Executives turn to social media, video to help grow companies

Before Mark Hill joined the plastics industry by working for a mold builder, he and his brother owned and operated two companies over the span on 15 years. Then, they built the brands of two companies — one Swiss company and one Australian company.

"We started from scratch and learned some hard lessons, but I now know how to build a brand," said Hill, who currently works as the sales and marketing manager for D&M Plastics LLC in Burlington, Ill. "It isn't cheap and it takes time, but when it comes a reality, it's not only profitable but personally very satisfying."

Through his different ventures, Hill said the No. 1 thing he learned was the "value and the power of a brand."

"If you do it right, it's expensive to build a brand, but it's worth it. It's not cheap, it takes time, it takes a very clear message, and it takes money to market it and to get distribution," he said. "But really, it's all about marketing. … But clarity and the message and pounding that message over and over for 24 months, you've got a brand."

As sales and marketing manager, Hill's job is to bring in new business.

"I was brought in to develop brand-new customers," he said. "Almost everything that I do — I don't really get involved in the existing customers — my job is to go out and find brand-new customers."

To bring in the new business, Hill utilizes the social networking service LinkedIn ​ to connect with potential customers.

"It's so easy to find the right person to talk to [on LinkedIn]. After that, it's just a matter or dotting your I's and crossing your T's," he said. "It's going to take four or five phone calls probably to get through to them. It's going to take a number of emails. At that point in time, it just becomes a discipline more than anything else."

Although Hill said he doesn't use Facebook to connect with other professionals that much — "it's similar [to LinkedIn] in that, for instance, if I want to keep track of what an organization is doing, I can just follow them" — he does say social media overall has an "absolutely positive" impact on the plastics industry, from promoting news and branding to hiring talent.

"A good example is we're going to celebrate 800 days without a loss-time accident. That's pretty good," Hill said. "On the 800th day, I'm going to make a post on my LinkedIn account, saying we have gone 800 days without a loss-time accident. I have, like, 800 connections, so there's a start. From there, if somebody likes it, all their connections will see it.

"It's such a great way to keep people informed about what is going on with the company and also staying informed about what's going on with their company and with them personally, as well," he added.

But social media isn't just used to connect with other professionals in the industry; companies should also be using social media to promote themselves.

"[Social media] gives you a platform to help develop your brand," he said. "It gives you a very cost-effective way to develop your brand. A lot of it ties together."

Mary Lake, materials manager at D&M Plastics, said she, too, uses LinkedIn in a professional manner and promotes D&M through being part of the Burlington Business Council in Illinois.

"When it comes to promoting D&M Plastics in a personal venue, I do that by being part of the Burlington Business Council. The Burlington Business Council is our community of businesses — kind of a Chamber of Commerce," Lake said. "When you're in a township that really doesn't have that many manufacturing environments — most of the businesses in this area are service businesses more than manufacturing — but it's the start of making everybody aware of who each member is and what they contribute to the community."

Other than LinkedIn, Hill said companies can also use Twitter. But the new avenue for branding is in video.

"It's going to be uncomfortable for me just because I am 53 years old and didn't grow up like my kids did with everything and so technologically savvy. … Taking a video and shooting it to this person or that person, it's nothing to them," he said.

"It's a little bit daunting for me because I grew up in the era where, if a company was doing video, it was very expensive to do. They had to have all this equipment. They had to go to a professional to help them do it," Hill added. "Now, it's so easy. We are going to be utilizing video a lot more. I think people need to, and it works extremely well."

Social media can also be used to attract new talent. Hill cited one example from service provider Deloitte.

"I read in an article last year that they are utilizing social media, and they are not requiring anymore a college degree to start with the company," he said. "They're looking for the right people; they're not looking for people with the right degrees. When we say people — young people who are just coming into their own because young people utilize social media so much; that's where they've gone. They're completely changing the way they hire."

And to appeal to a younger generation of future designers, creators and makers, employers "need to get the word out there that making [things] is cool," Lake said.

But at the end of the day, Hill said, a successful company also has to sell a good product.

"Technology, technology, technology. If you're not trying to keep ahead of it, or at least keep pace with it, you're losing. You're not going to be very relevant to your customers if you don't know how to utilize all the different technologies out there, whether that be in the plastics industry or any industry," he said. "But especially in the plastics industry, you see it every day. There's so much neat stuff going on right now.

"It goes back to what our owner, [Peyton] 'Chip' Owen, said. He just bought this company three years ago. We've been in business since 1972, but we've been under new ownership since 2013. And the whole reason that he bought into a manufacturing facility was his belief that, in order for the U.S. to be strong, we have to make things," Lake said. "We need current and future generations to buy into that in order to keep that strength moving and growing."