Maximizing LinkedIn: What Machined Product Companies Shouldn’t Do
If you’re in the business of selling machined products or services, you know how important it is to have a strong sales strategy. With the rise of social media and digital marketing, there are more opportunities than ever to connect with potential customers and grow your business.
In this blog post, we’ll take a closer look at how you can revolutionize your sales strategy with LinkedIn marketing. From creating a strong profile and building your network to writing engaging content and leveraging LinkedIn’s advertising options, we’ll explore a range of strategies and provide tips and resources to help you succeed.
In the following section, we will explore some of the key benefits of LinkedIn marketing, how it can be leveraged for lead generation, and how it can be used for social selling, among other aspects. LinkedIn marketing has become a critical part of any successful digital marketing strategy for those in the machined products and services industry.
Understanding LinkedIn as a Marketing Tool for Machined Products
LinkedIn marketing has become an important tool in the arsenal of any marketing team. According to recent data, 94% of B2B marketers rely on LinkedIn as a source of leads, and companies that leverage LinkedIn marketing achieve 50% higher conversion rates as compared to other traditional marketing channels.
With over 930 million members worldwide, LinkedIn offers a vast pool of potential customers that can be easily targeted based on a variety of factors, including industry, job title, location, and company size.
The staggering numbers show the importance of LinkedIn marketing for machined products and services, and its potential to revolutionize the entire sales strategy.
By utilizing the platform’s advanced search capabilities, you can identify and engage with prospects who are more likely to be interested in your machined products and services.
Here are some facts to consider when using LinkedIn as a marketing tool for your machined products and services:
There’s no doubt that LinkedIn can be a dynamic tool to drive leads and sales for your machined products and services. By leveraging social selling techniques and taking advantage of the platform’s advanced search and targeting capabilities, you can make meaningful connections with those interested in what you have to offer.
A lot of companies get the above, but the next section focuses on the dissonance of what companies are doing wrong while on LinkedIn despite the tremendous advantages it offers to businesses selling machined products and services.
What Machined Product Companies Shouldn’t Do on LinkedIn?
While LinkedIn can be a dominant platform for marketing machined products and services, it’s not uncommon for businesses to make mistakes that can negatively affect their success.
Some of the most common mistakes machined products companies make when using LinkedIn for marketing include:
1. Heavy focus on traditional selling
In today’s digital age, many companies are still relying on traditional sales tactics to sell their products. Unfortunately, these archaic methods are no longer as effective as they once were, and companies are missing out on the potential benefits of social selling.
The major difference between traditional selling and social selling lies in the approach.
Traditional selling relies on the push method, which mainly entails pitching products and services to customers. However, social selling employs trust building, credibility, and relationship building to create connections that foster sales and guarantee customer loyalty.
Unlike traditional selling tactics that focus on pushing products and services onto customers, social selling emphasizes building relationships and engaging with potential customers on a more personal level.
From pushing products to forging personal connections, the focus of selling has shifted from quantity to quality in the digital age.
By using social selling tactics on LinkedIn, companies selling machined products can leverage the platform’s built-in networking tools to connect with potential customers, engage with them in meaningful conversations, and establish trust and credibility. This approach allows for a more natural and authentic sales process that prioritizes the needs and preferences of the customer.
Social selling on LinkedIn provides companies with the opportunity to showcase their expertise, industry knowledge, and thought leadership. By sharing informative and educational content, taking part in relevant industry groups, and offering valuable insights and advice, companies can position themselves as experts in their field and build a loyal following for potential customers.
Overall, social selling on LinkedIn offers a convincing alternative to traditional selling tactics for companies selling machined products. By prioritizing relationship-building and emphasizing the social aspect of the platform, companies can establish themselves as trusted authorities in their field and create a loyal customer base that values their expertise and product offerings.
2. Machined Products Companies use a one-size fits all approach
Companies that sell machined products to other businesses can often fall into the trap of a one-size-fits-all content approach. However, this technique doesn’t typically scratch the surface of what modern customers want. With a constantly growing marketplace, it’s essential to craft personalized content using buyer personas to target and capture potential clients effectively.
For instance, businesses that offer machined parts must understand that not all customers require the same specifications, dimensions, or material quality when performing orders. Personalizing content through the creation of buyer personas allows companies to hone in on specific buyer needs and create targeted approaches that effectively speak to potential customers.
Different buyer personas come with unique sets of requirements and mindsets, so identifying and targeting them is crucial. For instance, a buyer interested in purchasing machined parts for a rocket will have very different needs than a buyer looking for high-precision parts for surgical equipment.
Content creation should be tailored to buyer personas for effective customer communication.
Creating high-quality and informationally rich content that speaks to each persona requires in-depth industry knowledge and a strong focus on topical relevance. Understanding the right industry-based keywords and using long-tail keywords appropriately allows businesses to create content that resonates with each persona.
Machined parts manufacturers can ensure their content is personalized by showcasing specific product examples and case studies that cater to the different needs of their buyer personas. By leveraging the unique advantages of each machined part, companies can speak to buyers in a particular industry and develop content that resonates with them.
While personalizing content can take more time and effort, in the long run, it allows businesses to connect better with their target audience, which leads to stronger leads and higher conversion rates. By creating buyer personas and focusing on topical relevance to craft targeted content, businesses offering machined products can gain a competitive edge and generate long-term success.
Many businesses make the mistake of casting too wide of a net when it comes to targeting their audience on LinkedIn. It’s important to identify and target decision-makers and other relevant individuals within a company, rather than simply spamming as many LinkedIn users as possible.
3. Forgetting the power of employees
Companies often underestimate the potential of their employees’ personal networks in driving sales. Employee advocacy can be a powerful tool, especially in the machined product industry, where building trust and establishing professional relationships are crucial for success.
Encouraging employees to engage with potential customers on LinkedIn can help create a more personal and approachable image for the company. By building their own personal brand as influencers in the industry, employees can expand the company’s reach and gain credibility among potential customers.
With the help of training and resources, employees can learn effective use of their personal networks and social media to promote the company’s products and services. This can include sharing relevant industry news, contributing thought leadership content, and actively engaging with potential customers in a professional capacity.
In the machined product industry specifically, where precision and quality are paramount, employee advocacy can help establish the expertise and reliability of the company’s products. By showcasing the skills and experience of the employees behind the products, customers can feel more confident in their purchasing decisions and build long-lasting relationships with the company.
Ultimately, by tapping into the power of employee advocacy, companies in the machined product industry can drive sales and establish themselves as leaders in the industry. Encouraging and supporting employees to become influencers in their own right can be a game-changer for companies looking to establish a strong brand image and expand their reach.
4. Ugly visuals
In digital marketing for machined products, the overwhelming amount of information available can make it difficult to grab the attention of prospects. This is where visual-heavy content comes in. By using eye-catching and informative visuals such as product diagrams, videos, and infographics, you can effectively communicate the benefits and features of your machined products and stop the scroll.
One specific example is CNC machining. It is a precision manufacturing process that uses computer-controlled machines to make complex parts and components with high accuracy.
Despite its technical complexity, businesses must showcase their CNC machining capabilities in ways that attract potential customers and stop the scroll. This can include showcasing intricate CNC machining processes, highlighting precision and accuracy, and showcasing unique applications and use cases in different industries.
To stand out in the newsfeed, businesses must maximize the potential of visual-heavy content.
Visual content can include images, gifs, infographics, and videos that provide a quick snapshot of the product or service offered. By using visually engaging content, businesses can convey their message more effectively and make a lasting impression on potential customers.
Remember, great content is only half the battle – it’s how you present it that counts. Don’t be afraid to explore new mediums and formats for your content, like infographics, animations, and live videos. Giving your audience something fresh and interesting will establish your brand as an innovative leader in your industry, and maximize your potential for growth.
5. Not integrating search engine optimization (SEO)for LinkedIn pages and posts
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is an important component of any online marketing strategy. With the right SEO techniques, businesses can ensure the right people on LinkedIn and other social media platforms see their content. Without SEO, businesses are missing out on potential leads and customers who may not find their content because of poor search engine ranking.
For businesses in the machined product industry, optimizing your content for SEO is essential to success. You may have heard social media experts talk about optimizing content, which I am a strong advocate for.
In this context, I am talking about optimizing, also, your social media posts. To do so, it is important to ensure that your posts and profile are keyword-rich and optimized for search.
From keyword research to maximizing reach, SEO can help machined product businesses get seen and succeed.
This means that you should include relevant keywords throughout your description, post captions, and even the visual elements of your content. It’s also important to keep an eye out for trending topics in the industry and include these keywords in your content.
When you integrate SEO techniques into your LinkedIn marketing strategy, you can ensure that your content is seen by the right people and maximize your reach. With the right SEO tactics, businesses in the machined product industry can generate leads, build relationships, and ultimately increase sales.
Researching and integrating keyword-rich content takes time, but there are a few companies, like Social Success Marketing, that can help you with this.
6. Neglecting customer journey insights
In the machined products and services industry, a common mistake businesses make with LinkedIn marketing is neglecting customer journey insights. Understanding your target audience’s buying process is critical to crafting effective campaigns and driving conversions.
Customer journey mapping is a process that can help businesses gain insights into their customers’ buying journeys by mapping out the stages, touchpoints, and experiences that customers have when engaging with their brands.
With customer journey insights, businesses in the machined products and services industry can identify where their customers are in the buying process and create content that resonates with them at the right stage.
For instance, a business that specializes in producing high-precision metal parts for the aerospace industry can create product feature content that highlights how its products meet the specific industry requirements. To appeal to customers who are further along in the buying process, the company can create targeted content such as customer case studies that showcase successful applications of their products.
By leveraging these insights, companies in the machined products and services industry can create content that speaks to their customers at every stage of the buying process. As a result, businesses can improve their customer experience, anticipate their audience’s needs better, and increase their conversions and sales on LinkedIn.
7. Overlooking LinkedIn Ads
Companies should not rely solely on organic reach to increase engagement and reach new potential customers. While this may be effective in the short term, it is unsustainable over the long term and can lead to diminishing returns.
So, one of the common mistakes made by businesses in the Machined Products and Services Industry is ignoring the potential of LinkedIn Ads. By leveraging the power of LinkedIn Ads, businesses can reach their exact audience, enhance their brand recognition, and drive conversions. With efficient targeting options and ad optimization techniques, businesses can easily ensure that they reach out to their ideal customers with relevant content.
For instance, a hydraulic cylinder manufacturer in the Machined Products and Services Industry can use LinkedIn Ads to target decision-makers in industries that require custom hydraulic cylinders, such as heavy equipment manufacturers and construction companies. By using targeting options like company size, job title, and industry, the hydraulic cylinder manufacturer can tailor their ads to reach their intended audience.
Maximize the power of LinkedIn Ads to create targeted ads, connect with your desired audience, and drive increased engagement.
Also, optimizing ad copy and creative elements, as well as utilizing relevant industry-based keywords and long-tail keywords, can increase the effectiveness of LinkedIn Ads. For example, the hydraulic cylinder manufacturer can include product-specific keywords like “custom hydraulic cylinders” and “hydraulic cylinder design.” Having a strong focus on topical relevance and using semantic SEO strategies can also improve the overall performance of LinkedIn Ads.
By not overlooking the potential of LinkedIn Ads, businesses in the Machined Products and Services Industry can improve their marketing efforts and reach their desired audience with greater precision. By creating high-quality content that meets user search intent and connects relevant entities, businesses can market themselves better on the LinkedIn platform.
8. Infrequency of Posting
One major mistake that companies selling machined products often make is the infrequency or sporadic nature of their social media postings. Whether it’s on LinkedIn or any other social media platform, consistency is crucial to achieving success in social media marketing.
Companies that fail to post regularly are missing out on potential engagement opportunities with their target audience. Posting regularly allows for consistent exposure to the brand, ultimately leading to increased brand awareness and recognition. This is important in a crowded market like the machined products industry, where businesses are constantly vying for the attention of potential customers.
9. Lack of data analysis is another pitfall
Companies may overlook the importance of regularly analyzing their LinkedIn marketing efforts. Without analyzing data, it is impossible to determine what is working and what needs improvement. They may also miss out on valuable insights that can guide their content strategy and lead to higher conversion rates.
Businesses in the machined products and services industry can gain valuable insights into how their campaigns are performing. This data can be used to optimize content and target relevant audiences more effectively. Also, companies should use A/B testing to assess the effectiveness of different campaigns and ensure that they are spending their resources wisely.
Ultimately, the goal should be to maximize the ROI for any campaigns that are conducted.
Machined Products: Improve LinkedIn Presence for Your Company
LinkedIn is a powerful tool for businesses in the machined products and services industry. It can reach potential customers, increase brand awareness, and boost sales.
To maximize your LinkedIn presence, however, it’s important to avoid common mistakes such as ignoring the potential of LinkedIn Ads, posting infrequently on social media, and not analyzing data regularly. By leveraging the right tools and techniques, businesses in the machined products and services industry can improve their presence on LinkedIn and drive more leads.
If you’re not sure how to get started with LinkedIn or how to optimize your presence on the platform, don’t worry—help is available.
At Social Success Marketing, we specialize in helping companies selling machined products and services improve their online marketing strategies. From crafting compelling content to creating effective LinkedIn Ads, we can help you get the results you need to succeed. Contact us today to learn more.
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