Content! The all-mighty king, which when used appropriately can make your business. Misuse it, and it can break your business.

Recently, I came across a question on the internet. It was a simple question- how to make the right content marketing strategy? I thought about it for some time, pondering on all that has been said by the B2B marketing experts, and then realized that there is a wide gap in understanding the basic concepts.

Content marketing is defined as “a strategic [marketing] approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant and consistent content to attract and retain a [clearly] defined audience- and ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.” (Source: Content Marketing Institute)

And what is content? Well, it is anything and everything from blogs to videos, infographics to ebooks.

The significance of content is immense, be it for the B2B market or the B2C one. What will work for the B2C market will not have the same impact on the business-oriented industry. And when we talk about the B2B industry, we refer to the crème da le crème of the business world. From the CEOs to the managers, marketing experts to SEO professionals, B2B marketing is an entirely different game.

Also Read: How to Generate More Leads

Hence, it is safe to deduce that the content crafted for the B2B market and the version for B2C will be significantly varied.

To further emphasis on this particular point, here is a table that will further help clear your ideas.

The audience needs are different. The preferences are different. The motive is different. Hence, the type of content you need to produce for your B2B marketing will be strikingly varied from that created for the B2C audience. This also gets reflected in the content marketing strategy you develop to target the audience particular audience base.

However, it is also worthy of notice that no matter whether you are writing for a millennial or a CEO, the fundamentals of creating engaging content remains same. The approach might be different, but the motive is similar- to shell out content that interests your audience.

Identifying this small tactic can make a huge difference in the content marketing strategy you are preparing.

So, today, we will be discussing how to develop and further fix a proper B2B content marketing strategy.

Well, to succeed B2B content marketing strategy, you will require tactics that deliver you rapid clicks, helps with your brand name and provides value for your marketing campaigns and your entire sales cycle.

We have listed five effective ways to fix your B2B content marketing strategy. Keep reading this guide for it will walk you through the best strategies you can adopt for your B2B content marketing campaigns.

#Strategy 1: Define Your Goals

What does your plan relate to the most? Your company goals. The objectives of your brand should get reflected in your strategy.

So, when it comes to crafting content, you should use the same tactics. Write down all the goals your brand wants to achieve and construct your content marketing strategy around it. Be it a lead generation or laying down information about the product/service, each content created should work towards fulfilling the same goal.

Often, we miss out on defining our objectives, losing sight of the destination. To ensure you stay on your path and get where you want to be, you need to have ultimate goals.

#Strategy 2: Sell Your Story, Your Product Will Sell

Dramatic as it may sound, the truth is that this is the most neglected aspect of content marketing. Peculiar but true. An excellent narrative ensures to keep your readers engaged. And if they are involved, well, they might end up investing in your product/service.

Ask the B2B marketers about the same, and narrative tops their list of all content marketing strategy.

Many a time, we end up creating content that centers on product/services. We all do that. And there is honestly no problem with it. But when you let that affect the quality of content you are creating, it becomes worrisome.

When writing B2B contents, we either

• Focus too much on being straightforward and forget to make the content engaging
• Or it becomes a self-promoting story that forces the readers to use your product/service

Again, this is where we need to focus on the fundamentals. Content, no matter who you are writing it for or what you are writing about, should be engaging. It should tell a story. It can be educational, informative, and humorous or can even have a severe tone; but it should narrate an engaging story. One that keeps the audience hooked till the end.

But how to create engaging content?

It’s straightforward you see. First, focus on how you want to tell the story and then worry about selling the business with it. Invest in the buyer’s journey. Every company has a unique story to tell, so use that to leverage your content.

No, I am not asking you to write like Shakespeare or Milton, follow a structural to ensure that it gives information yet stays interesting. Add call-to-actions, ask questions.

If you use your content right, it will sell your product. Make no mistake about the same!

#Strategy 3: Understand of Your Client’s Business

Okay, so let’s now understand something. You sell a geo-targeted email marketing software. You have listed out your target audience as companies who want to invest in email marketing. What do you do? How do you sell your product?

Also Read: How to Use Geo-Targeted Marketing for Better Engagement

Yes, because we are discussing content marketing, it is apparent that you will use content to target them and inform them about your software, but how do you make sure that what you are selling will be useful to them?

What if your client doesn’t want to invest in email marketing? What if their audience is not local?

The point here is that merely narrating an engaging story is not going to do you any good. While understanding your target audience is a primary requirement, you also need to ensure that your product/service correlates with their business. That is the beauty of B2B marketing.

You need to connect to them by showing them that your product/service will help them reach out in the local market. You need to elaborate on the point that how by using your geo-targeted email marketing software, they can further connect to the right target audience.

Tell stories, but make them relatable. Know what your client’s businesses specialize in and then get on to offering them what you have. This will ensure to develop an ever-lasting relationship.

#Strategy 4: Try Different Types of Content

Yes, blogs work. And especially the long ones. According to a study conducted by HubSpot, a 7 min blog on average contains 2100 words. And we all know that these long posts work fine. Both for readers and search engines.

But should you stick to creating long articles?

83% of B2B marketers use social media content to reach out their audience. Now that might come as a surprise. Blogging is effective and brings solid results if you genuinely want your content marketing strategy to have a high ROI (Return on Investment), you need to try out different forms of content, something that your competitors aren’t trying.

Making an informative infographic or a beautiful video can work wonders. Since people with their wandering attention span pay more attention to graphics and videos, it can boost your content marketing strategy. 87% of B2B marketers prefer videos as the best form of content; you should leverage it for the advantage of your business.

Webinars influence the purchase decision of 76% B2B buyers. And the number has been steadily rising over the past year as well.

So, try out different forms of content and see what works out best for your brand.

#Strategy 5: Capture Attention by Creating Multi-layered Content

If you have followed even a wee bit of content marketing strategy, you would know creating multi-layered content is extremely useful. Ask any B2B marketers, and they would advise you to do the same.

• Text
• Images
• Videos

Multi-layered content contains all things essential to make content stand out. From being engaging to interactive, a layered content can create more buzz than expected.

And what does a multi-layer content look like?

Well, including text, images, infographics, and even videos would make your content appealing. Text-based content combined with visual materials creates an engaging experience for the audience.

While texts are usually used to give a more detailed explanation of the topic, you are writing on, adding images and videos make the entire material interesting. A well-written content with high-quality images and video is the perfect recipe for a successful content marketing strategy.

A Quick Conclusion

Content marketing strategy is inherent for all businesses looking to succeed in this industry laden with fierce competition. As a B2B marketer, you should not only seek to develop a fantastic content marketing strategy but also ensure that every version works out. Content is the best way to communicate with your audience, and in B2B marketing, it plays a rather significant role.

Finding and applying the right content marketing strategy is essential for businesses. If you want to make sure that your content marketing strategy works, consult with the experts today. Comment below if you have queries. Subscribe today for more information on content marketing strategy.