We have talked many times about the importance of having a strong social media presence on this blog. (If you missed it, our most recent posts have been on Facebook and Twitter and how you can get the most out of these social networks.) Having a presence on social media is becoming a necessity for companies in todays digital world. It allows you to make connections, share content, expand reach, and even monitor what people are saying about you!

However, there are a lot of B2B companies that do not take advantage of the power of social media marketing. According to the Content Marketing Institute, a lot of them are in the manufacturing industry. In a recent benchmark report, the CMI found that manufacturing companies use social media platforms less frequently compared to other B2B industries. If you are in the b2b manufacturing industry, establishing yourself online with a strong social media presence can be just the thing to give you an edge over your competitors. So fear not! In this post, we will take a look at the many benefits for manufacturing companies in the Twittersphere and how you can utilize it to get ahead of your competition. After that, we will look at 5 companies with great Twitter game and what makes them so effective.

The Benefits of Twitter

Lets start with the core concept of social media. What is social networking exactly? Wikipedia defines social networking as a platform where people can go to build social relations among people who share similar interests, activities, and connections. Social networks are so popular because people can stay informed, voice their opinion, connect with friends, and share interesting content. What makes Twitter so great? Twitter makes it incredibly easy to monitor relevant keywords, phrases, and even your name. So you can stay on top of news in real time and even connect with people talking about the same thing.

Two tools that I personally recommend is Twitter Advanced Search and the Hubspot social media monitoring tool. The advanced search feature on Twitter allows you to tailor search results to certain keywords, people, places, and dates. By refining your search results, it gives you access to focus your social media strategy on the right people and the right keywords.

Personally, I use the Hubspot social media monitoring tool for the clients I work on. Not only can this tool monitor keywords and people, it is integrated with the rest of your marketing. So I can monitor their contacts database which means I can spend more time connecting with people who will bring the client a higher return on investment.

At the same time, Twitter allows you to be a transparent company. Your potential customers want to see who you are at the core. They want to see your brand personality, core values, ethics, and even how you treat your employees. It shows that you are proud of who you are and what you do. You have nothing to hide. That is how you earn trust from potential customers.

Manufacturing Twitter All-Stars

1. JWB Manufacturing

JWB manufacturing is a manufacturing company that creates and distributes wire cutting and stripping blades. Check out the tweet below. JWB Manufacturing categorizes their tweets by using appropriate hashtags. Utilizing hashtags also optimize those tweets in the twitter search tool.

Fun Fact Friday! Did you know our #WireProcessing Blades are priced up to 60% lower than OEMs and satisfaction guaranteed? #manufacturing

— JWB Manufacturing (@BladesbyJWB) February 20, 2015

2. SugarCreek

SugarCreek, a manufacturer in the food industry, produces a lot of quality content that is geared toward their buyer persona. They are using Twitter to get more eyeballs on their content which in turn brings more qualified visitors to their website.

Will Snackification Lead to an Oversaturated Breakfast Market? http://t.co/CCCvB780Zz

— SugarCreek (@sugarcreekfoods) April 17, 2015

3. Banner Engineering

Banner Engineering, a manufacturer that designs and distributes sensors, tweets out videos that they made. Instead of a tweet with a copy and a link, they invite their twitter followers to watch a video.

The Q4X can solve even the most challenging distance-based, part-detection applications. http://t.co/VtH4wbZoIV

— Banner Engineering (@BannerSensors) February 16, 2015

4. Solidia Technologies

Solidia Technologies makes the list because of their use invoking a response. In the tweet below, they shared their passion to get more women in the STEM industry. 

We need to get more women in #STEM fields. Here's our technician Kornelia on the job. http://t.co/IhRQ0Cd2M0 pic.twitter.com/C21JEuJhGB

— Solidia Technologies (@SolidiaCO2) April 11, 2015

5. Proto labs

Last but certainly not least is Proto Labs. Along with their tweets, Proto Labs attaches an image. Attaching images to tweets gives the tweet more context and catches the eye of the user. 

Our latest @ProtoLabsAward recipient, @HushTechnology, might get you some much needed sleep. http://t.co/WP66PDB8Wp pic.twitter.com/GuJiVxU3ym

— Proto Labs (@ProtoLabs) April 14, 2015

Bottom Line

People love to interact with other individuals or organizations that share similar interests as them. By utilizing what Twitter has to offer, you can always be on top of your Twitter game and experience higher Twitter ROI. Have any questions? Lets chat.