Are You In Manufacturing? Here Are Six “Genuinfluencers” You Need To Be Following

Influencer: a person with the ability to influence potential buyers of a product or service by promoting or recommending the items on social media.

Genuinfluencers: a person that creates content to spread important information that can keep people informed in addition to posts about products. 

Thanks to LinkedIn, we are seeing more Genuinfluencers come to the front in many industries. Regardless of which industry you may be in, you should always seek out your industry's Genuinfluencers on LinkedIn. For Manufacturers there is a growing list of individuals, but here are my favorite six Genuinfluencers that you need to be following right now.

Joe Sullivan, Host of "The Manufacturing Executive Podcast"

Joe Sullivan is the founder of Gorilla 76, a marketing firm that specializes in midsize manufacturers and helping them succeed. Joe, though, is also the host of The Manufacturing Executive Podcast where "you’ll hear conversations with passionate manufacturing leaders who have compelling stories to share about their successes and struggles. You’ll also hear interviews with B2B Sales and Marketing experts about what’s working on the business development front and how to make these ideas actionable."

Joe has put out some amazing interviews with people in manufacturing and letting them tell their stories of success and failure. Joe makes it clear, “The best content is going to come from the brains of your experts.”  That is why each show Joe has another expert to talk to.

Joe's guests cover the gamut in the industry. You will always be exposed to something new and interesting with each one. You may even learn something that you didn't think you needed to know.

Jake Hall, Host of "The Manufacturing Millennial"

From his home studio in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Jake Hall is producing some amazing daily content. One day he will be showing you how Legos are made to the next day how Cheese is being produced, but that is not all! Jake also puts on the regular shows where he will have guests on to talk about their companies, their manufacturing process, and much more.

However, Jake's biggest passion and what drives him the most is attracting Millennials and other young people to careers in manufacturing. After attending a manufacturing conference, Jake realized that he was probably the youngest person in the room and that did not bode well for the industry. So Jake got active on social media to use the very platforms that young people are using to show them how cool manufacturing can be. According to Jake: "“Millennials are some of the most innovative people out there...the manufacturing workforce is aging, and as people in skilled trades are retiring, there are huge gaps out there for new electricians and programmers.” 

Jake also embraces the Genuinfluencers mantel with his approach that salespeople and marketers need to stop selling products to sell products. Customers want to solve problems. As Jake says “Stop selling your product, start solving problems…If you solve the problems, selling is easy.” 

Meaghan Ziemba, Host of "Mavens of Manufacturing"

When not doing her day-to-day work as a marketer, copywriter, copyeditor, and a proud mom, Meaghan Ziemba is interviewing some of the most interesting and amazing women on her show Mavens of Manufacturing. Each week, Meaghan works to breakdown gender stereotypes in the industry by talking with women in numerous roles in the manufacturing industry. From the shop floor to the engineering room to the Board Room, Meaghan is teaching us that there are so many different roles available to women. She is the very definition of a Genuinfluencers, because she is not only producing amazing content about an underrepresented and sometimes unseen group in manufacturing, but opening a dialogue on how to address the gender gap in the industry.

According to Meaghan: “Good storytelling is what gets people to have conversations and to exchange information with each other. It also helps build those trusting relationships that are so important for companies.”

Some of her interviews have been some of the most eye-opening ones I've ever had the pleasure of listening in on. However, I highly recommend listening to Meaghan telling her own story on Chris Luecke's Manufacturing Happy Hour podcast - definitely worth a listen.

Andrew Crowe, Leader of the New American Manufacturing Renaissance

You will probably not come across someone as passionate about diversity in manufacturing than Andrew Crowe. After his own personal discovery of the promise and potential of manufacturing, he created the Elevate Institute of Advanced Manufacturing Technologies. Elevate brings together companies, educators, and the next generation of aspiring youth to fill critical manufacturing jobs. For Andrew, Elevate will help bring in the next American manufacturing renaissance.

Andrew not only talks the talk, he walks the walk by being an instructor of Advanced Manufacturing Technology at Ranken Technical College where he is prepping the next generation of machinist and technologist. As Andrew puts it - “All hope is not lost. American manufacturing is coming back.”

Check out Andrew's recent talk with Joe Sullivan on The Manufacturing Executive and you will hear his passion for not only the industry but getting more people involved.

Will Healy III, Manufacturing Geninfluencer Galore

Mr. Jack-Of-All-Trades on this list is Will Healy III. From his daily videos that range from product discussion to talking about the latest news in the manufacturing industry, Will has you covered. With a day job as Balluff Worldwide's Marketing Manager for the Americas, he knows how to communicate with the industry, because he is part of it. What makes Will cool is that he loves to show off other people's products and stories in the industry. It in not uncommon for him to go through an article or product demo and share it with his followers. He not only informs, but entertains while he does it. Will also may have the largest baseball hat collection I've come across.

Will, like others on this list, takes a hands-on approach to inspiring younger people to explore manufacturing careers and speaks regularly on the topics of smart manufacturing and STEM education. He is an active member of multiple organizations, a board member of the Advanced Manufacturing Industry Partnership in Cincinnati and works toward helping students gain the skills needed for employment.

Chris Luecke, Host of "Manufacturing Happy Hour"

Well it is time to close this list out and probably have a beer to close the day. That is also why you need to be following Chris Luecke here on LinkedIn. Chris has found the way to perfecting mix a love for manufacturing and drinking a beer into his show Manufacturing Happy Hour, where he not only gets his guests to talk about the great things they are doing in the industry, but what are they filling their beer mugs with. Chris recently wrapped up a 10 year career at Rockwell Automation, where he worked hand in hand with customers. Now when not doing his podcast, he works for Fiix Software in Marketing. Oddly, Rockwell Automation recently purchased Fiix, no doubt to get Chris back!

You can see Chris's passion when it comes to the topics he covers. When interviewed himself, he stated WHY he does this work: "I want to help people get business results. I want to help people bring in new clients, that’s all part of the game, but I also want to help people create content and create solutions that they’re proud of. I think that’s my why." 

Chris is an amazing interviewer and gets his guests to open up to tell some great stories - the beer doesn't hurt either. Chris is on nearly all platforms, so there is no excuse to be following him.

So Who Did I Miss?

Well those are my six Genuinfluencers you should be following in Manufacturing. Did I miss someone? What at the Genuinfluencers in your industry? List your thoughts and personal Genuinfluencers in the comments.