valuable educational content that nurtures leads throughout their journey. By delivering informative content such as whitepapers, case studies, and webinars, we can educate potential customers, build trust, and guide them through the sales funnel more effectively.
    • Technical Sales Process: Selling technical products or solutions requires a deep understanding of the customer’s needs and technical specifications. Industrial marketing assists in this process by providing relevant technical content that addresses our target audience’s specific challenges and requirements. By creating detailed product documentation, specification sheets, and technical articles, we can empower our sales team with the resources they need to communicate our value to potential customers effectively.
    • Competitive Landscape: The manufacturing industry is highly competitive, with numerous companies vying for market share. Industrial marketing helps us differentiate ourselves from competitors by highlighting our unique value proposition and strengths. By developing targeted messaging and positioning ourselves as industry experts through thought leadership content, we can stand out in a crowded marketplace and attract customers who value our expertise and offerings.
    • Lead Generation and Qualification: Generating high-quality leads and systematically qualifying them are essential for driving business growth. Industrial marketing tactics such as content marketing, email marketing, and targeted advertising help us attract leads that are more likely to convert into customers. By creating compelling content that addresses the pain points of our target audience and implementing lead scoring and nurturing processes, we can identify and prioritize leads with the highest potential for conversion.

    Why Would a Marketing Manager of a Manufacturing Company Outsource Industrial Marketing Tasks?

    As the Marketing Manager at a small to mid-sized manufacturing company, there are several reasons why seeking outside help can be beneficial in improving our marketing ROI:

    “59% of respondents said their organization outsources at least one content marketing activity. Their top challenge is finding partners with adequate topical expertise (60%).” (Source: The Content Marketing Institute).

    • Expertise and Specialization: Outside agencies or consultants often bring specialized expertise in industrial marketing that may not be available in-house. They have experience working with manufacturing companies and understand the unique challenges and opportunities within the industry. Their specialized knowledge can help identify effective strategies and tactics to improve marketing ROI.
    • Resource Constraints: Small to mid-sized manufacturing companies may have limited resources, including budget, manpower, and time, to dedicate to marketing efforts. Outsourcing certain marketing tasks can help alleviate these resource constraints by leveraging external resources and expertise. This allows the internal marketing team to focus on core strategic initiatives while external partners handle specific tasks.
    • Access to Tools and Technology: Marketing agencies often have access to advanced tools, technology, and analytics platforms that may not be affordable or practical for small to mid-sized companies to invest in independently. These tools can provide valuable insights and data-driven recommendations to optimize marketing strategies and improve ROI.
    • Fresh Perspective: Outside agencies or consultants bring a fresh perspective to marketing initiatives. They can offer new ideas, creative solutions, and innovative approaches that may not have been considered internally. This fresh perspective can help break through existing barriers and drive more effective marketing campaigns.
    • Scalability and Flexibility: Outsourcing marketing tasks provides scalability and flexibility to adapt to changing business needs and market conditions. External partners can quickly scale up or down based on demand, allowing the company to maintain agility and responsiveness in its marketing efforts.

    Specific industrial marketing tasks that could be outsourced to improve marketing ROI include:

    • Content Creation: Outsourcing content creation tasks such as blog writing, whitepapers, case studies, and technical articles can help ensure a consistent flow of high-quality content that resonates with the target audience.
    • Search Engine Optimization (SEO): SEO is crucial for improving online visibility and driving organic traffic to the company’s website. Outsourcing SEO tasks such as keyword research, on-page optimization, and link building can help improve search engine rankings and increase website traffic.
    • Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Advertising: Managing PPC advertising campaigns on platforms like Google Ads or LinkedIn Ads requires specialized knowledge and expertise. Outsourcing PPC advertising tasks to a qualified agency can help optimize campaigns, maximize ad spend, and improve ROI.
    • Social Media Management: Managing social media accounts and creating engaging content requires dedicated time and resources. Outsourcing social media management tasks such as content creation, scheduling, and community engagement can help maintain a consistent presence on social platforms and drive engagement with the target audience.
    • Email Marketing: Email marketing is a powerful tool for nurturing leads and driving conversions. Outsourcing email marketing tasks such as campaign management, list segmentation, and performance tracking can help improve email deliverability, engagement rates, and overall effectiveness.

    By outsourcing these tasks to external partners with expertise in industrial marketing, I can focus on strategic planning, analysis, and optimization to improve overall marketing ROI and drive business growth.

    You may have noticed that increasing brand awareness is a common challenge. Yet, when I talk to manufacturing prospects, our conversations inevitably start with, “We need more leads.”

    85% of manufacturing marketers successfully use content marketing to create brand awareness. The fact is that manufacturing branding directly impacts the quality of the leads generated. Look at this chart from the 2023 Insights Manufacturing Content Marketing report published by the Content Marketing Institute.

    Manufacturing content marketing increases brand awareness

    To summarize, industrial marketing offers strategic solutions to help small to mid-sized manufacturing companies overcome challenges and achieve their business goals. By leveraging cost-effective tactics, targeting niche markets, building brand awareness, communicating our value proposition, generating quality leads, and measuring ROI, industrial marketing enables us to compete effectively in the marketplace and drive business growth.

    Tiecas has extensive knowledge and over 35 years of hands-on experience in marketing to engineers and industrial buyers. If you want to improve your industrial marketing ROI, contact us today for strategic help tailored to your manufacturing business. Let’s Talk.

  • A Guide to Writing Industrial Blogs: What Manufacturing Content Marketers Need to Know

    A Guide to Writing Industrial Blogs: What Manufacturing Content Marketers Need to Know

    Industrial blogs are an integral part of manufacturing content marketing. Industrial blogging is an essential digital marketing tool for manufacturers looking to establish themselves as thought leaders and engage with engineers and technical professionals. For manufacturers, creating industrial blogs is a challenge. Why? Because writing effective industrial blogs requires a unique set of skills and strategies.

    Whether new to manufacturing content marketing or looking to improve your efforts, this guide will provide the insights and best practices you need to know when writing industrial blogs.

    Challenges and the Importance of Industrial Blogging

    As a content marketer in a manufacturing company, there are probably a few challenges that you face when creating industrial blogs:

    • Technical complexity: Manufacturing processes and products can be highly technical and complex, making it crucial to translate this information into easily understandable content without oversimplifying it, i.e., not dumbing it down.
    • Industry jargon: Manufacturing industries often use specialized terminology that may be unfamiliar to your in-house writers. Balancing the use of technical terms to maintain credibility while ensuring clarity for an audience that may include less experienced engineers is a challenge.
    • Limited target audience: Industrial blogs generally cater to a small audience of technical professionals and decision-makers within niche industries. Reaching the right audience with relevant content is not easy.
    • Engaging content: Unlike other industries, regularly creating engaging blogs that effectively communicate the value of industrial products or services without sounding “salesy” can be a hurdle.

    Given these challenges, you probably ask yourself, “Is it worth the time and effort?”

    Here are three statistics on B2B blogging that should convince you.

    1. Websites with active blogs have 434% more indexed pages and 97% more inbound links than those without. (BKA Content)
    2. Companies with blogs produce an average of 67% more leads monthly than companies that don’t blog. (DemandMetric)
    3. Companies that blog get 55% more website visitors than businesses that don’t. (HubSpot)

    Industrial blogs are essential in a content marketing strategy for several reasons:

    • Thought leadership: Blogs provide a way to establish the company as a thought leader. By offering valuable insights, expert opinions, and relevant information, the blog can enhance the company’s reputation and position it as an authority within the industry or niche. You create meaningful differentiations by highlighting and showcasing your in-house expertise.
    • Education and awareness: Industrial blogs enable the company to educate potential customers about its products, services, and manufacturing processes. They help build awareness of the company’s capabilities and expertise while offering industry knowledge and informative content. This is an invaluable benefit because younger engineers look to their suppliers to fill their knowledge gap as senior engineers retire and in-house resources become scarce.
    • Lead generation: Blogs can be a powerful tool for lead generation. By following a solutions-oriented format, manufacturing companies can attract potential customers seeking specific solutions or information related to their work-related problems. These engaged readers can then be nurtured and converted into valuable leads that turn into sales opportunities.
    • SEO benefits: Regularly publishing high-quality blog content helps in search engine optimization (SEO). By targeting relevant keywords, expanding the website’s indexed pages, and increasing the overall authority of the industrial company’s website, blogs contribute to higher search engine rankings and improved organic traffic.

    It is not difficult to see how industrial blogs play a vital role in the content marketing strategy for manufacturing companies. Despite the challenges, creating compelling and informative blog content is essential for success with increasing global competition.

    Crafting Engaging and Informative Industrial Blogs for Engineers and Technical Professionals

    Your manufacturing website is probably already full of content about product features, specifications, and other technical information. These are great and necessary to show that your products meet specifications, particularly useful for Design Engineers who “design in” your industrial components.

    However, it is very product-centric content, which doesn’t help in convincing anyone to choose your company over the competition when they have similar, if not the same, product specs. Industrial blogs are the bridge between products and solutions.

    62% of manufacturing content marketers are challenged when it comes to creating content that appeals to different stages of the buyer’s journey. (Source).

    Challenges of creating content for different stages of the buyer's journey

    So, how do you create more content that addresses your audience’s challenges (a.k.a. looking for solutions)?

    Start by choosing the right and relevant topics for your audience. This requires research and talking to your sales team to get a good understanding of the questions they get asked by potential customers. Industrial blogs should be more about your audience’s needs and less about you. This is where a good understanding of search intent comes into play. Your blogs should answer their search queries.

    Here’s the tricky part, you have to strike a balance between helping and selling. Focus on providing insights, sharing best practices, and offering practical solutions to the audience’s challenges. This will elevate your manufacturing company as a knowledgeable and valuable partner instead of just another supplier. In turn, it will help generate better-quality leads and grow sales. This is how you can prove marketing ROI to higher-ups when it comes to budgets.

    Planning and Using an SEO Strategy for Maximum Impact

    Organic SEO for manufacturers and industrial companies is more than stuffing keywords in your blog posts. Planning and implementing a solid SEO (Search Engine Optimization) strategy is essential to maximize the impact of your industrial blogs. By optimizing your blog posts for search engines, you can increase their visibility and reach the right audience of engineers and technical professionals. Don’t go overboard with optimization. Write for your human readers and let the search engines follow.

    While discovery optimization (SEO) is related to conversion optimization (CRO), they are not the same. It is not enough to attract visitors to your blog, your content must persuade them to take some action. Passive reading of blog posts won’t help you move the needle.

    Don’t rely 100% on organic SEO for your audience to discover your industrial blogs. Promote them through various channels to maximize their reach and impact. One of the most effective channels for promotion is social media, such as LinkedIn and YouTube. Also, consider guest posts and publishing articles in well-known industry portals.

    Promoting industrial blogs

    Analyzing and Measuring the Success of Your Industrial Blog

    After sharing and promoting your industrial blogs, assessing their impact is a must. Analyzing key metrics shows what works and what needs tweaking, enabling data-driven adjustments to your industrial blogging strategy.

    It is more complex than gathering data from Google Analytics on Users, Page Views, Avg. Engagement Time, etc. Those are good top-of-the-funnel stats but won’t help you show marketing’s contributions to revenue. The problem becomes even more difficult because of the long sales cycles and the many stakeholders involved in buying decisions.

    The top challenge manufacturing marketers face with measuring content performance is difficulty integrating/correlating data across multiple platforms (48%).

    Measurement challenges in manufacturing content marketing

    Are you tired of investing your valuable time and resources into creating industrial blogs that fail to deliver results? Look no further. At Tiecas, we have the experience and expertise necessary to ensure the success of your industrial blogs. Let’s Talk.

  • How Manufacturers Can Use Content for Differentiation and Create a Competitive Edge

    How Manufacturers Can Use Content for Differentiation and Create a Competitive Edge

    Using content for differentiation of your manufacturing company can be a powerful marketing strategy. Across various industries where global competition is fierce, finding ways to set your company apart from competitors is crucial.

    This goes beyond just marketing tactics and carries real-world significance. When companies have similar value propositions, creating real differentiation that doesn’t come across as a mere imitation or can be easily replicated by the competition allows you to stand out and establish a unique selling proposition. Doing so can attract potential customers, expand your market share, and ultimately drive business growth.

    Those are lofty goals for industrial content marketing. You’ll need strategic planning, diligently executing the strategy, and measuring results regularly to achieve those goals. The more successful manufacturing content marketers almost always focus on quality content over quantity.

    80% of those who always/frequently differentiate their content said they do so by producing better quality content than their competitors. (Source).

    quality content for differentiation

    The Power of Content for Differentiating Your Brand

    To use content for differentiation, you have to take several steps. This post is written for manufacturing content marketers who are not well-versed in marketing to engineers and technical professionals. There is nothing to be ashamed of; marketing to engineers is different and can be challenging.

    Identify Your Target Audience

    Determine who your ideal customers are and what their needs and pain points are. This will help you create content that resonates with them.

    It would help if you went deeper than industry classifications and company size. You want to identify who within those niches you want to target (Job Titles, role in the buying decision – Specifier vs. Functional Buyer).

    Many marketing consultants will advise you to interview your top 10 customers. There is nothing wrong with that per se; however, your favorite customers already like you and do business with you. These are not prospects that you need to win over.

    Talk to your sales team and ask them about the objections they heard from leads that seemed promising but never closed. Combine this information with what you learned about from the loyal customers. This will provide a more complete picture of your target audience.

    Understand Your Unique Value Proposition

    To stand out from the competition, your manufacturing company must identify and emphasize what sets it apart from others in the industry. This could be a variety of factors, ranging from your expertise and experience in the field to the exceptional quality of your products.

    Product features and specifications are essential because they show your products meet the technical requirements, but those alone are not enough.

    Highlighting any innovative approaches or technologies you utilize in your manufacturing processes can showcase your company’s commitment to staying ahead of the curve. You must be careful not to give away proprietary information and/or the company’s IP.

    Another aspect that can separate your business is exceptional customer service, which allows you to build long-lasting relationships with your customers and establish a positive reputation. You can’t just say, “We offer exceptional customer service.” You have to prove it to the skeptical audience.

    For example, you can say:

    • We offer a 24/7 emergency call number where a technically competent person will answer
    • We can deploy a crew to your jobsite or plant within 24 hours
    • We have a searchable knowledge base of common troubleshooting questions
    • Our online video library has many how-to videos for field repairs (Field MRO people may not have a say in the initial purchase but can make or break repeat orders) 

    The key is to identify and effectively communicate the unique aspects of your business to potential customers. This strategic approach is essential for ensuring your company’s continued success and growth.

    Showcase Your In-house Expertise

    Use content to demonstrate your expertise in your industry. Bring your in-house Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) to the forefront. As a content marketer, you are responsible for extracting the key talking points from your SMEs and expanding them into cohesive, customer-centric content that addresses the audience’s challenges. Don’t ask them to write the content for you.

    Have the SME review and vet your draft and publish it under their names. One engineer to another is a powerful strategy and lends credibility to your content. This could involve sharing success stories, highlighting your team’s qualifications, or providing thought leadership content. (See Industrial Blogging Lessons Learned from Working with Technical SMEs).

    Educational Content and Thought Leadership

    This could include blog posts, case studies, whitepapers, videos, infographics, or technical articles published in well-known industry portals and publications. Manufacturing blogging is an excellent channel for this. Focus on creating content that educates and informs your target audience.

    You should share industry insights, best practices, tips, and tutorials about your manufacturing niche.

    Regularly creating and publishing technical blog posts is challenging for many manufacturing content marketers, especially those just starting out. If you are in this situation, consider outsourcing your manufacturing blog creation. Learn from them until you feel confident about writing them yourself.

    59% of manufacturers outsource at least one marketing activity. Last year’s survey found content creation was the most outsourced activity at 80%.

    However, it is not just a matter of finding low-cost freelance copywriters from one of the many services out there. The two biggest challenges were finding partners with adequate technical knowledge and understanding the target audience’s mindset. (Technical Content Writing is Challenging for Manufacturing Marketers).

    Leverage Customer Testimonials and Case Studies

    Incorporate customer testimonials to build trust and credibility. This can help potential customers see the real-world benefits of working with your company. The problem you may face is that many customers tend to shy away from endorsing any vendor. You have to work at it and assure your customers you won’t misuse or abuse their trust when they agree to provide a testimonial. A video testimonial will provide a level of authenticity that is hard to get from written text.

    Case studies are powerful content assets as assurance for your potential customers that your company knows its stuff and has “Been There Done That.”

    Sometimes, NDAs can make it difficult to name names, but there are legal ways to overcome those hurdles.

    Leveraging the persuasive power of customer testimonials and case studies is a highly effective strategy to build trust and credibility, ultimately driving the success and growth of your manufacturing business.

    Don’t Forget About Organic SEO

    With social media garnering all the attention these days, it is easy to think that organic SEO for manufacturers is dead. Nothing could be further from the truth. After all, your audience has to find your content before they can read it.

    Make sure you’ve optimized your content for search engines by using relevant keywords and meta tags. This will help your content rank higher in search engine results and attract organic traffic. Use strategic internal links to drive readers deeper into your site and improve engagement. It also helps with your SEO.

    A word of advice—Don’t rely 100% on organic SEO. Promote your content by sharing your posts and other new content through various channels, such as your social media platforms, email newsletters, and industry forums. Engage with your audience and encourage them to share your content with others.

    Measure, Refine, and Repeat

    Track the performance of your content using analytics tools. Monitor metrics such as website traffic, engagement, conversions, and customer feedback. Use this data to refine your content strategy and make improvements over time.

    Engagement metrics reveal user interaction with your content, such as time on site, pages per visit, and bounce rate, helping you identify engaging content and areas for improvement. Similarly, tracking conversions—like newsletter sign-ups, purchases, or form submissions—is vital to understanding what drives users to act and enhance your site’s conversion process.

    Remember that discovery optimization (SEO) differs from conversion optimization (CRO).

    It is tempting to start with step 1 in this post. Before implementing any content marketing tactics, you should develop a content marketing strategy that aligns with your business goals. It will provide you with a clear roadmap to success.

    Without it, you may get frustrated with the lack of results and find it difficult to prove ROI to upper management.

    We at Tiecas take a strategy-first approach before implementing any hit-or-miss tactics. Take a look at our process to learn from it.

    Developing a content marketing strategy first and following these steps, you can use content to differentiate your manufacturing company and attract customers who value your unique offerings.

  • Leveraging Industrial Content Marketing for Manufacturers—a Key Strategy for Lead Generation

    Leveraging Industrial Content Marketing for Manufacturers—a Key Strategy for Lead Generation

    Industrial content marketing for manufacturers is a powerful tool to help your business achieve its lead generation and sales goals. It’s a strategic marketing approach focused on creating, distributing, and promoting valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and engage a clearly defined audience. Ultimately, it aims to drive visitor action leading to conversions.

    Some refer to it as inbound marketing, which is a business methodology that attracts customers by creating valuable content and experiences tailored to them. That term was first coined in 2005 by HubSpot’s co-founder and CEO, Brian Halligan, and became popular around 2012.

    Understanding the role of industrial content marketing in manufacturing

    The importance of content marketing for manufacturers cannot be overstated. With the advent of digital transformation and the changing landscape of the manufacturing sector, traditional marketing methods are no longer sufficient. It’s no wonder why more and more manufacturers are turning to content marketing to reach their target audience, build trust, and generate leads.

    Moreover, content marketing is not just about selling products or services, but it’s about providing useful information that helps your audience understand your products and solutions better. It’s about telling your company’s story, showcasing your in-house expertise, and positioning your company as a thought leader within your industry or niche. This, in turn, can strengthen your brand’s credibility, boost customer loyalty, and drive business growth.

    This strategic shift in manufacturing marketing aligns very well with today’s industrial buyers who are in self-select and self-serve mode. They don’t need to speak with your salespeople to get product information.

    Developing an effective manufacturing content marketing strategy

    Creating a successful manufacturing content marketing strategy requires careful planning and execution. It’s not just about writing blog posts or creating videos but about delivering the right content at the right time to the right audience. I have often said, “Content creation is not content marketing.”

    First, it’s essential to understand your audience. Know their needs, challenges, and pain points so you can create content that resonates with them. This involves conducting market research and creating buyer personas. This step is critical as it forms the basis of your content marketing strategy.

    Next, set clear goals for your content marketing efforts. This might include boosting brand awareness, generating leads, increasing website traffic, or improving customer engagement. Having well-defined goals will help guide your content creation and distribution efforts, ensuring that every piece of content serves a specific purpose.

    Goals achieved using industrial marketing for manufacturers

    (Source: Manufacturing Content Marketing Insights for 2023, CMI).

    Last but not least, it’s crucial to measure the effectiveness of your content marketing strategy. This involves tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) like website traffic, lead generation, social media engagement, and conversion rates. By monitoring these metrics, you can determine what’s working and what’s not, allowing you to tweak your strategy as needed.

    How to leverage industrial content marketing for lead generation and conversions

    Leveraging industrial content marketing for manufacturers for lead generation and conversions is about using content to attract, engage, and convert visitors into potential leads. It’s about providing valuable content that answers your audience’s questions, solves their problems, and guides them through the buying journey in a logical manner to make a more informed buying decision.

    One effective way to generate leads is by offering gated content. This is content that requires visitors to provide their contact information to access. Examples of gated content include eBooks, whitepapers, and case studies. Gated content offers valuable information in exchange for the reader’s email—this is where you capture top-of-the-funnel leads (MQLs) that you can nurture into qualified leads.

    Gated content can be a pitfall if you are not careful. Content not perceived as valuable by your audience but gated for the sake of capturing contact information can hurt credibility and damage your brand.

    A recent survey of B2B technology buying decision makers done by Informa Tech showed that 71% of respondents were sometimes or often disappointed by the quality of the gated content.

    Gated content in industrial content marketing for manufacturers

    Optimizing your content for search engines is another crucial aspect of leveraging industrial content marketing for manufacturers for lead generation. This involves using SEO best practices like keyword optimization, creating high-quality backlinks, and ensuring your website is mobile-friendly. By improving your search engine rankings, you can drive more organic traffic to your site and increase the chances of converting visitors into leads.

    How to Measure the Success of Your Manufacturing Content Marketing

    Measuring the success of your manufacturing content marketing involves tracking key performance indicators (KPIs). These might include website traffic, number of leads, social media engagement, and conversion rates.

    Website traffic is a crucial metric, it is the lifeblood of online marketing. This can help you gauge the effectiveness of your content marketing efforts and identify areas for improvement.

    Lead generation is another critical KPI. You can determine how effectively your content attracts and converts visitors by tracking the number of leads generated through your content marketing efforts. However, quality trumps quantity when it comes to leads.

    Social media engagement is also an essential metric. It measures how people are interacting with your content on social media. This can provide insights into how your audience perceives your content and how effectively it’s engaging them. Temper your expectations from social media because engineers and industrial professionals tend to be passive participants. They like to read or view videos but don’t leave comments or share often.

    Finally, conversion rates indicate the percentage of visitors who take a desired action, such as filling out a form or making a purchase if you have an online store. You can assess how effectively your content drives profitable customer action by tracking your conversion rates.

    Connecting the dots between publishing content and lead generation is often difficult, and many manufacturing content marketers struggle with it. However, you can’t escape or ignore this part because the C-suite execs want to know what they are getting for the money invested in industrial content marketing. They are not impressed by top-of-funnel stats from Google Analytics.

    Measuring performance of industrial content marketing for manufacturers is difdficult

    Putting it all together—A real-world case study

    Manufacturing Content Marketing Helps Improve Industrial Digital Marketing KPIs and Achieve Goals

    Read case study

    Outsourcing vs in-house: choosing the right approach for your manufacturing content marketing

    When it comes to executing your manufacturing content marketing strategy, you have two options: outsourcing or in-house. Each has pros and cons, and the right choice depends on your needs, goals, and resources.

    Outsourcing your content marketing can be a great option if you lack the time, expertise, or resources to do it in-house. It can also give you access to a team of experts with the skills and experience to deliver high-quality content that resonates with your audience.

    On the other hand, keeping your content marketing in-house gives you more control over your strategy and execution. It also allows you to closely align your content marketing efforts with your overall business goals and strategies.

    Ultimately, choosing between outsourcing and in-house depends on your specific needs and resources.

    “59% of respondents said their organization outsources at least one content marketing activity. Their top challenge is finding partners with adequate topical expertise (60%)”

    Source: The Content Marketing Institute

    Industrial content marketing for manufacturers is a powerful tool that can help you attract, engage, and convert visitors into potential leads. By understanding your audience, setting clear goals, creating high-quality, relevant content, promoting your content, and measuring your success, you can leverage content marketing to boost your lead generation and conversions.

    Whether you choose to outsource or keep your content marketing in-house, the key is to ensure that your content marketing efforts are strategic, targeted, and effective.

    Remember, content marketing is not just about selling products or services but about providing valuable information that helps your audience make a more informed buying decision and elevates you to a valued partner, not just a supplier.

    Need help improving your industrial marketing for manufacturers? Let’s talk.

  • Creating Industrial Content that Resonates with Engineers and Industrial Professionals

    Creating Industrial Content that Resonates with Engineers and Industrial Professionals

    As someone who has been creating industrial content and blog posts for engineers and industrial professionals for many years, I understand the difficulties and the importance of creating high-quality content that is informative, engaging, and easy to understand.

    In this article, I will share my thoughts and insights on creating industrial content to help you connect with your audience and establish yourself as an authority in your target industry.

    Industrial content creation: what sets it apart?

    Creating industrial content is different from other types of content creation in a few key ways. First, industrial content is typically more technical and specialized than other types of content, requiring a deep understanding of the subject matter and the industry in question.

    Second, industrial content is often targeted at a specific audience of engineers, industrial professionals, or other technical experts. This requires a nuanced approach to writing, using industry-specific language and terminology to communicate your message effectively.

    Finally, industrial content often provides practical insights and solutions that can be applied directly to a specific industry or technical challenge. This requires a deep understanding of your audience’s needs and pain points and a commitment to providing valuable, actionable information.

    The problem with creating industrial content

    Here’s a direct quote from the Manufacturing Content Marketing – Insights for 2023, published by the Content Marketing Insititute.

    “Manufacturing marketers struggle with creating content for the buyer’s journey, aligning content efforts across sales and marketing, and communicating internally among teams/silos.”

    Challenges in creating industrial content

    If it is any consolation, as you can see, you are not alone in your struggles in creating industrial content.

    Whether you are writing for engineers, industrial professionals, or other technical experts, your goal should be to provide them with valuable insights and information that they can use to improve their work and stay up-to-date with the latest trends and technologies.

    The last sentence is the key—your content must be relevant to their work-related challenges and fill their knowledge gaps. In short, don’t write about your perceived solutions in search of real-world problems.

    Why understanding your audience for industrial content is so important

    I’m sure you are already familiar with the advice, “Get to know your readers.” It becomes even more important in creating industrial content because of the audience you are dealing with—they already have some knowledge of the subject matter, sometimes more than you do.

    Therein lies the challenge. Someone can be good at marketing but weak in understanding technical concepts. It is hard to find both in one person or a marketing agency unless you are like me, a Marketing Engineer. 😊

    How do you discover challenges faced by engineers?

    Unless you have experience in the field, you’ll need to do your homework before creating industrial content. You’ll only understand your readers’ challenges by talking to your in-house Subject matter Experts (SMEs) and customer-facing people within your company. Ask them about the kinds of questions prospects and customers ask in their conversations.

    To conduct in-depth research for your industrial content, you should start by identifying credible sources of information. This might include academic journals, industry publications, and reports from reputable organizations and associations. It would help to consider interviewing industry experts and thought leaders to gain insights and perspectives you might not find elsewhere.

    Get your draft reviewed by your SMEs before you publish anything. A word of caution here: SMEs are busy people doing what they do best. Don’t expect them to drop everything to help you. Refer to the chart above, 41% of manufacturing content marketers said they had trouble with “Accessing subject matter experts to create content.”

    You may want to read my earlier post, Industrial Blogging Lessons Learned from Working with Technical SMEs.

    Clarity without dumbing down the content

    Writing good and effective technical content is about communicating complex information clearly so that your target audience comes away with a good understanding and gains insights that s/he did not have before. You’ll have a sure winner if you create an “Ah-ha moment” for your readers.

    You often hear advice such as “Use simple and concise language: Avoid jargon and technical terms your readers might not understand.” I don’t wholly agree with that.

    At the heart of creating industrial content is the ability to break down complex concepts into simple, easy-to-understand terms. However, that doesn’t mean you need to dumb down your copy. After all, your readers are engineers and technical professionals, not 5th graders. Using standard industry acronyms, such as ASME, ANSI, DSP, etc., is okay. You may spell it for the first use for clarity, but there is no need to avoid them altogether.

    Consider using short how-to videos to explain the complex workings of a manufactured product instead of writing thousands of words.

    According to the 2023 Manufacturing Content Marketing report I cited earlier, “Ninety percent of manufacturing marketers reported that they used videos in the last 12 months. They also said video produced the best results for their content marketing. In addition, 80% said their organization will invest/continue to invest in video in 2023, making it the top area of content marketing investment.”

    Creating industrial content relevant to your audience is a critical and valued skill for manufacturing and industrial marketers. By creating high-quality, engaging, and informative content, you can establish your industrial company as an authority in your industry and become a trusted source of information that your readers are searching for and want.

    If you need help creating industrial content, please reach out. Let’s talk about how I can help you create engaging and informative content that will help you connect with your target audience and achieve your business goals.