September 2015

Smart Marketing for EngineersTM

Study: Content and Online Marketing

Live webcast

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Presenters

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Agenda

AgendaIntroduction and Methodology

Summary

Respondent Demographics

Channel Insights: E-Newsletters, Webcasts, & Social Media

Content: Most Valuable Sources & Most Trusted Authors

Content Search & Consumption:When, Where, and How

Q&A, Contact Information

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OverviewMarketers charged with targeting technical audiences are grappling with the shift toward online and content marketing and how to implement this approach effectively to attract, engage and convert skeptical engineers. Marketers need to understand what content engineers trust and where and how they look for it online. They need to understand how engineers’ behaviors toward traditional marketing channels such as advertising, are changing with the onset of modern channels such as social media.

While content marketing research exists for consumer and broad B2B markets, there is a gap in available, actionable data to educate and inform marketers who are specifically targeting highly technical audiences such as engineers and scientists on the most effective ways to do marketing for the greatest return on investment.

Therefore, TREW Marketing and ENGINEERING.com teamed up to to conduct a survey of engineers in North America in industries such as design services, industrial and manufacturing, automation and control, and aerospace and defense. Survey recipients were chosen from ENGINEERING.com’s database and results are outlined in the report that follows.

SampleA sample of respondents was selected from ENGINEERING.com’s database to receive an invitation to participate in the survey. Atotal of 580 respondents from a representation of industries, job roles, ages and company sizes completed the survey.

MethodRecipients were sent an e-mail asking them to participate in this study. The e-mail included a URL linked to the online questionnaire.Data was collected from July 16th through August 7th of 2015.

Number of respondents: 580

Incentive: Participants were offered the opportunity to enter a drawing for one of three $100 VISA gift cards.

Introduction and Methodology

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In June 2015, TREW Marketing and ENGINEERING.com partnered to survey engineers about their value and trust they place in content, and where, when and how they consume and search for content. Below are key findings from the survey data, and following is the complete report.

Notable insights• The way engineers most often interact with e-newsletters is scanning subject lines.

• Engineers most often consume work-related content on their desktop computer throughout the workday; mobile devices are used most often when they’re on the go and commuting.

• In viewing webcasts, engineers prefer real-world examples and images and diagrams.

• Online resources such as websites and search engines are the most valuable source of information versus offline sources such as conferences or publications.

• Engineers have the highest trust in content written by an engineering expert at a vendor company, more than an industry analyst or editorial pieces.

• Most engineers use social media in their personal life where they may stumble upon work-related articles.

Summary

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Respondent Demographics

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Q: Which of the following best describes your job function? (n=476)

Engineering Consulting, 13.7%

Engineering Design, 27.3%

Engineering Other, 5.5%

Engineering Project Management, 8.0%

Management/ Leadership, 7.1%

Architect/Building/Contractor Engineering Analysis Engineering ConsultingEngineering Design Engineering Faculty/Staff Engineering OtherEngineering Process/Production Engineering Project Management Internal ITMaintenance/Facilities Management Management/Leadership ManufacturingMarketing/Sales Purchasing Quality Control/AssuranceRecruiting/HR Research and Development Software DeveloperStudent Technical Support Services

Respondent Overview: Primary Job Function

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Q: Approximately how many people work at your location? (n=475)

Respondent Overview: Company Size

1,000 or more

500 – 999

100-499

51– 99

26-50

16-25

6-15

1 to 5

0.0% 5.0% 10.0% 15.0% 20.0% 25.0%

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Q: Which of the following ranges includes your current age? (n=489)

Respondent Overview: Current Age

66+

56-65

46-55

36-45

26-35

Under 25

0.0% 5.0% 10.0% 15.0% 20.0% 25.0% 30.0%

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Aerospace and Defence, 6.3%

Automotive, 5.1%

Construction, 8.7%

Education, 3.8%

Engineering Design Services, 22.8%

Industrial Machinery/Tools, 5.3%

Manufacturing - Other, 19.7%

Software, 3.6%

Aerospace and Defence Agriculture/Forestry AutomotiveBiotechnology Chemicals/Plastics/Rubber CommunicationsComputer Systems and Peripherals Construction Consumer Products/ElectronicsEducation Engineering Design Services Fabricated MetalsGovernment Heavy Equipment Industrial Machinery/ToolsManufacturing - Other Medical Equipment MiningMining and Forestry Oil and Gas Packaging MachineryPaper/Printing/Textiles Recruiting RetailScientific and Measuring Equipment Semiconductor and Electronic Components SoftwareTransportation Utilities and Energy

Respondent Overview: Industry

Survey Results

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Channel Insights: E-Newsletters, Webcasts, & Social Media

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Q: How do you interact with e-newsletters in your inbox that you subscribe to and trust? (n=574)

5.1%

5.6%

23.9%

29.6%

35.9%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40%

They get filtered to a folder (I don’t see it in my main inbox)

I delete most automatically

I read every one for important information

I open most or all to scan for content, anddelete the rest

I scan for subject lines that intrigue me, anddelete the rest

E-NewslettersEngineers are very engaged with e-newsletters: almost all respondents (89%) pay attention to the e-newsletters they subscribe to and trust in some way. The primary ways engineers interact with e-newsletters are scanning subject lines (36%) or opening to scan for content (30%).

14Q: When viewing educational webinars and webcasts, please select your preference for features that make the webinar more worthwhile. (n=575)

Educational WebcastsWhen viewing webcasts, the three features engineers prefer most are real-world examples, images and diagrams, and a pre-event agenda/explanation. Most do not have a preference whether a single or multiple speakers present.

14%

9%

8%

9%

6%

4%

6%

4%

2%

2%

54%

49%

35%

27%

20%

20%

17%

14%

10%

6%

32%

42%

57%

64%

74%

76%

78%

82%

88%

93%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Multiple speakers

Single speaker

CPE credits

Interactive Q&A section

Slides/text

Trends, research data

Product demonstrations

Pre-webinar agenda/explanation

Images and diagrams

Real-world examples

Less preferred I do not care either way Most preferred

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Q: Select the option that best describes your use of social media for work. (n=489)

8.6%

22.9%

26.2%

42.3%

Yes, and I have a separate socialmedia presence that I use for work

Yes, I use social media to search orshare information with professional

contacts

None

I use social media in my personallife, and sometimes read articles Istumble upon that apply to work

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

Use of Social Media for WorkIn describing their use of social media for work, most engineers (42%) indicate they use social media in their personal life where they may stumble upon work-related articles. Interestingly, nearly a third (31%) said they use social media for work, either to search and share information or with a separate presence.

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Use of Social Media for Work – Age Comparison When social media use is examined by age group, responses show younger age groups engage with social media more in their personal life than older age groups. All other groups selected “I use social media in my personal life and sometimes read articles that apply to work” to describe their use of social media, with the youngest engineers by far (54%) choosing this option more than any other.

Q: Select the option that best describes your use of social media for work. (n=489)

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Yes, and I have a separate social mediapresence that I use for work

Yes, I use social media to search or shareinformation with professional contacts

None

I use social media in my personal life, andsometimes read articles I stumble upon that

apply to work

26-35 36-45 46-55 56-65

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Content: Most Valuable Sources & Most Trusted Authors

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Content Sources Nearly all engineers (93%) indicate online resources such as websites and search engines are a valuable source of information on the latest engineering technologies, trends and products. Among offline sources offered, engineers equally rate print publications and technical conferences as very or moderately valuable (both 75%).

Q: How valuable are the following sources when seeking information on the latest engineering technologies, industry trends, and products? (n=572)

58%

75%

75%

93%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Trade shows

Print publications

Technical conferences

Online resources (e.g., websites, searchengines, video, etc.)

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Content Sources – Age ComparisonCross tabulation of age with preference for sources revealed an interesting trend for trade shows (in red) and online media (in blue). While online sources are rated as the most valuable for all age categories, the data reveals that older engineers find online media to be relatively more valuable than younger engineers. And younger engineers rate trade shows as more valuable than older engineers do.

Q: How valuable are the following sources when seeking information on the latest engineering technologies, industry trends, and products? (n=572)

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 120%

Under 25

26-35

36-45

46-55

56-65

66+

Technical conferences Print publications Trade shows Online

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Content Sources – Industry ComparisonCross tabulation revealed a difference in how particular industries value content sources. Slide 17 shows engineers on average find online resources most valuable, followed by technical conferences, then print publications, and lastly trade shows. However the Engineering Design Services industry is unique in preferring trade shows most, then technical conferences, then online resources and print publications least.

55%

58%

58%

70%

62%

52%

58%

54%

49%

50%

51%

75%

61%

57%

57%

79%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%

Trade shows

Print publications

Technical conferences

Online resources (e.g., websites, search engines,video, etc.)

Aerospace and Defence Construction Engineering Design Services Manufacturing - Other

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Q: Please rank your level of trust in content that is written or published by the following, where rank 6 is your highest level of trust, and rank 1 is your lowest.(n=501)

4.51

4.32

3.90

3.71

3.06

2.16

0 1 2 3 4 5 6

Engineering expert at a vendor company

Industry analyst

Editorial piece in an industry print or onlinepublication

Online or magazine editor

Sponsored story in industry print or online publication

Anonymous source at a vendor company

Ranking Trust in Content AuthorsEngineers have the highest trust (4.5 out of 6) in content written by an engineering expert at a vendor company followed by industry analysts (4.3) and published editorial pieces in industry publications in print or online (3.9).

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Content Search & Consumption:When, Where, and How

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Q: At what point in your day are you consuming work-related media, social media and content? (Check all that apply.) (n=569)

Content Consumption by Platform and Time of DayEngineers most often consume work-related content on their desktop computer throughout the workday (84%) or at home in the evening (74%). They most often use mobile devices when they’re commuting (69%) or on the go during the day (61%).

48%

53%

34%

61%

69%

74%

63%

84%

57%

42%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

At home in the evening

During lunchtime

It is a regular part of my work day

On the go during my day (meetings,breaks, in queues)

On my commute to/home from work

Desktop/laptop Mobile device

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Q: In thinking about high-quality work-related content you’ve viewed online in the last six months (such as white papers, web or blog pages, videos, etc), how did you find them? (n=506)

How Engineers Find Content OnlineEngineers most often do a keyword search in Google (79%) to find work-related content. The next closest method for finding work-related content is through an email subscription they have set up (60%) or searching specific vendor websites they know (55%).

78%

71%

68%

65%

58%

57%

45%

40%

21%

22%

29%

32%

35%

42%

43%

55%

60%

79%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

RSS feeds that I have set up

Other social media (e.g., Twitter,…

Media aggregators (e.g., Google News,…

I found it on a LinkedIn group or LinkedIn…

Visiting industry publications

Emailed to me by a vendor or publication

Searching within specific vendor sites I…

Email subscription that I have set up

A keyword search on Google

Not Often More Often

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Q: When searching for information on a work-related topic using a search engine, how many pages of results are you willing to view before you select one or start your search over? (n=490)

How Many Pages Deep Engineers Go in Search ResultsEngineers will go deep in search engines to find information on a work-related topic they are researching. Most (29%) will go three pages deep followed by two pages (27%) and over a fifth combined (23%) will go five pages or deeper. And while industry data by Chitika Insights has shown that 92% of all traffic on Google occurs on the first page of search results, only 9% of engineers in this survey said they stop on page one.

One9%

Two27%

Three29%

Four13%

Five to ten16%

Ten +7%

Q&A

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How to reach me:

John HayesENGINEERING.com

Twitter: @Jackhayes

Blog: Digital Marketing for Engineers

Join the LinkedIn group: Digital Marketing for Engineers

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How to reach me:

Rebecca GeierTREW Marketing

Twitter: @rebeccag

Blog: Smart Marketing for EngineersTM

Website:www.trewmarketing.com

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Smart Marketing for EngineersTM

An Inbound Marketing Guide to Reaching Technical Audiences

Foreword by Dr. James TruchardCofounder and CEONational Instruments

Download FREE Chapter, Pre Order: www.trewmarketing.com/smartmarketingforengineers