For most manufacturing organizations there are many other concerns besides content marketing, and rightfully so. There are product concerns, logistical concerns, operational concerns, research & development concerns, and sales concerns. That’s a lot of concerns. “Concerns” kind of sounds weird now doesn’t it? Did you know that phenomenon is called semantic satiation? Fun fact!
Anyways, the manufacturing industry solves large problems on a global scale. There are thousands of moving parts for these types of organizations. It then stands to reason that the industry as a whole might lag behind when it comes to the latest sales and marketing trends. For someone like me, it’s easy to stay up-to-date. It’s my job! But when your organization is involved in creating literal tangible products, then it gets a whole lot trickier.
A new report from the Content Marketing Institute, however, reveals that the manufacturing industry is starting to see some success with content marketing and believes that 2019 will be a big year for their efforts. Let’s dive into what the report has to say.
Right off the bat there’s a very encouraging statistic: “64% of manufacturing content marketers say their organization’s content marketing is much/ somewhat more successful compared with one year ago.” That’s almost 2/3rds of respondents that see their organization on the right path when it comes to content marketing.
That finding dovetails nicely with a finding about how committed an organization is to content marketing. It stands to reason that the more committed a manufacturing company is, the more likely they are to be successful. And the numbers bear that out. “52% of manufacturing content marketers report their organization is extremely/very committed to content marketing.” There’s no time for half-measures; to find success with content marketing an organization needs to be fully committed.
There’s no point in investing time, money, and resources into content marketing if it doesn’t come with any benefits. And one of the most important benefits that comes from a sound content marketing strategy is that buyers see an organization as a trusted resource. Today’s buyers need to know that what they’re reading comes from a reliable source, one that isn’t just trying to shove a product down their throats. Manufacturing content marketers see the best results for establishing this important level of trust: “90% of manufacturing content marketers agree that their audience views their organization as a credible and trusted resource.”
While the manufacturing industry is clearly focused on improving their content marketing efforts, there is one aspect that lags behind: technology. One of the most important parts of being successful with content marketing is to have a solid technology stack that supports your efforts. 81% of respondents classified their organization’s proficiency with content marketing technology as intermediate or below. One major area the manufacturing industry should focus on is improving their relationship with content marketing technology to help unlock even more efficiency.
If you’re in the manufacturing industry, the entire Content Marketing Institute report is worth a read. It reveals an industry that is beginning to fully embrace the content marketing revolution, the steps it is taking, and the areas that need some improvement.
