Client:
Rockwell Automation is a leader in the industrial automation industry and is committed to helping its customers to achieve their manufacturing goals. The company is developing new technologies to help companies to become more digital and sustainable.
Rockwell Automation’s products and services are used in a wide range of industries, including food and beverage, automotive, pharmaceutical, oil and gas, and mining. The company also offers solutions for specific applications, such as machine safety, process control, and energy management.
Challenge:
Rockwell Automation approached 10Fold with a critical challenge: maintaining connection with the buyer-committee social media users. This meant they were not building mindshare with the same folks who would have seen a lot of their competitor’s content. Additionally, Rockwell Automation sought to increase social engagement rates, expand brand credibility, reach, and executive thought leadership.
Rockwell Automation was aware that a few of their competitors had begun to leverage B2B influencer programs to achieve these goals. Recognizing the potential of influencer marketing, Rockwell Automation sought to gain a competitive advantage by implementing a similar program.
Priorities:
10Fold was brought in to develop a new strategy and revitalize Rockwell Automation’s previous influencer marketing campaign by aligning the strategy with Rockwell Automation’s overall marketing goals. The goal of the new campaign was to create an “always-on” approach, meaning that campaigns would run all year round with various influencers and goals, such as awareness, thought leadership, and lead generation.
Strategy:
10Fold’s target audience was highly authoritative decision-makers within specific verticals, such as cyber, digital transformation (DX), and smart manufacturing. To reach this target audience, 10Fold developed a comprehensive influencer marketing strategy that included the following steps:
- Conduct a full competitive audit: 10Fold leveraged Brandwatch to look at competitor’s influencer programs to see where Rockwell could fill competitive gaps. The goals were to understand the landscape, strategy and tactics of the two closest competitors to Rockwell Automation and their sponsored influencer strategy, and analyze the content and key influencers leveraged while assessing their impact and performance.
- Identify and recruit relevant influencers: 10Fold used Brandwatch to identify and recruit relevant influencers, including social media monitoring and industry research. We based our metrics based on the influence score (ideally 60 – 70 is on par with an influencer), and audience percentiles that reflect each core industry. Once approved by Rockwell, outreach began.
- Develop targeted campaigns: 10Fold developed targeted campaigns for each influencer, based on their audience, reach, and vertical content.
- Create high-quality content: 10Fold worked with the influencers, and Rockwell Automation, to create high-quality content, such as executive thought leadership videos, and organic social posts.
- Manage and track campaigns: 10Fold managed and tracked all of the campaigns to ensure that they were meeting their goals, leveraging UTM tracking, constant influencer contact, and Brandwatch to track overall mentions.
Implementation:
Rockwell Automation’s FY2022 influencer marketing campaign focused on awareness for a multitude of their business units. We worked with a group of six influencers, including Dez Blanchfield, Guiliano Lingori, Evan Kirstel, Mark LaCour, John Nosta, and Antonio and Linda Grasso, to amplify content such as on-demand webinars, the State of Smart Manufacturing Report, blogs, and case studies.
These influencers helped Rockwell Automation to reach a wider audience and generate awareness of its products and services of 6 business units. They also helped Rockwell Automation to establish itself as a thought leader in the industrial automation industry. To track the success of the campaign we focused on link clicks, impressions, engagements and social mentions found using Brandwatch.
In addition to its focus on awareness, we also focused on executive thought leadership for FY2023. Our influencers of choice were, including Sally Eaves, Chuck Brooks, Antonio Grasso, Cyril Coste, and Harold Sinnott, to promote the State of Smart Manufacturing Report and Rockwell’s partnership with DRAGOS.
By working with these influencers, Rockwell Automation was able to reach a targeted audience and generate interest in its partnerships and initiatives.
Our ROI goals were to keep cost per click under $20.
Results: FY2022
In fiscal year 2022, Rockwell Automation’s influencer marketing campaign achieved significant results, including:
171 posts garnered:
- 2,271 mentions
- 731 retweets
- Over 33 million impressions
- Over 1,700 clicks
- Cost per Click: $18.98
- Cost per Engagement: $31.47
Rockwell Automation’s influencer marketing strategy focused on creating a diversity of assets to help reach a wider audience. These included:
- Blogs: Blogs serve as the cornerstone of Rockwell Automation’s content marketing strategy. By consistently publishing informative and valuable blog posts, Rockwell has positioned itself as an authority in their industry. These blogs likely cover a wide range of topics related to automation, manufacturing, and industrial processes. Through their blog content, Rockwell provides insights, solutions, and industry trends, which not only engage their existing audience but also attract new prospects seeking expertise in these areas.
- LinkedIn Articles: Rockwell Automation leverages LinkedIn Articles as a means of third-party validation and increased brand visibility. Collaborating with industry influencers or thought leaders to publish articles on LinkedIn helps the company reach a broader audience, especially within the influencer’s community of buyers. This strategy benefits from the credibility and reach of these influencers, making Rockwell’s content more trustworthy and shareable among key decision-makers in the industry.
- Webinars: Hosting webinars is a strategy that allows Rockwell Automation to establish thought leadership and expertise in their space. By sharing in-depth knowledge, case studies, and best practices during these online events, they increase their mental availability among buyers interested in their solutions. Webinars also provide an interactive platform for addressing specific industry challenges and showcasing the effectiveness of Rockwell’s products and services.
- Infographics: Rockwell Automation complements their blogs and LinkedIn articles with formal infographics. These infographics serve to engage and attract their audience in a creative and visually appealing way. Infographics can distill complex information into easily digestible visuals, making it easier for the audience to understand and retain key messages. By pairing these with their other content, Rockwell enhances the overall user experience and knowledge retention.
- Thought Leadership Videos: Expanding their subject matter experts’ (SMEs) thought leadership into video content is a valuable strategy for Rockwell Automation. Thought leadership videos can provide a more personal and engaging way to convey complex industry insights. These videos may feature SMEs discussing trends, innovations, and their perspectives on the future of automation and manufacturing. By using video, Rockwell connectws with the influencer’s audience on a deeper level and further solidified their reputation as industry leaders.
A key learning from this campaign was that awareness/educational content were the most effective types of content for creating website engagement. This is because influencers typically have a “cold” audience, meaning that the people who follow them may not be familiar with Rockwell Automation or its products and services. Blogs and awareness/educational content can help introduce potential customers to Rockwell Automation and its offerings in a more engaging way.
Results: FY2023
FY2023 also achieved significant results:
- 25 Posts
- 221 mentions
- 257 retweets
- Over 1.5 million impressions
- Over 500 clicks
- 436,252 Video Views
- Cost per Click: $17.87
Although we published fewer posts in fiscal year 2023, we focused on creating more informative and engaging assets, such as videos and podcasts. This was well-received by LinkedIn and Twitter users.
Based on our experience, a multifaceted content marketing strategy that includes blogs, LinkedIn articles, webinars, infographics, and thought leadership videos is key to success. Each of these elements plays a crucial role in establishing Rockwell as an authority in their industry, expanding their brand visibility, engaging their audience, and demonstrating their expertise. This integrated approach helps them capture the attention of both existing customers and potential buyers within the ever-evolving field of industrial automation.
Looking to increase your awareness and thought leadership with an influencer program? Let’s talk about how to get started.