As someone who has been creating industrial content and blog posts for engineers and industrial professionals for many years, I understand the difficulties and the importance of creating high-quality content that is informative, engaging, and easy to understand.
In this article, I will share my thoughts and insights on creating industrial content to help you connect with your audience and establish yourself as an authority in your target industry.
Industrial content creation: what sets it apart?
Creating industrial content is different from other types of content creation in a few key ways. First, industrial content is typically more technical and specialized than other types of content, requiring a deep understanding of the subject matter and the industry in question.
Second, industrial content is often targeted at a specific audience of engineers, industrial professionals, or other technical experts. This requires a nuanced approach to writing, using industry-specific language and terminology to communicate your message effectively.
Finally, industrial content often provides practical insights and solutions that can be applied directly to a specific industry or technical challenge. This requires a deep understanding of your audience’s needs and pain points and a commitment to providing valuable, actionable information.
The problem with creating industrial content
Here’s a direct quote from the Manufacturing Content Marketing – Insights for 2023, published by the Content Marketing Insititute.
“Manufacturing marketers struggle with creating content for the buyer’s journey, aligning content efforts across sales and marketing, and communicating internally among teams/silos.”
If it is any consolation, as you can see, you are not alone in your struggles in creating industrial content.
Whether you are writing for engineers, industrial professionals, or other technical experts, your goal should be to provide them with valuable insights and information that they can use to improve their work and stay up-to-date with the latest trends and technologies.
The last sentence is the key—your content must be relevant to their work-related challenges and fill their knowledge gaps. In short, don’t write about your perceived solutions in search of real-world problems.
Why understanding your audience for industrial content is so important
I’m sure you are already familiar with the advice, “Get to know your readers.” It becomes even more important in creating industrial content because of the audience you are dealing with—they already have some knowledge of the subject matter, sometimes more than you do.
Therein lies the challenge. Someone can be good at marketing but weak in understanding technical concepts. It is hard to find both in one person or a marketing agency unless you are like me, a Marketing Engineer. 😊
How do you discover challenges faced by engineers?
Unless you have experience in the field, you’ll need to do your homework before creating industrial content. You’ll only understand your readers’ challenges by talking to your in-house Subject matter Experts (SMEs) and customer-facing people within your company. Ask them about the kinds of questions prospects and customers ask in their conversations.
To conduct in-depth research for your industrial content, you should start by identifying credible sources of information. This might include academic journals, industry publications, and reports from reputable organizations and associations. It would help to consider interviewing industry experts and thought leaders to gain insights and perspectives you might not find elsewhere.
Get your draft reviewed by your SMEs before you publish anything. A word of caution here: SMEs are busy people doing what they do best. Don’t expect them to drop everything to help you. Refer to the chart above, 41% of manufacturing content marketers said they had trouble with “Accessing subject matter experts to create content.”
You may want to read my earlier post, Industrial Blogging Lessons Learned from Working with Technical SMEs.
Clarity without dumbing down the content
Writing good and effective technical content is about communicating complex information clearly so that your target audience comes away with a good understanding and gains insights that s/he did not have before. You’ll have a sure winner if you create an “Ah-ha moment” for your readers.
You often hear advice such as “Use simple and concise language: Avoid jargon and technical terms your readers might not understand.” I don’t wholly agree with that.
At the heart of creating industrial content is the ability to break down complex concepts into simple, easy-to-understand terms. However, that doesn’t mean you need to dumb down your copy. After all, your readers are engineers and technical professionals, not 5th graders. Using standard industry acronyms, such as ASME, ANSI, DSP, etc., is okay. You may spell it for the first use for clarity, but there is no need to avoid them altogether.
Consider using short how-to videos to explain the complex workings of a manufactured product instead of writing thousands of words.
According to the 2023 Manufacturing Content Marketing report I cited earlier, “Ninety percent of manufacturing marketers reported that they used videos in the last 12 months. They also said video produced the best results for their content marketing. In addition, 80% said their organization will invest/continue to invest in video in 2023, making it the top area of content marketing investment.”
Creating industrial content relevant to your audience is a critical and valued skill for manufacturing and industrial marketers. By creating high-quality, engaging, and informative content, you can establish your industrial company as an authority in your industry and become a trusted source of information that your readers are searching for and want.
If you need help creating industrial content, please reach out. Let’s talk about how I can help you create engaging and informative content that will help you connect with your target audience and achieve your business goals.
