Engineers to Marketers – Enough with the Infographics!

Survey of 1,000 engineers highlights their likes and dislikes about marketing content

I’m often asked, “What content do engineers want to consume?”  In a recent survey, the team at TREW Marketing and CFE Media set out to answer that question. 

How valuable are the following types of content when researching the latest engineering technologies, industry trends, and products/services?

• Most Valuable – Product information,  White papers, best practices,  Trade publication articles, Case studies, application stories
• Least valuable – blogs and infographics

In a fall 2014 ENGINEERING.com survey, engineers reported that they had a strong preference for content delivered in an article format followed by video and then news releases and white papers. 

Thinking about the e-newsletters you read most, what characteristics attract you to the content?

• Most valuable – New technical content, Application stories, Quick facts, bulleted lists,  New products/services
• Least valuable – Surveys/industry trend reports, and charts/graphs/tables.

How valuable are the following content sources when seeking information on the latest engineering technologies, trends, and products?”

• Most Valuable – Search engines, Supplier websites, Trade publications
• Least valuable – Social media and YouTube

The ENGINEERING.com survey adds a bit of depth to this response, reporting that 77% of engineers use search engines at least weekly, and half reported relying on eNewsletters, online trade publications and vendor web sites.  Less than a third reported relying on print versions of trade publications.

I asked Rebecca Geier, CEO of TREW Marketing how the results of this survey will influence the priorities for her engineering clients in 2015.  She said, “Content is the currency of marketing today. Relevant, high-quality content engineers prefer – fr​o​m white papers and case studies to frequent blogging – should be a priority of every 2015 marketing program. With a solid foundation of high quality, technical content in place, marketers can then promote it across channels, from online advertising to eNewsletters to generate leads and move them down the funnel.”

The full summary and report of the 1,000 engineer survey is featured online at:
http://info.trewmarketing.com/marketing-to-engineers-fall-survey-results