What was your journey until taking on this role in the company?
I am the synthesis of very different sectors: I was born in food, then I wrote a thesis in the fashion field and then I grew up in the industrial world. My family has a winery where I spent most of my time until I graduated in Economics and Business Management in Padua. At the end of my studies, my work experience began at IVG Colbachini and in September I celebrated 10 years of collaboration with this B2B company of rubber hoses. My knowledge of IVG Colbachini dates back to 2 years before my actual entry during the three-year degree internship with the "thesis in the company" project, in the marketing field. The thesis of the specialist degree on social media marketing in the fashion sector was also in this sector. I joined IVG with the aim of taking care of the company social pages Facebook and LinkedIn but after a few months, in addition to the various communication tasks, I was also given the role of internal salesperson. I have dealt with management clients in the Italian market for about 7 years. Mine is, therefore, a somewhat particular path which has been enriched by different experiences and which has allowed me to get to know the typical customer, delving into company and product dynamics. Today I am part of the Marketing department which is made up of two other resources: my Manager and a colleague, who carries out graphic design activities, who support me in this sector. More specifically, I take care of proposing and defining the contents to be published on the various platforms: social networks, newsletters, website. I also carry out traditional marketing activities such as participation in trade fairs, brochures, presentations or technical documents. Taking part in all these activities allows me to know them in detail so that I can then describe them more completely on social platforms. I believe that this is a job that requires a lot of experience in the field and a specific workout: it is not easy to take care of the social pages of a product like tubes, a sector that has been overwhelmed by the social wave over a longer period of time and in different ways than others.
What do you think about the use of social media in the B2B market segment?
“Social media in B2B is not needed for direct sales but social media is needed to sell”. Nobody buys a tube on impulse or because it's cool. For this reason, even in B2B it is essential to have updated and active social pages. I believe that in B2B social media are fundamental content marketing tools that go hand in hand with other tools such as the website or the newsletter. The contents that we prepare for social media in a planned and well-defined way certainly have the objective of orienting some market segments towards specific product lines. For example, in the next few weeks we will talk about our pipes and fittings for the food world on social media in view of participation in the Cibus Tec Fair in Parma or before the ski season we will create a focus on pipes for artificial snow. When 10 years ago IVG Colbachini chose to undertake an SMM strategy it was one of the first pipe companies to do so in an organized way, today all our competitors have pages and we know we are being followed. It has been a long journey in which it proved important to sow and spread a social mentality at different company levels and roles, especially in those figures in contact with the customer.
Which social network is more in line with your business model and which is less?
In first place is definitely LinkedIn through which we convey different contents (product, corporate and group, trade fairs, sustainability). Communication is carried out on the company page but also through the personal profiles of salespeople. The objective is brand awareness and reputation as well as bringing traffic to the website. In second place: Facebook/Meta is the social network most dedicated to the IVG Colbacini community (collaborators and former employees), to the territory, to sponsorships, to the activities of the cultural foundation. The objective is brand reputation and engagement. In support of the two previous social networks: YouTube. It acts as a repository in which our videos (corporate, product, tutorials, references and webinars) are present in an organized way at the service of customers and the commercial department with the aim of supporting the purchase. Instagram and Tik Tok are not in line with IVG Colbachini's business model (neither by product, nor by target, nor by types of content proposed, nor by frequency of publication).
The data shows that having a low number of followers damages the brand image, what do you think?
Quantitative data should not be the only parameter for evaluating the brand image on social media as other qualitative values are certainly of greater importance (reactions, quality of content). In 10 years we have never published the same content and we do not create posts with just a quick link just to create quantities of material. However, I believe that a slow increase in followers is a natural consequence of quality management of social pages. Even organically the fan base changes. I ask myself: "Is it better to have a page with many non-target followers reached with sponsored campaigns or a page with a smaller number of followers but more involved and collected organically?" I think this is the right reflection to make.
How important are online reviews, are they important?
Generally speaking I think they are important especially in situations that the brand cannot control: delicate issues, environmental disasters and all those conditions that are not caused by the work of employees, collaborators or staff. The importance of reviews is not only external, we should also be able to create internal engagement where collaborators actively contribute to the reputation of IVG Colbachini, also on social pages, thus creating a context in which to feel part of something bigger.
Have you ever collaborated with professionals regarding the social sphere?
Yes, IVG Colbachini collaborated with professionals in the initial phase of the SMM project, above all to spread the objectives of the social networks to the commercial department and lay the foundations of the pages. Then over the years and up to today, the complete management of the pages has always been the responsibility of the IVG Colbachini marketing office. External professionals are involved in the production of multimedia content for very special projects or for training focuses: it is important to always stay up to date and follow in-depth courses. We do not believe it is possible to outsource the creation of content (copy and graphics) as our product is very technical and is mostly rational and non-emotional. Furthermore, monitoring the pages of competitors and customers is an activity that is essential to be carried out internally. This allows us to be reactive and prepared while also monitoring the developments that continuously occur on the platforms.
What are the future corporate communication projects?
The projects are different: communicating Sustainability in different channels and platforms, a new Pim for pipes and a new website that tells about them. Furthermore, we would like to launch a new digital showcase for some products with the simultaneous creation of a reserved customer area with various functions. We have recently been using a panel that allows us to monitor the performance of social networks, the website and newsletters and this will allow us to guide and refine our future communication choices. We will also continue to work on "FlexiAbility": the training project dedicated to customers and video references that we call "IVG Stories". And then who knows, new challenges and opportunities will surely await us to seize.