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Social media · LinkedIn first

Social media for manufacturers and suppliers: every new page gets a post

Social media for manufacturers starts on LinkedIn, and we run it two ways. First, every page and article we publish for you gets a LinkedIn post in a real person's voice, so customers, suppliers and peers hear what you can now do. Second, SiteSonar names the companies reading your pages, and we hand over likely prospects there who fit your ideal customer profile, for your own people to connect with. No follower targets, no daily filler.

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See why · 3 min story

A page nobody hears about is a drawing in a drawer

A thermal spray shop publishes a good page for its new booth and tells nobody.

SHT 407, Released for Distribution: a new capability page filed in a drawer, then releasedTwo-panel engineering drawing, illustration with an invented coatings shop. Left panel, REV A as said: Thursday at 2:00 PM the shop's new HVOF thermal spray page, drawn as a wireframe with the spray booth, the coatings, parts and thickness it holds, lies in an open flat-file drawer marked filed. Its approval box is blank and its distribution reads none. The customer's buyer still files the shop under paint and powder with HVOF not on file, the distribution list of customers, suppliers, alumni and association peers is faint and not sent, and the next wear-coating job goes to a shop the buyer already knew. Right panel, REV F released: the same page carries a gold RELEASED stamp, the owner's signature in the approval box and a distribution stamp reading customers, suppliers, alumni, association peers. Beside it the owner's post shows a photo of the masking fixture, one sentence on why an even coat inside a bore is hard, and the link. A quality manager at a current customer comments; on Friday her buyer sees it and the page is forwarded to the engineer with the wear job.coatshop.test/hvof-thermal-sprayHVOF thermal sprayCOATINGSPARTSTHICKNESS665544332211DDCCBBAAREV A · AS SAIDTHU 2:00 PMREV F · RELEASEDTHU 2:00 PM, THEN FRIcoatshop.test/hvof-thermal-sprayHVOF thermal sprayCOATINGSPARTSTHICKNESSAPPROVED(BLANK)DISTRIBUTIONNONEDRAWER 3FILEDBUYER'S SUPPLIER FILESHOPCOATINGS SHOPFILED UNDERPAINT, POWDERHVOFNOT ON FILEUPDATED BEFORE THE BOOTHDISTRIBUTION LISTNOT SENTCUSTOMERSSUPPLIERSALUMNIASSOCIATION PEERSNEXT WEAR-COATING JOB GOES TO A SHOP THE BUYER ALREADY KNEWcoatshop.test/hvof-thermal-sprayHVOF thermal sprayCOATINGSPARTSTHICKNESSAPPROVEDOWNERRELEASEDTHU 2:00 PMRELEASEDDISTRIBUTIONCUSTOMERS · SUPPLIERS ·ALUMNI · ASSOCIATION PEERSTHE OWNERCOATINGS SHOP · THU 2:05 PMPHOTO · MASKING FIXTUREAn even coat inside a bore is thehard part. This fixture holds it.coatshop.test/hvof-thermal-sprayQUALITY MANAGER, CUSTOMER: COMMENTEDFRI · HER BUYER SEES ITON THE QUALITY MANAGER'S COMMENTPAGE FORWARDEDTO THE ENGINEER WITH THE WEAR JOBILLUSTRATION · NO REACH PROMISEDThursday, 2:00 PM: the new page goes live. Nobody is told.One photo, one sentence, one link, in the owner's voice.INDUSTRIAL MARKETINGAS BUILT · SHEET CARDTITLEReleased for DistributionSHEET407REVA · FDRAWN FORSOCIAL MEDIANOTEILLUSTRATION

Released for Distribution

Watch the story 3 min

What happens

  1. 01Thursday: a thermal spray shop's new page goes live. Nobody is told
  2. 02The page sits unseen, like a drawing filed in a drawer
  3. 03The fix: the owner signs off and posts it in his own words
  4. 04It reaches customers, suppliers, former colleagues and association peers
  5. 05A customer's quality manager comments, and her buyer sees it

How it works

How it works: five things, done steadily

It works through five steady habits, each one pointing the people who already know you at pages that prove what you can do.

  1. OP 10

    A post for every new page

    Each capability page we ship gets a launch post: a photo from the floor, one sentence on why the job is hard, and the link. A new coating booth is news to the people who already send you work, and they won't hear it unless someone tells them.

  2. OP 20

    The owner's voice

    People follow people. Posts go out from the owner or the engineer who knows the work, in their voice, saying what changed and why it matters to a buyer. We write the posts, and the LinkedIn versions of your blog articles, and you approve each one before anything goes out.

  3. OP 30

    A company page kept current

    Certifications, equipment, markets and the work you want, matching the website. Engineers check it before a first call, and a 2019 equipment list tells them nobody is minding it.

  4. OP 40

    Prospects your people can reach

    Every post links to a page that says exactly what you do: the process, the material, the spec. SiteSonar names the companies that read those pages and what they read, and we hand over likely prospects there who fit your ideal customer profile. Your people make the connection and the outreach. We provide the path and the data.

  5. OP 50

    Cleared before it goes out

    You approve every floor photo, and we clear it for ITAR, controlled technical data and customer confidentiality. The best posts often show the machine or the fixture, never the part.

What social media teaches IKE

IKE, our Industrial Knowledge Engine, learns from everything we do for you. Social is a light signal, and a real one. What IKE learns is manufacturing. Your record stays yours.

  • What it teaches IKE

    Which capability news customers and peers share, and which pages they read after a post.

  • What IKE gives back to you

    A launch post for each new page that already knows why the job is hard, and a company page that matches your record.

  • How IKE learns

    Everything we do for you teaches it more. See how it works, and what stays private.

Go deeper

Manufacturing examples: different floors, same move

A new page, a post from someone who knows the work, and a link. The shops are made up.

  • Coatings & finishing

    A thermal spray shop posts its new booth. A turbine repair buyer learns they do more than paint.

  • Medical device suppliers

    A contract manufacturer posts its cleanroom assembly page. The customer's quality engineer shares it with sourcing.

  • Equipment makers

    An owner explains the jam his conveyor transfer prevents, in two sentences, and links the application page.

  • Defense machine shops

    A post on a new five-axis cell shows the machine, never the part, cleared for ITAR first.

  • Connectors & cable assemblies

    An engineer posts the new overmolding cell and links the page with the cable types it covers.

  • Industrial distributors

    An application engineer posts the problem a new motion control line solves, linked to the line page.

The lessons behind social media

What it looks like

  1. A launch post

    From the owner of Kestrel Thermal Spray (kestrel-thermal.test): a photo of the masking fixture, one sentence on why an even coat inside a bore is hard to hold, one link. An invented shop, as an example.

  2. Company page, before and after

    A 2019 equipment list beside the current page, with the same certifications, machines and markets as the website. A made-up example.

How to buy this

Social media is one of the areas we help with, in any program, when your Blueprint plan calls for it. Every program starts with a paid Buyers Blueprint, because a post needs something true to point at.

Questions about social media for manufacturers

Is LinkedIn worth it for a manufacturer?

For most, yes, as a way to keep customers, suppliers and former colleagues current on what you can do. It works best when every post points at a page that proves the capability. It is not a lead machine on its own.

How often should a manufacturer post on LinkedIn?

Often enough that every new page gets a post, plus the occasional floor moment worth sharing. For most shops that is a few posts a month, and your plan sets the pace.

What should a manufacturer post?

New capabilities with a link to the page, equipment going in, certifications earned, and why a hard job is hard. Skip holiday graphics.

Do I have to be the one posting?

The owner's or an engineer's voice works best, because people trust people. We write the posts and you approve each one before it goes out. Your people handle the outreach that follows.

Will you post photos of our floor?

Only photos you approve, cleared for ITAR and customer confidentiality first.

Plan social with the rest of your program

Tell us the work you want more of. We'll show where social fits once the pages exist.

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