Content marketing should be an integral part of a comprehensive B2B marketing strategy. Unfortunately, we often see that B2B firms don’t understand the true value of content marketing or how it helps to achieve overall business goals. Those that don’t understand the value of content marketing think of it as “just blogging” or worse, a “busywork” activity.
In this article, we explore how B2B firms are leveraging content marketing to support and further business objectives. By looking at how firms are successfully using B2B content marketing tactics, we explore how a content strategy supports the business.
Build industry credibility
Whether your company is an early-stage start-up, a mid-market firm, or an established entity in your industry, the thought leadership you produce builds a strong, credible reputation for your firm. Every B2B firm has knowledgeable experts who have innovative insights or significant experience in their industry. By creating educational, useful content that showcases the insights of these experts, you establish your firm as a go-to source for helpful information.
Case study:
We recently worked with a cybersecurity technology firm to write a “Trends in Cybersecurity Technology” report that tapped the insights of their leading security experts. With input from respected cybersecurity industry thought leaders, the report generated excellent press coverage and was used to gather new partnerships and leads for the firm.
Attract a new audience
The main question here is, “Why would a prospect visit your B2B website?” Along with that, you should be asking, “What value do we offer that is better or different than our competitors?”
For B2B firms looking to attract a new audience of ideal buyers, thought leadership content is one of the main avenues to entice new visitors to your website. People don’t want to be sold to, they want to be educated and provided with helpful information to make a decision. When you create true thought leadership content that provides insights or educational information, you tell potential prospects that your firm is here to help and to answer any questions they have. You also communicate that you understand their challenges and are the ideal problem-solver for them.
The caveat here is that any new thought leadership needs to be optimized for search engines (aka SEO). When done properly, the SEO elements of content create a seamless user experience from their search on Google or Bing to their interaction with your content. For example, if they are searching for cybersecurity trends and your article is optimized for cybersecurity trends, then the user will know they are right where they need to be.
Case study:
A managed services provider (MSP) that we work with for ongoing B2B content marketing created a thought leadership article on common phishing attempts and how to thwart them. The article was posted to the site and garnered new visitors interested in learning how to protect their companies from these types of threats, with many discovering the content through search engines.
Generate new leads
In the current environment of privacy and protection of personal information, your ideal buyers are tentative to share their contact information.
So, how do you collect new lead information that is provided willingly by the user? It’s easy: you provide valuable content that helps them do their job, make a decision, or create a business case for their internal team. Now, your content doesn’t have to be gated to generate new leads. Helpful blogs, guides, and easy-to-access case studies can also aquire leads.
Case study:
In working with a SaaS company on content marketing, we created a buyer’s guide to explain the software platform options available on the market. The guide not only discussed the type of software our client offers, but the available software offered by competitors. The guide has since generated high-quality leads in their target audience because it provides a comprehensive view of the software available and explains which firms benefit from each type of software available.
Nurture prospects
Whether a potential buyer is already on your sales team’s radar or they are still anonymously shopping around, great content is the key to keeping them engaged and interested. Drafting helpful content like buying guides, comparison sheets, case studies, whitepapers, and educational articles is essential to nurturing potential leads.
If the prospect is in the process of talking to your sales team, sharing helpful, relevant content can help move them down the funnel. Case studies, portfolios, client reviews, and use cases are critical to help demonstrate why your company is the best in the industry.
If the prospect is still hanging out on the fringe and preserving their anonymity, your brand can still use B2B content marketing pieces to serve up the right content they need to determine if your firm is a good fit for their needs and finally cross that bridge to reach out to your sales team (aka converting to a lead).
Case study:
At Bop Design, we craft case studies for each of the new B2B websites we launch each month. The case study section of our website is one of the most visited sections. Additionally, our business development team leverages these case studies when talking to leads to show them what work we have done with other B2B firms in the same industry.
Close deals
What if there is one piece of content that finally gets a prospect or passive lead to request a proposal or sign up for a free trial? The tough thing is figuring out what that piece of content is, especially since it can vary wildly from prospect to prospect and company to company. The solution is to provide a variety of content that the prospect can pick and choose from.
Case study:
We’ve been providing B2B content marketing services for a technology firm for several years. Last month, a subscriber, who had been on their newsletter distribution list for over five years, replied to a newsletter that included a blog on product development and asked to speak to the author about an upcoming project. It’s worth noting that our client had never had any sales discussions previously with this newsletter subscriber – in fact, she wasn’t even on their sales radar. While this conversion took longer than most, the subscriber had been reading the newsletter for years until a new piece of content resonated with her needs and she reached out to discuss her project.
Retain existing clients
From the moment you bring on a new client, they are looking for reasons to fire your company or terminate your services. Even if this isn’t something they are conscious of, it’s happening. Continually providing excellent service and significant value is crucial to retaining all paying clients.
B2B content marketing strategy plays a part in retaining existing clients. How, you ask? Well, as noted above, true thought leadership builds credibility. Creating thought leadership consistently reinforces that credibility with your audience. By actively crafting new content regularly, you are demonstrating to your existing clients that you are still the leader in the industry, you have valuable insights to share with them, and you make their job easier.
This is particularly true for B2B SaaS firms that are continually innovating and improving their software offering. In some cases, simply communicating all the new upgrades, features, and capabilities via new blogs, product updates, and comparison charts will educate your current clients and reinforce that they are using the right product for them. Often, client retention is about continuing to impress and educate your clients.
