The digital transformation of the manufacturing industry has completely changed how companies connect with their audiences. In the past, manufacturers relied on brand recognition and product advertisements to capture attention. Now, they must find ways to stay relevant in a world where content is consumed online and filtered by algorithms.
Author Radiana Pit | Copperberg
Photo: Freepik
To succeed, manufacturers need to create content that truly offers value and resonates with their audience. It’s no longer enough to simply present what they do—they must explain why it matters. This new reality poses a particular challenge for legacy companies that have long depended on their brand reputations. Agile competitors are getting ahead by tailoring their messages to address specific problems and meet the needs of their audiences.
With so much content available in the industry now, manufacturers can differentiate by creating thought leadership assets that build trust and credibility, and boost engagement. Such assets translate technical expertise into actionable insights, proving how solutions benefit the audience rather than merely presenting the solution.
In the second episode of Copperberg Conversations on Manufacturing Matters, Lisa Hellqvist, Managing Director, and Malin Mostofi, Marketing Director, discuss the key aspects of a successful thought leadership strategy—and you don’t want to miss out on it.
1. Understand Your Audience
To become a thought leader, you need to know your audience—not just in a broad sense, but deeply understand the challenges, motivations, and goals of the people you are trying to reach. As Lisa Hellqvist explains, you must contextualize your solutions for the audience and help them understand “what’s in it for them.” You have to focus on what your audience wants to hear from you and not on what you want to tell them about your solutions. You can only connect your solution to their problem if you know what that problem is. Then you can craft content about your solution in a way that makes sense to your audience.
For example, if you’re addressing artificial intelligence (AI) in manufacturing, consider how the message changes based on your audience. A CTO may want to know about AI’s role in system integration, while a service manager might be more interested in its ability to reduce downtime. On the other hand, a product designer may look for information on how AI accelerates prototyping. These nuances make all the difference in creating content that feels relevant.
And as Lisa points out, keeping your language accessible is key. You “can’t write something extremely technical for a target audience that has no technical background. That makes no sense.” Instead, emphasize outcomes and processes that align with their level of understanding.
2. Be Specific But Broad Enough
There’s an art to finding the right balance between targeting a specific audience and keeping your message broad enough to reach more people. On one hand, niche content can feel tailored and impactful, but it risks being too narrow to engage a meaningful number of stakeholders. On the other hand, overly generic content may miss the mark entirely.
As Malin Mostofi suggests, “something in between” is your best bet. For example, if you’re creating an asset on sustainability in manufacturing and focus only on recycled materials in aerospace components, your audience might be too narrow. On the flip side, a generic overview of green manufacturing might be too broad to engage anyone meaningfully. Instead, something in between—like exploring adaptable sustainability strategies with examples across multiple industries—ensures your content is both targeted and versatile.
Malin emphasizes that using a balanced approach is essential for a campaign’s success. It needs to be niche enough for people to see the value in it, but it also needs to “be of value to enough people for it to be effective as a marketing campaign.”
3. Create Relevant Frameworks
Content makes a true impact when it’s actionable and not just informative. And to create actionable content, you need to build frameworks that align your expertise with what your audience needs and wants to accomplish.
Thought leadership content should not overwhelm people with technical features but rather show them how your solutions deliver real-world outcomes. As Lisa explains, “Nowadays it’s not so much the technicalities that are interesting, it’s more how these technologies sit within different processes, strategies, and how you actually enable and perform better through your organization by implementing these kinds of technologies that might be the backbone of the change or that you rely on during the change.”
Taking AI as an example again—instead of focusing on software specifics, frame the discussion around how AI improves supply chain efficiency, enhances customer experiences, or reduces costs. It should tell the audience what’s in it for them in a way that is compelling and actionable.
4. Repurpose Content Effectively
The life cycle of a great piece of content doesn’t end with its initial publication—it starts there. A thought leadership asset is the foundation for an entire communication system between the company and the audience. It must be repurposed effectively after publication to maximize its value across multiple platforms, formats, and channels.
In Malin’s words, “Once you have created that brilliant content marketing or what we call an asset that you can use, then that’s pretty much your work done for that campaign, because there are multiple ways you can repurpose this.”
For instance, a white paper can be used to further create LinkedIn posts, webinars, infographics, and blog articles. A webinar can turn into short social media clips or a podcast episode. You can create a whole universe around the asset, which enables you to more easily adapt it to specific audiences and regions.
5. Thought Leadership Is Not Blatant Advertising
A key takeaway from this podcast episode is that thought leadership should not be approached as an advertising strategy. Blunt advertising is no longer as effective as it once was, and audiences today have developed an aversion to content that sounds like a sales pitch. They prefer to engage with content they find truly relevant and meaningful.
As such, effective thought leadership focuses on solving problems, sharing insights, and offering genuine value to the audience. This does not mean that manufacturers cannot showcase their expertise, but rather that they should do it in a way that prioritizes the audience’s needs over marketing goals. As Lisa summarizes it, thought leadership is content that is searchable and valuable for the audience.
If you want to learn more about becoming a thought leader, tune into the Copperberg Conversations podcast, and discover how you can transform your content into a value-generating universe.
