Can Shop Floor Man bring humour to manufacturing social media?
Shop Floor Automations is set to make an impact on a younger generation of manufacturing professionals with the use of a manufacturing-themed comic strip.
The new series, named Shop Floor Man Presents, premiered last month with the lead character starring on a two-square story. In one square he is using SFA solutions to do his job, and in the other he is dealing with the trials of not having access to them. Future comics will illustrate difficulties machinists face and make sector-specific jokes relatable to those in the industry.
Amanda Rosenblatt – SFA’s Marketing Coordinator and the comic strip’s artist – has worked in the professional social media realm for nearly a decade. She said: “Shop Floor Man is a character that was a collaboration between myself, our previous Operations Manager, and the owner of our company. We gather ideas and feedback on comics from the whole company, so it’s fun for them to get involved and the final product is a group effort.
“I think it is a bold statement because, really, he is purposely drawn badly. That’s why we have the tagline ‘Our solutions are better than our comics.’ No one at the company, including myself, has the time to draw or commission someone to make an amazing comic, but we have the humor, stories and resources to make people laugh. There’s charm to him [Shop Floor Man].
“I’ve heard in this industry a few times how social media isn’t valuable for this line of business, which could not be further from the truth.
“I’m not on social media all day, however, having a footprint online aside from just a website is so crucial. You have middle school kids, high school teens and college-aged young adults who we are trying to get into this industry, or people like the military veterans being trained at organizations like Workshops for Warriors. These people of these various age groups are attached to their devices and social media – we can reach them and show them this industry is a community.
“Our comic strip, and the alternative Twitter account we set up called @ShopFloorHumor, are great ways to network with people in this industry. There is no greater commonality we all share than the love of laughter and humor. Why not use it for the benefit of a business?”