Why Engineers ?
From Robert ’ s extensive experience in the energy and industrial sectors , he realized that there was a notable deficiency in engineering stories that actually zero in on the engineers themselves . “ Engineers are the real heroes of this world , so I wonder why they have not been given ( by the media ) the attention that they deserve ,” said Robert . He admitted that there was an abundance of engineering-related stories , but most of them focused on products and processes . “ It think it ’ s time that the world hears the ‘ real ’ stories of the engineers behind the engineering marvels : their lives , struggles , failures , learnings and successes .” Robert believed that by telling the stories of engineers , especially the young ones , GineersNow could inspire other engineers to strive amidst difficulties and celebrate their triumphs , and move young students to specialize in engineering-related fields and make a difference .
GineersNow has been successful in its pursuit to communicate to young engineers , as most of its followers are 18-35 years old .
The Internet , Native Advertising and Hybrid
Social Enterprise
GineersNow differentiates itself from other online news platform not only through its targeted audience , but also through its marketing and business models .
The continuous decline in the consumption of printed media prompted the team behind GineersNow to anchor it on the Internet . “ I remember a case study that we took up when I was still in Harvard : It was about the competition between online and traditional media , the Hubspot and New York Times paywall ,” said Robert , explaining that the study had revealed print media would gradually fade as a medium of education and information dissemination . “ The revenue of print magazine and newspapers will dwindle because of the Internet . In 10-20 years , we ’ ll be seeing less newspapers in the stands .”
GineersNow veers away from anything conventional , even in advertising . Traditional advertising is characterized by pushing the ads in front of the readers , even though they did not ask for it . Called “ interruption marketing ”, this kind of invasive advertising is now in decline . Harvard case studies attributed this drop to the rise of mobile technology , increase of ad blockers , and decrease in TV spending habits and of consumers ’ affinity to print media . “ You go to Starbucks and you will no longer see people reading newspapers ; they hold a coffee cup and read their social media updates ,” said Robert .
Instead of “ interruption marketing ”, GineersNow swears by “ native advertising ” as a means of making profit . Dubbed as a non-intrusive and inbound marketing approach , Robert explained that the native advertising model would allow the customers to organically find GineersNow ’ s contents and the contents of its advertisers . “ We are able to organically attract attention , without interrupting our reader ’ s flow of activity . When the content is funny , inspiring or really compelling , it will be shared on social media and eventually go viral .”
As a hybrid social enterprise , GineersNow consequently channels its profits towards socially beneficial causes . “ Amassing revenue is not our main objective ,” said Robert , adding that GineersNow aimed to help build engineering schools in Asia and Africa . “ We don ’ t aim to profit only to make ourselves richer . We want to pour GineersNow ’ s earnings into helping communities by building schools , and sharing information on the advantages and benefits of engineering . We hope that by doing this , we can inspire young students to choose engineering as a field of specialization . We believe that it will not only give them better opportunities for self-improvement , it will open roads for them to make a real difference in their families , communities and in the world .”
In the next few months , the GineersNow team aims to convert its audience into a socially driven engineering community . “ I think the best way to describe it is that we are creating a community of young engineers with a social purpose , empowered by a social innovation movement that is making a difference in the engineering world .” After building engineering schools , the GineersNow team deems to invite engineers to volunteer and teach engineering subjects to poor communities , invent ways to electrify remote villages , create portable desalination systems to promote access to drinking water , and possibly re-purpose wastewater for agricultural use . “ If you have a community of socially driven engineers , we can make this world a better place . And possibly , inspire others to do the same .”
8
Building a Community of Engineers with a
Social Purpose
Robert ascribed the early success of GineersNow to social media platforms , particularly Facebook , Twitter , LinkedIn , Instagram and Google +, which he described as allies to amplifying the presence of the website .
He also credited the creative team behind GineersNow ’ s social media sites for producing unique , engaging posts , which includes GN Bot and Engineering Debates . GN Bot is the young robot engineer that “ answers ” questions from the readers . His “ knowledge ” spans from affairs of the heart to the latest engineering technologies . Engineering Debates , on the other hand , allows GineersNow ’ s followers to offer their insights on the latest issues concerning the engineering and allied industries .
“ Aside from GN Bot and our weekly debates , we have introduced a lot of unique content in the past 30 days ,” said Robert . Trawling GineersNow ’ s social media pages , one can see contents like “ Fashioneering ”, which talks about the fusion of fashion and wearable technologies . There is also “ Kitcheneering ”, which features how industrial engineers and IT professionals are pioneering IoT kitchen products . Then , there ’ s “ Life of an Engineer ”, which revolves around engineers-turned-chefs or other career shifts . “ All of these stories are inspirational , funny and really compelling to read ,” said Robert .
Owing to a sweet mix of aggressive , consistent marketing and quality content , GineersNow ’ s social media pages have attracted an exponentially growing number of followers , majority of which come from the Eastern hemisphere . GineersNow ’ s social media success drives notable traffic to its website .