In this analysis, we will conduct Digital Due Diligence (DDD) on five leading companies in the industrial automation sector: Schneider Electric, Siemens, ABB Ltd, Emerson, and Rockwell Automation. The DDD will cover essential digital metrics, including social media presence, webpage performance, and overall digital popularity, providing insights into where these brands excel and identifying opportunities for improvement.

Understanding Digital Popularity

Over the past decade, the digital popularity of the industrial automation sector experienced an average growth rate of 13,83%, accelerating to 15,71% over the last five years. This upward trend indicates a growing emphasis on scaling innovation and increasing investment in automation technologies by companies worldwide. Automation companies are adapting their strategies to incorporate emerging trends such as IoT integration, Software as a Service (SaaS) models, and AI-driven automation.

Social Media Presence of Leading Industrial Automation Companies

Schneider Electric leads the pack with over 11 million followers across all six platforms, primarily drawing its audience from LinkedIn, YouTube, and Facebook. However, despite having a substantial following, Schneider Electric's content appears to be less engaging than that of its competitors, reflected in the lowest engagement rate across all channels.

Siemens ranks second with 8 million followers, with a significant 84.57% of its social media following concentrated on LinkedIn. This indicates a strong B2B focus, suggesting potential for broader cross-platform engagement.

LinkedIn emerges as the most popular social media channel among the analyzed brands, with over 16 million followers, representing 62.06% of the total follower base. YouTube follows as the second most popular channel with 5 million followers, contributing 19.43% to the overall social media presence of these brands. This strong B2B focus highlights the need for further growth on YouTube and other platforms.

Siemens as a Top Performer in Website Performance

A brand’s website is a critical indicator of its digital strategy and user experience. Generally, the leading automation companies perform well in displaying webpage content quickly, but there is a clear trend of lagging mobile performance. Brands typically perform better on desktops than on mobile devices.

Siemens leads in seven out of eight performance indicators, although it falls short in mobile performance. In contrast, Schneider Electric excels in mobile performance while maintaining strong desktop performance.

Siemens and Schneider Electric lead in online visibility, showcasing excellent optimization among the analyzed brands. Siemens excels in overall digital performance, while Schneider Electric stands out for its mobile usability, providing a smooth experience for smartphone users. Both brands adhere to best practices for mobile and desktop, ensuring user-friendly websites.

ABB Ltd. also performs well, offering a seamless experience for both mobile and desktop users. Rockwell Automation is recognized for its strong desktop accessibility, making navigation easy for visitors. The robust online presence of Siemens, ABB, and Schneider Electric demonstrates their effective digital strategies, helping potential customers engage with them online.

Digital Popularity Among Industrial Automation Giants

Digital popularity serves as a key measure of brand visibility and consumer interest within the industrial automation sector. ABB Ltd. leads in average popularity score over the last decade, but it has experienced slow growth, with a negative ten-year growth rate of -1.43% and a continuing decline of -2.38% over the past five years.

Siemens has faced a decline in popularity over the past decade (-2.72%), with a sharper drop of -7.5% in the last five years; however, its digital popularity surged in 2023 compared to 2022. Emerson has shown a similar pattern during the same period. Like Siemens, it has faced challenges in maintaining consistent digital popularity but also experienced a notable rebound recently. Emerson has experienced similar trends, facing challenges in maintaining consistent digital popularity but recently showing a notable rebound. This indicates that both Emerson and Siemens are adapting to market changes and finding better ways to engage their audiences, reflecting the dynamic nature of consumer interest in the industrial automation sector.

ABB Ltd. dominated industry popularity from 2013 to 2021, but since 2022, Schneider Electric has emerged as the most popular brand. Schneider Electric has experienced the strongest growth in the past five years, achieving an increase of 1.29%, and also leads in long-term growth with a 6.32% increase over the last ten years, positioning itself as the fastest-growing brand in the industry.

The declining demand for industrial automation brands can be attributed to several factors, including increased competition, difficulties transitioning to technologies like SaaS, failure to innovate in new segments such as IoT, and regulatory changes. To regain their digital relevance, brands must focus on strategies that leverage technology, enhance customer engagement, and secure strategic partnerships.

In terms of monthly search volume, Siemens leads the industry with 1,220,000 searches, followed by Schneider Electric with 673,000. The high search volumes across all brands indicate strong brand recognition and consumer interest.