Michael Ference Fluid Power Marketing

Keeping in line with the importance of good content for companies selling fluid power components, I am working my way through a book on the topic and I would like to share it. The title is Everybody Writes:  Your Go-To-Guide for creating Ridiculously Good Content by Ann Handley.  I recommend this book and others like it that guide people through the art of writing, even if you are not gifted at it. This book gives some great advice on how to put together words and sentences to communicate with your audience.  A lot of it is common sense but the author packages the information in a very easy-to-understand presentation. I advise my clients to create content because it is very usable in marketing their products.  For some great examples of content that we are hosting, visit our Engineering White Papers website.  This site represents one way that we can put your content to work to grow your sales. For more information, please content me.

Generating great technical content is as important for a fluid power component manufacturer.  It is important as any other element of their marketing efforts.  Their customers, engineers and other technical professionals want and need information about components, systems, machinery, and how they all work. I like to refer to technical content as a chapter from a textbook.  If a fluid power professional could be directed to a chapter in a textbook that will help them on the job, they will be interested.  Content gets attention and, in this way, fluid power component manufacturers can get their message into the hands of prospective customers through the use of content. Company websites should include content about how their products work in addition to content that highlights the value proposition of the given company.  It is helpful when an engineer or other technical pro could go to a company website and be educated about the technology as well as the...

As we surround the engineer with great fluid power content at Fluid Power World , we utilize video as one of the means of disseminating that information.  Here is an example of some very informative and interesting content conveyed in video: Just click on the photo above and you will be able to watch the presentation by Corey Davis of KYB Corp.  This is a product review video where Corey explains the usage of the Mini Motion Package and the advantages it gives certain types of machinery. We can also offer application video content where the speaker describes how a particular application works.  The setting might even be in the field in operation.  Both types of video educate our audience on fluid power systems and components. If your company is interested in telling your value story in video, please contact me and perhaps we can set something up.  I can be reached at mference@wtwhmedia.com

In my earlier days in business-to-business media, I would have answered that question by saying we are limited by the number of pages that we print every month.  When the media business added websites and e-newsletters, that opportunity for having content published expanded.    Now with all of the online and social media opportunities for content, the game has changed.  Marketers of fluid power components have more opportunities than ever to communicate with prospective customers. The content that companies can send out is not limited to the written word and certainly not limited to press releases.  Webinars, video, and white papers have increased the stream of information from component manufacturer to buyer. We at Fluid Power World  have more opportunities than ever to serve our advertisers by making their content available to our engineering and technical audience.  If you would like to know more about content marketing for fluid power,...

Think about our audience at Fluid Power World .  When I say audience, I mean our print edition readers, our digital edition readers, e-newsletter subscribers, and web audience.  They are engineers, technicians, designers, maintenance experts, and supply chain professionals. They are all part of the ... fluid power world ...  and they are interested in knowing as much as possible about components, systems, machinery, and efficiency, productivity, environmental concerns, and more,  That is what they receive from content.  We at Fluid Power World   and WTWH Media LLC have excellent content to offer.  Just check out our Engineering White Papers website . You will find excellent content there that is free for the asking.  Our fluid power population is growing on our EWP website.  Check it out.  If you would like to use this resource to disseminate your content, let me know.

Whatever you would like to know or need to know about the past, current, and future economy of fluid power, you can probably learn at the 2015 NFPA Industry and Economic Outlook Conference .  The dates are August 10-12, 2015 at the Weston Chicago North Shore in Wheeling, IL. The event kicks off on Monday, August 10th with a the IEOC Invitational Golf Tournament at Chevy Chase Golf Course also in Wheeling.  The proceeds of the tournament benefit fluid power education through the NFPA Education Foundation.  It will also be lots of fun! The first day of the conference will feature economic perspectives from two long-time IEOC presenters Alan Beaulieu and John Walker.  From there, the economic information and perspectives continue to flow through Wednesday at noon. For more information or to register, visit the NPA website .

Our audience of fluid power engineering and technical professionals need a variety of information in order to design and maintain the most productive machinery possible.  That includes basics to the very complex. Here is an example of a white paper that covers the basic of flow regulators, click here   This tutorial guides the reader through the basics needed to understand how and why a flow regulator is used. For those readers well or somewhat versed on the subject, it is a great brush up.  For readers who know very little about the subject, it is a great learning opportunity.   Share your content with our audience.   Contact me to find out how.

As I have posted many times in the past, content is very important in today's marketing world.  If your company has good content about your specialty, engineers will find it and read it. Here is a link to an excellent example of great engineering content supplied by Danfoss Power Solutions .  This is a white paper that is hosted on our Engineering White Papers page for Danfoss.  Our audience members can access the content simply by registering to download it. If your company has white paper content, and you probably do, please contact me  to discuss how we can get your expert content into the hands of your prospective new customers and existing customers. Really good content gets the attention of our engineering audience and we would like to help you to connect with them.  This does not take the place of traditional advertising but is an important component to marketing in our present environment.  Let me know if I can help 408-769-1188.

The energy market continues to be a key one for many fluid power component manufacturers.  Even though it is a changing market because of the current price of oil, the technology and machinery used to get oil from the earth relies on fluid power and it is an important market. In fact, fluid power technology continues to plan a vital role in the offshore energy industry because rugged systems are necessary for the harsh environment of the offshore market.  Our August issue of Fluid Power World  will take a look at this important market. Also in August, we will put a focus on Sealing Innovation.  Keeping systems leak free is a top design consideration as well as a key maintenance and operation objective.  We will round our our feature editorial with Pneumatic Cylinders, and Steel/Automotive Machinery. The closing date for ad space reservations for our August issue is July 31, 2015.  We also have some very effective digital marketing opportuniti...

The usage of bar stock in hydraulics has long been an integral part of components and systems.  Now,  bar stock is recognized for its huge contribution to fluid power in the June 2015 Fluid Power Handbook. Bar stock is typically used to make manifolds to direct fluid through a system.  As we at Fluid Power World  cover hydraulic systems in their entirety, we felt it important to include the material used to make manifolds as well as for mounting components. To learn more about bar stock and most other fluid power components, please see our Fluid Power Handbook .  To subscribe to Fluid Power World, please use this link .  I hope that you enjoy reading. 

We recently published our 2015 Fluid Power Handbook  to provide useful and interesting tutorial information to our engineering audience.  This latest issue contains 144 pages of such content. Pneumatic technology is well represented in this new issue.  It starts with an overview that simply explains the concept of pneumatics and where it is used  This is followed by specific component groups such as Air Brakes & Clutches, Air Compressors, Air Springs, Compact Cylinders, Pneumatic Actuators/Cylinders, Rodless Cylinders, FRLs, Grippers, Miniature Pneumatics, Vacuum Components, and Valves. In order to fully understand pneumatic systems and individual components, it is essential for engineers to be familiar with the whole pneumatic system, from compressor to actuator.  That is why our Fluid Power Handbook   gives such a comprehensive report containing all of the component groups.  Please take a look at the digital issue  and if you a...

We at Fluid Power World  continue to review and discuss the necessity of safety in fluid power systems.  In our brand new issue of our Fluid Power Handbook , we feature an article on Fluid Power Safety. I invite you to access our Fluid Power Handbook by clicking here  and reading not only this feature on safety but all 144 pages of really informative fluid power content.  If you find the information useful, please sign up for our digital issue at this link . You can also opt to receive our printed magazine.  We have three more issues planned for 2015 and they will be published in August, October, and December.  Please contact me at mference@wtwhmedia.com if you have any questions.

Our 2015 Fluid Power Handbook is now available to our audience in print and digital versions.  It is 144 pages of excellent fluid power tutorial content on a wide variety of fluid power components.  While this is our biggest issue yet, we are only in our beginning stages. Keep in mind that Fluid Power World just started in August 2014 with our very first issue.  Combine this with four websites and four e-newsletters and we have the audience covered. To submit editorial content or to place ads in upcoming issues and on our digital network, please contact me at mference@wtwhmedia.com