B2B Content Marketing: Your Strategy to Drive Results
Magazine journalism aficionado, of the Tank content hub. Honed her writing talents on the battlefields of Peterborough’s A&E and beauty counters.
Public service announcement: B2B decision makers are tired of being sold to.
Dry and obvious sales copy can be an instant turn off and damage trust. Content that inspires and informs, on the other hand, can drive brand awareness, trust and leads because it offers real value. And that’s where your B2B content marketing strategy comes in.
What makes B2B content marketing unique?
You won’t find B2B decision makers making impulsive purchases – it can take time to convert but the pay off can be huge once they’ve settled on your product or service. For that, you need a solid content marketing strategy that focuses on the bigger picture – how can your product streamline their business and deliver a return on investment?
Over half (55%) of content marketers find creating content that converts a challenge. But the focus should be on creating story-led, engaging content that offers help and real value. This will lead to natural conversions down the line.
Well-written and researched whitepapers, blogs, videos and guides are excellent for building trust with potential customers and showing off expertise. At the same time, they drive leads and awareness, especially when the content brings in fresh perspectives and is tailored to your audience.
Over a third of content marketers think their strategy doesn’t work because it’s not data driven – and they’re probably right. With data, you can create personalised content, and improve credibility and trust. Think of a case study -without statistics to show your results, it won’t be as persuasive.
A survey could be used to boost your reports or whitepapers with new data that tells a story, and help you get links for brand awareness. Short-form content such as blogs or newsletters could be the extra push needed for customers to request a demo or get in touch.
It’s also important to remember that you’re marketing to humans. Although they might be in C-suite and managerial roles, they still need to be interested and engaged in the topic they’re reading. You might think that’s easier with B2C content marketing, but you can in fact trigger emotions and use trends in B2B content marketing too.
For example, at Tank we produced a Cloud Sustainability Report for one client exploring the role of AI and data in sustainability. It includes expert interviews to improve credibility and covers a topical theme impacting the industry. The gated report means our client can track and follow up on leads.
Pillars of a winning B2B content marketing strategy
Almost 90% of marketers agree that content marketing increases brand awareness, as well as:
- Generates demand and leads (74%)
- Improves loyalty (52%)
- Generates sales (49%)
A solid content marketing strategy will ensure that your content delivers on your objectives.
Objectives: What do you want to achieve?
Listed below are some common goals but ultimately, your content marketing objectives should feed into your wider business objectives.
- Sales
- Leads
- Brand awareness
- Customer loyalty
- Improved traffic
- Improved visibility
- Engagement
Prioritise your key objectives and then create content to deliver. For example, if you want to boost engagement, LinkedIn is perfect to interact with B2B professionals, so create attention-grabbing infographics, videos or use features such as polls to start a discussion. Gated reports and whitepapers attached to ads are also effective at generating leads, especially when expertly written and credible. You can then calculate your return on investment (ROI) with metrics including interactions, downloads, sales and more.
Tip: Make objectives “SMART” (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound) to plan and qualify the success of your campaigns.
Research: Know your audience
Almost a third of content marketers think their strategy fails because of poor audience research.
So, get to know both your audience and competitors. Use the data you have available or commission it to understand the needs, pain points and preferences of who you are trying to target. Buyer personas are a useful tool to hone in on the audience your strategy is targetting. Personas help to cluster your broader audience into clearly defined “manifestations” of key targets. With these in mind, you can create content to be ultra relevant and make an impact.
Don’t forget your competitors either. Do a content audit to break down the types of content and topics they’re publishing. You can identify any gaps and make your own content stand out.
Content that resonates with B2B audiences
What do whitepapers, case studies and reports have in common? They’re gold for B2B audiences who want value. These content types solve problems and earn trust:
- White papers
- Case studies
- eBooks
- Reports
- Webinars
- Blogs
- Social media like LinkedIn
- Infographics
- Video
So, evaluate the content you already create. How well is it performing and how can it be improved or transformed into a higher-value form of content?
Outreach: Push your content out there
There’s no point investing in good content if it’s just going to sit on your site.
Share it via socials or email marketing to improve visibility, and reports can also be pitched out to journalists and relevant trade media.
Paid media is also one of the fastest ways to improve visibility on Google, YouTube or TikTok. Consider investing in pay per click (PPC) ads to get your content seen by the right people.
Taking your content marketing strategy omnichannel
Omnichannel has become somewhat of a buzzword in recent years, but connecting with your audience on multiple channels will improve your visibility and reach. Here are a few key channels you might want to bring into your content strategy.
Optimise for SEO
Whether it’s a blog or whitepaper, optimise your content for SEO.
Ranking higher in search engine results pages (SERPs) can help you generate organic traffic for sales and brand visibility – you want to be in the top spots when a customer searches for your service or product. As well as using keywords and popular search terms, ensure your content is helpful and relevant to your audience.
Recycle content for social media
Keep evolving your content, so that it remains relevant. Whether that’s by sharing it on channels like LinkedIn with infographics and carousels, or repurposing it into short-form videos. Pick a key angle to start discussions and boost engagement.
PPC and paid media
Paid campaigns can spotlight your best content to a specific target audience.
Running ads on Google, YouTube, Meta, TikTok or Reddit can help you generate leads from a much wider network. The campaigns can be created quickly and are highly measurable helping you learn and assess performance. When used for retargeting, this can have a greater impact.
Brand PR and digital PR
Don’t let your content fall through the cracks.
Craft compelling press releases to get it seen in national and local press – and target relevant trade media too. You can also draft thought leadership features off the back of these as well.
Research-based reports that tell a story and share exclusive insights using internal data are highly newsworthy. Creating content using exclusive data can help you secure backlinks and boost your brand and website’s authority.
Email marketing
Share content through email, whether standalone or newsletters. You’re likely targeting B2B managers who have already expressed an interest in your service, so this short-form content could push them further along the sales funnel.
Step up your B2B content marketing strategy with Tank
B2B content marketing is essential for brands that want to drive leads and visibility, but to be successful, the content needs to be top quality.
At Tank, our content marketers deliver results with fresh, engaging content that helps you to make your mark.
Find out how Tank can support your B2B content marketing strategy.
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