What’s the best channel for marketing an engineering or manufacturing company?

It’s one thing to build a successful business, but effectively marketing it is another job entirely, especially since you’ve got a finite budget to do so. The success of your campaigns can often heavily rely on the type of channel you use, and how effectively you use it. Using the wrong type of channel – or spreading your marketing budget too thin – can hamper your ability to get leads and a good return on your marketing spend. So, if you’re just starting out with digital marketing, or your existing campaigns aren’t getting results, then one of the first questions it often makes sense to ask is: What’s the best channel for marketing an engineering or manufacturing company?

It’s a simple question, but one that’s not necessarily got a straightforward answer. There’s no universal one-size-fits-all. It all depends on where your customers are congregating, as well as how they’re searching in your industry, and engaging with your business. It’s a question at the root of our campaigns whenever we start working with a new client here at Redfern Media, so you can count on us to help you out. So, let’s start at the beginning.

What makes manufacturing marketing different?

While manufacturing marketing can accurately be considered a type of B2B marketing, it differs from most B2B marketing in a couple of crucial ways – it’s more technical, more specialised, and more complex. 

Products in this sector often have long operational lifespans, and they can be crucial to the day-to-day running of a business. Because of that, the buying process tends to be slower and far more cautious. Decisions are driven by risk avoidance just as much as opportunity

Some of the biggest risks that buyers are trying to avoid generally include halts in production, safety incidents, expensive downtime, or even punitive action due to non-compliance. This focus on risk aversion naturally leads to a strong reliance on research, evidence, data, and proven performance. 

As part of this, there are also typically multiple decision-makers involved in a purchase – including anyone from engineers and procurement teams to operations managers and finance specialists. What’s more, they’ll all have their own different priorities:

• Engineers may be focused on technical capability and reliability 
• Procurement teams are often concerned with cost, supplier stability, and contractual risk 
• Operations managers care about continuity, efficiency, and integration into existing processes
• Finance teams are looking at long-term value and return

For your marketing to be at its most effective, it has to be able to properly connect with all these different demographics, and properly communicate what they’re looking for, without diluting the overall message. 

Now, the shift to digital over the past few decades has been a particularly seismic change for manufacturing marketing, because it’s historically heavily relied on in-person interaction, and established relationships. That means there was a particularly strong focus on trade shows, industry events, factory visits, and live demonstrations, alongside written marketing collateral such as brochures, catalogues, and trade publications. They’re all still vitally important to the sector as a whole, but they’re now most effective as part of a hybrid marketing mix, supported by digital channels that connect with buyers much earlier in the process. 

According to recent statistics: 

• 67% of the buyer’s journey is now done digitally. In fact, B2B buyers typically complete between 57% and 70% of their buying research before contacting sales

• 9 out of 10 B2B buyers say that online content has a “moderate” to “major” effect on their purchasing decisions

• 62% of B2B buyers say a web search is one of the first three resources they use to learn about a solution

What channels are available?

Before we go any further, let’s start by clarifying exactly what we mean here by the word “channels”, as it’s often used fairly loosely by different marketers, agencies, and software platforms. Sometimes they’re using it to refer specifically to social media platforms, sometimes to distribution methods, or even to entire marketing disciplines. Here, we’re using it in the broadest sense – that is, to mean any route through which buyers can engage with your business, evaluate your credibility, and complete a transaction. 

Offline channels

Offline channels are generally centred around direct interaction and established industry presence. They tend to be relationship-led, reputation-driven, and closely tied to trust and credibility, which is why they’ve remained important in engineering and manufacturing for so long. These channels often carry more weight once a buyer has narrowed their options, and they’re now looking for reassurance around capability, scale, and reliability.

Examples include:

• Trade shows, exhibitions and other industry events
• Seminars, plant tours, and sales meetings
• Direct mail and printed collateral
• Networking groups and trade bodies

Online channels

Online channels tend to shape how your business is discovered and shortlisted by potential buyers long before any direct contact with your staff. These channels influence early perception, credibility, and familiarity, and provide your customers with a way to independently validate claims and compare alternatives. Typically, if your business isn’t showing up in the right online channels, you won’t even make it into consideration for most customers.  

Examples include:

• Web search (SEO and Pay-Per-Click)
• Organic or paid social media
• Email marketing campaigns
• PR and earned media (such as editorial coverage, mentions, or thought leadership)

Why a hybrid approach works best

As we’ve touched on above, the adoption of digital channels has been arguably more gradual in manufacturing than it has been in other sectors. Traditionally, most offline channels have been the go-to routes for businesses to make strong connections with their customers. Today though, the most competitive businesses are those who employ an effective hybrid approach that mixes offline and online channels – and it’s important to prioritise them in the right order.

First and foremost, manufacturing buyers like to be informed, so that they can have peace of mind against major risks like downtime or non-compliance. This is why they’ll complete most of their buying journey online first, preferably by arming themselves with extensive technical information on your product. By the time they directly make contact with your business, they may well already have their own opinions, shortlists, preferences and specific questions for your team, who will need to have all the answers ready if you want to turn cautious prospects into happy customers. 

In order to facilitate that process, you’ll need to establish the key stages of the buyer journey, and prioritise the right channels to ensure that they’re all supporting each other in meeting your customers’ needs. 

How do you pick the best channel for your business?

This is the big question, and the answer is as straightforward as it is occasionally frustrating. Essentially: it depends.

A common trap that some business owners fall into with online channels is the idea that you need to “be everywhere”, by focusing on maximising the company’s presence across every digital space (e.g. having a profile on all social media platforms). It’s advice that could have been helpful for businesses a decade or so ago, but today it’s generally considered outdated. The algorithms have changed a lot since then, and so have your customers. Trying to do everything at once is a very easy way to end up spreading yourself too thin, and inevitably wasting valuable time, budget and energy on things that won’t bring you results. 

Instead, it’s much better to focus them into channels where you know your customers will be congregating, and therefore more open to engaging with you. That means understanding where your buyers first become aware of a problem, where they’ll go to educate themselves, and what they rely on when narrowing down suppliers. 

Take social media, for example. Consumer-led platforms such as Instagram or TikTok are generally not the best places to connect with high-level professionals involved in buying decisions, like engineers, purchasing managers or thought leaders, who almost universally tend to use LinkedIn as one of their first ports of call in the early stages of their buying journey. 

For this reason alone, LinkedIn is widely regarded as a safe bet when it comes to B2B marketing, especially manufacturing. That said, it’s important not to make too many assumptions, and instead conduct in-depth research into your buyers. This always goes a long way towards helping you understand them, so you can make informed decisions on which channels will be most effective at connecting with them. 

Define your marketing objectives
First of all, you’ll need to ensure that you and your team are clear on what success actually looks like. That means you’ll need to begin by defining your “conversion goals”. Are you trying to increase meeting or demo requests, create earlier visibility in new markets, or reduce reliance on outbound sales? Establishing clear objectives from the outset can help you to filter out channels that may look appealing, but might not actually help you achieve your goals.

Define your buyer personas
Next, you’ll need to look more closely at the decision-makers you’re planning to target. This stage of the research is about understanding who makes the decisions, and their mindset. For example, what do they care about? What are their problems or “pain points”? What information are they looking for? Don’t forget that different roles often engage with different channels at different stages, which may affect where you should focus your marketing efforts.

Conduct competitor analysis
Here, you’ll be looking at how your competitors are positioning themselves, where they’re investing, and what content they’re prioritising. This can be hugely helpful in providing more detailed insights into how your competitors are already communicating with your target audience, as well as revealing potential opportunities around them. As a bonus, it may be able to help you identify any channels that are already saturated, versus those that are underused but still credible.

Document the buying journey
Now that you’ve established your marketing goals and built detailed buyer personas, this puts you in a better position to understand the journey they take. You can now map how their awareness turns into research, comparison, and eventually action, which can make it a lot easier to see where your marketing has the most leverage. It’s worth bearing in mind that some channels may be better suited to early-stage education, while others can be more effective at reinforcing a buyer’s confidence when they’re closer to a decision.

Tailor your content, and measure for maximum impact

All of the above is going to help provide you with a much more detailed understanding of your audience, so that you can make confident and informed decisions about which channels are best to focus your marketing efforts on – especially online. It’s also important not to abandon the channels that already work. Again, the trick is not to spread yourself too thin, but focus your efforts on where they’ll have the greatest impact, so that you can make the most of your budget. 

Once you’ve identified your channels, you’ll then need to shift your focus to the type of content you’re planning to create for them. It needs to be specifically tailored for your audience – so it needs to answer their questions, address their concerns, and provide the information that they’re looking for, particularly in complex or risk-averse environments. 

Some assets you may want to consider include:

• Spec sheets
• Comparison guides
• Demo videos
• CAD drawings
• Troubleshooting resources
• Case studies

And of course, don’t forget to measure its performance with data analytics! Without clear tracking, it’s next to impossible to understand which channels are meaningfully helping you progress towards your goals. Plus, measuring performance gives you the insight you need to refine your priorities over time, allocate your budget more confidently, and ultimately build an effective strategy that maximises ROI. 

If you need more detailed or tailored guidance, that’s exactly where we can help here at Red Fern Media. With more than 20 years of experience to our name, our award-winning team encompasses paid social media specialists, content marketers, and talented web designers and web developers, which means we’ve got all the expertise we need right here in-house to help your business reach the next level of success. 

Get in touch today – 15 minutes is all it takes to explore how we can help you achieve your business objectives!

FAQs around the best channel for marketing industrial and manufacturing businesses

1. What is the most effective marketing channel for manufacturing companies?

There is no single “best” channel that works for every manufacturer. The most effective channel is the one where your buyers are already spending time, researching solutions, and evaluating suppliers. For most manufacturers, that tends to be a combination of organic search (SEO), LinkedIn, and email, supported by offline activity like trade shows. The key is to focus your budget where it will have the greatest commercial impact rather than trying to be everywhere at once.

2. Is LinkedIn worth investing in for manufacturing marketing?

Yes. LinkedIn is the primary platform where engineers, procurement managers, and operations leaders go to research suppliers, consume industry content, and build professional networks. It is widely regarded as the strongest social platform for B2B manufacturing marketing. That said, it works best when you are posting content that addresses real buyer concerns rather than just promoting your products.

3. How much should a manufacturing company spend on digital marketing?

There is no fixed rule, but a common benchmark for B2B manufacturers is between 2 and 5 per cent of revenue. What matters more than the total figure is how that budget is allocated. Spreading it thinly across every channel will dilute your impact. It is far better to concentrate your spend on two or three channels where your buyers are active, and then measure performance so you can adjust over time.

4. Do trade shows still work for manufacturing companies?

Absolutely. Trade shows, exhibitions, and industry events remain valuable, particularly for building trust and credibility with buyers who are further along in their decision-making process. The difference today is that they work best as part of a hybrid approach. Most buyers will have done significant online research before they even walk onto your stand, so your digital presence needs to be strong enough to get you on their shortlist first.

5. Why does manufacturing have a longer buying cycle than other industries?

Manufacturing purchases tend to carry higher risk. Buyers are making decisions that affect production lines, safety, compliance, and long-term operational performance. That means more people are involved in the decision, from engineers and procurement teams to finance and operations managers. Each of those stakeholders has different priorities, and all of them need reassurance before a purchase is approved. That naturally extends the timeline.

6. What type of content works best for marketing a manufacturing company?

Content that directly addresses the questions and concerns your buyers have during their research. That includes spec sheets, comparison guides, case studies, troubleshooting resources, and demo videos. The content needs to be technically credible and commercially relevant. Fluffy thought leadership with no substance will not cut it in this sector, because your buyers are looking for evidence, data, and proof of performance.

7. Should manufacturers invest in SEO or paid ads first?

If you are starting from scratch, paid search (PPC) can generate visibility and leads faster, while SEO builds long-term organic traffic that compounds over time. In our experience, the strongest results come from running both together. PPC captures demand that exists right now, while SEO ensures your business shows up consistently as buyers research solutions. The balance between them depends on your budget, your competitive landscape, and how quickly you need results.

8. How do I know which marketing channels my manufacturing buyers are using?

Start with your existing data. Look at where your website traffic is coming from, which channels are generating enquiries, and what content your prospects are engaging with. Then build detailed buyer personas based on the roles involved in purchasing decisions. Talk to your sales team about how prospects found you. Competitor analysis can also reveal which channels your rivals are investing in, and where there might be gaps you can exploit.

9. Can manufacturers rely solely on word of mouth and referrals?

Referrals are powerful, but relying on them entirely is risky. You are essentially handing control of your pipeline to other people. If a key referrer retires, changes role, or simply stops recommending you, that pipeline dries up with no warning. Digital marketing gives you a way to generate visibility and enquiries on your own terms, so referrals become a bonus rather than a lifeline.

10. How do I measure whether my marketing channels are actually working?

Track clear conversion metrics tied to commercial outcomes, not vanity metrics like impressions or follower counts. That means monitoring enquiry volume, lead quality, cost per lead, and how those leads progress through your sales pipeline. Use tools like Google Analytics, CRM data, and platform-specific reporting to connect channel activity to actual revenue. Without that data, you are guessing, and guessing with a finite marketing budget is not a strategy.