Simply Creating Content Is Not Enough For B2B Brands

Around 87% of US B2B companies will use digital content marketing this year. What does that mean to marketers? The answer is simple, with so much content among target groups, the chances of content overload for consumers can’t be overruled. The solution is to create content that adds value.

Follow the 5 Essentials of Creating Quality Content For B2B Audiences

The goal for B2B marketers is to create content across all funnel stages depending on the micro-moments that customers might go through in order to reach the end of the funnel. Adopting a user-centric content marketing strategy will help increase site traffic and raise existing rankings. So, how can you achieve a goal of creating user-focused, efficient and innovative content to reach potential prospects? Follow the below tips:

1- Guide the Content Strategy with Data-Driven Metrics

Every step you take into content marketing should be guided by data. You must know why you are adopting this approach and what benefits you will get at a later date.

The most important pre-campaign metrics to track are:

• Properly defined and accurately measurable KPIs.
• The bounce rate to identify the improvements later on.
• The time on site to measure how your audiences are finding content.
• The engagement rate to identify whether your audiences are interacting with your content.
• The conversion rate to measure the actual ROI derived from your content.

Similarly, the most important post-campaign metrics to track are:

• The total traffic your content is reaching and are they truly your target audience?
• The differences in bounce rate compared with pre-campaign vs post-campaign.
• The differences in time on site compared with pre-campaign vs post-campaign.
• The differences in engagement rate compared with pre-campaign vs post-campaign.
• The differences in conversion rate compared with pre-campaign vs post-campaign.

2- Leverage The Power of Live Webinars & Video Content

Interactive content is always superior when it comes to ROI. The reason is obvious, it drives actions and actions ultimately turn into conversions.

Webinars have always been a powerful marketing tactic for any B2B marketer. A Webinar is basically the combination of the words “web” and “seminar.” Participants can interact with the host in real time. This makes a webinar an extremely powerful marketing weapon.

Below are some forms of Webinars that you can run depending on your business niche:

• Product Demo Webinars
• Q&A Webinars
• Case Study Webinars
• Educational Webinars
• Personalized Webinars
• Discussion Webinars
• Training Webinars
• Expert/Influencer Webinars etc.

Moreover, you can easily embed storytelling into videos which are not always possible with traditional text-based content marketing. In order to generate brand awareness and improve traffic to your site, utilize funny videos to promote your existing content.

Webinars have been proven to be extremely successful in ephemeral content marketing. In order to generate interest in your products among your niche audience, create videos that showcase the power of your services.

3- Create Strategic Alliances with Other Brands

Creating strategic alliances with other brands is of utmost importance and this is a strategy that most B2B content marketers ignore. Here are some of the essentials you need to follow to get an alliance right for your brand:

• Select partners according to the intended goals.
• Don’t share everything with your partner. Only share things that are related to your content marketing campaign.
• Offer a deal that shares risks and benefits. You might be at a loss if you share only benefits and don’t share the risks.
• Create proper agreements and list the benefits and the associated risks.
• The partnership between Google and Luxottica is a good example. Google Glass focuses on technology but not fashion. Luxottica’s brand focuses on fashion and not tech. The advantage was obvious – Google was able to add a “fashion” factor to it’s otherwise “tech-only” glasses.
• The partnership should be an extension of the brand values of each of the brand.

4- Maintain Consistency of Brand Across All Channels

Your audiences should know about your brand and its service motto simply by looking at the style of content produced. To maintain the consistency of your brand across all channels, follow the below tactics:

• Know your audience and who you are selling to.
• Map channels with content. For example, the content you will use for Twitter marketing will not be the same as LinkedIn marketing. So, properly map your content with targeted social channels.
• Ensure your potential customer is familiar with your brand because this will establish a relationship of trust.
• Use a distinguished name and logo than that of your competitors.
• Establish your brand message by providing a solution to a specific problem.
• Identify your brand voice by appealing to certain personalities.
• Use influencers to reach potential prospects.

Follow the above essentials to revamp your existing content marketing strategy as creating content is not enough to improve ROI. Preparing smart content and distributing it to the right people through proper channels are key to generating more conversions.