Social Media for Manufacturers
Carmen Fontana
Introduction
• Carmen Fontana– Web Marketing Manager– Google AdWords Certified Professional– BS Systems & Control Engineering– ME Engineering Management
• Charlie Meyers– President and Founder of WRIS– Started company in 1996
• John Strathern– Client Services Director– Experienced in web development and sales
Agenda
• What is Social Media?• Why Social Media?• Social Media Channels
– Blogs– LinkedIn– Twitter– Facebook– YouTube
• Social Media & Manufacturing• Choose Your Channels• Social Media Process
– Claim– Listen & Learn– Engage– Schedule & Streamline– Integrate– Evaluate
• Questions
What is Social Media?
“Forms of electronic communication (such as Web sites for social
networking and microblogging) through
which users create online communities to share information,
ideas, personal messages, and other content (as videos)”
– Merriam Webster
Why Social Media?
– Communication• What are you doing?• Why are you doing it?
– Brand Development• What does our company
stand for?• What is our product about?
– Relationship Building• Create new connections• Reengage with others
Why Social Media? (continued)
– Thought Leadership• Demonstrate your knowledge
– Knowledge Gathering• What are your competitors
doing?• What are people saying about
your company?• What are people saying about
my industry?
– Search Engine Optimization• SM signals influence Google
rankings for your website
Social Media Channels
• There’s a lot• They’re
always changing
• Today:– Blogs– LinkedIn– YouTube– Twitter– Facebook
Social Media Channels: Blogs
Social Media Channels: LinkedIn
Social Media Channels: YouTube
Social Media Channels: Twitter
Social Media Channels: Facebook
Social Media & Manufacturing: Adoption
LinkedIn YouTube/Video Twitter Facebook0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
Manufacturers Small Businesses
Sources: GlobalSpec & Merchant Circle, Feb 2011
Social Media & Manufacturing: Notes
– Social Media has not been adopted as quickly in manufacturing as other businesses
– Right now, Social Media is a complimentary item to industrial marketing
– But, undoubtedly will continue to grow
SOCIAL MEDIA IS STILL EVOLVING FOR
MANUFACTURERS!!!
Choose Your Channels
– Blogs• Best SM way to demonstrate “thought leadership”• Great for Search Engine Optimization• Time intensive
– LinkedIn• Most “business” of all channels• Some pieces helpful, some not
Choose Your Channels
– YouTube• Great for demonstrating your product• Helpful for foreign sales• Can be time intensive• Blocked on networks
– Twitter• Simple way to communicate message, interact
with others• Some learning curve• Not universally used by manufacturers
Choose Your Channels
– Facebook• Most universally used on personal level• Not always considered “business”• Blocked on many networks
YOU DON’T NEED EVERY CHANNEL!!!
Social Media Process
Claim Listen & Learn Engage Schedule &
Streamline Integrate Evaluate
YOU DON’T NEED EVERY STEP!!!
Social Media Process
Claim Listen & Learn Engage Schedule &
Streamline Integrate Evaluate
1. Claim
– Blog1. Ask your web company if your website has blogging capabilities
2. If not, create one at wordpress.com or blogspot.com
3. Get a URL like blog.acmecorp.com or www.acmecorp.com/blog
– LinkedIn1. www.linkedin.com
2. Create a personal page
3. Create a company page
1. http://www.linkedin.com/
company/add/show
– YouTube1. http://www.youtube.com/create_account
1. Claim
– Twitter1. www.twitter.com
– Facebook1. www.facebook.com
2. Create a personal page
3. Create a “Company” page– http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/create.php
4. After 25 “Likes” you can get a custom URL– www.facebook.com/acmecorp instead of
www.faceboook.com/fssdif?dsjcbsd– www.facebook.com/username
Social Media Process
Claim Listen & Learn Engage Schedule &
Streamline Integrate Evaluate
2. Listen & Learn
• Watch yourself and others• Speak, don’t shout• Promote, but discretely• Give as much as you get
2. Listen & Learn
– Alerts• Allow you to see
mentions of your company on the web
• Emailed to you on a regular basis
• Two biggest ones:– Alerts.google.com– Socialmention.com– Both FREE!
• Sign up for competitors too!
2. Listen & Learn
– Blogs• Find relevant blogs
– Trade magazines» http://
www.chemicalprocessing.com/voices/plant_insites.html
– Competitors» http://
www.triangleoshkosh.blogspot.com/
– Associations– Blog Directory
» Blogcatalog.com» Blogs.botw.org
– Search Engines» i.e. “lean
manufacturing” blog• Use a RSS reader
– Aggregates everything into one place
– Reader.google.com (FREE!)
2. Listen & Learn
– LinkedIn• Review Updates
– Who’s doing what?• Follow Companies
– Company version of the status update• Groups
– Trade Organizations (Recommended: WIRE-net)– Alumni Groups (Don’t always need to be an alumni)– Media Outlets (Trade magazines, Crain’s)– Special Interest (Recommended: Industrial Marketing Mavens)
• Answers– Crowdsourcing Q&A– What are people asking about? What can I answer?
• News– Aggregated way of getting news feeds
• Advertising– Target by industry, job description, even employer!
2. Listen & Learn
2. Listen & Learn
2. Listen & Learn
– YouTube• Search for relevant topics• Watch videos from both large and small
manufacturers– Corning
» http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Cf7IL_eZ38» 12,856,845 Views!!!
– WS Tyler» http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a68odZsvjJE» Example of a video on a budget» “Show” versus “tell”
2. Listen & Learn
– Twitter• “Follow” people
– Competitors– Industry News– General Manufacturing– Local Organizations– Need ideas? See wris_oh lists for Manufacturing, Cleveland
• Look for hashtags– Way to group like comments together– Manufacturing hashtags: http://ow.ly/4GkhG– Many conferences/tradeshows have a dedicated hashtag
#pittcon• More on etiquette & lingo: http://bit.ly/dKtTyp
2. Listen & Learn
2. Listen & Learn
2. Listen & Learn
– Facebook• “Follow” companies
– Not as many manufacturers on Facebook– But a lot can be learned from watching B2C companies
2. Listen & Learn
BABY STEPS!!!
Social Media Process
Claim Listen & Learn Engage Schedule &
Streamline Integrate Evaluate
3. Engage
– Blogs• Blog 2-4 times per month• Variety of authors, variety of subjects• Sample topics:
– Product – general (“3 Things You Didn’t Know about Widgets”)
– Product – real life applications (“Widgets in Action at Customer Corp”)
– Trade Show Presence (“Visit Acme at the Widget World Fair”)
– Staff profiles (“Meet Acme’s Plant Manager”)– Commentary on industry (“What Does the Automotive
Downturn Mean for the Widget Industry?”)
3.Engage
– LinkedIn• Fill out Company Page• Fill out Personal Profile• Participate in Groups• Read & Answer Questions• Status Updates
– YouTube• Upload videos
– Show your product in action– Does NOT need to be professionally produced
• Favorite videos• Integrate with Facebook site
3. Engage
– Twitter• Tweet at least 3-5 times per week• “Retweet” others’ messages• Respond to direct messages, and directed tweets• HINT: Use shortened URLs (bit.ly)
– Facebook• Update status at least 3-5 times per week• Comment on other pages • Respond to comments• Upload pictures
Social Media Process
Claim Listen & Learn Engage Schedule &
Streamline Integrate Evaluate
4. Schedule & Streamline
• Create a plan– Develop a
content/channel schedule
– Use tools– Delegate!!!
4. Schedule & Streamline
WRIS SOCIAL MEDIA SCHEDULE
Channel Frequency Topic/Activity
Twitter 5x per week •Respond to others•Retweet•Tweet•M: Mfg Related•T: WRIS Promo•W: General Web Related•R: Link to blog•F: Education Related
Facebook 5x per week •Respond to comments•Post photos•Status update•Same schedule as Twitter
YouTube Bi-monthly •Create/post video
LinkedIn 3x per week •Read/Answer Questions•Read/Respond to Groups•Find new connections
Blog 1x per week •Varies•Staff Profiles•Client Projects•Industry Trends•Instructional
4. Schedule & Streamline
ACME WIDGET CORP SOCIAL MEDIA SCHEDULE
Channel Frequency Topic/Activity
Twitter 5x per week •Respond to others•Retweet•Tweet•M: Widget Industry News•T: Acme Promo•W: Widget FAQ•R: Link to blog•F: Widget Applications
Facebook 5x per week •Respond to comments•Post photos•Status update•Same schedule as Twitter
YouTube Bi-monthly •Create/post video
LinkedIn 3x per week •Read/Answer Questions•Read/Respond to Groups•Find new connections
Blog 1x per week •Varies•Staff Profiles•Client Projects•Widget Industry Trends•Instructional
4. Schedule & Streamline
ACME WIDGET CORP TWITTER SCHEDULE
DAY TWEET
Monday Via @widgetworldnews: Widget sales slow in 2010, but expected to increase in 2011 http://bit.ly/plok789
Tuesday Headed to the Widget North America Showcase? Stop by Booth 456 and say hello to the Acme team! #WWS2011
Wednesday Widgets were first patented in 1823. More fun facts: http://bit.ly/std567
Thursday Latest from the Acme blog: Meet Machinist and 30 year employee John D. Operator http://bit.ly/ersd123
Friday Widgets are now being used for solar applications: http://bit.ly/plokods
4. Schedule & Streamline
– Best times to Tweet/Blog/FB• Everyone has a different opinion• Depends on where your customers are (West
Coast, international?)• What we do:
– Blog on Thursdays, 5AM– Tweet daily at 4PM– Facebook daily at 10AM
4. Schedule & Streamline
– Blogs• Most blogging software allows you to schedule
posts• Write a bunch at one time but schedule over
months
– HootSuite & TweetDeck• Tools that allow you to schedule posts to Twitter
and Facebook• Do a week’s worth of posts at one time• Must have for regular social media engagement• FREE!!!
4. Schedule & Streamline
You can even do short URLs!
Schedule your tweet for whenever!
Social Media Process
Claim Listen & Learn Engage Schedule &
Streamline Integrate Evaluate
5. Integrate
• Integrate– Integrate into your website– Promote on your literature
Social Media Process
Claim Listen & Learn Engage Schedule &
Streamline Integrate Evaluate
6. Evaluate
– How much time are you spending doing Social Media?
– Are you seeing increased traffic to your website?– How many followers do you have on
Facebook/Twitter?– How many views are your videos getting?– How often are your blog posts read?– How many worthwhile connections have you made on
LinkedIn?– Are leads mentioning they saw your
blog/tweets/videos etc?
HARD DATA
ALWAYS WINS!!!