TL;DR: Content marketing for manufacturers focuses on building trust over long, complex buying cycles by delivering helpful, educational content at every stage of the buyer’s journey. The most effective formats today include video, case studies, and whitepapers, supported by a clear strategy built around buyer needs, content distribution, and measurable KPIs. Success takes time, but consistent, value-driven content helps manufacturers become the preferred choice when purchasing decisions are finally made.
Introduction
If you’re a manufacturing marketer, your world looks pretty different from that of those in the B2C space. Buying decisions often take quarters or even years, not days or weeks. And those decisions usually involve committees, which adds even more complexity to an already long buying cycle.
That’s why the faster and more consistently you can build trust with prospects, the better. It’s also why many turn to content marketing for manufacturers. The challenge is that even if you’re using content marketing, it’s not always easy to do it well. A recent survey conducted by the Content Marketing Institute found that many marketers only feel they’re performing at an “average” level. And who wants to be average, right?
So whether you’ve been doing content marketing for years or you’re just starting to experiment, we’ve put together industry trends and strategies to help guide your path to success.
How is Content Marketing for Manufacturing Different?
The basic idea behind content marketing for manufacturing companies is that you’re building trust with content over time. While there are many manufacturing marketing ideas out there, the best approach is to play the long game.
You want your content to be so helpful that when it’s time to make a decision, you’re the obvious choice for your prospects. You can do this by creating valuable content at every stage of the buyer’s journey, from awareness to consideration, all the way to that final decision. For example, when a prospect is just becoming aware of a challenge, you might create educational blog posts, explainer videos, and basic guides.
As they start to consider their options more seriously, you might share comparison content or case studies. And as they reach the decision stage of the journey, you might go deeper with whitepapers and total cost of ownership guides. When you offer value throughout their entire journey, it becomes much easier for prospects to feel confident saying yes to your solution.
Content Formats That Drive Best Results
As you help prospects move through their journey, you’ll need to figure out which types of content they actually need. Maybe you already have internal metrics showing which formats work best for your audience. But if you don’t, you can take cues from broader research on what’s working for other manufacturing marketers.
The Content Marketing Institute’s survey dug into exactly what content types are working best right now in the industry. Here are the top three formats.
1. Video content
The majority of manufacturing marketers (74 percent) said video produced the best results with their audience. And it makes sense, right? When you’re selling complicated products, a visual representation goes a long way, especially when nontechnical leaders are part of the buying committee.
Website tracking capabilities can help you understand exactly how that content performs, including which videos prospects watch and for how long. With that data, you could create email nurturing sequences that build on your most popular content and guide prospects to the next step in the journey.
2. Case studies and real-world success stories
The second most popular format was case studies and customer success stories, with nearly half of respondents (45 percent) saying this content type produced the best results. And really, it’s no secret that buyers want proof. They want to see how your solution performed under real conditions, what pains it addressed, and what outcomes it produced.
You can also use case studies in nurturing campaigns and segment your buyers by industry, product interest, and previous website behavior. For example, a visitor who researched safety and compliance might receive a case study that focuses on those specific benefits.
3. Whitepapers and guides
The third most successful content type noted by manufacturing marketers is guides and whitepapers, with nearly half (43 percent) saying this format produced their best results. In addition to educating buyers on why a solution category is the right fit, you can also use these assets for lead generation and nurturing.
For example, when someone downloads a whitepaper, you can use progressive profiling or email nurture campaigns to continue the conversation naturally by sharing comparison guides or other helpful content. Website behavioral insights can also show where readers spend their time, which helps you understand where they may need more education.
And if you’d like some examples of how real companies are using these formats, we’ve pulled together some of our favorites here.
Building a Content Strategy for Manufacturing
Now that you understand which content formats are working well for manufacturing marketers, how do you integrate them into an actual plan? You can go pretty deep with a content marketing strategy for manufacturing, so we’ll give you a few important basics as a starting point, and you can always build from there later.
1. List your buyer types and what they need
Think design engineers, procurement officers, maintenance teams, and managers. What does each group care about? What challenges and pains do they face? Are they focused on costs, ROI, or compliance? Write all this down. And if you haven’t already, make sure this information is rooted in data. Talk with your sales team, your customer success team, and your best customers, the ones you would actually want to replicate.
2. Map out your buyer’s journey and content formats
Identify which types of content fit each stage of the journey, from awareness to consideration to decision. Also, consider how much internal bandwidth your team actually has to create the content.
3. Figure out how you will get the content in front of your audience
Will you distribute it on social media? If so, where does your audience spend time? Will you integrate it into your email channels or include it on your website?
4. Identify the tools that support your goals
Act-On’s marketing automation for manufacturers can help you distribute content in the right places, measure impact, and capture insights that show where you should spend more time. It also speeds up processes, which is especially helpful if you are tight on resources.
5. Set your KPIs
Before you launch your program, define the metrics that matter most for your team. Are you focused on generating leads, improving engagement, or driving more demo requests? Choose KPIs that align with your business goals, then establish a measurement cadence so you can track what is working and what is not, and prioritize the content that creates the most impact.
And remember, one of the most important things about content marketing for manufacturing is that it takes time. Some research suggests 4 to 5 months to show measurable results, while others put the timeline at 6 to 12 months. Basically, it is a long game.
But with a solid strategy, you can build trust over time, create results that help you hit your marketing goals, and get excited about the impact your work has on the business.
Get More from Content Marketing with Act-On
We’re personally huge fans of using marketing automation with content marketing for manufacturers because it can support many of the strategies above. Our detailed Marketing Automation Strategy Guide breaks down exactly how it can help you connect with your customers, deliver value, and build deeper relationships that earn more business.
Summary
Content marketing in manufacturing differs from traditional B2C marketing because buying cycles are longer, decisions involve multiple stakeholders, and trust must be built over time. Successful manufacturers use educational and solution-focused content to guide prospects through awareness, consideration, and decision stages. Research from Content Marketing Institute shows that video, case studies, and whitepapers consistently produce strong results by simplifying complex products and providing proof of value. By aligning content with buyer needs, distributing it strategically, leveraging automation tools like Act-On, and tracking meaningful KPIs, manufacturers can create a sustainable content strategy that drives engagement, nurtures leads, and supports long-term business growth.