2020 has been a momentous year for online advertising for heavy industry, as companies scrambled to avoid shutdowns by relying on social media marketing to promote their brands. As companies adjust to the new normal, their advertising strategies will look different.
But being able to advertise effectively online, however, will likely remain crucial to companies in the heavy industry as the sector shifts away from traditional forms of advertising to the digital landscape, including social media campaigns.
So how does an industrial company like mining, construction oil & gas, power generation and steel production promote their businesses using social media marketing tools?
The answer is simple – they use the same social media marketing strategy and techniques that everyone else does.
Businesses rely on social media technologies like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach consumers.
They also have an option of paid social media advertising, which allows them to target their business audiences who are more likely to be interested in their products and services.
But before we go any further, let’s first understand what social media advertising means in this article.
What is social media advertising?
Social media advertising is just how it sounds. It is advertising that targets people based on their social network usage and demographic profile.
It can be many things, but all of it relies on the collection and analysis of data from each social platform being used.
The basic idea is to look at target audiences based on what they’ve already done, like, and shared online.
Adept social media advertisers use this information to target their audience personas with ads, products, or content or social media posts that they’re more likely to respond to using effective content strategy.
This technique enables heavy industry companies to better predict business customer behavior and thus increase sales.
The best part about social media advertising is that it is cost-effective.
In fact, according to HubSpot, social media advertising costs only around 5% of traditional online advertising expenses.
You don’t need to spend thousands of dollars on TV advertisements, radio ads, billboards, magazine ads, etc., to reach potential customers.
Invest some of your advertising dollars to reach your target audience on social media channels like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter.
Benefits of social media advertising for heavy industry
Here are some ways in which heavy industry companies can promote their brands using social media advertising:
- Increase Brand Awareness
Social media advertising helps heavy industry companies create a strong relationship with its current and prospective business customers.
By posting engaging content on different social media platforms, you will be able to connect with active users and gain valuable insights into their needs and wants.
This way, you can better understand your audience and provide them with information that they would find useful.
For example, if you sell a product related to mining, then you should post videos showing real examples of mining equipment being used in the field.
Such posts not only help social users get familiar with your brand, but also encourage them to visit your website and learn more about your business.
- Generate Leads
One of the most important benefits of using social media advertising is generating leads. If you want to attract potential customers, you have to make use of every opportunity to advertise, and social media is a great way to do that.
Social media platforms allow you to target specific groups of people based on their age, gender, location, interests, and behavior. This makes it easier for you to generate leads as well as engage with existing customers.
For instance, if you want to advertise your mining services to companies in LinkedIn’s professional network, you can use their self-service ads platform to create an ad campaign specifically targeting that audience.
The same goes for Facebook which has a self-service platform as well that is perfect for creating ad campaigns that target users based on interests, demographics, and even behaviors.
- Promote Your Products/Services
Another advantage of social media marketing for the the heavy industry sector is promoting your products and services.
Through paid campaigns on social media platforms, you can make your company’s products and services are visible to millions of potential consumers.
You see social media shows your post to only a few of your fans and followers. Through paid campaigns, you can feature your post and have it seen by a much wider – and often more relevant – audience.
- Improve SEO Rankings
If you are looking for an affordable option for improving search engine rankings, then social media marketing is a great choice.
According to Moz, social signals have been shown to improve SEO results by up to 50%.
There are many ways that social signals, such as likes, comments, and shares, can improve SEO.
Social signals are a strong indication to search engines that a website is popular and relevant.
When large numbers of people are talking about a website on social media, it is a sign to search engines that the website is important and should be ranked highly in search results.
In addition, social media can be used to build links to a website, which also helps to improve SEO.
- Build Relationships
Social media platforms are designed to foster relationships. People share personal stories and opinions on these platforms, which makes them a good place to build relationships with others.
In the pre-Internet days, people shared their personal stories and opinions to build relationships in person. Nowadays, the Internet exists and people do the same online. In some ways, this may be more effective, because people don’t have to worry about the physical distance or practical obstacles that may make it difficult to meet up in person. They can simply stay connected online.
So how can heavy industry companies market themselves effectively?
Here are some tips for heavy industry companies to follow when promoting their brands using social media advertising.
Remember that no matter how you plan it the structure is the same but the approaches of these depends on your heavy industry sector and a whole lot of other business factors like budget and team.
However, this list should give you a general idea of how to get started.
So, whether you’re running a construction company, an oil rig company, or a mining operation, here are five best social strategies that will help you get started to achieve your business goals.
1. Plan Your Campaign
2. Choose the Right Platforms
3. Create Engaging Content
4. Use Paid Advertising
5. Analyze Results and Optimize
Plan your campaign
Before launching any social media advertising campaign, make sure you have an idea about what you want to accomplish.
- Do you want to increase brand awareness?
- Do you want to drive traffic to your website?
- Do you want to increase sales?
- Do you want to get more leads?
Whatever your goal may be, decide on a vision before starting your campaign.
Also, you should consider what type of content you want to share on social media platforms.
Are you going to post images, videos, links, text, memes, or all of them? You need to know this so you can plan accordingly.
It’s important to note that social media is not just about posting content; it’s also about listening, engaging, and responding to your audience. So this should be included in your social media marketing plan.
Choose the right platforms
Once you know what you want to accomplish, choose the appropriate social media channel.
There are several social media platforms available for businesses today. Deciding which social media marketing platform is right for your business depends on your goals, resources, and target markets.
Some platforms are better suited for certain types of campaigns.
For example, Facebook is great for reaching out to customers and building community. On the other hand, Twitter is more suitable for engaging with current and potential clients and for sharing company news. While, LinkedIn is a good place to connect with professionals who could potentially become clients.
If you’re looking to drive traffic to your site, then use social media marketing platforms such as Google Business, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest, and Reddit. These social media networks allow businesses and social media active users to easily share post links.
Create engaging & relevant content
Once you’ve chosen the right platforms, now it’s time to start sharing relevant content.
This means making sure that your posts contain information that people would be interested in reading.
According to Forrester 68% of B2B buyers are influenced by the vendor’s content during the purchase decision process (Forrester, 2014).
You can create engaging content by using infographics, polls, quizzes, case studies, reviews, etc.
But remember that if you don’t provide value to your followers, they won’t engage with your content.
It’s important to remember that social media isn’t just about posting content; you also need to engage with your audience by responding to their comments and questions.
For social media posts, your content doesn’t necessarily have to be long-form.
In fact, studies show that shorter pieces perform better on social media. But make sure they’re engaging enough to hold attention.
Here are some tips to create engaging content:
- Include visual elements such as infographics, photos, or GIFs.
- Use short paragraphs and bullet points.
- Keep your language conversational.
- Be honest and authentic.
- Don’t try too hard.
- Share content that will help your followers.
- Ask questions in your posts.
- Answer questions asked by your followers.
- Respond to comments and messages left by your followers.
What should heavy industry companies post?
Here are some examples of heavy industry social media posts:
- Machine breakdowns and how to prevent them
- New product releases and their capabilities, interesting jobsite locations
- Time-lapse videos of large machinery at work
- Training videos
- Safety tips
- Customer stories
- Interviews with machinery engineers
- How-to-videos on using certain types of equipment
- Articles on the history of the industry
The more interesting and engaging the posts that you publish on social media platforms, the more people will interact with them.
However, it is important to note that quality is more important than quantity when it comes to social media posts, so your industrial company should invest time and effort in order to create valuable content.
Social media platforms offer analytics tools for businesses that will help you analyze how well your content is performing. This way, your heavy industry company be able to determine which posts were successful and which ones weren’t.
Use paid ads
Paid advertising is another effective way to promote your business through social media. There are many different options available, including sponsored posts, promoted tweets, and retargeting a social media user base.
- Sponsored posts work similarly to regular posts, except instead of paying for a post, you pay for exposure. You may want to consider using sponsored posts if you’re looking to generate traffic to your website.
- Promoted Tweets are similar to sponsored posts, except the cost is based on impressions rather than clicks. Promoted Tweets also allow you to target specific audiences, making this an ideal option if you’re trying to reach a particular demographic.
- Retargeting allows you to reach out to customers who visited your site but didn’t convert into leads. It helps you identify these visitors and provide targeted messaging that encourages them to visit your website again.
Paid social media campaigns offer a variety of options for measuring success, from click-through rates to conversion tracking. With so many features, it’s easy to see why this platform has become popular among businesses of all sizes.
Analyze Results and Optimize
Once you start measuring results for your company, you can optimize your efforts by making adjustments.
You can also use this data to make educated business decision about what type of content performs best for your company.
For example, you could find out that images perform better than text or other social posts, and then decide to focus more heavily on posting social media graphics.
If you’re not getting enough engagement from your posts, you might need to adjust your strategy.
For instance, you could change up the frequency of your posts per month, increase the number of hashtags you include in each post, or even switch to a new social media channel altogether.
Remember that there’s no magic formula for success when using social media networks.
Each social media strategy and execution varies for businesses.
Using the data; the key is to keep experimenting until you find something that works for your industrial business to reach current and potential customers.
It's all in the numbers. How far you can push that number. It's how much you can push. And still stay on target.
You can’t improve what you don’t know.
Social Media Agency for the Heavy Industry Sector
Working with social media agencies has become a favorable way for heavy industry businesses to create a positive social media presence and strong relationship with its current and prospective customer demographics.
The benefits of working with an agency are numerous. These professionals know how to reach the right audience at the right time. They understand the importance of creating engaging content. And they know how to measure results.
So, if social media advertising is one of your critical business activities for your company in the heavy industry sector and you need a help to manage your heavy industry social media advertising, contact us today! We’d love to chat.
