Traditional outbound marketing and sales tactics may have worked well in the past. However, there’s no guarantee they will work for you moving forward. Buyer behavior is changing. If you want to ensure success for years to come, investing in digital marketing is key.
An actionable digital marketing plan will increase visibility, build better brand recognition, bring in more leads, and generate more revenue. However, with so many digital marketing tactics available, figuring out which will work best for your B2B manufacturing business can be overwhelming.
We’re here to simplify and demystify. If your company is new to digital marketing or if you have a digital marketing strategy in place, this blog lays out digital marketing tactics that will help you reach your marketing goals.
Let’s dig in.
Here Is What You'll Learn
Strategy vs. Tactics: What’s the difference for B2B Manufacturers?
While many people use “marketing strategy” and “marketing tactics” interchangeably, there are key differences that can impact the effectiveness of your marketing efforts.
A marketing strategy (in any industry) is a well-researched and targeted plan to promote and position your manufacturing products or services in the marketplace.
Marketing strategy involves foundational marketing steps like identifying and understanding the unique needs and challenges of your ideal customer profile (ICP), crafting compelling messaging that resonates with your ICP, and deciding what marketing channel you will use to reach your ICP.
Marketing tactics, on the other hand, are the steps you take to execute a marketing strategy, like creating content or sending out an email nurture. Marketing strategy gives your marketing tactics a target. If you skip strategy and jump straight to tactics, you’ll likely miss on hitting your goals.
So, before you go any further in this blog, please develop a sound manufacturing digital marketing strategy, then use the tactics we list below to ensure that strategy is successful.
Why is Digital Marketing Crucial for B2B Manufacturers?
Your manufacturing business may sell to other businesses, but businesses are never the buyers. People are. Yes, there are many different stakeholders involved in purchasing decisions, but at the end of the day, you’re still selling to people.
So, if you want to reach your ideal buyer, you need to be where they are. Before making a business purchase, many people start by conducting research online.
That’s why digital marketing is crucial for B2B manufacturers. Well-executed digital marketing expands your reach beyond traditional boundaries. It also allows you to target specific audiences, and then use those data-driven insights to further refine and optimize your digital marketing efforts. Ultimately, digital marketing tactics allow you to get your offer in front of the right person at the right time, resulting in more quality leads.
With that in mind, let’s dig into the tactics you’ll want to add to your marketing arsenal.
The Top 5 Essential Digital Marketing Tactics for B2B Manufacturers
These tactics are in no particular order, but when implemented together, they give your B2B manufacturing company a solid digital marketing foundation that can begin to bring in leads.
Tactic #1: Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
SEO is the process of improving a website’s visibility by ranking in search engine results pages. The ultimate goal of SEO is to drive organic (non-paid) traffic to your site. SEO is a broad term that encompasses many different practices, including:
- Keyword research: Identifying relevant keywords and phrases that users input in search engines.
- On-page optimization: Optimizing the elements of your website to improve relevance. These include titles, meta descriptions, headings and content.
- Off-page optimization: Building backlinks from other reputable websites. This increases your site’s authority and credibility in the eyes of search engines and plays a role in increasing rankings.
- Technical SEO: Improving website infrastructure and performance to enhance user experience and search engine indexing. This includes site speed, mobile-friendliness, and crawlability.
- Content creation: Producing high-quality, valuable content that addresses user queries and provides solutions to their needs. This helps improve search engine rankings and organic traffic.
- User experience optimization: Ensuring that website visitors have a positive experience can indirectly impact search engine rankings. This means improving navigation, readability and overall usability.
- Monitoring and analysis: Tracking website performance using tools like Google Analytics and Search Console to identify areas for improvement and adjust SEO strategies accordingly.
SEO is a crucial digital marketing tactic for all businesses, regardless of industry or niche. An effective SEO strategy can help increase your website traffic, improve your website rankings on Google, and create more leads.
Tactic #2: Pay-Per-Click (PPC)
PPC is a popular digital marketing tactic with B2B manufacturers because it can be a highly targeted and cost-effective way to get in front of your ideal prospects. PPC involves placing ads in search engines, social media platforms and other online publications.
To be successful with paid digital ads in manufacturing, you need to understand your target audience and know where they most likely go online to consume content relevant to their profession. Channels like LinkedIn ads and Google search ads can help drive traffic to your website and increase your lead generation.
Once you’ve narrowed in on the channels you’re using, you must ensure your ad offer and copy are compelling. Remember, unlike organic search, users who encounter your ads are not actively searching for your company, so you must grab their attention.
Tactic #3: Content Marketing
Content marketing involves creating valuable and informative content. Creating and publishing useful manufacturing content featuring industry trends, thought leadership and explanations for common problems helps you reach your ideal customers and convert them into leads.
Some useful forms of content include:
- Infographics: graphic representations of industry trends, statistics, and insights.
- eBooks: great for offering a broad overview of your industry and its challenges
- Blogs: informative and educational posts that address specific topics and aspects related to your product.
- Whitepapers: deeper dives into industry insights, trends, and detailed analyses that position your brand as an authority.
- Explainer videos: visually show how your product or service can solve common problems for your ideal customers
- Case studies: a great way to showcase successful projects, detailing how your solutions have addressed specific challenges.
- Sales collateral: concise, detailed documents outlining product specifications, benefits, and pricing, great for prospects who are further down your sales funnel.
Tactic #4: Email Marketing
Email marketing may be one of the older digital marketing tactics, but it remains one of the most effective for B2B manufacturers. A well-executed email marketing plan can help nurture leads and build stronger customer relationships.
Some tips for success include maintaining well-segmented lists, creating informative emails that share relevant content you’ve created, keeping the email design clean with clear calls to action, and prompting customer interest with compelling offers.
Tactic #5: Social Media Marketing
Social media marketing is often overlooked in B2B manufacturing, but it’s a great way to engage with your ideal audience and drive traffic to your website.
Maintaining a presence on the social media platforms your ideal customers use is a great way to stay in front of them. It’s also another great way to share valuable content and get involved with industry discussions. Most B2B social media obviously happens on LinkedIn; however, channels like Facebook, Instagram and YouTube are also good places to explore. If you have an audience using those channels, you should be there too.
Conclusion: Invest in your digital presence
Turning your digital marketing strategy into actionable tactics takes time, effort and dedication. But the benefits are worth it.
Executing well on these top five digital marketing tactics is a great way to begin to improve your manufacturing operation’s online presence, driving more traffic to your website, and generating more qualified leads. Keep in mind that digital marketing is a continuous process, so it’s important to assess your strategy regularly and adjust based on measurable results. Plan ahead, create consistent messaging, and keep up with current trends to create an effective digital marketing strategy that works for your B2B manufacturing business.
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