Manufacturers are using social media at higher rates every year. Look at which networks are most popular and how they're using them.

1. ©2014PolymerOhio,Inc.
SOCIAL MEDIA

2. What is “Social
Media”?
so · cial me · di · a
Websites and applications used for
social networking

3. What is “Social
Media”?
O Interactions among people
O Virtual communities where information is
created, shared and exchanged
O Highly interactive platforms
O You receive information and have the ability
to interact back with it (as opposed to
traditional media (newspapers, radio, TV)
where you receive information only)

4. Types of Social Media
O Social Bookmarking-tag websites
and search sites others have
bookmarked
O Del.icio.us, Blinklist, Simpy
O Social News-vote and comment
on news articles
O Digg, Propellor, Reddit

5. Types of Social Media
O Social Networking-add friends,
comment on profiles, join groups,
engage in discussions
O Facebook, Twitter, Hi5, Last.FM
O Social Photo and Video Sharing-
share photos/videos, comment
O YouTube, Flickr

6. Types of Social Media
O Wikis-add articles, modify
existing articles
O Wikipedia, Wikia

7. How Americans Use
Social Media
O Americans spent 37 minutes per day on
social media sites – they spend 33 minutes
per day on email
O Mobile app users spent an average of 9
hours 6 minutes per month on social media
usage activities
O Desktop social media usage time per month
was 6 hours 27 minutes (~13 minutes/day)
Source: BI Intelligence: A Social Engagement Primer: A Portrait of Time-
Spend and Activity on the Top Social Networks

8. How Manufacturers
Use Social Media
O Research and Development
O Product Training
O Create Product Excitement
O Gain Customer Feedback
O Increase Brand Awareness
O Input into Product Development
O Research, source and collaborate with suppliers
O Collaborate with customers and suppliers to
research technical and system issues
O Customer retention and loyalty
Source: ThomasNet News: How Manufacturers are Harnessing Social Media

9. How Manufacturers
Use Social Media
LinkedIn (www.LinkedIn.com)
O Business connections
O Highlight areas of expertise
O Social networking for B2B and B2G
O Connect with clients
O Most popular B2B social network-85%
participation among manufacturers
O Weakest execution among users (they’ve
updated a lot, revisit your page!)
Source: ThomasNet News: How Manufacturers are Harnessing Social Media
& SBN Interactive: B2B Manufacturing Social Media Report

10. How Manufacturers
Use Social Media
YouTube (www.youtube.com)
O How-to videos
O Maintaining your product videos
O Promote features and benefits of products
O New product introduction
O 4th most popular social network
O Highly integrated within companies – well
used
O >50% of users are ‘product manufacturers’
Source: ThomasNet News: How Manufacturers are Harnessing Social Media
& SBN Interactive: B2B Manufacturing Social Media Report

11. How Manufacturers
Use Social Media
Facebook (www.Facebook.com)
O Social network
O Share photos, videos, blog links, plain text,
infographics
O 2nd most popular social network of
manufacturers
O Companies of all sizes have embraced
Facebook
Source: SBN Interactive: B2B Manufacturing Social Media Report

12. How Manufacturers
Use Social Media
Twitter (www.Twitter.com)
O 140 character limit
O 3rd most popular social network of
manufacturers
O Professional but conversational tone most often
used
O Broad variety of content: jobs, job fairs, contests,
employee interviews, charitable work, trade
show/webinar promotion, blog links, product
information, corporate news, speaking
engagements, white papers, and more!
Source: SBN Interactive: B2B Manufacturing Social Media Report

13. Tips for Social Media
Success
Which type of organization are you?
O Social Advocate – basic user, one person in
your organization manages
O Social Teams – you have a department
dedicated to social media and marketing
O Social Business – you have a few teams
dedicated to social media
O Social Enterprise – you have policy
governing social engagement, you are using
social media internally and externally
Source: hootsuite: 8 tips for social business

14. Tips for Social Media
Success
Step 1: Evaluate
O Are you currently using any social media?
O Where will it allow you to reach your
customers or stakeholders (marketing
department, HR)?
O Should you develop internally or
externally?
O What can you afford to dedicate to it,
time- and cost-wise?
Source: hootsuite: 8 tips for social business

15. Tips for Social Media
Success
Step 2: Organize
O Who within your organization will
handle social media?
O If using more than one network, learn
how your customers engage on each
one and target with appropriate
content
Source: hootsuite: 8 tips for social business

16. Tips for Social Media
Success
Step 3: Listen & Learn
O Monitor for not just “likes” or
“follows”, but mentions and actual
interactions – clicks to your Website,
downloads of materials, etc.
O People are talking about you – be
sure to join the conversations!
O Gather feedback and analyze
Source: hootsuite: 8 tips for social business

17. Tips for Social Media
Success
Step 3: Listen & Learn
O Gather feedback and analyze
O 51% of consumers want to learn about
new products on social media but
73% of companies think that’s what
customers want
O 61% of businesses think consumers
want to be part of a community – only
22% actually do
Source: hootsuite: 8 tips for social business

18. Tips for Social Media
Success
Step 4: Engage to Build Community
O Acknowledge your customer’s voice
and respect what they say – if it is a
complaint, reach out to tell them you
are working on a resolution
O Make a friend first, a sale second
O Give advice
O Offer discounts (relevant to your
brand)
Source: hootsuite: 8 tips for social business

19. Tips for Social Media
Success
Step 5: Collaborate
O Encourage teams to share learning
O Keep messaging consistent among
teams
Source: hootsuite: 8 tips for social business

20. Tips for Social Media
Success
Step 6: Secure
O Secure your accounts so employees
don’t accidentally tweet personal or
inappropriate messages to business
accounts
Source: hootsuite: 8 tips for social business

21. Tips for Social Media
Success
Step 7: Measure
O What is your ROI?
O Track click-throughs and deeper
engagements
O Evaluate which networks are working
for you and which aren’t
Source: hootsuite: 8 tips for social business

22. Tips for Social Media
Success
Step 8: Amplify
O Hone your message around what is
well-received and what isn’t
O Invest in tools that can help you
Source: hootsuite: 8 tips for social business

23. % of Manufacturers
Using…
O A different study by the Content Marketing
Institute indicates that manufacturing
marketers place more emphasis on
customer retention and loyalty than B2B
marketers
O The top 4 are the same as in the SBN
report, but in a slightly different order
O Variations in data relate to different
manufacturers being surveyed
Source: Content Marketing Institute: Making Strides in the Manufacturing Industry

24. % of Manufacturers
Using…
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
Source: Content Marketing Institute: Making Strides in the Manufacturing Industry

25. Challenges for B2B and
Manufacturers
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
Manufacturers B2B Marketers
Source: Content Marketing Institute: Making Strides in the Manufacturing Industry

26. Contact Us
PolymerOhio can put you in contact with Social
Media professionals who can help you get the
ball rolling. Click our logo for more information.