Digital and content marketing have taken manufacturing companies by storm. And content is a powerful tool to attract manufacturing leads — then convert them into customers. But without tracking the right metrics and testing a variety of channels, you may be leaving leads on the table. So study up on these manufacturing marketing trends and statistics to inform your strategy.

Manufacturing Marketing Trends:

Content Usage and Sophistication

85% of manufacturing marketers are currently using content marketing. And of the 15% of nonusers, 53% say they plan to launch a content marketing effort within 1 year. Conversely, 43% had no immediate plans to begin using content marketing, and 3% had used content marketing in the past, but stopped.percentage of manufacturing marketers using content marketing

Only 1% of manufacturing marketers assess their organization’s content marketing maturity level as sophisticated. But in order to grow your content marketing maturity, it’s important to assess your current efforts: Are we generating leads? Furthermore, is our marketing communications reaching the right people? Then, you can set relevant goals.how manufacturing marketers assess their organization’s content maturity

33% of manufacturing marketers say their organizations have clarity on content marketing success. Moreover, it’s nearly impossible to measure the success of your marketing programs if you don’t know what success looks like for your organization. For some, it’s a 10% increase in website conversions. But for others, it may be a 25% increase in re-conversions through the sales funnel.manufacturing marketers whose organizations have clarity on content success

82% of manufacturing marketers attribute more content creation for an increase in success over last year. Ultimately, consistently creating high-quality content driven by data is the best way to realize success from your content marketing program.factors contributing to manufacturing marketing success

Manufacturing Marketing Trends – Content Strategy

67% of manufacturing marketers blame not enough time devoted to content marketing for their stagnant success over the last year. Time is a limited resource. Yet it’s a necessary ingredient for content marketing success. Therefore, organizations struggling to find more time should consider hiring a B2B agency for content creation.

31% of manufacturing marketers have a documented content marketing strategy. Benjamin Franklin once said, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.” Yet while 46% of manufacturers say that they have a strategy, if it’s undocumented, your entire team won’t know how to execute the strategy on an ongoing basis.

71% of manufacturing marketers who have a content marketing strategy include a plan to operate content marketing as an ongoing business process, not simply a campaign. Moreover, this is an important distinction for content marketing success: You must make ongoing efforts to incorporate content marketing into your company’s overall business strategy.

Manufacturing Marketing Trends – Content Analytics and Analysis

76% of manufacturing marketers use analytics tools. One of the most difficult, yet important, components of a content marketing program is the ability to measure success. So an effective analytics tool — like HubSpot, Google Analytics, and others — can help your organization measure ROI easily.

58% of manufacturing marketers use website analysis to learn about target audiences. Therefore, you must analyze what your prospects are viewing and converting on during website visits. Then, you can develop content to address their needs, answer their questions, and increase conversions.

Manufacturing Marketing Trends – Inbound Channels

78% of manufacturing content marketers use some form of inbound marketing. Specifically, SEO, social media, content publishing, and even paid advertising are several common “inbound” ways that marketers can attract target audiences.

44% of manufacturing marketers believe that social media will be the most critical tactic to content marketing success. Newsletters, videos, blogs and eBooks aren’t far behind. Furthermore, a healthy mix of inbound and outbound tactics are necessary for long-term content marketing success.

92% of manufacturing marketers use email to distribute content. On average, marketers use five different channels. And this mostly includes email and various social media to boost content awareness.

98% of manufacturing marketers use some form of paid content promotion. Specifically, marketers use four different methods on average, including paid social, banner ads, native advertising, and various content discovery tools.

Manufacturing Marketing Trends – Organizational Goals

71% of manufacturing content marketers list lead generation as a top organizational goal. Yet other top contenders include brand awareness, engagement, sales, and lead nurturing.

46% of manufacturing marketers use conversion rates as a metric for content marketing success. Furthermore, others look to website traffic, sales, and lead quality as top metrics to measure their content ROI. However, in order to drive business growth, we advise to focus on conversion and sales above all.

In conclusion, manufacturing marketers are expanding into new tactics, and analyzing metrics to discover what resonates. So in your own strategy, practice a mix of content and promotion channels, while aways tracking conversions through your sales funnel.