As highly trained quantitative experts in our field, we are a rare group that craves strong, direct and detailed technical content. For many marketers, this desire can run directly counter to their experience with many other clientele who place more value on content that prioritizes strong visual layouts or emotional appeal.

But as experts, engineers are on a mission to solve problems, meaning that by and large we don’t want to waste time being sold; We want to actually put in the time to read about specifications and learn if and why your service or product is valuable to us.

Data strongly supports my personal observations. In a recent survey by TREW Marketing, 83% of engineers surveyed ranked technical content as a top reason they are willing to trade personal information online. The survey also showed that their willingness to access gated content strongly increased as the perceived technical value of the content grew.

This included data sheets, CAD drawings, white papers and how-to videos, meaning that companies seeking to gain long term access to engineers should consider strong and continued technical content as a key component of their marketing strategy.

Other critical findings in the survey included identifying the top social media sites for engineers as YouTube and LinkedIn, an increased interest among engineers in industry and innovation-based podcasts, a whopping 96% of engineers reporting a strong interest in watching work-related video content, and ongoing frustration with sales and marketing teams that do not include strong technical expertise as part of their support.

Appreciating how engineers think creates a valuable pathway for companies wanting to develop strategy and content.

Yet it’s clear that without strong technical expertise helping to guide this development, the end result will often yield suboptimal content that doesn’t resonate, ultimately reducing the overall success of the marketing efforts.

 The best solution to this problem is therefore that marketers should seek out freelance content writers who are also subject matter experts. By hiring trained communicators who can also speak fluent engineer, it becomes infinitely easier to deliver highly desirable technical content faster.