Marketing for a manufacturing business offers a lot of opportunities for different types of media and content across different platforms. This means that if you have a wide demographic in terms of your audience and customers, there are plenty of ways of reaching them. From some of the more traditional approaches that older clients might respond to, to a younger audience who may be very much on the digital side of communications there are so many channels that you can utilise. It’s important, first and foremost, to understand who your audience is, how they consume their information and where they ‘hang out’ – essentially what platforms they are using. Once you know these facts then you can formulate a marketing plan accordingly.
Obviously we are going to champion video marketing but the statistics for video content for marketing speak for themselves. Buyers consume millions of hours of video every day, and this type of content is proven to increase engagement, clicks, and organic reach. Did you know four times as many buyers would rather watch a video about a product than read about it? This doesn’t mean that it has to be stand alone video content, it can seamlessly fit into all manner of digital marketing activity. In other words, don’t create a video that just sits on your YouTube channel or your website, use it as far and wide as possible. For example, videos are 40 times more likely to be shared across social media than any other form of content. Here are a few options for using video in your manufacturing industry marketing campaigns.
If you’ve got a sufficient database of your customers and prospects then you’re probably already using that for email communication. There’s no reason why you can’t embed your videos into any email newsletters or communication that you send. If embedding the videos isn’t an option then at least a link back to where the video sits (YouTube, Vimeo, website etc.). You know then that you’re placing the videos directly in front of your prospects and into their inbox. If you don’t have a database, start working on one now with current clients and prospects that you know and grow it organically. If possible, try not to buy a database as it’s not necessarily going to be people interested in your company or even your industry.
Social media platforms are not just about telling friends what you’ve had for dinner, the chances are a significant portion of your audience is on social media for work purposes. Millennials make up a large amount of B2B buyers and they bring with them a change in buying habits which would have an effect on marketing for manufacturing companies. With this in mind, using video on social media is a must. It increases engagement, captures interest and is more likely to be watched and shared than any other type of content. Understanding where your audience is from a social media point of view is definitely something you need to be considering though. If they’re on one particular platform more than others then that’s where you need to be. The most obvious one for marketing in the manufacturing industry would be LinkedIn but just check in case your audience is elsewhere.
It’s important to think about the type of content that you put out as well. We always recommend that a healthy mix of styles works best. Some sales type content is fine but think about giving information out too – this could be how to videos, product reviews, industry updates or company updates. Plus you don’t always have to be too serious either, have some fun and creativity with your content too, it’ll help you stand out from the crowd.
This platform is becoming more and more influential particularly with Google search results. You can upload video to this platform as well as pictures – up to a certain file size so any short snippets will work great on here. If you have a longer or bigger video though you can still link back to that video if it’s sitting on YouTube or your website. There is a button option that viewers can click on to take them to wherever you want them to go to.
So you have the platforms in mind for delivery of your videos, what are you going to put in those videos. Understanding manufacturing industry video content isn’t much different to understanding any other type of marketing video content, it’s just about knowing what your audience want to see. The following video content styles could all work well for your audience:
You may already give out news and updates on what’s happening at your company via your website and social media, so why not do this in video format? It doesn’t have to be a long video, just something like you would see on the news – a 45 second update/report style video that gives all the basic facts. If you don’t want to be in it then that’s ok too, it can be done simply with images, footage and on screen text. However you choose to present it, it’s going to be more engaging than just a written article for your website.
Similar to your company updates but this will work well to position you as a thought leader or an influencer in your sector. Any new developments that may affect you our your customers can be ‘reported’ by you or your company and you can even put your own reaction to that update too. This is a great way of positioning your company as an industry authority and if it’s done regularly, you’ll become the go to place for this kind of information.
These are great for customers that are still in the research stage of the buying process. They can provide some more in depth information and also address some of the being issues that they may be going through, making the content more relatable to the viewer. Ultimately, video case studies are a more detailed video testimonial and what it should do is show the viewer how a problem that the customer had was addressed and solved by you and demonstrate what a great job you’ve done. These are a really useful tool to send to potential customers as a closing tool if you are in negotiations with them.
Do you have a product that needs to be demonstrated or explained in some way? For manufacturing marketing, this can be something that a customer will need before they make their buying decision. A product video can give all the key facts in a consistent way and show your product in the best light. You can show it in action and include all of the key facts and information with on screen graphics making it a really effective sales tool.
There are plenty of other types of video content that you could use but these are some of the most popular ones that we produce for clients. The most important thing is to keep it consistent and understand what you are trying to achieve. Having a clear plan will really help to get your video marketing strategy on track and allow you to create content with purpose rather than just putting videos out there for the sake of it. You can then see what works, what you audience responds to and what needs tweaking. We can help with this so that you can see results and ultimately, an ROI.
If you want to see some of our work, then take a look at our portfolio here. We’ve worked with many manufacturing organisations such as MAKE UK as well as individual companies too. If you want to set up a meeting to see how we can help you then get in touch here and we’ll be happy to look at how we can take your marketing strategy to a whole new level.
Blog writer: Adam Snelleksz is a director of CMA Video and has worked in marketing for over 20 years. He has worked in video production in Birmingham for five years with CMA Video and has been using video for marketing for nearly 10 years. He also set up the video TV channel Blues TV, the official online channel of Birmingham City Football Club. Some of the projects that Adam has used promotional videos for include the Birmingham Half Marathon, the European Gymnastics Championships and the World BMX Championships. Contact Adam here.
Our video marketing blogs have been recognised as one of the Top 50 Video Marketing Blogs on the internet. We hope you enjoy reading them and gain valuable insights into CMA Video and show that we’re not just another Birmingham video production company but we do more from animation videos to event filming, video strategy to social media video campaigns.
