Gases and welding distributors use Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube to acquire sales leads.

While companies across all industries spend large amounts of money in hopes of convincing customers to buy their product, several gases and welding distributors are using social media platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube to aid in acquiring sales leads. These distributors are highlighted in "Connecting With Customers," an article appearing in the Summer 2011 issue of Welding & Gases Today, the leading magazine for the gases and welding equipment industry.

One company that has had success with social media is J.W. Goodliffe & Son, which has a Facebook page for its online store, Cyberweld. Since joining Facebook in 2010, the Linden, New Jersey, company has made several sales thanks to social media. In one such example, a customer wrote on Cyberweld’s Facebook page, "I noticed that you do not carry the new Canadian hockey welding hood. Will this item be available any time in the near future?" The next day, Cyberweld added the product to its website and sent a link to the user on Facebook. Due to the overwhelmingly positive response from other users, Cyberweld has added the helment to its regular inventory to keep up with demand.

"When somebody engages us on Facebook and gives us a suggestion, we listen," says President Bob Goodliffe. "Even if it’s just one customer, we have found that there are a lot more looking for the same thing." Cyberweld finds customers with similar interests by using Facebook’s online advertising. For Cyberweld’s pay-per-click campaign, Goodliffe targets American Facebook users in the 18-plus demographic who list welding as an interest. In 2010, that population represented 25,000 users, according to Goodliffe. A year later, that number is now 40,000. "Pay-per-click advertising has been effective in building our followers. There are a lot of people on Facebook talking about welding and welding products," he says. "It’s legit."

To learn more about gases and welding distributors’ social media success, read "Connecting With Customers" (http://www.weldingandgasestoday.org/index.php/2011/07/connecting-with-customers/) at Welding & Gases Today Online. For more information, contact Devin O’Toole, content editor at Welding & Gases Today at devin@weldingandgasestoday.org or 315-445-2347.