Digital marketing (also known as online marketing) is a term that refers to all internet-based marketing activities.
This will include focusing on things like websites and blogs, social media, and emails to engage with existing and potential new customers, and includes both text and multimedia communications (think blog posts, e-books, podcasts, long-form videos, short-form videos, etc.).
Industrial marketers generally see huge successes through digital marketing, especially because they can expand their campaigns to run over both free and paid channels.
While I’d argue you don’t really have to follow content marketing trends if you don’t want to, it’s worth realizing that we live in a digital world, and if you’re not marketing on digital, you’re definitely missing out. But, that said, the best options for you do depend on your overall marketing strategy.
One way to figure out whether or not you should be putting more time and effort into digital marketing is to fully understand what the advantages and disadvantages of digital marketing for manufacturers are. Only then will you be able to make the right decision for your engineering company!
And that’s exactly what I’ll be diving into here.
Advantages of digital marketing for manufacturers
Digital marketing unlocks many advantages and can benefit your engineering firm in a variety of ways, which I’ll go over next.
1. Wider reach
You can expand your target market by having a digital presence.
By creating engineering blog content and using social media platforms, for example, you can reach customers who wouldn’t have seen your print ads, or those who have seen them but want a bit more info before buying.
This is particularly beneficial for small firms, which may not be able to compete with large corporations in the traditional market, but they can be quite successful in the digital market.
2. Personalization
By going digital, you can create opportunities for more personalized marketing since you can create specialized content for your customers.
This will help you build customer loyalty and cement your brand reputation. The end goal is to let customers know you’re a brand that cares!
According to a 2024 State of Marketing Report, 94% of marketers say that personalization helps boost sales, so this is definitely an important one to focus on.
3. Accessibility
Both marketers and customers benefit from the flexibility of digital marketing.
People can access info at any time and from any location. They can even leave feedback and give suggestions that can help you plan future marketing campaigns!
4. Brand development
Creating a brand identity is important since it allows customers to learn to trust and depend on you as a company.
Digital marketing is great at this, since it really allows you to put forward a brand image that you’re happy with.
5. Better engagement
Increased engagement is one of the most significant benefits of digital marketing. By its very nature, digital marketing is more engaging than most traditional methods since it opens up the opportunity for two-way communication.
With traditional marketing methods, you’d put out an ad and hope it’ll reach the right audience. But in digital marketing, you can open up communication and create a community with your audience, where they interact with you as much as you interact with them.
Your audience can even take on some of the marketing roles, since they can share your content with their peers and help spread the word!
Good engagement and a community feel can result in customers who are loyal to your brand.
6. Improved conversion rates
Digital marketing can result in higher conversion rates, simply because it makes the whole purchasing and lead generation process so much quicker.
A blog reader interested in signing up for your mailing list or scheduling a call can do so at the click of a button. Someone interested in getting a quote can fill out a simple online form.
And someone already committed to buying a product that can be delivered can do it on your website without you ever having to get involved.
In these ways, focusing on digital strategies can help you up your conversion rates.
7. Lower cost
Digital marketing is definitely a more cost-effective method of doing business.
Traditional advertising can be really expensive, but you can start digital marketing with almost zero budget — except for the time and energy it takes you to create content.
Most tools that you need for successful digital marketing campaigns also offer free versions or at least free trials, so you can get started and test things out before making a financial commitment.
8. Trackable results
Analytics tools and other online metrics help you determine if your digital marketing efforts are working or not.
I’d suggest you turn to my guide on tracking digital marketing success if you’re interested in learning more here.
But trackable results are so important because they’ll tell you which aspects of your strategy are working and which aren’t — and give you the chance to adjust course!
This is simply not an option with traditional marketing (at least not until you’ve invested a significant amount of time and money).
Disadvantages of digital marketing for manufacturers
But, despite all the positives, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows, and there are some downsides to digital marketing.
So, let me go over them.
1. Skill requirements
Successful digital marketing efforts require specialized skills. And since technology advances so rapidly, you have to stay on top of the latest tools, platforms, and techniques, and adapt to changes quickly.
You also often need to understand quite a wide variety of tools in order to run digital marketing efforts well!
2. High competition
Since digital marketing is cheaper and there are fewer barriers to entry, almost anyone can develop the skills to compete in the global market. This means that competition is also much higher!
This is great if you’re a smaller brand that simply can’t compete in traditional marketing, but it’s also a scary spot to be in because it can be difficult to establish a brand against existing competitors, especially if these are already really well-established.
So, in order to compete well, marketers have to first focus on achieving a certain level of brand awareness so they can overcome the stiff competition and stand out!
3. Complaints and feedback
While getting feedback from your target market is great, digital avenues also open up the doors for online bullies.
You may find yourself receiving open complaints on digital channels like social media platforms or review sites like Trustpilot or your Google Business profile. These could really affect your brand’s image.
This also means you really need to focus on the customer service side of things — make sure customers have nothing to complain about, but even if they do, make sure you respond to complaints quickly and favorably. You can turn a bad situation around by being on top of it!
4. Time-consuming
Optimizing digital marketing strategies and developing the right type of content can definitely take time and effort.
There’s a lot of research and planning involved at each step, especially if you’re trying to SEO your content so it’s ranked favorably by search engines or if you’re trying to stay on top of social media trends.
Tracking results can also take a bit of time, but doing it is so important to make sure your content is working in your favor!
5. Dependent on technology
Of course, digital marketing is dependent on technology and internet access.
When links fail to work, sites don’t respond, or users lose access, all advantages of digital marketing quickly disappear. This means you need to stay on top of all the tech sides and make sure it’s never failing technology that’s causing you to lose customers.
While you can’t do anything about the internet access your customers have, you can make sure that everything on your side is set up perfectly.
6. Security and privacy issues
The internet has unique security demands, and a digital marketer needs to implement firewalls and strong antivirus defenses to secure and safeguard sensitive data.
There’s also a legal side to storing customer data, but this will depend on your region.
So, is digital marketing for manufacturers important?
I’ll let you be the judge of that, but I’d say having an online presence is important, especially these days.
Despite the challenges, digital marketing is a great way to expand to new markets and reach new customers.
If you need help creating engineering content to get your digital marketing started, get in touch.
Digital Marketing for Manufacturers FAQs
Traditional marketing tends to focus on a specific geographic area, but digital marketing can connect you to new clients globally.
You can include a variety of lead magnets in your digital marketing content, focusing on everything from gaining first-time newsletter subscribers to helping people make the final purchase.
Generally, digital marketing would be suitable for all manufacturers, but the extent to which this is true does depend on your specific industry and the ideal target audience.
