Spotlighting how one industry manufacturer has strategically used its social media platform, which has resulted in hundreds of thousands of followers.

This month, we’re shining the spotlight on Vibrant Performance, based in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. This designer and manufacturer of automotive exhaust and vibration-control components has utilized its social media platforms to creatively showcase its products, spark conversations, amplify its message, and provide value to customers.
Vibrant Performance has a strong presence on social media, boasting 223,000 followers on Instagram, 60,000 followers on Facebook, nearly 40,000 subscribers on YouTube, and more than 23,000 followers on TikTok. “We have found the most engagement on our Instagram page; however we are investing a lot into our YouTube channel since we use that channel to educate our audience on how our products work and the benefits,” noted Vibrant Performance’s Marketing Manager Arthur Malczewski.
Why is it important for a business to have a social media presence? Malczewski noted four main reasons: “1. Tell the story of who you are, what you are about, and what you do. This can be personal; it will help build credibility and the customer can relate to the business. 2. How to buy your service/product (website, distributors, directly through eCommerce). 3. Discuss results, case studies, and testimonials. This will help build trust in the brand and show the effectiveness of the company with real-world examples. 4. Tips, tricks, how-to’s, and product usage. Always try and give your audience something back by teaching them to build credibility. You need to be the master in your field (or specific product line) within the industry.”
With its business-to-business structure, Vibrant Performance can’t really measure social media success based on sales or return on investment. However, the company has gathered many new leads from shops and fabricators who have learned about its products through social media marketing. Vibrant Performance currently measures the success of its social media posts based on views and engagement, both of which can increase brand awareness, improve customer relations, drive traffic to the company website, boost SEO, create new leads (as mentioned above), and much more.
Vibrant Performance strategically uses its sponsored partners as influencers “to tell their success stories with our products, whether that’s setting records, building endurance cars that made it to the end of the race, or unique fabrication setups that helped complete intake/exhaust tubing in a very tight package,” Malczewski explained. “We have created a content schedule that prioritizes a different product every month. We send this schedule out to all our sponsored partners and let them choose the category of product they would like to promote on their channels and do collaborative posts to tell stories.”

AI (artificial intelligence) is on the rise, and Vibrant Performance has been experimenting with it but hasn’t implemented it into its social media content just yet. However, the company sees potential for AI “as a great tool to use to build ideas when you are stuck and are looking for new ways to make content for your channels,” Malczewski said. AI can assist in generating content for social media platforms, which includes creating captions, writing posts, and generating visual content like images and video. Additionally, some AI-powered tools can curate relevant content from various sources based on user preferences, interests, and behaviors.
The team at Vibrant Performance has also found success in posts that prioritize engagement and authenticity. “In order to achieve this, the content has to be high quality and relevant to your audience,” explained Malczewski. “We find that product videos themselves will do poorly; products do not belong on social media. However, since our products are solutions-based universal items, we tell the story of how they are used and add unique effects to bring them to light.”
He added, “I see a lot of accounts sharing every single bit of content they are tagged in. You should never do this as a manufacturer. Instead, share high-quality content that provides value to your audience. The audience already knows people use your products, so leverage your social accounts to teach something about how the product will help them with their vehicle.”
In a nutshell, it’s becoming increasingly evident that the quality of posts and the value they bring to your followers is more important than ever. In a world that’s flooded with content, material that resonates with, educates, inspires, and/or entertains your audience will stand out. It’s not just about being seen, but also about being valued as a business.