Does Your Manufacturing Company Need a Tiered Social Media Presence?

by MGB2B

Like the manufacturing industry itself, individual manufacturers can be incredibly varied. Some companies serve four, five, six or more different markets simultaneously. Others create materials that go into all umpteen stages of a product’s final assembly. With all of these roles under a manufacturer’s belt, maintaining a single Twitter feed, Facebook page, YouTube channel, or other social media channel across the entire company might not make sense. So how do you know if you need multiple accounts?

Here are 4 scenarios where a tiered social media strategy for manufacturers makes sense:

1. Your company serves very different markets. If your manufacturing company’s products are used in vastly different markets, chances are that you need to target different audiences, too. Picture a metal stamping manufacturer whose products are used to build and assemble engines for planes, trains, and automobiles. While these markets are of course different, topics like automated assembly and environmental effects on metal components could be shared on social media and would make sense to each market’s core audience. Now consider a chemical manufacturer whose products are used in the electronics, construction, and pharmaceutical markets. Not only would the topics impacting each market change, but the people they are trying to reach would, too. In this case, separate social media channels geared toward each market could help your company narrow in on specific audiences and the unique issues they face.
2. You have an active internship program or are growing your workforce. If your manufacturing company has an active apprenticeship or internship program, or you are frequently looking to grow your workforce, creating social media channels for your human resources department could prove valuable. According to a recent report, 35% of social media users have used a social channel to search for jobs. Dedicated social channels can help showcase your employee culture, share the benefits of working at your company, and promote job openings without interrupting your general content.
3. One or more of your products have strong brand recognition. If you have branded one or more of your products, you might find that your customers and prospects more readily recognize those brands than your company’s. Before you panic and hastily launch a corporate awareness campaign, consider the positive impacts of that product recognition, and how you can leverage it on social media. Strong brand awareness on social media can earn near celebrity status for your product(s). It can help solidify your voice in a competitive industry, and connect with decision makers. It can also come full circle and help to elevate your corporate brand by association.
4. Your company has several locations. Typically, your social media channels should be affiliated with your corporate headquarters, meaning one Twitter feed, one Facebook page, etc. However, differing regulations based on state, codes and standards, and other factors could demand different content, making a single set of social media channels impractical. On a larger scale, international companies should strongly consider multiple social media accounts as well, both for these reasons and language usage.

If you are still on the fence about whether your manufacturing company should have a tiered social media strategy, consider your content. Would your followers benefit from more focused content than what you currently post? If yes, why? Chances are, it’s for one of the reasons above. Before you launch a tiered social media presence, make sure you have a solid plan, strategy, and content calendar(s) in place so your transition is as smooth as possible.

Tags: does your HR department need social media, location-based social media accounts, market-specific social media strategies, social media for branded products, social media strategy for manufacturers, social media tips for B2B, tiered social media strategy for manufacturers

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