B2B Content Should Promote Thought Leadership
Writing by Brick Marketing in B2B SEO Marketing
B2B decision makers spend time doing research online. In order to stand out above the rest of your competition and get noticed, it’s important to invest in content marketing. Content is what helps fuel SEO and social media strategies. Without content, it’s difficult to find success online today. Many B2B marketers understand this concept, yet are still creating the wrong kind of content.
B2B content shouldn’t just be about your company and the products or services that you provide. That kind of content isn’t much more engaging than an advertisement. The kind of content that will be appreciated and establish your business as a reputable source extends beyond what you have to offer. It speaks to the customer and addresses their pain points or questions or concerns that they may have. It talks about what’s going on in the industry as a whole and provides your in depth professional opinion on the topic. If each piece of content looks like a press release and only relates to news within your organization it’s not really helping target audience members or persuading them to trust you.
In order to create content that resonates with your target audience, it’s important to understand their needs. One great way to find out what they are looking for is simply to ask. Do you have a social media following? Newsletter subscribers? These people have opted in to receiving messages from you for a reason and will appreciate that you care about what they have to say. Speak to your customer service department and find out what some of the most common questions/concerns of your customers are. Another source of topic ideas is other industry blogs. See what others are talking about and browse the comments to look for inspiration.
When developing B2B content, it’s important to stay organized. Content should be created on a regular basis so that it’s never outdated. Depending on your industry, a whitepaper or eBook from a few months ago may be considered “too old”. Keep the content fresh and follow an editorial calendar that includes the type of content, topic, places to publish, and places to promote.
