Engineering Copywriter Blog

Content marketing tips and insights to help grow your engineering audience

March 18, 2022

Why Social Media is Important for Engineering Firms

Social Media for Engineers

With approximately 4.2 billion registered members across the globe, social media has revolutionized the way we communicate. What began as a way for families and peers to share photos has evolved into one of the most effective promotional platforms for businesses. Engineering firms are not exempt from this fact.

According to a recent analysis in 2021, 78% of customers (averaged across all industries) are much more ready to purchase from a brand after a great social media engagement, and 77% prefer a product after a favorable social media encounter over a rival product without such engagement. Given the importance of these platforms as forms of customer motivation, establishing a social media profile is crucial.

Social media for engineers

The right social media strategy can improve brand recognition and link engineering firms with the engineers and customers they need. Let’s take a look at why social media is so important for improving your engineering firm’s marketing plan.

1. Brand awareness

Social media for engineers

Figure 1. The number of Facebook active monthly users worldwide

Business competition on the internet is more intense than it has ever been, making it extremely challenging for new engineering firms to acquire and retain customers. Given that 83% of Instagram members report using the network to explore new items, the platform offers a terrific way to contact large numbers of prospective clients.

Targeted advertising is yet another technique to increase your brand’s presence. On a social media platform with 2.89 billion monthly regular members, Facebook advertising alone can give you near-complete control over who sees your ads, allowing you to build targeted plans that focus on demographics, preferences, and other factors.

2. Increased traffic

Social media for engineers

Figure 2. Frequency of people clicking through to a website

When you provide exciting company updates and content on social media, your followers naturally become more interested in sharing it with their own networks. This broadens the range of your communication. You can effectively generate website traffic by linking these social updates to your website.

Many customers navigate into a company’s website via social media. Clear, easy-to-find links are critical to your marketing efforts. Eighty-one percent (81%) of individuals use social media to find corporate websites. About one-tenth of people (11%) visit company websites numerous times each day and 21% visit at least once per day.

Make sure that all of your social media profiles are regularly updated so that engineers can find your site. When you’re having a promotion or publishing an engineering blog with useful content, you can market it using social media posts. Visitors will be directed to your websites via quick hyperlinks, which will enhance traffic as well as the possibility of a transaction.

3. Connect with customers

Social media for engineers

Figure 3. The rank of channels where consumers connect with brands

With the increase of social media engagement, many brands are only now realizing the importance of engaging with clients there. But the trend is moving quickly. Companies wield social media as a promotional tool. But success is about more than the simple number of subscribers.

Engaging with engineers positively benefits the engineering firm’s income since it promotes customer trust. Based on a recent study, 76% of consumers prefer to purchase from a brand with whom they have a personal connection, and 57% are more inclined to extend their spending when they have a personal connection with the brand.

Furthermore, social media can help humanize your business. Modern clients want to see the faces behind their favorite businesses, with 72% of customers feeling more engaged with a company whose employees post content on social media.

Employee-made videos that give recommendations or commemorate special occasions such as company anniversaries are excellent for establishing relationships with clients and demonstrating a company’s dedication to transparency. 

In contrast to traditional media, which only allows for one-way communication, social media for engineers makes it possible to have an actual dialogue. Engineering firms who use social media to develop engaging content have access to the relationships that their customers will value.

4. Enhanced SEO

Strategies that focus on social media for engineers help you rank in search engines, though the link is not explicit. The hyperlinks you broadcast across networks raise brand awareness. This adds up and has an impact on search engine optimization (SEO).

If potential clients feel your content is useful enough to engage with and share, they become de-facto product advocates for you. This boosts your prominence, enhances your traffic, and creates linkages in the end. 

From Google’s perspective, such backlinks increase your brand’s entire website authority. When customers frequently share your material on social media with other engineers, it produces indicators that your postings are beneficial to the engineering customer base. This then alerts Google that your content is reputable – thus improving your search rankings indirectly.

5. Boost sales

Social media

Figure 4. Survey result shows how valuable social media channels are for engineers

Social media can guide your engineering clients from product discovery to purchase decisions. As the population of people using social media increases, so too does the value of these networks for brand discovery and e-commerce. 

In one study, engineers found Linkedin to be the 2nd most valuable source of product or service information among all the social media platforms – 22% of respondents considered it “very valuable.” That contrasted with the likes of Twitter and Instagram, which only 4% and 3% of engineers ranked as “very valuable,” respectively.

According to Facebook for Business, 83% of respondents say they use Instagram to discover new items and services, and 87% say they took particular action (such as making a purchase) after seeing product details. These Facebook stats are not, however, broken down by industry, and engineering customers appear at least somewhat less likely to depend on Instagram as an important tool.

Figure 5. Facebook survey results for Instagram users

It’s critical to optimize your account if you intend to significantly raise profile views among your target audience, transform them into followers, and eventually get them to buy. Optimizing your account will eventually boost sales by bringing buyers to your website.

6. More brand authority

Figure 6. Survey results on using social media platforms for business

Engineering customers who need your items or services can find you on social media networks. Use that space to promote your web content and technical expertise. Visitors will start to regard your engineering firm as a market leader if you have a consistent online presence that continuously provides captivating and useful content and offers meaningful connections.

You can also build online relationships with other subject matter experts (SMEs) who may then post your content on their own social media accounts. According to a study, engineers are more likely to network with other professionals than to use social media platforms for any other business-related purpose.

Establishing authority for a brand will increase customer engagement with your company. Engineering firms must remember, however, that while anybody can establish a platform on social media for engineers or for advertising, just a few will actually convert clients. To be one of those few, you must do everything necessary to optimize your social networks. It takes time and deliberate effort to develop loyalty among prospective engineering customers via social media and to make your company appear competent and enterprising.

Importance of social media to engineering firms

Engineering firms can use social media to reach and retain new customers, communicate with existing clients, and connect across professional digital forums. So, what do you have to lose? Social media, despite how it may appear on the surface, can and should be at the center of every engineering marketing initiative!

For the most recent overview of Social Media Trends for 2022, check out this in-depth article from Infinity Dish here.

Engineering firms can participate in professional trade associations, gain useful customer feedback, and generate more sales by maintaining an effective social media presence. Contact us today if you need help with the engineering content you wish to share on your social media profiles.

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