It’s a term that has been around for so long.
Much like 5G, IoT or blockchain. You may not know enough to explain it; nonetheless, you are expected to be familiar with it.
There has been enough pandemonium on content marketing, let alone the B2B segment. We know content marketing invariably increases audience engagement, improves sales leads/generations and enhances brand awareness.
But, to sit down and decode B2B content marketing can be a bit confusing - the spectrum is too vast to pinpoint a few essentials, and more complex than the consumer-oriented B2C content marketing.
What is B2B Content Marketing and how is it different from B2C?
B2B or Business-to-Business content marketing is the process of generating and distributing content to boost leads, traffic, and brand awareness for business-to-business companies. Examples are As the target audience in B2B are the other companies to whom you pitch your sales, the content creation also varies from regular business-to-consumer marketing. |
The 2 major differences between B2C and B2B content marketing are:
● Audience: In B2Cs and B2Bs the target audiences are different. In B2C, you are connected to a more diverse audience spread across platforms, while in B2B you deal with a specific group of business professionals or decision-makers in the target companies/corporates.
Hence content creation for B2B gets more industry specific and addresses the particular business bottlenecks when compared to the rather generic topics in B2C marketing.
The content info is more related to industry facts, the product/service descriptions and the economic gains associated with it.
● Content Strategy: The content marketing strategy goals are different for B2Bs and B2Cs. In B2C it's about generating sales leads, customer experience and the conversion to loyalty. B2B content marketing strategies are more specific, and are focused to establish trust and long-term relationships between companies.
A Quick List to Building a Fool proof B2B Content Marketing Strategy
While in B2C, the content marketing strategies are aimed at the target consumers as a whole, in B2B they could differ from one company to another.
Here’s a quick peek into the essentials that you need to keep in mind while planning a content marketing strategy for B2B segment:
1. Know Your Audience:
Remember that the B2B customers are more complex to handle as they are mostly industry experts. They may not be easily pleased or impressed with your “promotions” as in the consumer-centric B2C market.
Hence, it is better to group your customers on a specific pattern like their buying behaviour. Browse through various industry related YouTube videos, blogs, social media pages/handles, to know exactly what each group of customers require. The question/comment space in the vlog/blog sections are great info generators for future content since you get to learn exactly what your customers seek.
2. Decide on the Content Format:
Address the pain points of your buyers. Gain emotional connection with the customers to create tailor-made content as per their requirements.
You may create visual content (live videos, vlogs, blogs, podcasts or a mix of these) about industry info or on current updates on the products/services you deal with.
You may have to tailor content as per the requirements of the different companies you deal with or you may have to change the format to suit the various levels of management groups in the same organisation.
3. Decide on the Distribution Channels:
Picking the right content channels for content distribution is as important as content creation. B2B content may not have as much social media share as in B2C content. As per a research by FocusVision 70% of B2B customers get their daily dose of content from a vendor’s site in contrast to the 53% that rely on social media.
Businesses are more noted through email marketing, newsletters or relevant blogs on their websites. You need to research well, assess, and choose your platforms to publish your content.
Just like how you might have to churn out different formats of the same content, you may have to use a mix of varied channels for content communication. For B2B, the most popular platform to make your presence felt is LinkedIn. However, Meta/Facebook pages and Instagram handles are slowly paving the path for B2B content creation.
4. Be Aware Of Your Competitors:
Business is all about wins and gains and surely content marketing is nonetheless the same. Know your competitors and be aware of their content marketing strategies. Try to strike a different tune in your content creation strategies. Carve your unique content niche leveraging your strengths.
Constant research will help you learn your client requirements and expectations and derive your unique formula for an audience-centric strategy instead of blindly following that of your competitor.
5. Track Your Content Marketing Results:
Always track your marketing results using tools like Google Analytics. Be consistent in your content creation. Track your metrics in order to understand what content format works for your audience. Know your strong and weak spots. Develop your plus-es to be unique and try to cut out your minus-es to the lowest.
Takeaway
Good, purposeful and constructive content can undeniably make big changes in the business marketing efforts of companies. However, businesses - be it the B2Bs or the B2Cs - need to be persistent and insightful in their content marketing efforts, in order to win the cutting edge over their competitors. Remember, SEOs are useless unless they're packed with quality content.
Do you need help to create the best content for your B2B marketing startegy? We at ThePendits can help you create the unique and consistent content you need. For more info about us visit us at SEO Content Writing | ThePendits | Expert Writers | Article Writing.