Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Sustainable Plastics
  • Rubber News
Subscribe
  • Login
  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Processor News
    • Suppliers
    • More News
    • Digital Edition
    • End Markets
    • Special Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Resin pricing news
    • Videos
    • Injection Molding
    • Blow Molding
    • Film & Sheet
    • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
    • Rotomolding
    • Thermoforming
    • Recycling
    • Machinery
    • Materials
    • Molds/Tooling
    • Product news
    • Design
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Sustainability
    • Public Policy
    • Material Insights Videos
    • Numbers that Matter
    • Automotive
    • Packaging
    • Medical
    • Consumer Products
    • Construction
    • CEO Issue
    • Diversity
    • Best Places to Work
      • 2022 winners
    • Processor of the Year
    • Rising Stars
    • Women Breaking the Mold
  • Opinion
    • The Plastics Blog
    • Kickstart
    • One Good Resin
    • BRICS and Plastics
    • All Things Data
    • Viewpoint
    • From Pillar to Post
    • Perspective
    • Mailbag
    • Fake Plastic Trees
  • Shop Floor
    • Blending
    • Compounding
    • Drying
    • Injection Molding
    • Purging
    • Robotics
    • Size Reduction
    • Structural Foam
    • Tooling
    • Training
  • Events
    • K Show Livestream
    • Plastics News Events
    • Industry Events
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Livestreams/Webinars
    • Editorial Livestreams
    • Ask the Expert
    • Plastics News Events Library
    • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Plastics News Executive Forum
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Plastics News Caps & Closures
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
    • Plastics in Automotive
    • Reuters Responsible Business Europe 2022
    • Reifenhäuser Technologies Livestreams
    • Polymer Points Live
    • Numbers that Matter Live
    • Plastics in Politics Live
    • Sustainable Plastics Live
    • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
    • Plastics in Healthcare Library
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
  • Resin Prices
    • All Resins
    • Commodity TPs
    • High Temp TPs
    • ETPs
    • Thermosets
    • Recycled Plastics
    • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
    • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
    • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
    • Historic Thermosets
    • Historic Recycled Plastics
  • Rankings & Data
    • Injection Molders
    • Blow Molders
    • Film Sheet
    • Thermoformers
    • Pipe Profile Tubing
    • Rotomolders
    • Mold/Toolmakers
    • LSR Processors
    • Recyclers
    • Compounders - List
    • Association - List
    • Plastic Lumber - List
    • All
  • Directory
  • Custom
    • Sponsored Content
    • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
    • Conair Sponsored Content
    • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
    • ENGEL Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
    • Classifieds
    • Place an Ad
    • Sign up for Early Classified
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
May 01, 2017 02:00 AM

Executives turn to social media, video to help grow companies

Jordan Vitick
Special Projects Editor
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Print
    D&&M Plastics LLC
    Through his different ventures, Mark Hill, sales and marketing manager for D&&M Plastics LLC, said the No. 1 thing he learned was the "value and the power of a brand."

    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.

    D&&M Plastics LLC

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

    "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.

    Promoting yourself

    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."

    Hiring skilled workers

    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."

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    One killed, two injured in shooting at WeatherTech facility
    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Plastics News would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor at [email protected]

    Most Popular
    1
    Pandemic-prompted reshoring creates growth for medical injection molders
    2
    Lego to build $1B US molding plant
    3
    Boston Group consolidating, growing in Ohio
    4
    Atkore buys HDPE pipe maker United Poly, continuing M&A push
    5
    Numbers that Matter Live - June 2022
    SIGN UP FOR TO RECEIVE THESE EMAILS AND ENEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe today

    Subscribe to Plastics News

    Subscribe now
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram

    Plastics News covers the business of the global plastics industry. We report news, gather data and deliver timely information that provides our readers with a competitive advantage.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI 48207-2997

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1723

    Resources
    • About
    • Staff
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Media Kit
    • Data Store
    • Digital Edition
    • Custom Content
    • People
    • Contact
    • Careers
    • Sitemap
    Related Crain Publications
    • Sustainable Plastics
    • Rubber News
    • Urethanes Technology
    • European Rubber Journal
    • Tire Business
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Copyright © 1996-2022. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Processor News
        • Injection Molding
        • Blow Molding
        • Film & Sheet
        • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
        • Rotomolding
        • Thermoforming
        • Recycling
      • Suppliers
        • Machinery
        • Materials
        • Molds/Tooling
        • Product news
        • Design
      • More News
        • Mergers & Acquisitions
        • Sustainability
        • Public Policy
        • Material Insights Videos
        • Numbers that Matter
      • Digital Edition
      • End Markets
        • Automotive
        • Packaging
        • Medical
        • Consumer Products
        • Construction
      • Special Reports
        • CEO Issue
        • Diversity
        • Best Places to Work
          • 2022 winners
        • Processor of the Year
        • Rising Stars
        • Women Breaking the Mold
      • Newsletters
      • Resin pricing news
      • Videos
    • Opinion
      • The Plastics Blog
      • Kickstart
      • One Good Resin
      • BRICS and Plastics
      • All Things Data
      • Viewpoint
      • From Pillar to Post
      • Perspective
      • Mailbag
      • Fake Plastic Trees
    • Shop Floor
      • Blending
      • Compounding
      • Drying
      • Injection Molding
      • Purging
      • Robotics
      • Size Reduction
      • Structural Foam
      • Tooling
      • Training
    • Events
      • K Show Livestream
      • Plastics News Events
        • Plastics News Executive Forum
        • Injection Molding & Design Expo
        • Plastics News Caps & Closures
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
        • Plastics in Automotive
      • Industry Events
      • Injection Molding & Design Expo
      • Livestreams/Webinars
        • Reuters Responsible Business Europe 2022
        • Reifenhäuser Technologies Livestreams
      • Editorial Livestreams
        • Polymer Points Live
        • Numbers that Matter Live
        • Plastics in Politics Live
        • Sustainable Plastics Live
      • Ask the Expert
      • Plastics News Events Library
        • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
        • Plastics in Healthcare Library
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
      • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Resin Prices
      • All Resins
      • Commodity TPs
        • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
      • High Temp TPs
        • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
      • ETPs
        • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
      • Thermosets
        • Historic Thermosets
      • Recycled Plastics
        • Historic Recycled Plastics
    • Rankings & Data
      • Injection Molders
      • Blow Molders
      • Film Sheet
      • Thermoformers
      • Pipe Profile Tubing
      • Rotomolders
      • Mold/Toolmakers
      • LSR Processors
      • Recyclers
      • Compounders - List
      • Association - List
      • Plastic Lumber - List
      • All
    • Directory
    • Custom
      • Sponsored Content
      • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
      • Conair Sponsored Content
      • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
      • ENGEL Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
      • Classifieds
        • Place an Ad
        • Sign up for Early Classified