The Alternative Marketing Channels that Companies Should Think About!

The rampant onslaught of digitalization in the form of digital devices and internet has marked the need to change the traditional paradigm of marketing. It’s due to the simple fact that any marketing, regardless of its grandeur, is effective if and only if it reaches to the intended audience. And considering the gigantic penetration that digitalization has achieved, there is no guess to know where the actual customers are residing. It rings true for industrial sector also as the key decision makers – the potential clients of industrial companies – have accounts on professional networks like LinkedIn. That’s where the need of digital marketing for industrial sectors sneaks in.

However, different digital marketing channels exist because each one specializes in different kinds of content and different interactions. For industrial sector, which isn’t recognized for offering products that ensure general buzz, it’s extremely important to know which channel can give you best results. And this inability to identify the right channel and its right use is precisely what has created the chasm between the industrial sector and social media. That’s understandable as the possibility of wasting time and money on an ineffective social media channel scares away many industrial companies. To clear your vision regarding this problematic terrain, we will try to explain multiple channels in brief.

1) Search Engine Optimization (SEO):

Note that business buyers do not contact suppliers directly until 57% of the purchase process is complete. It’s as clear as a day that before the first contact is made, the buyers generally form opinions, learn specifications, and narrow down options without the influence of the industrial manufacturer. It is pointing towards the need to become more discoverable to your potential clients. That’s where Search engine optimization, the process of increasing the quality and quantity of website traffic by increasing visibility of a website or a web page, can become your silver bullet.

However, the prerequisite to rank your website is that your site’s content should match the search query. What it means is you should have specific pages and information about what people are looking for through a search query.

Of course, starting from changing copy and tags to the addition of new original content - optimizing a website to rank demands a consistent streak of myriad actions. With the help of consistency and able monitoring, it’s possible to generate more leads.

2) Go For Digital Advertising:

Though traditional advertising isn’t yet totally dead, it is becoming less efficient in comparison with its digital counterpart. The main reason is the high cost that the traditional marketing demands and possibility of not meeting the targeted customers. On the other hand, Programmatic advertising empowers a business to target customers in personalized form through specific demographics - such as domain, occupation, and other areas of interest - without knowing them in advance. Though digital advertising comes in various formats, some of the few common forms are –

A) PPC Ads:

A text-based ad popular on search engines and blogs, PPC lets you get a link and description in front of many readers, and you will only have to pay if they click. That’s the reason why PPC leads are 50% more likely to convert than organic leads. Through Google Adwords, which will show your PPC ads on the Google search page and affiliate sites, you can improve your brand visibility strategically and cost effectively.

B) Display Ads:

By using image or animation to affiliate sites, display ads function like an Internet billboard. Though they are a bit more flashy and costly, they make a lasting impression on the buyer’s psyche. It mainly has to do with their higher recalling value.

C) Social Media Ads:

With immense user base, there is nothing that can defeat social media when it comes to reach. Social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and Reddit, thus, automatically become an ideal platform to promote a post to a targeted group of readers.

3) Video Production:

Since man is capable to comprehend more through eyes, visuals are the preferred mode of conveying information. Naturally, videos have emerged as one of the most popular forms of content on the web. The eye-grabbing nature of videos can generate interest in your brand and industry practices.

Note that with complex machinery, large workplaces, hazardous materials and cutting-edge science, industrial sector is perfectly poised to use the potential of video format. . That’s why shows like Modern Marvels are enjoying utmost popularity. Also, by showing how you devise a product, what thought you apply behind engineering, you can create a narrative explaining what differentiates you from your countless competitors.

Great Big Story a YouTube channel which occasionally partners with industry professionals to engage casual viewers. This recent feature from Hewlett-Packard which garnered 100 thousand views in 2 days, is a case in point here.