Do you know that COVID-19 led to an increase of 12% in website usage by manufacturers?
No personal contact increased the need of developing a strong digital marketing strategy. After consistently working on these strategies, they reaped results their traditional strategies couldn’t.
Today, we will take a look at some of the most effective digital marketing tactics (tried and tested) by manufacturing giants in the market.
An Effective Content Marketing Strategy
Let’s take a look at report by CMI that shows the commitment of equipment manufacturers in the area of content marketing.
Here are some key points to enhance your current content marketing strategy:
- Different Types Of Content
Focus on creating different types of content while working on your content strategy. This includes ebooks, whitepapers, videos, case studies, etc. Focus on a variety of content if you post consistently yet your engagement remains minimum.
Stop staying rigid with long-form blog posts. Be creative and keep exploring different forms of content. You can secure your position on top pages of search engines by creating high-quality content and focusing on SEO.
- Monitoring Industry-Specific Conversations
Take a close look at what experts in your industry talk about. Go through these conversations and see the questions raised by people.
Can you answer these questions with credibility?
If yes, you have your next post aligned with what your target audience wants you to discuss. You can also disagree with some expert’s opinions. This might lead to controversy but speak up if you have a better edge.
With the increased usage of social platforms, poll posts work best for collecting content ideas. Ask varied questions and work on your next post based on the answer.
- Researching And Using Relevant Keywords
Are you spending enough time researching keywords for your content?
If not, here is something that will motivate you to take immediate action.
An equipment manufacturer led to 6X the amount of organic traffic by using relevant keywords. A little attention to SEO took their website visits from 500 monthly visits to over 3,000 visits.
Simply by investing time in SEO, you can generate organic leads that are easier to convert. Keep up with the insights using relevant business analytic tools and make appropriate modifications accordingly.
- Increased Focus On Social Platforms
Another core area of focus is social media platforms. Work on writing extremely useful and relevant posts followed by catchy graphics. Boost posts on these platforms by smartly keeping a budget aside every month. You can’t stay put with organic reach as the algorithms are constantly changing. Social platforms act as one the best digital marketing resources for growing businesses.
Get A Hang Of The Industrial Buying Cycle
Take a look at the basic industrial buying cycle.
The target is to be the best fit for your customers in every part of the buying cycle. Let’s take a look at some of the factors that affect buying decisions.
Website Design
The first thing that a prospect goes through is the website. Make sure you create a responsive website followed by content that resonates with your audience
Does your website scream how you can accompany your prospects from design to distribution?
Give them a brief about your manufacturing process followed by a clear Call-To-Action or CTA.
Add a section of mini case studies on your website to develop credibility. What’s the point of case studies in your blog if your prospect doesn’t reach them? Creating a separate section will catch immediate attention. Furthermore, internal linking will lead them to the final direction.
Let’s take a look at how website rebuilding led To an increase in traffic By 376%.
- Made the website compatible with mobile devices
- Incorporated a strong keyword and content strategy into the plan
- Worked on lead tracking capabilities by an improved focus on contact forms and call tracking
- Ran a targeted google ad campaign which led to 116 quality lead forms
As a result, the company benefited to the extent of $2.9 million compared to $1 million before the modifications.
Customer Reviews
The existing reviews on the web play a crucial role in future conversions. Make sure you respond to negative reviews and address their issues. Monitor the conversations about you on the web as well. Take a look at what people are talking about and consider their suggestions.
For example, a customer searching for the best router table online will be concerned about what others think of specific products. Likewise, every person double-checks credibility through published reviews.
Proof Of Your Work
People hardly pay attention to words unless they are backed up with proof. Make sure you post case studies of your customers’ success. They will help you show your customers that you can offer relevant results. Don’t spare any details and use numerical figures to capture attention.
Increased Investment On Google Ads
Let’s take a look at how you can make the most of your Google ads investment.
- Use The Right Keywords
The key to generating high-quality leads using google ads is by using the right keywords. Your target audience is out there searching for equipment manufacturers.
- Create Compelling Landing Pages
Apart from targeting the right keywords, focus on creating a compelling landing page based on user intent. Having separate landing pages for different equipment will provide excellent results.
- Run Region-Specific Campaigns
One mistake that most equipment manufacturers make is that they don’t run region-specific campaigns. These campaigns will show you the effectiveness before you expand your territory
- Create A Buyer Persona
Before investing money in ad campaigns, make sure you are clear with your buyer persona. Who are these people? Are they working in the R&D department, product designers, MRO managers, or engineers?
Improved Focus On Inbound Marketing
Inbound marketing revolves around the idea of building trust rather than screaming about your products. You work on providing value to your ideal customers through relevant actionable content. This journey will take you from strangers to people who wait for your next post to customers.
Here is a case study that shows how Corrugated Metals, a manufacturing company, succeeded with a well-laid inbound marketing strategy.
Two Core Areas Of Focus
- Identification of specific end goals
The goals included generating high-quality leads, increasing sales revenue, redesigning the website for a better user experience, etc.
- Working on creating click-worthy content
Their focus remains intact in being highly active on social platforms along with creative informative blog posts.
Results Of Their Inbound Marketing Efforts
The company saw a whopping increase of 198% in website traffic, 285% increase in quality leads, and 321% increase in quote values.
Remarketing ads Lead To Increased Conversions
Remarketing works best for equipment manufactures with high website traffic and low conversion rate. Sometimes people are highly interested in purchasing your equipment but they have second thoughts. Once they leave the website, they hardly think about it again
Just putting the thought out there might want them to continue their purchase (gentle reminders don’t hurt anyone). Investing in these ads are likely to give results as they are shown specifically to the audience who is halfway through making a purchase
Summing Up
To sum up, make use of the immense opportunities in the digital marketing arena. Focus on creating content that provides value to the users. By the end, your target should be on nurturing relationships. It will eventually lead to a drastic increase in your conversion rate.
Author Bio –
Porter Gale is Editor-in-Chief at Sleepation. She has 7 years of experience in developing data-driven content for brands, SaaS businesses, and agencies. When not writing you can find her playing her guitar or binge-watching time-travel movies.