Social Media Can Provide Value to Manufacturers
Among manufacturers these days, there’s debate about whether LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter add value to marketing campaigns. In a nutshell, there’s value in using all three platforms as complements to traditional marketing strategies and tactics, as well as having a Blog page on your website that you update regularly. Social media channels can also serve as convenient portals for customer service.
You probably have a LinkedIn profile already because it has become a directory of sorts for locating customers, strategic partners and suppliers. Many people consider LinkedIn a “Facebook for business,” and they’re not far from the truth. The reality is that there are more than 500 million LinkedIn users worldwide, and about a quarter that number – more than 125 million -- is from the U.S. – about the same number worldwide that’s active daily on the network.
Put another way, you have everything to gain and nothing to lose by creating a profile, joining groups of people with similar professional interests, commenting on the work or opinions of peers and posing questions to others who could provide you with insightful content for adding value to your company.
As for Facebook, because customers and prospects are, first and foremost, people with thoughts, feelings and interests other than work, having a company Facebook page and regularly posting comments to it can help you increase your visibility. Encouraging colleagues to create posts related to activities within the company can help to “humanize” you, as well as your entire organization. Facebook can also be a valuable medium for collecting testimonials about the ways your products and services have benefitted customers. Likewise, you can leave reviews on others’ Facebook pages to compliment them on products or services which have helped you run your business more efficiently.
Likewise, your individual and company Twitter accounts alike can help you generate awareness of your company and its offerings, as well as cultivate “followers” who, over the long term, can become loyal customers.
If you’re inclined to share your general ideas about social media usage, or tell us about specific instances when it has worked (or not performed) up to your expectations for your company in the industrial, tech or business services sector, we’d like to hear from you.