online marketing for the industrial sector · • email marketing • content marketing • social...

ONLINE MARKETING FOR THE INDUSTRIAL SECTORThe latest digital trends, news, research, and tips for marketing in the industrial space.

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Introduction Engineering360 is pleased to bring you this selection of marketing articles compiled from recent editions of the Marketing Maven, our monthly e-newsletter created exclusively for business-to-business sales and marketing professionals in the industrial sector.

The following pages deliver valuable and timely news, research, analysis and insights on a variety of relevant topics that can help you build your brand and your business. We’ve divided this booklet into four distinct sections for easy reference:

• Online Marketing Strategy

• Email Marketing

• Content Marketing

• Social Media

We also invite you to receive the Marketing Maven e-newsletter on a regular basis. Subscribe today and begin receiving online marketing strategies, effective practices and valuable tips.

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ContentOnline Marketing StrategyFive Tips for Differentiating Your Business from Competitors 2

Four Best Practices to Optimize Your Lead Nurturing Efforts 4

The Early Stage Buy Cycle is Where the Relationship Starts 6

Three Key Tactics for Marketing to Support Sales 8

Using Buyer Personas to Find More Customers 10

Email MarketingEight Quick Tips for Writing the Perfect Email Offer 13

Five Tips for Writing Winning Email Subject Lines 15

Eight Point Checklist - Emails that Get Results 17

A Quick Refresher to Improve Your Email Marketing 19

Is Your Email Copy Helping or Hurting Conversion Rates? 21

Content MarketingTwo Types of Content that Must Be in Your Marketing Mix 23

Six Ways to Make Your Content Stand Out in a Crowd 24

Nine Tips to Make Your Marketing Videos More Engaging 28

Five Questions to Help Guide Your Content Marketing Plan 30

The Eight Keys to Content Credibility 33

Social MediaFive Way Your Sales Team Can Effectively Use Social Media 36

How to Use Social Media With a Purpose 38

Seven Steps for Cleaning Up Your Social Media Presence 40

Keep Social Media Channels Alive with Fresh Content 42

Social Media Use Holding Steady in the Industrial Sector 44


Online Marketing Strategy• FiveTipsforDifferentiatingYourBusinessfromCompetitors

• FourBestPracticestoOptimizeYourLeadNurturingEfforts

• TheEarlyStageBuyCycleisWheretheRelationshipStarts

• ThreeKeyTacticsforMarketingtoSupportSales

• UsingBuyerPersonastoFindMoreCustomers

engineering360.com/advertising 2

Five tipS FOr DiFFerentiating yOur BuSineSS FrOM COMpetitOrS

Everymarkettodayisabusy,crowded,competitivemarket.Intheindustrialsector,manycompaniesoffersimilarproducts,componentsandservices.Thequesttostandoutfromthecrowdanddifferentiatefromyourcompetitorsisadifficultchallenge,butonceovercomewillhelpyougainastronger,morerecognizablepositioninthemarket.

Herearefivetipstohelpyoucreatedifferentiation,anddistance,fromyourcompetitors:

1. know your enemy

Thissaying,takenfromSunTzu’s“TheArtofWar”,maybeonthedramaticside,butforindustrialcompaniesitmeansthat,inordertodifferentiatefromyourcompetitors,youmustfirststudyandknowthem.Whataretheirstrengthsandweaknesses?Howdotheypositiontheircompanyandofferings?Whatpromisesdotheymakeintheirmarketing?Howaretheyperceivedintheindustry?

Gettinganswerstothesequestionsallowsyoutofocusonhowyouaredifferentandwhatyoudobetterthanyourcompetitors.Youneedtofindthosekeyattributesthatsetyouapart.

2. Stick to your mission statement and core values

Therelationshipbetweencompaniesandmissionstatementscantakeoneofthreeforms:

1. Thecompanydoesn’tbelieveinmissionstatements,perhapsthinkingthey’reawasteoftime

2. Thecompanytakesthetimetocraftamissionstatementbutthenbasicallyignoresit

3. Thecompanytakesitsmissionstatementseriously,puttingenergyandresourcesintounderstandingtheorganization’spurposeandcorevalues,whatithopestoachieve,andhowtoachieveit.

Bethatthirdcompany.Asolidmissionstatementcanhelpfocusyourcompany,provideaframeworkforevaluatingwhetheropportunitiesfityourbusinessmodelandstrategy,establishyourbrand,andgiveyouremployeescorevaluestoembrace.

Amissionstatementshouldbeshort,simpleandspecific.Avoidindustrybuzzwords.Avoidsayingwhatanyothercompanymightsay,andinsteadfocusonwhat’suniqueandspecialaboutyourcompany.Ifyoudon’talreadyhaveamissionstatementandneedinspiration,visitthewebsitesofthecompaniesyouadmiremost(industrial,b-to-b,consumerorotherwise)andcheckouthowtheyhavepositionedtheirbusinesses.


3. Be innovative

Asurewaytoseparateyourcompanyfromyourcompetitorsistodosomethinginnovative.Itmaybeontheproductside-beingfirsttomarketwithanewtechnologyorproductisahugedifferentiator.Butthereareotherwaystobeinnovative.Youcouldmakeanameforyourcompanybyimplementinginnovativecustomerservice,warrantyorreplacementpoliciesthatareuniqueinyourindustry.Youcanopena“virtualuniversity”tosharetechnicalexpertisewiththecustomers,themarketorevenengineeringstudents.Youcanbethecompanythatsponsorsanonlinediscussionforumforengineers.

4. tell a compelling story

Everycompanyhasauniqueandcompellingstorytotell.What’syours?Startedbyacoupleofengineersinagarage?Successfulmergeroftwounlikelymarriagepartners?Builtfromthegroundupbyavisionarywhoidentifiedanunmetcustomerneed?Moreandmorethesedays,customersarediggingdeeperintoacompany’shistorybeforechoosingtodobusinesswithit.They’relookingforacompanywithastrongpedigreeandsatisfiedcustomers.Acompanytheycantrust.Acompanythathasthatextrasomethingspecial.Yourcompanydoeshavethatextrasomethingthatyourcompetitorsdon’t.Findoutwhatitis.Tellyourstory.Publishitonyourwebsite.Includeitincommunications.

5. reinforce though marketing

Youknowwhatmakesyourcompanyuniqueanddifferentfromyourcompetitors.Nowyouneedtorepeatandreinforcethatmessageinyourmarketingefforts.Extractthosecoupleofwordsorcompellingmessagesandrepeatthemthroughsocialmedia,contentmarketing,e-newsletters,bannerads,boilerplates,webinars,andotherformsofmarketing.Dothisoftenenough,doitright,andbackitup,andyouwillbecomeknownasthecompanythatoffersthehighestqualityproducts,thefastestdeliveryofcustomorders,orbestcustomersupport.Orthecompanywiththegreatesttechnicalexpertise,themostcreativeproblemsolvers,themostexperiencedconsultants...orwhateverdifferentiatesyoufromcompetitorsandsecuresyouruniquepositioninthemarket.


1. Segment and score leads

Salesandmarketingneedtoworktogethertodefinedifferenttypesofleads;forinstance,leadsthataresales-readyversusleadsthatbelonginmarketing’snurturingprogram.Useanycriteriathatworkforyourorganizationtosegmentandscoreleads.Itcouldbedemographics,productinterest,buyingtimeframe,purchasingauthority,budget,sizeofpotentialdeal,location,digitalbehavior(suchaswebsitevisits,webinarregistrations,whitepaperdownloads)-oranycombinationoftheseattributes.Youcanapplyweightstodifferentleadattributesandcomeupwithaleadscore.Example:leadsthatscoreaone,twoorthreebelonginmarketing;leadsscoringfourorfivearereadyforsales.

Thewaythatyouscoreleads-andadjusttheirscoresovertime-isthefoundationforallotherbestpracticesinleadnurturing.

FOur BeSt praCtiCeS tO OptiMize yOur leaD nurturing eFFOrtSInthisdigitalerawhentechnicalprofessionalshavemoresourcesofinformationandabroaderchoiceofvendorsthaneverbefore,manydonotcontactasupplieruntiltheyareclosetomakingabuyingdecision.Otherpotentialcustomerscontacteverypossiblevendorthatcouldservetheirneeds.Ineithersituation,andeverythinginbetween,youendupgeneratingleadsfromtechnicalprofessionalswhocouldbeanywhereintheirbuycycle-fromearlyresearchtolatestage.

Toconvertmoreoftheseleadstosales,tokeepyoursalesrepshappywithqualifiedleads,andtoimprovemarketingROIonyourcampaigns,youneedasolidleadnurturingprogramtohelpprospectsmovealongtothenextstagesoftheirbuycycle.Thewordnurturemeanstonourish,protect,supportandencourage.Andthat’sexactlywhatyouneedtodowithyourleads:

• Nourish-providethemhealthyservingsofrelevant,usefulinformation

• Protect-keeptheminterestedsotheydon’tabandonyouforanothersupplier

• Support-stayinregularcontact,alwaysreadytomeettheirneeds

• Encourage-givethemofferstohelpthemmoveforwardintheirbuycycle

Aneffectiveleadnurturingprogramwillfulfillallofthesegoals.Herearethebestpracticesyouneedtofollow:


2. Maintain prospect interest

Ifyoudoagoodjobofsegmentingandscoringleads,youwillgainasolidunderstandingofyourprospects’interestsandneeds.Yourgoalthenistofeedthemasteadysupplyofcontentandoffersrelatedtotheirneedsandinterests.Technicalprofessionalsarelookingforinformationthatwillhelpthemsolvetheproblemtheyarefacing,whichisdirectlyrelatedtothereasontheycontactedyouinthefirstplace.Theywanttoknowhowthingswork,howyourproducthelpsthemcompleteatask,whattheirdifferentoptionsareandwhatarethelatesttechnologiesandnewestproducts.

Youcandeliverthisinformationinavarietyofways.Newleadsmightbemostinterestedineducationalcontentsuchasinfographics,blogposts,articles,whitepapersandwebinars.Prospectsthatscorealittlehigherwouldbelookingfordemos,productoverviewsandtechnicalspecs.Thenextlevelmightincludebuyingguides,ROIcalculatorsandcompetitivedifferentiators.Gettherightinformationtotherightprospectsandyouwillkeepthemengaged.

3. Watch for signs of progress

Onereasonleadnurturingprogramsexististhatthebuycyclecanbelong,complexandinvolvemultipledecisionmakers.Prospectsdonotwanttobepressuredintomakingquickdecisions.Youmustkeepthelongviewandrespecttheirtimelinesinyourleadnurturingprograms.Thatsaid,lookforsignsofprospectsmovingforward,andwhentheydo,takeappropriateaction,suchaspassingthemofftoasalesrepresentativeorsendingthemacustomizedoffer.

Todothisrequiresthatyoukeeptrackofwhatyourprospectsaredoingandadjusttheirleadscoresalongtheway.Forexample,aleadthatscoresoneuponinitialcontactwithyourcompanycouldbecomeathreeafterspendingthreemonthsinyourleadnurturingprogram,basedontheirdigitalbehavior.Therefore,youmustcontinuallymonitoryourprospects,tracktheirbehaviorandlookforsignsofprogressthatindicatesachangeinthestatusoftheirreadinesstoengage.

4. use marketing automation

It’spossibletodevelopandexecutealeadnurturingprogramusingmanualprocessesorspreadsheets,butmarketingautomationsoftwareisbecomingacommontoolandaninvestmentmightmakeeconomicsense.Thefactis,yourprospectsareeverywhereondigitalmedia-websites,socialmediasites,blogs,webinars,videosharingsitesandmore.Theyaredownloading,clicking,reading,streaming,watchingandcommenting.Plusyou’relikelyusingmultipledigitalchannelsinyourquesttoconnectwithprospects.

Marketingautomationsoftwareallowsyoutocaptureallofthisactionacrossdigitalchannels.Itisbuilttoexcelatleadmanagementandnurturing.Itcanhelpyoumanageallofthiscomplexitybyscoringleads,creatinglandingpages,trackingprospectactions,triggeringautomaticemails,reportingontheeffectivenessofvariouscontent,producinganalyticsandmuchmore.


the early Stage Buy CyCle iS Where the relatiOnShip StartSTheearlystagebuycycleforengineersandtechnicalprofessionalsistheequivalentofthetopofthesalesfunnelformanufacturers’salesteams.It’sthebeginning,whenabuyerbecomesawareofaproblemorneedandthenbeginstoconceiveofandsearchforasolution.Ifyourcompanyisalreadyknowntothem,orbecomesvisibleandsparksinterestduringasearch,that’swhenyourrelationshipstartswithapotentialcustomer.

Becauseofthevastamountofcontentavailablefromdigitalsources,it’seasierthaneverforearly-stagetechnicalbuyerstodiscoverandresearchinformationaboutproducts,servicesandsuppliers,andtonarrowdowntheiroptionsbeforegettingavendorinvolved.

Inthisearlystage,youmightnotyethaveanypersonalcontactwithyourprospect,youmaynotevenhavecapturedtheirname,butthisiswhentheyenterthetopofyourfunnel.

Generatingthisearly-stageawarenessiscriticallyimportanttothesuccessofyoursalesandmarketingefforts.Youmustconnectwithpotentialcustomersearlyinordertobeacontenderlaterwhentheyarereadytomakeapurchasedecision.Beginningtherelationshipearly,evenananonymousone,offerskeybenefitstoyourorganization:

• you make a positive first impression on potential customers.Ifyourcompanynamecomesupwhentheybegintheirsearch,it’sonlynaturalthattheygravitatetowardyou.Yourwidespreadvisibilityinitselfinstillsasenseofexpertiseandfosterstrust.Forexample,theengineersearchingfornewdiodelasertechnologieswillbeinterestediftheykeepcomingacrossyourname(especiallyifit’slinkedtoquality,usefulcontent…butmoreonthatinabit).

• you stay top of mind.Ifyouputconsistenteffortintobrandingandvisibilitytacticsthatraiseawarenessandhelptowidenandpopulatethetopofthefunnel,prospectswillbeexposedtoyoumoreoftenandwillkeepyourcompanyandproductsintheirmindwhentheyhaveaneed.

• perhaps most importantly, marketing for the early-stage of the buy cycle can help to shorten the sales cycle for your sales team.Yourprospectswillalreadybeawareofyourcompanyandwhatyouoffer.They’vebeenaccessingvaluablecontentthat’shelpingtoeducatethem.Thismeansyoursalespeoplearespeakingtoaninformedprospectanddon’thavetostartfromtheverybeginningeverytime.


the keys to early-stage success

Thefirstthingtorealizeisthatifapotentialbuyerdoesnotknowaboutyouorfindoutaboutyouintheirearlystage,theywillnotbecontactingyouinalaterstage.Theywillbecontactingoneofyourcompetitors.Tobethebrandthatmatterstoyourtargetaudience,youshould:

• Build and maintain a strong online presence on those digital resources your customers use most in the early buy cycle stages.Researchshowsthatgeneralsearchengines,supplierwebsites,onlinecatalogsandindustry-specificsearchenginesandinformationresourcessuchasEngineering360.comarethemostpopulardigitalchannelsforengineersandtechnicalbuyersearlyinthebuycycle.Diversifyyourpresenceacrossthesechannels.

• produce and publish a steady stream of content on digital channels for your prospects and customers. Youraudienceiseagerlysearchingforcontentastheyengageintheirbuycycle.Theyarelookingforwhitepapersandtechnicalreports,watchingwebinarsandproductdemosandreadingarticles,newsletters,blogpostsandmore.

• at this stage, your content should be educating prospects on a high level by, for instance, comparing approaches to solving problems, explaining how something works or commenting on trends. Yourgoalistogetinthegamebydemonstratingknowledgeandexpertise.It’stooearlytobesellingandtryingtoclosethedeals.

• recognize and respond when prospects move to later buy cycle stages, such as consideration and comparison.Atsomepoint,eitherthebuyerhasdroppedoutoryouwillhavegeneratedanengagementopportunity,withyourprospectregisteringforawebinar,subscribingtoyourblog,orinitiatingcontactwithyourcompany.

Youshouldhaveinplaceaplantomanageyourengagementopportunities,eitherthroughongoingleadnurturingprogramsorescalatingaprospecttoyoursalesteamiftheyaregivingoffindicationstheyarereadytobuy.Don’twastethoseearlystageefforts—makesureyouknowhowtomoveprospectsthroughthefunnel.

Industrialmarketerscansometimesoverlooktheimportanceoftheircustomers’earlybuycycle.Byfocusingresourcesonbuildingbrandandraisingvisibility,you’llattractmoreprospectsatthetopofyourfunnel,helpingtoensureyouhaveapoolofpotentialcustomerswhenit’stimeforthemtomakeapurchasingdecision.


Companiescontinuetodevoteresourcesandefforttowardcreatingalignmentbetweenmarketingandsalesteams.Themorethesetwoteamsareonthesamepage,themoreefficientyoursalesandmarketingmachinewilloperateandthemorebusinessyoucanwin.

Industrialmarketershavemanyresponsibilities:creatingmarketingplans,selectingchannels,executingcampaigns,producingcontent,trackingresults,andmuchmore.Butattheendoftheday,alloftheirworkcomesdowntohelpingmakeitaseasyaspossibleforyoursalesteamtowindeals.

Whateverstageyourcompanyisin—fullalignmentbetweensalesandmarketingorjustbeginningtobreakdownsilos—herearethreekeytacticsindustrialmarketerscandeploytohelpsupporttheirsalesteams.

1. provide dynamic access to relevant content

Marketershavebecomeexpertproducersofcontenttoattractpotentialcustomersandguidethemthroughtheirbuyingjourney.Websites,whitepapers,webinars,articles,videos,casestudies—allgoodstuff.Butyoursalesteamalsohasaneedforcontent,someofwhichyoumustcreatespecificallyfortheirneeds,suchas:

• “Elevatorpitches”thatreflectthepositioningandvaluepropositionsofyourcompany

• Collateraldesignedtotakedownspecificcompetitors—alate-stagesalescycleneedwhenbuyershavenarrowedtheirchoicestoafewcontenders

• Customizableslidedeckswithacoresetofslidesthatsalespeoplecanbuilduponforindividualpresentations

• Customertestimonialsandcasestudiesalongproductlinesorverticalmarkets

• Emailorlettertemplatesforsalestousewhencorrespondingone-to-onewithprospects

• AlibraryofresponsestostandardRequestforProposalquestions

Thesearejustafewexamplesofthetypesofcontentyoursalesteammightneed.Theotherpartofthecontentequationismakingcontentreadilyandeasilyavailabletosalespeople.Considercreatingadynamicdocumentoranintranetpagethatyouupdatefrequentlywithlinkstocontentalongwithexplanationsonhowtheycanbestusethedifferenttypesofcontentandinwhatsituations.

three key taCtiCS FOr Marketing tO SuppOrt SaleS


2. pass only sales-ready leads to your sales team

Yoursalesandmarketingteamsshouldworktogethertocreatebuyerpersonasandaleadscoringsystem.Leadscoringsystemsaregenerallybasedonhowwellaprospectfitsabuyerpersonaandtheirpatternsofinterest,asexhibitedbytheirbehavior(suchasvisitingyourwebsiteandtakingsometypeofconversionaction).

Oncealeadscoringsystemisinplace,it’smarketing’sresponsibilitytoassignscoresandtopasstosalespeopleonlythoseleadsthathavescoreshighenoughtobesalesready.Theremainderofprospectsgoesintoyourleadnurturingprogramsuntilthey,too,arereadyforyoursalesteam,oryouarereadytoremovethemfromyourdatabase.

Ifyouvetincomingopportunitiesforyoursalesteam,theywillthankyou.Theywon’thavetowastetimeonleadsthatarenotqualifiedandwillhavemoretimetodevotetosolidprospectswhoaremorelikelytobuy.It’sawinforeveryone.

3. Communicate on a regular basis

Toooftensalesdoesn’tknowwhatcampaignsmarketinghasplanned,whatmarketingresourcesareavailabletothem,andtherationaleforwhatmarketingdoes.Youcansolvethisproblembycommunicatingwiththesalesteamonaregularbasis.Youcanproduceaweeklyormonthlyinternalemailtothesalesteam,orsendamarketingrepresentativetosalesmeetings(and,conversely,haveasalesrepsitinonyourgroup’smeetings).

Youcanintroducethecampaignsmarketingisworkingonandtheirgoals,explainwhyandhowyouareusingcertainmarketingchannels,letthemknowwhatnewcontentisavailabletosupporttheirsalesefforts,andansweranyquestionstheyhave.

Rememberthatmarketingmusttakeaproactiveapproachtoworkingwithandsupportingsales.“Howcanwehelp?”shouldbemarketing’smantra.Followthesethreetacticsandyoursalesdepartmentwilllookatmarketingasaninvaluableresourceintheireffortsatwinningbusiness.


Buyerpersonasarefictionalrepresentationsofyouridealcustomersthatofferreal-worldbenefitsandareextremelyusefultoyourmarketingefforts.Theycanbeusedtodeveloptargetedcontentfordifferentcustomertypes,craftrelevantandcompellingmessaging,andhelpuniteyoursales,marketingandserviceteamsbysharingagreaterunderstandingofyourcustomers.Buyerpersonascanevenhelpguideproductdevelopmentefforts.

how to start

Therawmaterialfordevelopingbuyerpersonascancomefrommultiplesources.Itmaybeenoughtorelyonanecdotalexperiencefromyoursalesteamorotherinstitutionalknowledgeregardingthegoalsandneedsofyourcustomers.However,youmaywanttoengageinresearchoruseotherdatatogetaricher,morecomprehensivepersona.Manycompaniesusedemographicdataaspartoftheirbuyerpersonas.Othersconductsurveysorone-to-onecustomerinterviews.Youcanalsouseonlineorofflinebehaviorpatternstohelpfilloutapersona.Youmayevenhaveagooddealofthisinformationonhandfromotheranalyticefforts,suchastrackingwebsitevisitorsorcontentfromcasestudies.

What to include

Buyerpersonasdon’tneedtobecomplexorlong.Theyshouldcontainonlyinformationthatisusefultoyourmarketingefforts.Developaseparatepersonaforeachtypeofcustomerthatyouhave.Ifyouonlyhaveonetypeofcustomer,youonlyneedonebuyerpersona.Ifyouhavemanytypesofcustomers,orifmanypeopleareinvolvedinthepurchasedecisionforyourproducts(suchasrecommenders,influencers,users,andpurchasingagents),youshoulddevelopabuyerpersonaforeachtype.

Hereissomeofthetypicalinformationyoumightincludeinabuyerpersona:

• profile.Thetypeandtitleofthetechnicalprofessionalwhoisinterestedinyourproducts.Anengineer(design,process,production),adepartmentheadorateamlead,aseniormanager,andsoon.Whataretheirprofessionaldutiesandareasofresponsibility?

• Challenges. Whatproblemisyourcustomerattemptingtosolve?Howisthisproblemnegativelyimpactingthem?Whataretheconsequencesofnotsolvingit?

• goals. Whatbenefitsdotheyhopetoachievewiththesought-afterproduct/solution?

• Obstacles/Objections. Whatmightpreventyourcustomerfrombuyingyourproduct/solution?Forexample:financialconstraints,strongcompetitiveofferings,lackofconfidenceinyoursolutionorperceivedweaknesses,supportorwarrantyissues.

• value proposition. Whatsolutionareyouofferingandhowdoesitaddressthechallenges,meetthegoals,andovercometheobstacles/objectionsofyourprofiledcustomer?

uSing Buyer perSOnaS tO FinD MOre CuStOMerS


Create a template

Onceyouhavedecidedwhatinformationyouneedtocollectinordertodevelopbuyerpersonas,createaone-pagetemplatethatyoucancompleteforeachtypeofpersona.Atemplateisasmartchoicebecauseitallowsyoutomaintainconsistencyandhavethesamefieldsforeachpersona,suchasCustomerProfile,ChallengesandSolution.

Sharebuyerpersonaswithyourteamandacrossteams,includingsales,customerserviceandproductdevelopment.Helpeveryonegettoknowwhatmakesyourcustomerstickandwhat’simportanttothemsothateveryonehasasharedunderstanding.Makeuseofbuyerpersonasininternaltrainingeffortsandwhenyoubringonnewteammembers.

Develop stronger messaging

Detailedbuyerpersonaswillhelpyoudevelopstrongerandmorecompellingmessaginginsupportofyourmarketingefforts.Betterknowledgeofyourcustomersallowsyoutotargetmessagingtotheirspecificneeds,goalsandchallenges.Youcanmoreaccuratelypositionyourproducts.You’llbeabletofocusonthemostimportantbenefits.

Developingbuyerpersonasshouldn’trequireexcessivetimeandresourcesonyourpart,yetthepayoffcanbesignificant.Revisitthebuyerpersonasonceayearorwhenyourcompanylaunchesnewproducts,entersnewmarketsororganizationalchangesoccursuchasmergersoracquisitions.


Email markEting• EightQuickTipsforWritingthePerfectEmailOffer

• FiveTipsforWritingWinningEmailSubjectLines

• EightPointChecklist-EmailsThatGetResults

• AQuickRefreshertoImproveYourEmailMarketing

• IsYourEmailCopyHelpingorHurtingConversionRates?


Eight Quick tips for Writing thE pErfEct EmailEmailremainsnearthetopofeffectivemarketingstrategiesintheindustrialsector,butyouwon’tgetpositiveresultsifyousimplydashoffamarketingemailasyoumightanyotheremailcorrespondence.Yourmarketingemailsmustbecompelling,clearandconcise.IfyoumasterthesethreeC’sofwriting,youcangetanAinemailcopywriting.Openupyournotebooks(oropenupyourfavoritenote-takingapp).Timeforyourlesson:

1. start with your subject line.

Whenwritingemails,weoftensavethesubjectlineforlastanddashoffafewwordsthatseementicingenoughforarecipienttoopentheemail.However,alongwiththefromline,whichshouldincludeyourcompanyorbrandnameand/oraperson’snamethatyouraudiencewillrecognize,thesubjectlinecontainsthemostimportantfewwordsyouwillwrite.Theyarealsothehardestwordstowrite.Craftashortsubjectlinewithonepurposeinmind:gettingyourrecipienttoopenandreadyouremail.Youcandothisbybeingrelevant,benefit-orientedandinstillingasenseofurgencyoruniqueness.

2. Write clearly and concisely.

Amarketingemailshouldbeaboutonethingandonethingonly:theofferyouaremaking.Whetherit’stodownloadawhitepaper,registerforawebinar,watchavideo,getacomplimentaryneedsassessmentorsomethingelsevaluabletoyouraudience,getdirectlytothepointusingasfewwordsaspossibletoenticeyourrecipienttoclickonyouroffer.Youshouldfocusonthesinglemostimportantmessage.Deleteanyextraneous,unrelatedcopy.

3. include a call to action; include it again.

Thisadvicemayseemtoruncountertothecommandforclearandconcisewriting,butyouremailisallaboutyourcalltoaction.Putyouroffernearthetop,andagaininyourclosing.Makethecalltoactionsocompellingyourrecipientwouldbefoolishnottoacceptit.Writethecalltoactioninlinkedtextandalsocreatealinkedgraphic(suchasabuttonorotherimage).


4. focus on benefits, not features.

Thinkofitthisway:It’snotbellsandwhistlesthatcustomerscareabout;it’sthelovelysoundthebellsandwhistlesmake.That’sthedifferencebetweenfeaturesandbenefits.Convinceyouraudiencetheywillbenefitfromacceptingyouroffer:theywilllearnhowtosavetime,theywilldiscoverabetterwayofdoingsomething,ortheywillsolveapressingproblem.Makethebenefitsclear(andconcise).Puttheminboldtextorabulletedlistforeasyreading.

5. answer this one question.

Ifyou’rehavingtroublegettingtotheheartofthemessageyouneedtoconvey,makesureyouremailanswersthisonequestionthateveryrecipienthas:“Whyisthisimportanttome?”Ifyourcopyclearlydeliversacompellinganswertothatquestion,youwillseeyourclickandconversionratesgoup.

6. Write different versions.

Ifyouaremarketingtomorethanoneaudience,don’tsendthemalltheexactsamecontent.Sincethecalltoactionisthesame,differentversionsyouwriteforeachaudiencemightbeverysimilar,butafewcopychangescanmeanthedifferencebetweensuccessandfailure.Identifyingyouraudiencebytitleorthetypeofworktheydo,re-wordingorre-orderingthelistofbenefits,orchangingtheheadlinetofocusoneachaudience’snumberonemotivatorareallgoodwaystooptimizethedifferentversions.

7. proofread.

Manyapromisingemailendsupfailingwhenyouraudiencediscoversatypoorwritingerror.Thosekindsofmistakestendtoundermineyourentireeffort,becauseit’slikesayingyou’renotcarefulordon’tcare,amessagethatyouraudiencecanconnecttoyourcompany,brandorproducts.It’snotenoughtousespellcheck;youmustalsolookforpunctuationproblems,awkwardgrammar,andmisusedwords.Havesomeoneelseproofreadtheemail.It’sverydifficulttocatchyourownerrorsbecauseyou’resoclosetothework.

8. test, test and test again.

Followingthesestepstoperfectionwillmeannothingifyourlinkdirectstothewronglandingpageorisbroken.Whileyou’reonyourlandingpage,completetheprocessbyfillingouttheformordownloadingthecontentbeingoffered.Doesitworkthewayitshould?Istheformdatabeingcapturedcorrectlyinyourback-endsystems?Also,howdoesyouremaillookinOutlookandtheotherpopularemailclientsyouraudienceuses?Doesyouraudiencereadyouremailsonmobiledevices?Ifso,howdoesitlookonasmartphonesandtablets?Takethetimetotest,makeadjustmentsandtestagainuntilyouhaveitright.


1. promise value

You’resendinganemailtocustomersandprospectsbecauseyouhaveimportantnewstodeliver.Importanttoyouraudiencemeansvalue.Whataretheygettingoutofthisemail?Whyshouldtheypayattention?

Forexample:“NewRFtoolaccuratelypredictssignalloss”

Thissubjectlinehasalotgoingforit.Therecipientgetsinformationaboutaspecificnewproductthatoffersapowerfulandimportantbenefit.That’svaluefortheintendedaudience.

Anothercomponentthatmakesthisastrongsubjectlineisthatyouknowexactlywhatthemailisabout:thisnewRFtool.Areaderwhoopenstheemailislikelytolearnmoreabouttheproductandperhapsbepresentedwithanoffer:whitepaper,datasheet,webinar,etc.

2. keep it short

Theideallengthforasubjectlineisaround50characters.Somemightbelonger,butkeepinmindthatthefirst15charactersarethemostcriticalbecausemanybusinessusersreademailonmobiledevices,whichoftencutoffpartofthesubjectline.

Lookattheabovesubjectlineagain:“NewRFtoolaccuratelypredictssignalloss.”Exactly50characters.Thefirst15charactersgetacrossthemainideaofanewRFtool.

3. convey a sense of urgency or newness

There’snothinglikefreshnewsorthefeelingthattimeisrunningouttogetyourreadertotakeaction.TheRFsubjectlinemeetsthestandardbymentioninganewproduct.However,considerthissubjectline:“Whitepaper:toptenreasonswhyhydraulicpumpsfail.”

Atfirstglanceit’sagoodsubjectline.Whileit’satadlongat72characters,itpromisesvalueintermsofawhitepaperandittakesadvantageoftheever-popularnumberedlist:thetopten(seealsotheheadlinetothisarticle).

Butthissubjectlinelacksasenseofurgencyornewness.Apossiblerevisionmightread:“Justpublished:Toptenreasonswhyhydraulicpumpsfail.”Thewords‘whitepaper’arereplacedwith‘justpublished,’providingasenseofnewness.Conveyingnewnessismoreimportantthanwhetherthepublicationisawhitepaperoraninfographic.

Here’sanotherexample:“Solarcellexpertwillspeakatenergyconference.”Agoodsubjectline,itconveysvaluableinformation.Butagain,addingatimeelementincreasesthesenseofurgency:“May4,Orlando:Solarcellexperttospeak.”What’ssacrificedisinformationaboutaconference,butiftherecipientisinterestedinhearingfromasolarcellexpert,theycanfindouttheconferenceinformationoncetheyopentheemail.

fivE tips for Writing Winning Email subjEct linEsWhatmakesanemailsubjectlineawinner?Whenitmotivatestherecipienttoopentheemail.Thatisthesubjectline’ssolepurpose.Writeacompellingandrelevantsubjectline,andengineersandtechnicalprofessionalswilleagerlyopenyouremail.Writeaweakorboringsubjectline,andyouremailopenrateswillbedisappointing.Itreallyisthatsimple.

Lookatyourownemailinboxandyou’llunderstandwhythesubjectlineissocritical.You’relikelyswampedwithemailseveryday.What’sthefirstthingyoudo?Scanforwhat’simportantandmustbeopenednow,whatcanwaituntillater,andwhatyoucandiscardwithoutopening.Yourdecisionisbasedalmostentirelyontwofactors:thesubjectlineandwho’ssendingtheemail(thefromline).That’salotofresponsibilityrestingwithafewwords.

Followthesefivetipsforwritingemailsubjectlinesthatinstilla“mustreadnow”feelinginyouraudience.


4. personalize when possible

Manyemailmarketingprogramsallowyoutopersonalizethesubjectlinewiththerecipient’sname.Thisisaneffectivetactic.Whodoesn’tliketogetapersonalizedemail?Itimmediatelyattractsattentionandraisesthelevelofimportanceofanemail.

Compare“Lastdaytoregisterforlaserwebinar”with“David:lastdaytoregisterforlaserwebinar.”

Thesecondsubjectlinehitsalotoftherightbuttons:personalization,urgencyandvaluableinformation.Perhapsthisemailispartofamulti-touchcampaignpromotingawebinar.Anearliersubjectlinemighthaveread,“Webinartoshownewapplicationsfordiodelasers.”Butasthedateapproaches,theconceptoftimerunningouttakesprecedenceoverthecontentofthewebinar.

Ifyou’renotabletopersonalizesubjectlineswiththerecipient’sname,trytousesubjectlineswiththewords“You”or“Your”inthem.“Yourinvitationtowebinarondiodelasers.”“Yourcomplimentarypasstosolarshow.”

5. avoid spam filter triggers

Emailmarketingprogramstypicallycheckforspaminyoursubjectlineandemailcontent,butasareminder,avoidtheuseofALLCAPS(whichalsosoundslikeyou’reshouting),symbolssuchas$$or%,andexcessivepunctuationmarks:!!!!!

Thesewillallincreasethelikelihoodthatyouremailwillbetaggedasspam.Certainwordscanalsocatchtheattentionofspamfilters;forexample:free,buy,cash,urgent,propositionandmore.


1. identify a measurable goal.

Foreveryemailyousend,evenonewithinadripcampaignseriestonurturelongtermleads,identifyagoalthatyoucanmeasure.Thiswillhelpyoucreateaconcise,targetedemailbecauseeverydecisionyoufaceaboutcraftingtheemailcanbecomparedtothegoalyouhaveinmind.Thegoalcouldbenumberofopens,conversions,sharesoranyothermetricthatalignswithyourobjectives.

2. create immediate interest with the subject line and from line.

Whenyouraudiencescanstheiremailinbox,they’requicklyglancingatwhohassentemailsandwhattheyareabout.Tocaptureattention,makesurethefromlineisidentifiabletoyouraudience.Useyourcompanynameand/oranindividual’snameyouraudiencewillrecognize.

Inthesubjectline,providevaluetorecipients,suchidentifyingakeycustomerchallengeyouwillhelpsolve,orofferacomplimentarywhitepaperorawebinarthatwillhelpthemwithawork-relatedissue.Youcanalsocreateasenseofurgencybyremindingyouraudiencethattimeisrunningouttoregisterforaneventorthatanofferisonlyvalidforacertainperiod.

3. Quickly tell your story.

Eventhemostengagedaudiencedoesn’thavethetimeormotivationtoreadthroughlong,denseemails.Useyoursubjectline,headlineandfirst

lineortwoofcopytotellyourentirestory,includingwhatyouremailisabout,whyit’simportanttoyouraudienceandwhatyouwantthemtodo.Usebulletedlistsandshortparagraphsforeasyscanning.Herearethreewordsthatalwaysdescribeyourmarketingemails:clear,specific,concise.

4. repeat your call to action.

You’resendingmarketingemailsbecauseyouwantyouraudiencetodosomething.Makethatpartobviousbyincludingacalltoaction(suchasdownload,register,read,watch,etc.)inanumberofplacesandusingdifferentstyles.Putthefirstcalltoactionnearthetopbecausesomeuserswillbesoldrightawaybasedonyourquickandcompellingoffer.Otherswillreadthroughandthenconsidertakingaction,soyouneedacalltoactionnearthebottom.Usebothtextandgraphicalbuttons.

5. add imagery, colors and graphics.

Plaintextemailslackvisualinterest.Byaddingimagerysuchasphotos,graphics,infographicsandbuttons,youcanmakeyouremailstandoutandreinforceyourcompany’svisualbranding.Youcanevenaddmultimediasuchasvideointotheemail.However,youshouldalwaysgiverecipientstheoptionofreceivingplaintextemailswhentheyopt-intoyourlist.ToolsofferedbyemailmarketingserviceproviderswillautomaticallycreateplaintextversionsofHTMLemails.

Eight-point chEcklist: Emails that gEt rEsultsEmailremainsoneofthemostpopularandeffectivemarketingtacticsintheindustrialsector.However,tobeeffectivewithemailmarketing,youhavetoovercomeanumberofchallenges.

First,everybody’sinboxiscrowded—howdoyoustandoutfromotheremailsandcaptureyouraudience’sattention?Anotherchallengeismakingsureyouremaillooksright.Industrialprofessionalsreademailonavarietyofdevices,includingdesktops,tabletsandsmartphones,andeachdevicerenderscontentdifferently.Ofcourse,there’stheentirerelevancychallenge:Areyouprovidinginformationthatyouraudiencewantsandwillactupon?

Youcanovercomethesechallengesandgetbetterresultsfromyourmarketingemailsbyfollowingthiseight-pointchecklistforsuccess:


6. use a responsive design.

Aresponsivedesigncandetectwhattypeofdevicearecipientisusingtoreadtheemailandwillrendertheemailoptimallyforthattypeofdevice,ensuringthatalltextandgraphicslookthebesttheycan.Whetheryouareusinganemailmarketingserviceprovideroranin-housesolutionasyouremailplatform,besureyoucancreativeemailswithresponsivedesigns.

7. keep testing.

Togetthebestresultsfrommarketingemails,youshouldtestdifferentelementstoseewhatperformsbest.ThesimplesttestsareA/Bsplits,whereyousplityourlistinhalfandtestoneelementintheemail,suchasthesubjectlineortheplacement/wordingoftheoffer.Witheachsubsequenttest,youwilllearnalittlemoreaboutwhatworksandcanincorporateyourlearningintofutureemails.

8. segment your list.

Thistipisn’taboutcraftinganemail,butsegmentingyourlistwilltellyouwhattypeofemailyouneedtocraft.Segmentyourlistbasedonrelevantcriteriainyourdatabase,suchasproductsowned,expressedareasofinterest,geographyorotherattributes.Withasegmentedlistyoucancreateemailsmoretargetedtoyouraudience’sinterestandneeds,andthatkindofrelevancyisthesinglebiggestfactoringettingtheresultsyouwantfromyouremailcampaigns.


first, clean Your Email list

Ifyouareemailingtoastalelist,youarelikelyincurringdamageintermsoflowresponseratesandbrandreputation.Youmightevenberiskinghavingyouraccountsuspendedbyyouremailserviceproviderifyouincuralargenumberofspamcomplaints,undeliverablemessagesorunsubscribenotices.

Thereareseveralwaystocleananemaillist.Youcansendemailsoutaskingrecipientstoverifytheiraddressandtheirdesiretocontinuereceivingemailsfromyou,butifyourlistispoor,you’llgetapoorresponseandthistacticwon’thelpmuch.Youcanmanuallygothroughthelistlookingforproblemaddresses,whichcouldtakealongtimeandstillnotproducetheresultsyouneed.

Ifyouchoosetomanuallyvalidateandcleanyouremaillist,lookforandremove:

• Duplicates

• Improperlyformattedaddresses

• Syntaxerrors

• Roleaccountslikesales@,support@andinfo@

• Accountswithwordslikespam,junk,abuse,etc.

Toincreasethelikelihoodthatyouremaillistwillstaycleanerlonger,useonlyanopt-instrategywhenbuildingyourlist.Also,considerusingemailtofulfilldownloadableoffers;sendingtherecipientanemailwithalinktodownloadawhitepaper,forexample.Thisensuresyouhaveavalidemailaddress.

Also,goingforward,keepaneyeonbouncesandunsubscribes.Makesuretheyareremovedfromyourlistsandsuppressedfromfuturemailings.Mostemailserviceproviderswilldothisautomaticallyforyou.

Howlonghaveyoubeenusingemailmarketingtoconnectwithengineersandtechnicalprofessionals?Anumberofyears,mostlikely.Andwhenwasthelasttimeyoucleanedyouremaillistandmadestrategicimprovementstoyouremailmarketingefforts?Chancesare,thetimehascometofreshenup.It’sworththeeffort,becauseemailremainsaneffectivetacticintheindustrialsector.

a Quick rEfrEshEr to improvE Your Email markEting


use analytics to improve performance

Withacleanemaillistinhand,it’stimetofreshenupotheraspectsofyouremailmarketingefforts.Yournumberonetoolinthisisanalytics.Mostemailmarketingplatformscanhelpyoucreatemoretargetedcampaignsandimproveresults.Forexample:

• Identifyhighlyengagedrecipientswhomostoftenopenorclickonyouremails,andthenofferrewardsintermsofearlyaccesstoanewwhitepaperorindustryresearch,specialoffersorasneakpeekatnewproducts.Besuretonoteinyourcopythattheyarereceivingthediscountorspecialofferbecausetheyareavaluedreader.

• Identifyrecipientswhotendtoignoreyouandtrytore-engagethem.Givethemareasontopayattentionagain:discounts,aninvitationtoaspecialevent,orajust-publishedwhitepaperorvideo.

• Splityourlistintwo(calledanA/Bsplit)andtestvariousaspectsofanemailcampaign,suchassubjectline,headline,copy,layoutandgraphics,andcall-to-action.Changeonlyonevariableatatimewhenperformingatest.Incorporatethesuccessfulchangesintosubsequentemailsandyouwillgetcloserandclosertooptimizingyouremailcampaigns.

incorporate these proven strategies

Industrialmarketershaveyearsofemailmarketingexperienceandmanyhavelearnedwhatworksandwhatdoesn’t.Herearesomeprovenstrategiesandbestpracticesthatotherindustrialmarketershaveincorporatedintotheircampaigns:

• Useanemailmarketingserviceofferingresponsivedesigntemplatesthatwillautomaticallyrenderwellondifferentuserdevices,includingmobilephonesandtablets.

• Includeonlyoneofferineachemailandrepeatitseveraltimes,makingiteasyforyourreaderstounderstandandtakeaction.Includebothtextlinksandbuttonsforyouroffer.

• Visuallybreakupcopyandmakescanningeasierbyusingsubheads,shortparagraphsandbulletedlists.

• Gettothepointquicklybykeepingimportantinformation,includingthefirstmentionofyourofferandacalltoaction,nearthetopoftheemail.

• Includetheoffer(webinar,whitepaper)and/oractionverbs(register,download)inyourshortandsweetsubjectline.

• Createsynergybetweenyouremailandlandingpagebyrepeatingkeycopypointsandusingthesamecolorsandgraphics.Landingpagesareagreatplacetoputsocialsharingicons,allowingyouraudiencetosharethecontentontheirsocialmediaplatforms.


is Your Email copY hElping or hurting convErsion ratEs?

hElping

1. appeal to the interests of your audience.

Thefirstruleofcopywriting:Knowwhatyouraudiencewantsandgiveittothem.Ifyouarewritingtoengineers,focusyourcopyontheirconcerns.Theyaretryingtosolveproblems,improvedesigns,increaseefficiency,findtherightcomponents.Ifyou’rewritingtoexecutives,youmightfocusyourcopyoneconomicmessagesandreturnoninvestment.

2. create a sense of urgency.

There’snothinglikethesenseoftimerunningouttogetpeopletotakeaction.Phrasessuchas:Onlyoneweeklefttoregisterforthewebinar;thefirst50respondentsgetafreesample;thetrialperiodendsin30days.Yougettheidea.It’seasytoputofftakingaction,unlessyougiveyouraudienceareasontomakeadecisionquickly.

3. vary your calls to action.

Evenwithinasingleemail,youshouldwriteyourcalltoactionindifferentways,whetherthewordsappearonabuttonorinplaintext.That’sbecausepeopleresponddifferentlytodifferentlanguagesuggestions.Whatworksforsomemaynotworkforothers.Forexample,herearethreedifferentwaystowordthecalltoactionforthesameoffer:Downloadyourcomplimentarycopy;Clickhereforyourwhitepaper;Getthereporttoday.Noticethateachofthemincludesanactionverb:download;click;get.

Youprobablyhavemeasurableconversiongoalsforyourmarketingemails.Forexample:downloadawhitepaper,registerforawebinar,watchavideo,completeasurvey,entertowinacontest,andsoon.

Whileemaildesign,graphics,andsendingdate/timeallinfluenceconversionrates,thesinglemostimportantfactordeterminingsuccessiscopy.Yourcopycarriesyourmessage,tone,personality,andstyle.Itannouncesyourcalltoaction.Itbroadcastsyourbenefits.Strongcopywillincreaseyourconversationrate;weakcopywillhurtit.Sometimesit’sthatsimple.

Herearefivewaysyourcopycouldbehelpingyouremailconversionrates-andfivewaysitcouldbehurtingthem.

4. keep your copy short and to the point.

Whileyoudon’twanttosacrificemeaning,andofcourseyou’reagreatwriter,youdowanttokeepyourcopyconciseandonpoint.Technicalprofessionalsarebusy;theywillscanyouremailtopickupimportant,relevantinformation.ThegreatmysterywriterElmoreLeonardhadthisadvicetowriters:leaveouttheboringparts.Youshouldtoo.

5. make the email come from someone.

Thistipreferstotwothings.It’sbettertouseanindividual’snamethanacompanynameinthefromlineoftheemail,orevensomethinglike‘BrianJonesatCompanyName.’Butalsoconsiderwritingthebodycopyasifitwerecomingfromthisindividual.Thishelpsyouwritemorepersonallyandconversationally,andhelpsdeveloprapportandtrustwithyouraudience.Don’tforgetasignatureattheend.


hurting

1. insider language loaded with jargon.

Everyindustryhasitsowntermsthatprofessionalsunderstand,butyoushouldperformanaudienceanalysistomakesureyourreaderknowswhatyou’retalkingabout.Stayawayfromtermsthatyouuseonlyinternally,keepindustryjargontoaminimum,andspelloutanyacronymsyouuse.Anemailyourreaderdoesn’tunderstandisanemailquicklyheadedfortherecyclingbin.

2. long blocks of copy.

Ifanyparagraphismorethanthreeorfourlines,it’stoolong.Ifanysentenceislongerthanthreelines,it’stoolong.Longsentencesandparagraphsarevisuallyintimidatinganddifficulttoread.Revisecopyintoshorterchunks.Usebulletedlists.Addsub-headlines.

3. sales-oriented copy.

Youraudienceislookingforuseful,educationalinformationthatwillhelpthemdotheirjobsbetter,notahardsell.Ifyourcopyistoosales-orientedandpushesyourcustomerstomakeabuyingdecisionbeforethey’reready,youmayloseconversions.It’sfinetosellyourofferofawhitepaperorwebinar,butdosobypromotingbenefits.MarketingemailsthattrytoaggressivelysellproductsintheB2Bspacetypicallyfail.

4. When it’s about you.

“Ourcompanyisthefirst...Weoffertheonly...Ourproductsarebetterthan...Wearethemarketleaderin...”Guesswhat?Youraudiencedoesn’tcare.Don’twritecopyaboutyourcompanyandproducts.Writecopyabouthowyouunderstandyouraudience’sneedsandcanhelpfulfillthem.

5. mistakes.

Grammarpolicehere.We’rewatchingandwecare.Grammaticalandusageerrors,misspellings,typosandfactualerrorsnotonlyhurtyourconversionrates,theydoharmtoyourcompany’sreputation.IfIcan’ttrustacompanytowriteclean,mistake-freecopy,canItrustthemenoughtogivethemmybusiness?Seeminglysmallerrorscanhavelargeconsequences.Havesomeoneproofreadallemailcopybeforeyouhitthesendbutton.


Content Marketing• TwoTypesofContentThatMustBeinYourMarketingMix

• SixWaystoMakeYourContentStandOutinaCrowd

• NineTipstoMakeYourMarketingVideosMoreEngaging

• FiveQuestionstoHelpGuideYourContentMarketingPlan

• TheEightKeystoContentCredibility


two types of Content that Must Be in your Marketing MixContentmarketingisanessentialstrategynowthatbuyersdosomuchoftheirresearchonlinebeforecontactingasupplier.Industrialmarketersknowthattechnicalprofessionalscraveaconstantflowofusefulcontentthathelpsthemdotheirjobsbetter.Butnoteveryoneknowsthiscontentshouldfitintooneoftwocategories:informationalcontentordecision-makingcontent.

Youneedbothtypesofcontentinordertomatchuptothedifferentstagesofyourcustomers’buycycle.Earlyinthebuycycle,whencustomersarebecomingawareoftheirneedsandresearchinghowtomeetthem,informationalcontentplaysabigrole.

Informationalcontentismoreeducationalinnature.Thistypeofcontentmightenlightenyouraudienceonaproblemitfaces,suchasanarticleon“FiveWaystoAvoidPressureSensorFailure.”Anothermightbeawebinartitled“EvaporationMethodsUsedinIndustrialCoatings.”Thesetypesofcontentarefocusedonprovidingyouraudiencewithinformationthatwillhelpclarifytheirneedsorpointthemtowardfurtherresearchinfindinganappropriatesolution.

Informationalcontentwouldalsoincludegeneralinformationaboutatypeofproductorindustrialprocess:“BreakthroughsinDiodeLaserTechnology”or“HowMotionSensorsWork.”Backgroundinformationonyourcompany,productlinesorserviceswouldalsocomeundertherealmofinformationalcontent.

Yourgoalinproducinginformationalcontentistohelpanswertheinitialquestionsyourcustomersmighthaveintheearlystagesoftheirbuycycleandtogetthemonthepathtopurchasing:

• “HowdoesXwork?”

• “WhattypesofproductsshouldIconsidertodoY?”

• “WhatarethecommonapproachestosolvingproblemZ?”

• “Whichcompaniesoffer...?”

Informationalcontentsetsthestageforyourpotentialbuyers.Ithelpsbuildawarenessandaffinityforyourcompanyandproducts.Itputsyouinthepositionofbeinganexpert.Itdeliversinsightandvaluetoyouraudience,withoutputtingpressureonthemtobuybeforetheyareready.


Decision-makingcontentisdesignedforthelaterbuycyclestages,whencustomershavenarroweddowntheirchoicestoseveralpossibilitiesandareclosetomakingabuyingdecision.Withdecision-makingcontent,yourgoalistoansweryourcustomers’finalquestionsandputyouinpositiontowinthebusiness.

• DoesthisproducthaveallthefeaturesIneed?

• WillitdoeverythingIneedittodo?

• Howmuchdoesitcost?Whatwillbemyreturnoninvestment?

• WhyshouldIbuythisproductandnotthatproduct?

• WhyshouldIchoosethiscompanyandnotthatcompany?

• WhatkindofcustomersupportwillIget?Whatwarranties?

Atthispoint,buyer’sguidesthatwalkcustomersthroughthefactorstoconsiderwhenmakingapurchaseareusefulcontent.Asarespecificationsheets,competitivedifferentiators,productcomparisons,ROIcalculators,warrantiesandcustomerservicepolicies.

Acatalogthatbuyerssearchbyspecificationcanofferyouanadvantagebyhelpingcustomersquicklyfindexactproductsthatmeettheirneeds.Aresponsivewebpagethatdetailsimportantproductfeatureswouldbedirectedtoanaudienceinthelatestageofthebuycycle.Anypotentialcustomerclosetomakingapurchasedecisionissuretobespendingtimeonyourcompanywebsitelookingforthat“X”factorthatwillswaythemonewayortheother.

Technicalprofessionalstendtouseavarietyofdigitalresourcesduringtheirbuycyclejourney.Supplierwebsitesandonlinecatalogsareusedduringallphases.E-newslettersandwebinarstendtoattracttechnicalprofessionalsearlierinthebuycyclewheneducationandawarenessarecritical.Choosethechannelsthatworkbestforyouanddevelopbothinformationalanddecision-makingcontenttoincreaseyouropportunitiestoconnectwithpotentialcustomersatallstagesoftheirbuycycle.


1. give technical professionals what they want

Notallvideocontentisequalintheeyesofyouraudience.Technicalprofessionalsaren’tlookingforbig-budget,flashymarketingvideoswithallthebellsandwhistles.Theysimplywantinformationtohelpthemdotheirjobsbetter.Thethreemost-watchedtypesofvideosamongthisaudienceareproductdemos,how-tovideos/tutorials,andtrainingvideos.What’scommonamongthesevideotypesistheyarefocusedonhowtousesomethingordosomethingpracticalandrelevanttotheirwork.

Youraudiencealsolikeseducationalvideosthatpresentinformationonnewtrendsandtechnologies.

2. Length doesn’t matter - but keep it short

Theassumptionisthatifyourcontentiscompellingenough,yourvideocanbelongasyouwant.Butlet’sfaceit:noneofusareStevenSpielbergorQuentinTarantino.AndattentionspansintheInternetagearenotoriouslyshort.Agoodruleofthumbistokeepyourvideounderfiveminutesinlength-andeventhatmightseemlong.Ifyouhaveamulti-steporcomplexhow-tovideo,youcanbreakitdownintoseveralshortersegments.

3. provide good lighting and a neutral background

Ifyou’refilmingproductdemos,you’relikelyshowingcomputerscreens.Butifyouhavepeopletalkinginyourvideos,youneedtobeawareoflightingandbackground.Avoidcastingshadowsorunevenorharshlighting.Makesureyoursubjectiswelllit.Don’thaveanythingthat’svisuallydistractinginthebackgroundsuchasitemsonadesk,papersonawall,orpeoplepassingby.

4. eliminate noise, improve sound

Therearetwowaysyouneedtodealwithsound.Oneistoeliminatebackgroundnoise:hummingmachinery,traffic,talking,thesodamachine,etc.Theotheristouseagoodmicrophonetoclearlycaptureyourspeakerornarrator’svoice.Also,giveyourvideosomelifebyaddingintroductory,transitionalandclosingmusic.Youcantryloweringthevolumeandkeepingthemusicthroughoutthevideotoprovideapleasantandsubtleauraltexture(asopposedtobackgroundnoise).Mostvideoeditingsoftwarecomeswithmusicclipsyoucanadd.

5. follow basic principles of composition

The“RuleofThirds”hasyoubreakdowntheimagewindowforfilmingorphotographyintosectionssothatyoucanbetterframeyoursubjectandprovidegreatervisualinterest.Applytheseprinciplesandyou’llnoticeadifferenceinyourvideoquality.

nine tips to Make your Marketing Videos More engagingTheuseofvideoasaninformationsourceisgrowingamongyourtargetaudience.AbouthalfoftechnicalprofessionalsuseYouTubeorothervideosharingsitesforwork-relatedpurposes,makingvideoastrongchannelforindustrialmarketers.

Videobelongsinyourmarketingmix.Butjustbecauseyoucancreateavideodoesn’tmeanitwillbevisuallyinterestingorengagingtoyouraudience.Followthesetipstodelivermorepowerfulvideosthatyourcustomersandprospectswillwatchfrombeginningtoendandbemorelikelytoremember.


6. Brand your video

Makesuretoincludeyourcompanyname/logoatthebeginningandendofeveryvideo.Useotherbrandelementssuchascolorsinaconsistentfashionsothatyourvideosallhavethesamebrandidentity.Perhapschooseafewpiecesofmusicthatbecomespartofyourbrand-ifyouraudienceconsistentlyhearsthesamefewpiecesofmusictheywillassociatethemwithyourbrand.Usebrandingelementsduringvideotransitions.

7. include a call to action

Attheendofthevideoembedacalltoactiontoalandingpageorotherresource.Askyourviewerstodosomething:watchthenextvideo,downloadawhitepaper,attendawebinar,orlearnmore.Thinkingaboutacalltoactionwillalsogetyouintheframeofmindtoconsiderhowanyonevideoisintegratedintoandcomplementsyouroverallmarketingmix.

8. share your videos

Youneedtospreadthewordaboutyourvideos.PostyourvideosonYouTubeorothervideosharingsites.Createthumbnailgraphicsandlinktotheminyouremailnewsletters.AddthemtoyourEngineering360.comsupplierprofile.

9. track performance

VideosharingsitessuchasYouTubeoffermetricsyoucantracktoanalyzehowwellyourvideosperform.Numberofviews,numberofshares,andlengthofviewingareallimportant.Ifyoufindthatviewersarenotwatchingyourentirevideo,youmayneedtodigdeeperanddosometesting.Isthecontentnotrelevant?Isthevideotoolong?Usethemetricstogaininsightonhowyoucanimproveyourvideoproduction.MaybeyoudohavesomeSpielberginyou.


1. Be useful and relevant.

Thisisthemostimportantfactor.Giveyouraudienceinformationthat’shelpfultothem,suchasexplainingatechnicalprocess,comparingapproachestosolvingaproblem,oranalyzingatrendintheirindustry.Ifyoucanestablishyourexpertiseinspecificareasandeducateyouraudience,youwillbeabletobuildtrust,andcustomersandprospectswillreturntoyourepeatedly.

2. use three types of content.

Thoughtleadershipiscontentthatyourcompanyproduces,typicallyeducationalinnature.Curatedcontentisproducedbyothersthatyousharewithyouraudience,suchasanalystreportsorthird-partyarticlesorblogposts.Andpromotionalcontentfocusesonyourownproductsandservices.Eachtypeofcontenthasitsplaceinyourmix.Therearenorigidrulesaboutthemix,butwethinkabalanceandappropriatebreakdownlookssomethinglikethis:30percentthoughtleadershipcontent,50percentcuratedcontent,and20percentpromotionalcontent.

3. Be objective and professional.

Youcanandshouldestablishapositionandpointofviewinyourcontent,butyoushouldalsodiscussalternativepointsofview.Educationisallabouthavingabroadanddeep360-degreeviewofatopic.Ifotherpositionsandpointsofviewdidn’thavevalidity,nocompanywouldtakethem,sodon’tsimplydismissthemoutright.Instead,acknowledgealternativeapproachesanddemonstratewhyyourpositionisthestrongerone.

4. Cite sources and references.

Ifyou’reproducingawhitepaperortechnicalarticle,performresearchandusecrediblethird-partysourcessuchasindustryexperts,analystsandotherpublicationstosupportyourkeythemes.Citesourcesinfootnotesand/oralistofreferencesattheendofthepiece.

5. ensure your content is fresh.

Contentcangetout-of-datequickly.Youneedtocontinuallyproducefreshcontentandputapublicationdateonittoshowyouraudiencethattheinformationiscurrent.Forexample,haveyouclickedonacompany’sbloglinkonlytodiscoverthelastentrywasmonthsago?Whatkindofimpressiondidthatleaveonyou?Anotherthingtowatchoutforiscontentcontaininginformationthatisnolongeraccurateorrelevantgivenanychangesortrendsoccurringinyourindustry.

6. avoid amateur mistakes.

Alongwithout-of-datecontent,mistakescanhurtyourcredibility.Typos,grammaticalerrors,fuzzyimagery,poorrenderingonmobiledevices,longdownloadtimes,poorsoundandothermistakesreflectpoorlyonyourcredibility.Proofreadandtestbeforepublishing.

the eight keys to Content CrediBiLityYouraudienceoftechnicalprofessionalsseeksoutcontenttohelpthemdotheirjobsbetter,stayup-to-dateontheirindustryandmakemoreinformedandconfidentbuyingdecisions.Youcanhelpthemontheirjourney-andpositionyourcompanyasatrustedauthorityandgo-toresource-bymaintainingahighdegreeofcredibilityinyourcontent.Here’show:


7. produce content in a variety of formats.

Technicalprofessionalshavedemonstratedanappetiteforalltypesofcontent:whitepapers,webinars,videos,technicalbriefs,datasheets,blogposts,articles,casestudies,productcatalogsandmore.Thecompanythatcreatesawidevarietyofcontentindifferentformatsgainscredibilitybygivingitsaudienceoptions.Rememberthatyoucanre-purposecontentfromoneformattothenext;forexample,turningawhitepaperintoawebinar.

8. distribute and promote through the right channels.

Everycompanypublishescontentontheirwebsite.However,technicalprofessionalsusemanydigitalsourcesintheirsearchforcontent,includingindustrywebsites,directories,e-newsletters,catalogsandmore.Whenyourcontentappearsinrespectedandwidelyaccessedindustryresources,yourcredibilityincreases.Andwhenyoupromoteyourcontentusingthechannelsthatyouraudienceuses-suchase-newsletters,banneradsonindustrysitesanddirectorylistings-youwillreachagreaternumberoftargetedtechnicalprofessionals.

Engineering360offersaportfolioofcontentmarketingservices,providingyouwithatargetedaudienceandofferinghighvisibilityforwhitepapers,technicalbriefs,articlesandothercontent.Youalsocantakeadvantageofsolutionstodriveyourcustomersandprospectstoyourcontent.Ifcredibilityisimportanttoyou-alongwithbuildingbrandvisibilityandgeneratingengagementopportunitiesthroughcontent-visitwww.engineering360.com/advertisingtolearnmore.

http://www.engineering360.com/advertising


Contentmarketingisoneofthemostimportantandessentialmarketingstrategiesintheindustrialsectortoday.Inthisarticle,we’lldefinecontentmarketingandrelateitskeybenefits,thenofferguidanceonaneffectivecontentmarketingplan.

ContentMarketingInstitutedefinescontentmarketingas“amarketingtechniqueofcreatinganddistributingrelevantandvaluablecontenttoattract,acquire,andengageaclearlydefinedandunderstoodtargetaudience-withtheobjectiveofdrivingprofitablecustomeraction.”

Themainbenefitisclearinthedefinition:profitablecustomeraction.Whencontentmarketingisdoneright,youcanestablishyourcompanyasathoughtleader,buildbrandawareness,andgenerateengagementopportunitiesforyoursalesteam.Youcanbecomea“go-to”resourcefortechnicalprofessionals,improveyourresultsinsearch,andhelptofosteratrustedrelationshipwithcustomersandprospects.

Youraudienceofindustrialprofessionalsishungryforrelevantcontentthatcanhelpthemdotheirjobsandmakebetterbuyingdecisions.Accordingtotheengineering360 industrial Buy Cycle survey,83percentofbuyersreviewuptothreepiecesofcontentbeforemakingadecisiononpurchasesunder$1,000,while70percentofbuyersreviewfourormorepiecesofcontentonpurchasesgreaterthan$10,000.Thisdesireforinformationonthepartoftechnicalprofessionalsmeansthatmanufacturersneedtostepuptheircontentmarketingstrategy.Itallstartswithasolidcontentmarketingplan.

Youranswerstothesefivequestionswillhelpyoubuildasolidplan.

1. Whatareyourcontentmarketingobjectives?

2. Whatresourceswillyoudevotetocontentmarketing?

3. Whatcontentwillyouproduce?

4. Howwillyougetcontenttoyouraudience?

5. Howwillyoumeasureyourresults?

fiVe Questions to heLp guide your Content Marketing pLan

http://www.globalspec.com/advertising/wp/WP_BuyCycle


1. what are your content marketing objectives?

Yourobjectivescouldbeshorttermandspecific,suchaseducatingprospectsaboutanewtechniqueorprocessthatyourcompanypioneered,orlongtermandbroader,suchaspositioningyourcompanyasathoughtleaderandrespectedinformationresourceinyourindustry.Foreitheroftheseobjectives,orothers-drivingwebtraffic,buildingacommunity,generatingleads-youroverallgoalistoberelevantandvaluabletoyouraudience.Ifyouaren’t,theywon’tpayattentionorgiveyoutherespectyouaretryingtoearn.

Anotherimportantanduniversalobjectiveistointegratecontentmarketingeffortswithyouroverallmarketingplan.Contentmarketingintersectsandoverlapsalmostallofyourotherinitiatives:website,socialmedia,newsletters,directorylistingsandmore.Onceyouunderstandyourobjectivesandhowyourvariousmarketingtacticsworktogether,thenextfourquestionswillbemucheasiertoanswer.

2. what resources will you devote?

Youmaynotneedextensiveadditionalresourcestoexecuteaneffectivecontentmarketingplan.Youalreadyareengagedincontentmarketing,evenifyou’renotcallingitthat.Publishingane-newsletter,promotingawhitepaper,producingavideo,hostingawebinar,writingablogpostorarticle-theseareallcontentmarketing.Nowyouneedtotakethenextstepandintegratethetacticsunderasetofdefinedobjectivesandtargetthemtoaspecificaudience.Dependingonyourin-housecapabilities,youmayneedtohireprofessionalwriters,designersorotherexpertstosupportyouoryourteam.

3. what content will you produce?

Ifyouunderstandyourobjectivesandaudience,thecontentyouneedtoproduceshouldbecomereadilyapparent.Articles,blogpostsandindustryresearchareexamplesofcontentthathelpbuildthoughtleadership.Diagrams,productdemos,andcasestudieshelppotentialcustomersthroughtheearlystagesoftheirbuycycle.

Someofthecontentyoumayalreadyhaveonhand,sothefirststepistoaudityourcurrentcontentlibrary,identifygapsandthenfillinmissingpieces.You’lllikelybeabletore-purposeexistingcontentintootherformats,suchaswritinganarticlebasedonwebinarcontent,orcreatingawrittencustomertestimonialfromavideointerview.

It’salsoimportanttoconsiderformat.Allcontentshouldbeeasilydownloadableandviewablenotonlyonadesktoporlaptopcomputer,butalsoonamobiledevice.Avoidlargefiles.UsePDFformatratherthanWordfordocuments.


4. how will you get content to your audience?

Youcanpushyourcontentouttoyouraudiencethroughtacticssuchasemail,pressreleasesore-newsletteradvertisements,andyoucanmakeyourcontentdiscoverablebypromotingitthroughbanneradsorpostingitonyourwebsite,onlinedirectories,orthroughdigitalmediaplatformssuchasEngineering360.com.Thekeyistoplaceyourcontentonthesameonlineresourcesthattechnicalprofessionalsusetosearchforanddiscoverinformation.

5. how will you measure results?

Somebasicmetricsincludetraffictothecontentonyourwebsiteorblog,andhowvisitorsarrivedatyourcontent(socialmedia,e-newsletteradvertisement,bannerad,searchengines,etc.).Youcanmeasuredownloadsofwhitepapersorregistrationsforevents.

Youshouldalsoexaminehowlongavisitorspendsonapage,watchesavideo,orparticipatesinawebinar.Lengthofviewhelpsmeasurehowrelevantandengagingyourcontentis.Youcantrackshares,likesandcommentsonsocialmediaplatforms.

Anothervaluableresourceisthewhitepaper,“Content Marketing for indsustrial Marketers”fromEngineering360MediaSolutions.downloadyourcomplimentarycopytoday.

http://www.globalspec.com/advertising/wp/WP_ContentMarketing

http://www.globalspec.com/advertising/wp/WP_ContentMarketing


six ways to Make your Content stand out in a CrowdContentmarketingisn’tjustahottopic,it’samust-havestrategyintheindustrialsector.Awhopping93percentofB-to-Bmarketersnowusecontentmarketing,and73percentareproducingmorecontentthantheydidayearago,accordingtorecentindustryreports.Withallofthatcontentbeingproducedanddistributed,howdoyoumakeyourcontentstandoutinthecrowdandresonatewithyourtargetaudience?Herearesixtipstohelpyou:

1. understand what your audience wants.

Everymarketinginitiativemuststartwithhavingathoroughunderstandingofyouraudience.Contentmarketingisnodifferent.Ifyoudon’ttailoryourcontenttoaspecificaudience,youreffortswillbeignoredorquicklyforgotten,yourvaluableresourceswasted.Sosteponeistoanalyzeyouraudienceneeds.Areyoutryingtoreachexecutives?Thenproducecontentthattalksabouttheirbusinessconcernssuchasreturnoninvestment.Ifyourprimaryaudienceistechnicalprofessionals,you’llwanttodevelopcontentthateducatesthemonwaystosolvetheengineeringandtechnicalproblemstheyfaceintheirwork.

2. tap into industry trends - uniquely.

Ifthere’shotnewsbreakinginyourindustry,jumprightonit.Youcanwriteaquickblogpost,initiateasocialmediadiscussion,ordistributeapressreleasethatoffersyourcompany’spointofviewonwhat’shappeningandwhatitmeanstoyourcustomers.You’llgaintheadvantageofyourcontentbeingtimelyanddemonstratethatyourcompanyistunedintothemarket.Butremember,youneedtoofferauniqueperspective.Otherwiseyou’lljustendupsayingwhateveryoneelseissayingandyourcontentwon’tstandout.Takeastand,beunique,andfosteryourownvoicetoattractanaudienceforyourcontent.

3. distribute content on channels your audience prefers.

Twoeffectivechannelsfordistributingcontentaree-newslettersandwebinars.AccordingtoEngineering360’s“digital Media use in the industrial sector”researchreport,technicalprofessionalssubscribetoanaverageof4.4digitalpublicationsversusonly1.4printedpublications.Inaddition,nearlytwo-thirdsoftechnicalprofessionalssaidtheyattendedatleastonewebinaroronlineeventlastyear.Thirtypercentsaidtheywenttofourormore.

Alsoconsidersocialmediaasadistributionstrategy.Readingwork-relatedcontentisthemostcommonactivityfortechnicalprofessionalsonsocialmedia.ThemostpopularsocialmediaplatformamongthisaudienceisLinkedIn,with66percenthavinganaccount.Distributingyourcontentthroughyourcompany’sLinkedInpageorthroughaLinkedInGroupthatyouhostisagoodwaytoconnectwithyourcustomersandprospects.

4. use multiple content formats.

Producecontentintheformatsthatmatchyouraudience’spreferences.Somewanttoreadwhitepapersandarticles,othersprefertowatchvideos,andotherswantpicturesanddiagrams.Visualformatssuchasinfographicscangrabattentionandaregaininginpopularity.Mostsuccessfulcontentmarketersre-purposecontentfromoneformattoanother.Thisnotonlyhelpsyoumatchuptoyouraudiencepreferences,butsavestimeandallowsyoutomaintainaconsistentvoiceandmessage.

http://www.globalspec.com/advertising/trends-wp/2015_DigitalMediaUse

http://www.globalspec.com/advertising/trends-wp/2015_DigitalMediaUse


5. Make content easy to share.

Besuretoinclude‘share’buttonsonwebsitearticlesandblogposts-anddon’tbeafraidtoaskyouraudiencetoshare.It’seasytoaddasignoffthatsayssomethinglike“Didyoulikethisarticle?Shareitwithothers.”Also,formatcontentsothatitcanbeeasilyviewedonmobiledevicessuchassmartphonesandtablets,whichareincreasinginusageamongtechnicalprofessionals.

6. Visually brand all content.

Avisualidentifier,graphic,andconsistentlookandfeelcanhelpyourcontentstandoutinthecrowd.Thisgoesbeyondsimplyaddingyourcompanylogotocontent.Itinvolvescomingupwithadistinctiveidentitythatthreadsthroughallofthecontentyouproduce.Itcouldbeusingthesamecolorsandfonts,orusingimagesthathaveuniqueshapesorstyles,oranyothergraphicapproachthatstampsthatcontentasbelongingtoyourcompany.Youwantanyonewhoseesyourcontenttobeabletosay:“That’sfromCompanyX.”


Social Media• FiveWayYourSalesTeamCanEffectivelyUseSocialMedia

• HowtoUseSocialMediaWithaPurpose

• SevenStepsforCleaningUpYourSocialMediaPresence

• KeepSocialMediaChannelsAlivewithFreshContent

• SocialMediaUseHoldingSteadyintheIndustrialSector


Five WayS your SaleS TeaM can eFFecTively uSe Social Media Socialmediahasanestablishedpresenceintheindustrialsector.Technicalprofessionalsusesocialmediatosearchforcontacts,keepuponnewsandtechnologies,findproductreviewsandnewsuppliers,andforotherwork-relatedactivities.Ifyoursalesteamisn’tusingsocialmediayetasatooltohelpuncoverengagementopportunities,youcangetthemstarted.

Whilenotaone-to-onetacticsuchasemailcorrespondenceoraphonecall,socialmediahasanumberofadvantagesasaB2Bsellingtool.Itfitswiththewaybuyersconductresearchtoday:Theygoonlineanduseavarietyofdigitalresourcestobecomeinformedaboutsolutionsthatcanmeettheirneeds.Socialmediaisalsoasynchronous,whichmeansitisnon-disruptive;youcanuseittoestablishconnectionsandhelpeducatecustomersandprospectswithoutinterruptingthem.Inaddition,intelligentandjudicioususeofsocialmediacanhelpestablishasalesperson’scredibilityandauthority,andhelptoraisethevisibilityofyourcompanyanditsofferings.

However,manysalespeopledon’tknowhowtoeffectivelyusesocialmediainsupportoftheirsellingefforts.It’smarketing’sjobtoeducatesalespeopleandmakethemcomfortableusingsocialmedia.Herearefiveideastomakeiteasier:

1. Developinternalguidelinesforposting,sharingandrespondingonsocialmediachannels,andtrainyoursalespeopleontheguidelines.Importanttopicstocoverincludefrequencyofposting,howtorespondtotrickyquestions,howtoavoidgettingintoonlinearguments,whatcompanyinformationcanbepostedandwhatisconfidential,andwheretofindrelevantcontenttoshare.It’sagoodideatoholdsocialmediatrainingsessions,suchasa“lunch-and-learn”orinternalwebinar.

2. Educatesalespeoplewhoaren’tyetcomfortableusingsocialmediaonasimplethree-stepsocialmediaprocess:find,listenandengage.Salespeopleshouldstartbyfindingtheircustomersandprospects,aswellasrelevantindustrysites,byseekingthemoutonLinkedIn,Twitter,Google+,Facebookandothersocialplatforms.Next,theyshould“listen”byfollowingtheircustomersandprospectsonsocialchannelstodiscovertheirinterestsandconcerns.Finally,salespeopleshouldbegintoengagecustomers,prospectsandindustryexpertsbyrespondingtotheirposts,participatingindiscussions,answeringquestionsandcreatingtheirownoriginalposts.


3. Yoursalesteamisbusy;theycan’tuseeverysocialmediaplatform,butyoushouldencouragethemtousetheonestheyarecomfortablewithandthattheircustomersandprospectsuse.Hint:YourentiresalesteamshouldtakingadvantageofLinkedIn;it’sthemostpopularsocialmediaplatformforengineers-66percentoftechnicalprofessionalshavelinkedin accounts.

4. Ifsalespeopleuseasocialchannel,theyshouldengagewithittoitsfullest.Forexample,onLinkedIn,theyshouldkeepanup-to-dateprofilethatincludesinformationandlinksaboutyourcompanyanditsproductsandservices.TheycanuseLinkedIntofindandconnectwithkeydecisionmakersatcustomerandprospectcompanies-especiallyimportantwhenmultiplepeopleareinvolvedinmakingapurchasedecision.Yoursalespeoplecanfollowcustomerandprospectpages(aswellasyourowncompany’spage),joinrelevantgroups,andparticipateindiscussionsbyaddingtheirexpertiseandansweringquestionsthatdemonstratetheirproblem-solvingknowledge.Atthesametime,it’simportanttobeahelpfulparticipantwithoutshillingforyourownproductsandservices.

5. IfasalespersonusesTwitter,theycanfollowtheircustomersandprospects,respondtotheirnews,andretweettheirnewstotheirownfollowers.Theycanalsofollowindustrynewsandretweetittotheirfollowers.Withanysocialplatform,themoreyouuseit,thewideryournetworkandinfluencewillgrow,increasingyourvisibilityandreputation-allbenefitsforasalesperson.

6. Asamarketer,youshouldprovideyoursalesteamwithcontentthatisreadytoshareontheirsocialmediaaccounts.Thismightincludeofferstoregisterforwebinars,linkstowhitepapersorrelevantarticles,newvideos,pressreleases,blogpostsandmore.Notonlyareyouhelpingyoursalesteamwithsomeofthemostchallengingaspectsofsocialmediause-generatingideasanddecidingwhattopost-you’realsomaintainingsomecontroloverthemessage.

http://www.globalspec.com/advertising/trends-wp/2015_SocialMediaUse


Set realistic goals and objectives

Socialmediaisorientedtowardsinteraction,dialog,educationandnetworking,andthereforemaynotbeadirectdriverofsales.Butbeforeyoushutdownyoursocialmediaefforts,youshouldrealizethattechnicalprofessionalsregularlyparticipateinsocialmediaandinparticularfinditusefulattheearlystagesoftheirbuyingcycle.

Recentresearchshowsthatthetopthreeusesofsocialmediaamongtechnicalprofessionalsaretokeepupwiththelatestcompanynews/products/technologies,tofindproductreviews,andtofindnewsuppliers.Theseareallactivitiesrelatedtotheearlybuycyclewhencustomersareengagedingatheringinformationandsurveyingthesupplierlandscape.

Soifyouareinvestinginsocialmediainordertogeneratefastleadsandsales,youmaybedisappointed.However,ifyoursocialmediagoalsaretobuildthoughtleadership,fosteracommunity,andgeneratebrandawarenessthatwillleadtoengagementopportunities,thenyoumayexperienceahighlevelofsuccess.

Hang out with your customers

Doesn’titseemlikethere’salwaysthenextlatestandgreatestsocialmediaplatformgettingalltheattention?It’shardtokeepup.Andit’salmostimpossibletospreadyoursocialmediaeffortsacrosseveryplatformavailable.That’swhyit’simportanttoknowwhichsocialmediachannelstechnicalprofessionalsliketouseandtoconcentrateyoureffortsononeorafewofthosechannels.

AccordingtoEngineering360’s“Social Media use in the industrial Sector”researchreport,LinkedInisthemostpopularsocialmediachannelamongtechnicalprofessionals.FacebookandGoogle+arenextinusage,althoughinthepastfewyearsFacebookusagehasstagnatedandGoogle+usagehasincreasedamongtechnicalprofessionals.Twitterhasyettoseewidespreadadoptionwiththisaudience.

Usethisinformationtohelpdirectyoursocialmediaefforts.Establishcompanypagesonthesechannelsifyouhaven’talready.Postnewsandcontenttoit.Invitecustomersandprospectstofollowyou.You’lllearnprettyquicklythetypesofcontentthatresonateandyoucanstartcustomizingeachchannel’scontenttoitsaudience.

deliver useful content on social media

Oneofthebiggestchallengestechnicalprofessionalsreportaboutusingsocialmediaforwork-relatedpurposesisthatthereis“toomuchnoiseandnotenoughsubstance.”Thecompanythatcanrisetothetopinsocialmediaisthecompanythatprovides“substance”intheformofusefulinformationaboutnewtechnologies,howtosolveproblems,relevantnewsandmore.Usesocialmediatodeliverthistypeofcontent.Youcanpostandlinktowhitepapers,articles,webinarinvitations,interviews,newsalertsandmore.

Videoisalsoapopularmediumforsocialmediausers.TechnicalprofessionalsuseYouTubeandothervideosharingsitesforwork-relatedpurposes.They’relookingforproductdemos,tutorials,how-to’s,andtrainingvideos.Establishanaccountonavideo-sharingsiteandlinktoallyourvideosfromyoursocialmediaplatforms.

HoW To uSe Social Media WiTH a PurPoSeSocialmediauseamongtechnicalprofessionalsisholdingsteady,andsocialmediashouldhaveaplaceinyourmarketingstrategy.Recentresearchshowsthatthemajorityofindustrialcompaniesnowusesocialmedia,yetmanystilldonothaveaclearpurpose,goals,ormeansofdefiningormeasuringsuccess.Whereveryourorganizationisonthesocialmediascale-ignoring,listening,orregularlycontributing-you’reattherightplacetostepbackforamomenttoassessyourstrategyandtoplanalogical,effectivepathforward.

http://www.globalspec.com/advertising/wp/2015_socialmediause_maven



use metrics that matter to measure success

Technicalprofessionalsarepassiveusersofsocialmedia.Thatmeanstheypreferwatchingavideotocreatingandpostingone.Theypreferreadingdiscussionsmorethancontributingtothem.TheirmostcommonactivityonLinkedInistosearchforcontacts.OnFacebookandGoogle+,it’stofindandfollowothergroupsorbusinesseswithintheirindustry.

Byunderstandingwhatyouraudienceisdoingonsocialmedia,youwillbeabletodefinethemetricsthatareimportanttotrack.Inthisregard,thenumberofrelevantpeoplefollowingyourcompanyonsocialmediaiswhatcounts.Ifthisnumberisincreasing,you’reprobablydoingitright,andareincreasingyourbrandvisibilityandgainingareputationasathoughtleader.

integrate with other marketing efforts

Socialmediaisonecomponentofyourmarketingstrategy,andlikeallcomponents,needstobeintegratedintoyouroverallplan.Technicalprofessionalsstillconsiderotheronlineresourcesmorevaluablethansocialmediaforresearchingawork-relatedpurpose:onlinecatalogs,generalsearchengines,supplierwebsitesandEngineering360.comallrankhigh.Therefore,makesurethatyoursocialmediapresenceisintegratedwiththeseothermarketingchannels.Forexample,linkstoyoursocialplatformsshouldbehighlyvisibleonyourwebsite.OryoucantakeadvantageofintegratingyoursocialpostsandvideosonyourEngineering360.comsupplierprofilepage.


1. Perform an audit

Thefirstthingtodoistakecontrolbyidentifyinganddocumentingallofyoursocialmediaprofiles,bothofficialandunofficial.TheeasyonestofindareyourofficialcompanypageonFacebookorLinkedIn.ButdidyoutryoutInstagramonceandneverreturn?StartaYouTubechannelandthenforgotaboutit?

Lookalsoforunofficialaccountsbyperformingageneralsearchforyourbrandonallthemajorsocialnetworks.Youmightfindaccountsthathavebeensetupbywell-meaningemployeesorevenbyroguesandspammers.

2. check your Social Media Strategy & Goals

Onceyou’vecompiledalistofallsocialmediaprofilesassociatedwithyourcompany,seehoweachonefitswithyoursocialmediastrategyandgoals.Areyoutryingtobuildthoughtleadership,getthemostfollowerspossible,interactwithcustomersandprospects,orgenerateengagementopportunities?Askhoweachexistingaccountfitsinwithyourgoals,andpruneouttheonesthatarenotessential.

3. understand How your audience values Social Media

Howdoesyoursocialmediapresencealignwiththewayyourcustomersandprospectsusesocialmedia?Forexample,LinkedInisthemostpopularsocialmediaoutletwith66percentofengineersandtechnicalprofessionalsmaintaininganaccountontheplatform,accordingtotheEngineering360researchreport,“Social Media use in the industrial Sector.”Fortechnicalprofessionalsresearchingawork-relatedpurchase,Google+andLinkedInrankedhighestinvalueofallsocialmediaplatforms.Facebook,SlideShareandTwitterhavetheleastvalue.

4. choose the accounts to Keep

Basedonsteps1-3above,youcandecidewhichsocialmediaprofilesyoushouldkeepactiveandwhichyoushouldclosedown.Ifyouhavefollowersforsomeoftheaccountsbeingclosed,youwillneedtonotifythemandaskthemtofollowadifferentaccount.Somesocialmediaplatforms,suchasFacebook,offertheabilitytomergeaccountsandpagesthatyoumanage.

Seven STePS To cleaninG uP your Social Media PreSenceManyindustrialcompaniesgotstartedwithsocialmediabyhavingdedicatedemployeeswithsocialmediaskillsexperimentwithvariousplatforms-LinkedIn,Facebook,Twitter,YouTubeandothers.Theremightnothavebeenanoverallstrategyorvisionattachedtosocialmediaefforts.Somesocialmediaaccountsmayhavelanguished,whileothersstayedactive.Inaddition,otherpeopleinyourcompanymighthaveopenednewaccounts:customerservicestartedtheirown,anexecutiveortwotooktoTwitter,humanresourcesbeganrecruitingonLinkedIn.

Youcanseehoweasyitmightbetoendupspreadoutonsocialmedia,withnocentralizedcontrolorguidingstrategy.It’stimetochangethat.Withsocialmediahavingestablisheditselfintheindustrialsector,yourcompanyneedsaunifiedsocialmediastrategy,aconsistentbrandandarelevantmessage.Here’showyoucancleanupyoursocialmediaaccountsandgetthemostoutofyoursocialmediaefforts.




5. identify your Social Media Team

Dependingonthesizeofyourcompanyandavailableresources,yoursocialmediateammightbeonepersonoritmightbeacross-functionalteamofpeople.You’llneedtoknowwho’sontheteamandwhatroleeachpersonwillplay.It’salsoagoodtimetodeterminelogincredentialsandpermissionlevelsforthevarioussocialmediaaccounts.Youprobablydon’twantafree-for-allwhenitcomestopostingsocialmediaupdates.Ifyoudon’thaveasetofguidelinesforsocialmediapublishing,nowisthetimetocreateone,tohelpensureinappropriatecontentisnotpubliclypostedandthatallpublishedcontentisalignedwithyoursocialmediagoals.

6. update all Profiles

Timetofreshenup.Bannersandbackgroundsdon’thavetobethesameoneverysocialmediaaccount,buttheyshouldcomplementeachotherandworkwithyourbrand.Makesurecompanydescriptionsareclear,consistentandoffervaluetoyouraudience.Don’tjustdescribeyourcompany-givepeopleareasontofollowyou,suchaspromisingtips&tricks,oranewhow-toarticleeveryweek.

Filloutallthefieldsonyourprofiles.Updatebiosandphotosofcontributors.Checkalllinkstootherpages(alsocheckthelinksonsocialsharingbuttonsonyourwebsite).

7. consider using a Social Media Management Tool

Ifyou’remakingacommitmenttocleaningupyoursocialmediapresenceandplantointegratesocialmediawithyourothermarketingefforts,youmightwanttouseasocialmediamanagementtooltoplanandschedulepostsacrossplatforms,trackfollowersandmonitoryourresults.Thereareanumberoftoolsavailabletohelpyouwiththistask,basedonyourindividualsocialmedianeeds.


It’sgreattobealisteneronsocialmedia.Youcanfindoutwhatyourcustomersaresayingandlearnmoreabouttheirinterests.Listeningisalsoagreatwaytotesttheviabilityofasocialmediachannelforyourmarketingefforts.Butatsomepoint,tousesocialmediaeffectively,youhavetoparticipateaswellaslisten.Participatingmeansposting,andpostingmeansyouneedcontent.

Contentisthefuelthatyoumustfeedsocialmediachannels.Withoutcontent,yoursocialmediaprogramwillwither.Haveyouevervisitedacompany’ssocialmediaaccountanddiscoveredithasn’tbeenupdatedwithfreshpostsinmonths?Nodoubtyoucameawaywithanegativeimpression:Thiscompanycan’tkeepupordoesn’tcare.It’sbetternottohaveasocialmediapresenceatallthantohaveoneyouletdieonthevine.

Thewaytousesocialmediaeffectivelyandmaintainafresh,livelyandrelevantpresenceonyoursocialmediachannelsistokeepthecontentflowingtoyourfollowers.Here’show:

Start with a content marketing strategy

Makealistofkeytopicsyouwanttoaddressinyourcontentmarketing.Thendeterminethevarioustypesofcontentyouwillneedtocreateonyourownorcuratefromothersourcestosupportyourmarketingobjectives.Itcouldbeoriginalwhitepapers,webinars,videos,articles,andblogposts.Youcouldalsoworkwiththirdpartiesandpartnerstodistributetheircontent.Anotheroptionistofollowindustrynewsandtrendsandpointyoursubscribersandfollowerstothiscontent.

Thereareothertypesofcontenttoconsider.Infographicscombiningtextandvisualshavebecomeincreasinglypopularasawaytoexplaincomplexideasorprocesses.Youcancreateonlinepollsandshareresults,orquicksurveys.Stageacontest.Createagame.Whataboutcontractingwithapartnertoproduceamobileapp?Thereareappsthatcalculatepressuredrop,estimatepipesize,calculatevolumetricflow,connectwithotherengineers,andmanymore.

Whileyoushouldknowwhatthemesandmessagesareimportanttogetacrossaspartofyourstrategy,youdon’thavetoplaneverypieceofcontentyou’llpost.Forinstance,youcanhaveamonthlycontentslotallottedtoatopicofinterestthatisgeneratedbycommentsorquestionsyougetfromyoursocialmediafollowers.Oryoucanhaveacontentfeaturebasedonthemostimportantindustryorcompanynewsofthatmonth.

KeeP Social Media cHannelS alive WiTH FreSH conTenT


develop a social media publishing calendar

Atthebeginningofeveryyearorquarter,developacalendarforpublishingcontenttoyoursocialmediachannels.Thiswayyouwon’tbescramblingtryingtocomeupwithideasforsocialmediaupdates.

Workyourcalendarfromthegeneraltothespecific,startingwithyourbroadthemes(perhapstheme-of-the-month),andfillingspecificcontentintopublishingslots.Besuretoaccountforanymajormilestonesthatmayrequireintensivecontentpublishing,suchaspromotingyourpresenceatanevent,aproductlaunch,orakeyannouncement.

Match content to social media channel

Youmightbeusingmultiplesocialmediachannelsaspartofyourprogram.LinkedIn,Facebook,andGoogle+arethemostpopularamongtechnicalprofessionalsandengineers.Youmightrequireaslightlydifferenttypeofpresenceoneachchannel.Forexample,youmighthostagrouporstartaweeklydiscussiononLinkedIn.Thismightbeaplacetodistributemoretraditionalcontentsuchaswhitepapersandtechnicalarticles.Facebookmightbeyourgo-tochannelforlighterfare,suchasquirkynewsitems,giveaways,polls,orcontests.

Youshouldhavecontentlinedupforeachchannelthatyouuse.Somecontentmayworkacrossallsocialmediachannels,butothercontentmightbespecifictoaspecificchannel,orneedstobere-purposedforotherchannels.Forexample,acustomerinterviewonYouTubemightbere-purposedtoawrittencasestudyyoupostonLinkedInandannounceonTwitter.AwebinarcanbeuploadedtoSlideShare.

investigate social media management tools

Evenfororganizationswithamodestsocialmediapresence,anddefinitelyforindustrialcompanieswitharobustsocialmediastrategy,usingasocialmediamanagementtoolmightmakesense.Therearemanyfreeorlow-costoptionstohelpschedulecontentpublishing,coordinateacrossmultiplesocialmediaaccounts,andmeasuretheeffectivenessofyourefforts.AfewtoconsiderincludeHootsuite,HubSpot,andSprout.

http://www.hootsuite.com

http://www.hubspot.com

http://sproutsocial.com


Social Media uSe HoldinG STeady in induSTrial SecTorSocialmediahasvalueamongengineersandtechnicalprofessionals,althoughnotasatopresourceforresearchingwork-relatedpurchases.ThisisoneofthekeytakeawaysfromtheEngineering360annual“SocialMediaUseintheIndustrialSectorSurvey.”Youcandownloadthewhite paperhere.

Overthepastfewyears,theuseofsocialmediabytechnicalprofessionalsforwork-relatedpurposeshasstabilized.Engineershavedeterminedhowtointegratesocialmediaintotheirworkactivitiesandhavechosentheirpreferredplatforms.However,engineersprefergeneralsearchengines,onlinecatalogs,wordofmouth,andsupplierwebsitestosocialmediaforresearchingwork-relatedpurchases.

How Technical Professionals use Social Media for Work

Sixty-onepercentoftechnicalprofessionalsspendlessthanonehouraweekusingsocialmediaforwork-relatedpurposes.Themostcommonlyperformedwork-relatedactivitiesonsocialmediaarereadingcontentorproduct/industrynews,watchingavideo,searchingforcontacts,andfollowingacompanyorgroup.

Fifty-sevenpercentofengineersandtechnicalprofessionalsusesocialmediatofindproductreviews.Thisisthemostpopularuseofsocialmediasites.Onetrendworthnotingisthatsignificantlymoreengineersusedsocialmediasitesthisyearthanlastyeartocontactasupplierorserviceprovider(42percentvs.29percent),tofindexpertise(44percentvs.29percent)andtofindproductreviews(57percentvs.49percent).

One-third(33percent)oftechnicalprofessionalsreportsharingorpostingnewsorinformationabouttheircompanytotheirsocialnetworks.Theagegroupof18-34hasaslightlyhigherrate(37percent).Thislowpercentagerepresentsanopportunityforindustrialcompaniestorecruittheiremployeestobesocialmediaambassadorsandtohelpspreadthewordontheirsocialmedianetworks.

Preferred Social Media Platforms

LinkedInisthemostpopularplatformamongengineers,with66percenthavinganaccount.FacebookandGoogle+arethenexttwomostwidelyused.Intheagegroup18-34,FacebookisslightlymorepopularthanLinkedIn.

Forty-sixpercentofengineersfollow1-5work-relatedcompanyprofilesonLinkedIn.Themajorityofengineers(56percent)belongto1-5groupsonLinkedIn.Tenpercentbelongtomorethan10.MosttechnicalprofessionalsarepassivemembersofLinkedIngroups.Sixty-eightpercentreaddiscussions,butonly27percentparticipateindiscussions.Technicalprofessionalsprefertoreadandwatchonsocialmediaasopposedtopostingandcommenting.

Fifty-onepercentoftechnicalprofessionalsuseYouTubeorothervideosharingwebsitesforwork-relatedpurposes.Whensegmentedbyagedemographics,useofvideosharingwebsitesamongengineersunderage50isgreaterthanthose50andolder.Themostcommonwork-relatedcontentwatchedonvideosharingwebsitesarehow-tovideos/tutorials,productdemos,andtrainingvideos.Customertestimonialslag,withonly14percentofengineerswatchingthem.



The value of Social Media for researching Work-related Purchases

Themostvaluableresourcesforresearchingawork-relatedpurchasearegeneralsearchengines,onlinecatalogs,wordofmouth,andsupplierwebsites.Thesefindingsaregenerallytrueacrossallagegroups.Amongsocialmediaplatforms,Google+andLinkedInrankedhighestforresearchingaworkpurchase.Facebook,SlideShare,andTwitterhavetheleastvalue.

Whyisn’tsocialmediausedmoreforwork?Sixty-sevenpercentofengineersandtechnicalprofessionalssaythebiggestchallengeisthatsocialmediaisinefficientwhencomparedtoothermethodssuchassearchengines,supplierwebsites,andonlinecatalogs.Fortypercentsaytheycan’tfindusefulcontentonsocialmedia.

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Manyindustrialmarketersarenotsurewhatrolesocialmediashouldhaveintheiroverallmarketingefforts.However,socialmediaisnodifferentfromothermarketinginitiatives,andassuch,youshouldapproachitwithaclearpurposeanddefinedgoalsthatmaptoyourothermarketingandbusinessobjectives.

Tohelpyouoptimizeyouruseofsocialmediaandbetterunderstandthelevelofresourcestodevotetoit,downloadacomplimentarycopyof“Social Media use in the industrial Sector Survey.”Theresearchreportincludesallsurveyresultsrepresentedinchartform,alongwithanalysisofthefindingsandrecommendationsonhowindustrialmarketerscanoptimizetheiruseofsocialmedia.Getyourcopytoday.

http://www.globalspec.com/advertising/wp/2015_socialmediause_maven and remove Survey

online marketing for the industrial sector · • email marketing • content marketing • social...

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