SOCIAL MEDIA
Make sure you’re part of the conversation.
Stay Relevant With Social Media Marketing
Plant managers, engineers, and procurement teams do not wait for a brochure. They look up integrators, job shops, and OEMs on LinkedIn—and they judge you by whether you sound like you have run the process.
Custom Direct builds social programs for B2B manufacturers and industrial suppliers. We start with who you sell to (operations, engineering, quality, ownership), then put application-level content on the channels that reach them. LinkedIn is the primary channel for most industrial accounts. Facebook, Instagram and X (Twitter) support recruiting, culture, and trade-show visibility when those jobs matter.
If your team does not have time to post, does not know what belongs on LinkedIn versus the website, or is tired of empty “thought leadership,” we plan the calendar, write the posts, and run the pages so your company shows up in the conversations that precede an RFQ.
For manufacturers, social is not entertainment. It is how you stay findable between trade shows: brand awareness, site traffic to application and capability pages, and a wider set of the right people—not a larger pile of the wrong ones.
Organic Brand Building
Organic brand building is the part of your marketing you own: LinkedIn company and personal pages, technical blog posts, application stories, and email that goes to people who already know the shop. That is owned media. You control the message. You are not renting a booth or buying a click for every impression.
For B2B manufacturers and industrial suppliers, the workhorse is LinkedIn. That is where engineers, operations leaders, and buyers look when they are comparing capabilities—assembly automation, precision machining, metal finishing, packaging equipment, or whatever you actually sell. Organic posting means you show up in those conversations without a paid campaign attached to every update. Same idea as organic search: the content earns the attention because it is useful, not because you outbid someone that morning.
Use LinkedIn to answer the questions a plant would ask on the floor. What does the process look like? Where does the cell fail? What changed after install? Publish that on channels you control, then point people back to the pages on your site that can take an RFQ.
Think of posting organic content on LinkedIn like this:
You’re at an after-hours session with your peers, relaxing and networking after a long day walking the trade show floor.
Most everyone is wearing a name badge with important information. Everyone present has some interest and involvement in the content and subject of the show.
Like most networking events, there are refreshments, light conversation and a mingling of like-minded people…
Which would you do?
1
Walk right up to a group of people, most of whom you don’t personally know, and loudly introduce yourself, your products and your services… And, instead of waiting for a response, ask everyone whether or not they would like to take advantage of the opportunity to work with you…
OR
2
Walk up to the group, introducing yourself when it seems appropriate, and listen for a while to understand where the conversation is going. It could be about the weather, sports teams, or more likely some aspect of the trade show. As the conversation progresses you might offer insight or relevant opinions, listening to see how your input is received. As the conversation continues, you’ll be alert to cues as to what type of information you might want to share… From there you build relationships.
Too many folks select option #1 when starting out on LinkedIn - with immediate connection requests, messaging and outright rude behavior. You wouldn’t dream of doing that in person, so why do it on social media?
Content Calendars
We’ve found that keeping your content organized is the key to staying up-to-date and never missing a beat when it comes time to posting. Content calendars allow you to plan out your messaging ahead of schedule, from the posting date down to the copy of the post. That way, when it comes time to upload, you’ll only have to worry about saving five minutes of your day to copy and paste.
Our writers can work to help you create posts for your content calendar using your company’s key capabilities. In between posts spotlighting your products and services, we’ll also find industry-centric topics to write about and highlight subject matter expertise, include posts showcasing company culture, and share relevant articles pertaining to topical industry news. Positioning yourself as a valuable resource to your audience creates a reputation founded on trust, credibility, and integrity.
Social Media Management
Don’t have enough time in your day to put your content calendar to use? Don’t worry – we’ve got you covered. In addition to creating content for you to use across your social media platforms, we also manage many of our clients’ pages for them. We’ll draft out the content, wait for your approval, and then make sure your pages are being updated consistently and as often as you need.