The Secret to Attracting Millennials to Manufacturing? YouTube.

    If you want to reach the "millennial" crowd, you have to use YouTube. That goes double for manufacturers. To defeat the misconception that manufacturing jobs are boring, you need to use videos to show just how cool and cutting-edge manufacturing can be.

The Numbers

The manufacturing sector is facing the possibility of a worker shortage in the future -- to the tune of about 2 million. The solution is simple: hire millennials. But millennials aren't interested in manufacturing jobs. But they are on YouTube. Surveys by eMarketer show that 68% of millennials (people currently aged 14-34) prefer YouTube over all of the other social networks. If you're not using YouTube, you're missing out on a huge marketing opportunity.

Engaging Video Content

Your manufacturing floor isn't dirty and the jobs in your plant aren't boring. You can capture that with a video. One of our clients, CMS North America, does an amazing job with YouTube videos. This video showcases the technology that CMS North America uses. It's the sort of thing that might make someone stop and think, "That's cool! I'd like to work with those machines some day."

Optimizing YouTube Videos

If you use YouTube with the goal of attracting younger workers, save your videos with file names such as "manufacturing jobs - Company name." The first step to optimizing videos for YouTube is to name the file, so make sure you don't skip this step. Secondly, make sure the title of the video is clear. The description should say something like, "Consider a career in manufacturing! In this video, Todd operates a CNC machine as it cuts out the dashboard panel for an Alfa Romeo." You can also add a hashtag, such as #jobs. That way, if a user clicks on #jobs, your video will pop up. Need some additional advice on YouTube marketing for manufacturers? Contact Ecreative today.