One challenge we often hear our manufacturing clients discuss is the ability to attract and retain key talent. With many in the industry on their way to retirement, it’s been a struggle to fill those opening positions with younger employees. In fact, a recent study from Deloitte estimates that 2 million manufacturing jobs will go unfilled by 2025 due to lack of interest and skill set in the younger generation.
With a heavy shift in the way people search for jobs, an up to date online presence is crucial. The truth is that younger generations trust organizations with an up to date web presence. The good news is, with help from a solid digital marketing strategy, companies in the manufacturing industry can more easily connect with the younger audience they’re after.
Branding your company online is an opportunity to change the way the industry is often viewed (i.e.: outdated) and let future talent know that it’s still possible to have a successful and exciting career in manufacturing.
Here are a few suggestions on how to create a digital presence that will engage and retain the next generation of manufacturing.
Build Your Brand
Building a brand includes more than choosing consistent fonts, colors and logos. It means defining who you are as a company and understand the people you want to reach. This includes both potential clients and future employees.
What kind of message do you want to send? How do you want those that interact with your brand to feel after they’ve left? Take the time to evaluate your company as a whole and build a brand that will reflect your company’s values.
Creating a strong brand trickles through to all that you do. If people can identify with your company, there’s a better chance they’ll be interested in joining the team. Everything from website design and content strategy, to social media profiles and job descriptions should give a candidate a sense of who your company is.
If people can identify with your company, there’s a better chance they’ll be interested in joining the team.
Be Present On Social Media
It’s shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that we’re advocates of maintaining an active social media presence. It’s a powerful tool for networking with not only potential clients but also employees on a platform they’re comfortable using.
Aside from keeping people up to date on employment opportunities, social media is great for giving people a sneak peak into your company culture. This could include things like videos or photos of your team in action, updates about new equipment or technology and even the fun things like company outings. In short, use social media to show people what it’s like to work for your company and educate them on the industry.
Don’t Forget To Optimize (SEO)
SEO has become quite a buzzword in the past few years and rightfully so.
Optimizing the content on your website, blog and social media with keywords and phrases that your target audience use helps you get found. Whether they’re searching via Google, LinkedIn or another search platform, speaking the same language helps you connect to your audience.
Be Consistent With Your Digital Marketing Efforts
Consistency is key when it comes to any form of marketing but especially in the online world. These days it’s not as simple as creating a LinkedIn profile or blog for your company, posting a few occasional updates and waiting.
Digital marketing is rapidly changing and becoming comfortable can be a huge detriment to your marketing success. This means updating your website, blog, and social media is important. In the online world, presence is everything and if a potential employee comes across a website or social media profile that hasn’t been updated in months (or worse, years) it sends the message that the company as a whole is living in the past.
Not exactly enticing to a generation that thrives on continual change.
Creating and seeing results from a digital marketing strategy is a process but the results gained from an active brand are more than worth the effort.
If the thought of building an online presence is overwhelming or you’re confused about how to get started, don’t hesitate to reach out. Our proven processes help our clients connect with their ideal customers, generate leads, and reach their business development goals.
