These days, everyone does social media, not just kids and Silicon Valley startups hoping to get bought out by Apple. Even grandparents and S&P 500 companies that have been around for a century have social media accounts. It’s a trend going for well over a decade and has only picked up steam in the last couple of years. With the explosive growth in work-from-home options and increased features on all the major social media platforms, it’s clear that social media isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
Social Media – Best Practices
That brings up the question, how can the foundry industry make the best use of social media? How can businesses expand their client base by sending out a few Tweets or posting stories on Instagram? Well, there are options.
The first thing your business has to do to build any business through social media is actually to use it. A great many corporate accounts post nothing for weeks or months at a time. Yes, it doesn’t take much time to do that, but it renders even that little bit of effort totally pointless. No one pays attention to a completely inactive account. But what do you post?
That depends a bit on the platform you are using. You shouldn’t post a study on the ductility of your steel beams on Twitter. You normally wouldn’t post a long video tour of your facility on TikTok. Short videos are great for Instagram, longer ones on YouTube. Tweets should be short and to the point, while a Facebook post can go into a bit more detail. LinkedIn, of course, should be kept strictly professional. One way of using social media that will be highly tempting is to use another app to schedule your posts across various platforms without changing anything in the posts. It seems like a great idea, but it completely ignores what was said above. Different kinds of content work well on different platforms. You can get away with posting TikTok videos on YouTube but not so much the other way around. A Tweet will work as a Facebook post, but a large Facebook post won’t work on Twitter. So tailor the posts for the platform.
Understanding Goals and Intent
Understand what your goal is with each post. Do you want to recruit? Are you trying to attract business? Improve public relations? Generate press? While there will be some overlap, there should also be different kinds of posts for these various goals.
Video
Recruiting: Videos showing the working conditions and the kinds of equipment at your facility are obvious here. Posting interviews with people who have worked their way from the floor to the office would be huge for getting the attention of the young and eager.
Attracting business: Get clients to talk about how long they have been with you and how happy they are with your product. Also, highlight the different kinds of products you make and what sorts of equipment they can be found in. These can also help with recruiting, showing the types of difference one makes working for your foundry.
Public Relations
Public Relations: This is where posting about community outreach will be important. Organize company participation in Adopt a Highway or back to school programs. Also, highlight the number of jobs the foundry provides and your positive economic effect on the community.
Press and Feature Releases
Generate Press: There is a lot of overlap here with Public Relations. However, it would be best to showcase new hires, new products, and new processes that are put into use at the foundry. All of this can contribute to sparking interest in the foundry and a write-up in the local paper that will help draw in talented and eager new recruits.
While many may doubt the effectiveness of social media marketing, the truth is that it can be highly effective when utilized well. Know your audience, know why you are posting, and don’t forget – the best way to make sure it works is to hit the keyboard and start putting the company out there.
