Earlier this year, I wrote a blog post on interesting data related to content marketing for manufacturers provided by Content Marketing Institute (CMI) and MarketingProfs, two highly regarded organizations that have tremendous experience and expertise in the field. Their Manufacturing Content Marketing 2019 report is now available, and I encourage you to check it out when you have some time to digest all the interesting information it provides on “Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends.”
In the meantime, however, here’s a rundown of some 2019 content marketing stats for manufacturing from their survey of content marketers around the world:
- Manufacturers may be adopting content marketing, but many are still more focused on their offerings than on customer needs (51% say this is true). One of the keys to successful content marketing is listening to prospects and creating content that answers their questions, rather than developing materials that simply talk about your capabilities. No question about it—it’s hard to make the shift away from a more traditional marketing approach, but you must in order to connect effectively with your audience.
- Manufacturers are getting more social (81% say they use social media platforms). This is great news! Content marketing strategies work best when you are able to create a buzz about a new piece of content—and social media is the perfect place to do that. It takes some time and effort to develop an audience online, but the payoff is worth it.
- Manufacturers need to focus on documenting their strategy (only 21% even have one). If you are starting to develop and promote quality marketing content, that’s a step in the right direction. But, to maximize the ROI on those efforts, you must have a strategy. Your content marketing plan is like the schematics for a new product you intend to produce, and it's just as critical.
- Manufacturers are seeing that different content is needed for decision makers at different levels within an organization (68% note this as a top challenge). Mid-level managers and C-suite executives have different concerns when it comes to engaging with a manufacturer. You have to create content that addresses the questions of these and other groups if you want to succeed.
- Manufacturers understand the importance of marketing to “personas” (66% will be doing so by year’s end). A persona is a collection of background information and traits that characterize a type of person in your target audience. To grow your business, you have to be able to connect with people at this level, so this is a very positive trend.
My Biggest Takeaway from New Stats on Manufacturer Content Marketing
Content marketing, as powerful and effective as it is, can be a bit of a “hard sell” when it comes to industries like manufacturing where traditional marketing is still widely used. However, the data in reports from CMI and MarketingProfs, as well as insights from our own interactions with clients and prospects, point to one thing: content marketing is working for manufacturers.
Those that make the switch are enjoying a competitive advantage and are glad they had the patience it takes to put a program in place, grow their content library, and develop an interested and loyal audience. If your organization has questions about the concept of content marketing, marketing automation tools like HubSpot that simplify it, and the kind of results you can expect, we’re happy to answer them. Contact us today!
