Updated April 7, 2023
Manufacturing has been a vital component of the American economy for centuries, but in recent years the industry has faced a number of problems that are inhibiting growth and making it difficult to attract new, skilled employees.
The good news is there are a variety of steps you can take to better promote your manufacturing company and draw in the talent you need.
Read on to learn about some of the problems the industry is facing and how you can work to boost your business through marketing!
What Issues Are Manufacturers Facing?
Some of the problems that manufacturers are facing when it comes to hiring include the following:
- Skilled Worker Shortage – 75% of manufacturing companies have recently seen a significant shortage of skilled workers, and 80% have seen such shortage levels of highly skilled workers, as shown in a study by The Manufacturing Institute
- Perception of the Field – Despite manufacturing being on the cutting edge of many forms of technology, many younger workers are drawn to other fields in tech, with one study showing 52% of teens see manufacturing as a “declining field” and express little interest in it
- An Aging Workforce – Baby boomers who are retiring are projected to leave an estimated 10 million jobs vacant by 2020, with the younger workers needed to replace them being difficult to find
As you can see, the manufacturing sector is being beset by numerous problems when it comes to hiring, so let’s take a look at steps you can take to remedy them.
How to Boost Employment Using Marketing
- Highlight Your Company’s Strengths on Your Site
Everything from awards your business has won to innovative products or services you offer to unique selling points should all be featured on your site to give prospective hires a sense of who you are. Showcase health benefits, vacation offerings, daycare services, retirement programs, your work culture, and more. - Utilize Social Media
Social media isn’t just a great way to expand your online presence and reach customers, but it can also be used to notify talented workers of job openings. Best of all, it’s free. Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram are all very useful in spreading awareness. Even industry niche sites such as ThomasNet may be able to help. And on Twitter, be sure to utilize relevant hashtags, like #manufacturingjobs or #careers and the like to ensure your posts are found. With the implementation of social media marketing, your marketing efforts will soar! - Produce a Company Overview Video
Video is increasingly popular online, but this is particularly true for those in younger age groups. With an overview video, you can highlight many of your company’s benefits and give an immediate look at your operations. And a video won’t just be useful for a platform on YouTube – you can also share it internally on Facebook and Twitter (whose algorithms prefer internal content) and post the video itself on your own site. By adding video production into your marketing efforts, you can give users a behind-the-scenes look into your company! - Boost Your Google Local Profile
Claiming your Google local profile and getting strong reviews won’t only help you to increase local web traffic, but it can give prospective employees a good idea of what to expect from your company. You can reach out to businesses you are on good terms with to get some strong reviews – most of them will be happy to help! The same can be done for Yelp. - Advertise Openings Through PPC
Pay-per-click marketing is one way to drive future employees to your business, as you can target specific keywords and phrases they are likely to be searching for. Google Ads, Bing Ads, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter are all platforms you’ll want to investigate. - Craft Posts Designed to Draw in Job Seekers
If you want to go for a cheaper option but one that requires a bit more time, you could craft posts with specific keywords related to roles you regularly need to be filled. For instance, posts utilizing a variety of terms like “engineers in Cleveland” or “manufacturing jobs in Indianapolis” could help you to increase your traffic from relevant applicants. Creating high-quality content for your target audience will help to drive traffic and improve your SEO efforts! - Have a Mobile-Friendly Site
If your site isn’t mobile-friendly and responsive, it absolutely should be for numerous reasons, not least of all to avoid being penalized by Google. But job searchers, especially young ones, hate coming across a site that won’t work properly on their phones. Make things easy for them by bringing the mobile version of your site up to speed – then watch the applications roll in! Investing in web design and development services can help with this.
With this list, you should be able to get a good start on boosting your marketing efforts and attracting the employees you need. Good luck!
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is Local SEO?
Local SEO promotes your website visibility based on the location of the search. It’s a variation of SEO, but ensures that your company’s site gets in front of users searching for products or services in a specific area.
What Are Keywords?
Keywords are terms and phrases that searchers put into a search engine. To maximize your manufacturer marketing efforts, optimizing website content for these keywords improves your visibility on results pages.
What Is a Call to Action?
A call to action (CTA) is a button or prompt that tells the user to perform a specific action. Typically, this is where you put “contact us” or “buy now.” It is what you want your viewers to do when visiting your website. Having a CTA is vital to ensure that your website viewers turn into leads.
Why Do I Need Digital Marketing?
Digital marketing is an incredibly effective way to produce more leads for your sales funnel. Plus, it can be customized to any industry and it costs less than traditional marketing efforts. With comments, messages, likes, and reviews, digital marketing also has an interactive component that allows you to create a relationship with your potential customers.
With all of this in mind, you should be able to get a good start on boosting your manufacturer marketing efforts and attracting the employees you need. Good luck!
Need Help? Reach Out to Sixth City
At Sixth City Marketing, we’ve helped a variety of manufacturing companies gain traffic, increase leads and sales, and more. Check out our case studies page to see some of our handiwork.
Does your company need a boost? Contact us today.
