One of the industries that I work with that doesn’t blog the most are those who are in the  manufacturing industry.  “Why should I blog?  What would I possibly blog about?” they almost always ask me.

It astounds me how many business owners are completely unaware of just how awesome a blog is for their online presence.  As a matter of fact, it blows my mind how many manufacturing companies are completely unaware of how an online presence can benefit them at all!  Some of the benefits of having a blog are:

  • It’s an easy web publishing solution!  You don’t need to know anything about web design or HTML to add content to your site; you can do it all right through your blogging platform
  • It will build a community.  Blogs that are well maintained and frequently updated will get a community of followers, many of which will help promote your business and give you a boost in the search engine rankings
  • Higher rankings in search engines.  Having backlinks (visitors) isn’t the only thing that will help increase your search engine ranking.  Having a constantly flow of fresh content hitting your website will bring you to the first page of Google search results
  • It’s cheap (if not free).  That’s music to every business owners’ ears. The only cost that a blog will incur is cost on your time – unless you hire on a professional blogger or inbound marketing firm to take care of that for you.

As for what you should blog about, the answer is… everything!  There are a lot of things that you can blog about regarding the manufacturing industry, a lot of things that are not only going to be of the interest to people who are visiting your website, but things that will win over potential clients and customers and bring you more business!

If you’ve been sitting there with a pen and paper for a while and wondering just what you can say in your blog, here are a few of our ideas:

Tip: To learn how to easily set up a successful blog, check out our FREE Ebook, “How to Start a Business Blog.”

Stories about your Experience

Telling stories about your experience in the industry is far more valuable than writing down what experience you have on a resume to get a job.  Write stories about your most challenging jobs, and what you did to overcome some of the obstacles that you had.  Write stories about the favorite jobs that you’ve had and why you enjoyed them.  Tell people what you’re passionate about and what drives you to be in the industry that you’re in today.  Unique stories like this that will not only allow people to get a glimpse into the “real you”, but stories like these will also tell anyone who’s interested in your company that you’re qualified for the job.

Promote Safety

One of the best things that any manufacturing company can do is promote their safety.  If you have insurance and safety certificates to show that you’ve  completed all of the required and perhaps additional courses, then that’s great.  Definitely boast about that.  But you can also post blogs about how you encourage safety in the workplace.  Post blogs about how you ensure that your workplace is safe, and how everything is up to code. What machines do you use?  What are their safety triggers?  How often do you train employees on the safety procedures in the factory?  These are things that potential clients and customers will want to know.

TIP:  What’s even better than writing about your safety practices is SHOWING your safety practices.  All you need to create a safety video is to get your digital camera, or even your smartphone, and take it around the factory  or manufacturing site with you.  Conduct interviews with your first aid attendants.  Show people where the safety switches on your machinery are, and what other practices you follow to ensure a safe and health workplace.

What’s Hot in your Industry?

What’s going on in your industry?  What’s the buzz?  What may seem like stale subject matter to you may not be so stale to those who are unfamiliar to it.  For example, if you’re in the wood manufacturing industry, you may want to talk about how particular vermin or insects can affect the quality of the wood that you use  to create the doors you make.  If there has been something in the news related to your industry (such as an explosion inside a wood chip mill), curate that content and make that story your “own”.  Talk about your concerns, your fears, and your hopes for your industry, and where you would like to see both it and your company go in the future.

Key Takeaways:

Don’t underestimate the power of a blog!  Not only are you allowing people to learn to trust you and your company through blogging, but they’ll also see you as a company that’s competent and able to get the job done right.

Need Help?

If you’re a manufacturer and are interested in starting up a successful blog, contact us today to schedule your free marketing analysis.