The internet, being a bottomless source of information, can be an overwhelming place to visit. You’ll come across anything from useful articles to humorous posts. Just imagine: Over 4 million blog posts are published every day online. How can you manage to stand out and reach your target audience amidst all that noise?
The answer is content marketing.
Content marketing is not a new concept. In fact, a lot of blogs and self-proclaimed professional digital marketers have probably exhausted this topic with their version of tips and trends to follow. That in itself is an example of content marketing at its simplest form—creating content with the intent to educate your readers.
7 B2B Content Marketing Tips to Standout
Brands such as Toshiba and LinkedIn have been known to excel in B2B marketing techniques, mainly focusing on social media, content promotion, among others. Below are some more tactics you should focus on if you aim to attain the same success as these companies.
1. Tell a story
What does it mean to create content? It’s doable to write 1,000 words on a topic you’re an expert on, but it’s a challenge to present that creatively that will captivate your audience long enough for them to read until the end of your post. Storytelling is something you should incorporate not just on blog posts but social media efforts, email marketing newsletters, and even ads.
Look for brands who have their storytelling voice and study what makes them unique. From this exercise, you could be inspired to develop your voice and use it to present your brand persona. Compelling stories will ensure that you will be noticed in a sea of content currently floating around the internet.
2. Prioritize the customer experience
The trend of taking customer experience seriously (CX) is only going to grow further, as brands must be able to ensure that all user touch points are enticing, relevant, and useful. This tactic will attract non-existing customers to your business since they see the authority you emanate in your industry. As B2B marketing is targeted towards other professionals, this step is crucial. Once you are at their service, don’t be complacent as well. Continuously show that you are willing to go above and beyond what your company can offer. Care for your clients—they’re the ones who keep your business alive!
3. Personalize your content
It’s 2019, and more and more things are going digital, from learning and researching to shopping and banking. However, people are starting to miss the human connection that physical activities used to bring. The internet, no matter how connected it is shaping the world to be, isolates us from real interactions with other people compared to the past.
A solution for this is establishing a relationship with your audience online, through the little things like addressing them by their names, tailoring their experience with previous searches, giving them personalized offers and discounts, and so much more.
4. Use multi-layered content
It sounds complicated, but you’ve probably seen the implementation of this tactic throughout the evolution of content marketing. Multi-layered content is simply using text, images, and videos or animated components in a single post to create an eye-catching and engaging post for your audience to interact with. Some of the most common examples are adding images to blog posts, animating CTA posters, and creating an infographic.
5. Promote your content
Content promotions are integral to your content marketing plan. You can’t just always expect users to flock to your latest post after you publish it—especially if you are putting out a time-sensitive piece. Be strategic and creative with using social media channels like LinkedIn, Facebook groups, Twitter, email marketing newsletters, and more for spreading the word about your latest posts.
6. Cross-pollination
You should be able to recognize the potential your content promotion efforts can achieve if you look at tapping business partners or influencers to advertise content for you. This doesn’t just have to happen on social media either. Other examples are guest posting or content syndication. If brands refer to you and other companies see it, your credibility increases, and it’s added to your reputation.
7. Monitor your metrics
As with every strategy, you need to monitor your efforts continually and track their growth. Reviewing and comparing your KPIs and metrics will allow you to see which areas you need to improve on, and which strategies are already working wonderfully for your business.
Create a list of relevant metrics you need to monitor and use analytics tools that can help you track them. Businesses differ in priority, so be clear with your objectives and why you want to reach those numbers that you’re pining after.
Content Marketing is King
Content marketing is one of the most reliable tactics for B2B marketing. By following the tips above, you can also experience the returns this strategy can give your business. As marketers, you always have to stay on your toes when implementing a content marketing strategy to weed out the competition.