Great Content Ideas for Manufacturers – And How to Keep ‘Em Coming

Is more content writing on your to-do list for 2019? If it’s not, you might want to reconsider. Content marketing is one of the easiest, most cost-effective ways to bring site visitors to your manufacturing company’s website and to usher them through the marketing and sales funnel. Don’t believe me? Here’s a quick guide into how it works.

Using Content as a Marketing Funnel

The very first time a user visits your site, he or she is just poking around. These first-timers aren’t ready to make a decision, and they probably don’t even know what you really offer. For these top-of-funnel people, content on your website should be educational. They probably landed on your site after searching for high-level information on a topic, so provide the answers to the questions they’re searching for. The best way to do this? Through blog posts. They’re the easiest way to continually provide educational content that drives traffic back to your site.

Taking the top-of-funnel approach one step further, have forms nearby so that interested site surfers can get on your mailing or email list.

After the top of the funnel comes…wait for it…the middle of the funnel. It’s during this time that site visitor begins to see the value that your product offers. Help this process along by creating content like comparison guides, case studies, buyer’s guides and the like. These content pieces are fantastic ways to show that your product offering is superior in x, y and z ways. At the same time, avoid being too focused on the end sale; you should still be providing valuable, information material.

The middle of the funnel is usually where prospective buyers will hang out – perhaps for a long time, depending on your company’s average sales cycle. Keep the content coming so that you have new information at the ready for visitors who need extra convincing to move into the third and final stage, the bottom of the funnel.

At the bottom of the funnel, it’s time to close the deal – convert those leads into customers! Do so with content like spec sheets and brochures. This content should be promotional, but without going overboard.

Great Content Ideas for Manufacturers

If you’re using content as a marketing funnel, you need to be creating quite a bit of content – and you need to keep creating it. You might find that the hardest part is coming up with great content ideas over and over again. If that’s the case for you, bookmark this page for when you’re stumped later in the year. Here’s 6 great content ideas for manufacturers like yourself – plus tips on how to keep the ideas flowing!

Answer Commonly Asked Questions

Right off the bat, here’s our #1 tip – answer the questions that people are asking. Sit down with the separate departments in your manufacturing company and find out what questions they are asked most often. Repeat this process once or twice a year – new questions are bound to crop up.

Repurpose Old Content

Stumped for a new blog post? Scroll back in your archives and give old posts a refresh. Even better, use your Google Analytics to check out which posts get the most traffic and then focus on giving those posts a polish and update in 2019.

Gather Ideas from Trade Shows

Going to an industry-related event? Take notes and then compile those notes into a blog post. Share key takeaways for those who are interested but couldn’t attend. Use this tactic for any industry-related event – seminar, workshop, working lunch, etc.

Get Involved in the Community – and Document It

Is your manufacturing company giving back to the community in some way? Highlight it, talking about when, why and how you’re involved. This content gives site visitors insight into the culture of the company and helps them to see the humans behind the business.

Change the Medium

Got a brochure that performs really well? Turn it into a slideshare. Lots of site traffic visitors on your testimonials page? Make a video of testimonials. Both of these are ways to re-purpose the content you have, but in a fresh, exciting way.

Interview Your Customers

This tactic can be of great use in the bottom-of-funnel stage. Let your current customers convince new customers themselves! The format for this works best as a video, but feel free to try a Q&A questionnaire, too. The end result is an authentic content piece that speaks volumes about your company without you saying a single word.

These six techniques are tried-and-true – we use them here at RedMoxy ourselves. Plus, we have more up our sleeves (bonus idea: what are your competitors up to? Steal any good ideas from them!). If you’d like to focus on content marketing in 2019 but need help with strategy or the deliverables, give us a call at 888-707-0667 or contact us here.