Content Marketing Topics: Agricultural Companies

The top 10 most popular topics discussed by agricultural companies in the past 5 months include product spotlights, event announcements, advertisements/offers, customer case studies, new product launches, support for essential workers, company innovation/initiative announcements and updates, interactive content and content that is just intended to be fun, topics surrounding community, and thought leadership topics. A deep dive of these findings has been presented below.

Top 10 Most Popular Topics Discussed by Agricultural Companies in the Past 5 Months

• Product Spotlights: 53 out of about 330 content pieces analyzed were covering this topic. Product spotlights were considered for this research as any content for which the purpose was to provide information or an overview of a specific, existing product (excluding new product launches as those were considered in a separate category).
• Event Announcements/Updates: 46 out of about 330 content pieces analyzed were covering this topic. Event announcements and updates were considered for this research as any content which announced either a live or online event (e.g. webinar), or any content which provided a rundown of happenings at an event which had already passed.
• Advertisements/Offers: 34 out of about 330 content pieces analyzed were covering this topic. Advertisements/Offers were considered for this research as any content which had the purpose of promoting a special offer and/or had the exclusive purpose of promoting the overall brand.
• Customer Case Studies: 29 out of about 330 content pieces analyzed were covering this topic. Customer case studies were considered for this research as any content which had the purpose of showcasing or interviewing a customer and their thoughts on a specific product.
• New Product Launch/Announcements: 29 out of about 330 content pieces analyzed were covering this topic. New product launches/announcements were considered for this research as any content which had the purpose of discussing a newly released product or a product that was soon to be released.
• Support for Essential Workers: 19 out of about 330 content pieces analyzed were covering this topic. Content showing support for essential workers was considered for this research as any content wherein the business was publishing kind and caring towards any type of essential workers during the Covid-19 pandemic.
• Company Innovation/Initiative Announcements: 18 out of about 330 content pieces analyzed were covering this topic. Company innovation/initiative announcements were considered for this research as any content which had the purpose of informing the audience of product upgrade innovations and/or initiatives and strategies being taken at the company.
• Interactive Content/Just-for-Fun Content: 16 out of about 330 content pieces analyzed were covering this topic. Interactive or just-for-fun content pieces were considered for this research as any content which appeared to be published for the sole purpose of reaching out to the audience in a fun/friendly way and/or content which asked the audience to engage with the content in an interesting way (i.e. aside from the typical call-to-action).
• Community/Social: 15 out of about 330 content pieces analyzed were covering this topic. Content covering a community or social topic were considered for this research as any content which has the purpose of showcasing efforts in the community taken by the company, an expression of solidarity with the audience, and/or things like wishing the audience a happy holiday, etc. (Note: Covid-19 related posts were not considered for this part of the research as these topics were analyzed separately).
• Thought Leadership: 15 out of about 330 content pieces analyzed were covering this topic. Though leadership content pieces were considered for this research as any content which had the purpose of sharing industry specific ideas and insights, coming directly from experts within the company.

Research Strategy

To conduct this research, our team analyzed close to 330 pieces of content published in blogs/news sections on company websites as well as company Facebook pages. This analysis was conducted across three leading agricultural companies: John Deere, Case HI, and AGI. The topics were categorized and tallied accordingly to determine which topics were most popular in terms of frequency of inclusion. A full set of the data collected during this research can be found here.

Content Marketing Topics: Manufacturing Companies

Some of the more popular topics discussed by manufacturing companies in the US include COVID-19 updates, assistance, and employee support. Other popular topics include sustainability, AI technology, 3D printing, and smart manufacturing.

1. Community Assistance to Fight COVID-19

• With the COVID-19 pandemic, US manufacturing companies, including Ford, have assisted their communities.
• This has been in the form of monetary donations, manufacturing of PPE, ventilators, and collaborated outreach initiatives.

2. Updates About COVID-19

• Companies including General Electric and Boeing kept persons informed about COVID-19.
• Updates included the effects of the pandemic on the company and industry, new protocols, and post-COVID strategies.

3. Support to Employees and Customers

• Since the beginning of the pandemic, companies like Boeing, 3M, and Apple, offered support to staff and customers.
• This support included safety measures, leave policies, remote work options, and more.

4. Sustainability

• Sustainable manufacturing focuses on reducing energy use and cost while increasing production.
• It can be achieved by reducing harmful emissions, implementing renewable energy, and reducing pollution.

5. Advanced Robotics & Automation (AR/VR/AI Technology)

• Artificial intelligence (AI) implements both augmented (AR) and virtual reality (VR).
• Some companies such as Emerson and General Electric use this technology to provide remote assistance and to build robots.

6. 3D Printing

• In the last couple of decades, 3-D printing transformed manufacturing methods to create structures.
• Companies including Emerson and Ford use this technology as a way of enhancing performance or correcting an issue.

7. Smart Manufacturing/Industry 4.0

• Smart manufacturing or Industry 4.0 increases the efficiency of processes, using big data and automation.
• Manufacturers including Emerson and Apple have used smart manufacturing to develop products and software applications.

Research Strategy

In determining the most popular topics, we viewed the websites of seven of the top US manufacturers. These included Emerson, General Electric, General Motors, Ford, Boeing, 3M, and Apple. On these websites, we examined articles found in newsrooms, as well as press releases. From the articles found on these platforms, we used topics that appeared in four or more of the seven companies. We also examined trending topics mentioned on blogs and industry websites. We compared these to frequent topics appearing on the websites and social media pages of the seven top manufacturing companies mentioned.
In determining which topics were the most popular, we also visited the social media pages used by some companies. Six of the seven topics were seen to run across the social media pages of the companies. This topic was only seen in press releases and news articles found on the companies’ websites. The topic of sustainability was popular across the social media pages of companies including General Motors, and 3M. The Instagram profile of General Motors had a highlight reel surrounding the topic. The topic of AI technology was featured on 3M’s Instagram page in the form of videos. One of these videos had over 7,000 views. The prevalence of these topics across the social media pages of the mentioned companies helped label them as popular.