Social media and the industrial sector: where to start
Some industrial companies are still skeptical about the benefits of having a social media strategy. They believe that the characteristics of the industrial sector, with long purchasing processes and complex products, are not compatible with social media.
However, at BCM Marketing we are specialists in industrial marketing and we know that social networks can be a very valuable medium for this sector as well. With an effective digital strategy, it is possible to obtain more contacts than participating in fairs and events or carrying out telemarketing and other traditional marketing actions.
Business opportunities are found on social media channels through groups and pages in which all kinds of targets interact. This is the perfect opportunity to communicate what your company does and how it can benefit them.
The industrial buying process can be boosted on social media using your own weapons. The key is not to use the same strategies that are used with mass consumer products, based largely on impulsive and emotional buying. Thanks to the different digital tools, it is possible to communicate the differential value of the most complex products and services, and show users what uses and benefits they have.
Locating potential clients and creating conversations with them will allow us to get more insights about the problems and difficulties they face, so we can attack their pain points more effectively.
How to prepare a social media strategy for an industrial company
These are the essential steps to follow before implementing any social media strategy for an industrial company:
- Define the ideal buyer persona of the company in detail.
- Establish SMART objectives: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and limited in time.
- Plan the contents and create an editorial calendar.
- Create a corporate blog to share the company's knowledge and information about its products and services.
Redefine the industrial buyer persona
Ultimately, decisions in industrial companies are also made by people. And these people are not so different from audiences in other sectors. Time passes, and millennials are no longer just juniors and are now fully integrated into jobs of responsibility. More than 50% of B2B purchasing decisions are currently made by people under the age of 34.
These generations cannot conceive of their lives without social networks, they hardly pay attention to traditional media and 93% of their purchase decisions are influenced by social media (Socialnomics 2020). This also applies to their professional activity.
Convert customers into brand advocates
When a company is present on social media with a clear strategy focused on its buyer persona, it can convert followers into customers and clients into brand prescribers.
Most importantly, an industrial company can use social media to implement the most powerful and effective marketing tool: reputation. In the industrial sector, a large part of the agreements are reached thanks to networking, and social media can be an excellent environment in which to network.
Frequent doubts
- Many industrial companies wonder if their market is large enough to take action on social media. The answer is yes. Companies that attack small markets have a greater need to retain customers, and enhance reputation to increase their market share.
- Can an industrial company generate interesting content? Sure it can, but it takes good content planning to deliver valuable information to your target audience. To do this, it is necessary to know your buyer persona perfectly, adapt the language, etc.
The perfect Community Manager
Appointing the person in charge of drawing up the strategy and managing the presence of an industrial company in social networks is a decision that should not be taken lightly. It is essential to have a profile that combines specialisation in social media with a deep knowledge of the company, the sector and the buyer persona.
As an agency exclusively dedicated to industrial marketing, BCM Marketing offers companies in the sector its know-how, engineering knowledge, the use of applications for the planned management of social networks, community management services, results measurement, etc. All this taking into account the real insights of the clients and market research in order to generate business opportunities by maximizing the profitability of marketing actions.
What are the most relevant social media channels for an industrial company
Twitter, Facebook and even Instagram are channels that cannot always offer great results in industrial marketing. However, for B2B businesses, LinkedIn is the social network par excellence.
LinkedIn, the social network par excellence for B2B companies
83% of industrial marketing professionals use this platform to generate content marketing that allows them to capture leads and generate traffic to their website. And the results are excellent. 77% acknowledge having acquired at least one client through social selling.
In addition to the creation of a community around the brand and the dissemination of content, LinkedIn offers the possibility of developing highly effective advertising campaigns.
Conclusion
In addition to generating more business opportunities and expanding your network of business contacts, the use of social networks in industrial marketing allows you to generate a brand image and improve search engine positioning. It is definitely the best showcase for your business.
If you are not already taking advantage of the full potential of social media networks, you are losing sales opportunities. Shall we talk?
