Content marketing is a wonderful way to build credibility, establish thought leadership, educate prospects and clients, and attract new website visitors. However, to be effective, B2B content absolutely must provide value for the reader or viewer. If it doesn’t provide value, they won’t view or read the piece and they definitely won’t be back to consume any other content.
In this post, we are going to look at 4 ways your B2B content marketing can provide value to your target market.
Fill a Need
Create content that fills a need for your prospects or clients. Determine what topics are hot button issues in your industry that your competitors aren’t covering. Also, think about what your prospects need to know to become a client (pricing, specs, statistics, use cases, applications, innovations, etc).
A great way to determine what needs potential prospects have is to do keyword research or to use tools like Answer the Public or Buzzsumo to find potential topics. Keyword research will let you know keyword phrases people are searching for online and help you determine what types of topics they are looking for material on. Additionally, even a quick search in Google or Bing to see the suggested searches can produce one or two possible topics.
3 Surprising Spots for Blog Topic Inspiration.
Answer a Question
Ask and answer a question that your prospects or clients are interested in. Do research to see what prospects and clients are asking and THINKING about asking. If possible, be one step ahead with your content marketing pieces. By anticipating their needs, you not only provide value, but you are showing them that you truly understand them and are building trust.
Topics Your Prospects Want to See.
When in doubt, turn to your sales team and your service delivery or customer service team. Find out what do clients wish they knew before they started. Are there any questions that could have been answered in the sales process? If possible, put together a list of frequently asked questions. These are valuable for educating prospects early on in the sales process and establishing your firm as a resource.
Make It Easy
Be clear in your content. Technical content can be great, but remember that there people of differing backgrounds, education levels, and leadership levels consuming your content. Don’t be afraid to, as they say, “dumb it down.” Remember everyone has a first day, first job, or first time in the industry – make it easy for them and build yourself as a resource they can turn too. If you aren’t able to make your content accessible to various types of readers or viewers, turn to professional B2B content marketing writers. Experienced content writers are adept at taking technical content and crafting content that speaks to the layperson.
B2B Blogs Your Prospects Hate to Read.
Explain in Plain Language
Let go of the Lingo. It’s easy to get into using acronyms and abbreviations and industry terms. Eradicate all buzzwords and industry jargon from your content. Once you have created a piece of content, take a step back and check it for terminology. Does it use anything that is currently a buzzword? (Like “pivot” or “synergy”) Using obvious buzzwords makes content look dated and stale in the very near future, while too much industry jargon automatically makes your content inaccessible to anyone who isn’t firmly enmeshed in your industry. Remember that CEOs and CFOs or purchasing managers don’t often need to have the industry knowledge to do their jobs well and are often part of the B2B buying process.
