Content marketing in business is a tactical marketing method aimed at generating and dispensing valuable content. The main intention is to draw attention and create leads.
Primarily, content marketing targets other businesses, bulk buyers, and individuals.
Content that target individuals are known as b2c (business to customer). The practice covers the best procedures used to promote services and products amongst consumers – through the use of valuable, relevant, and interesting content.
On the other hand, businesses use content to develop brand affinity and increase the audience by appealing to other companies. This art is known as b2b or business-to-business.
While content marketing strategies for both business-to-customer and business-to-business seem to have quite a lot of resemblances, there are distinctive challenges in trying to sell services or products to businesses as compared to selling them to consumers. Whether you are on the b2c side or b2b, in the content marketing business, you must have some fine-tuned strategies or involve a content marketing checklist to meet the desires of your audience.
Here are 5 top things you ought to know about b2b content marketing and distribution in 2019
- Content Marketing Works
In the current online world, content marketing is the most effective plan for marketers. According to research by Marketing Content Institute, 88% of b2b content marketers prefer content marketing in their advertising efforts.
- Start the B2b Story Telling Before You Sell Your Product
Story-telling will work because consumers are always in an intent desire to learn about an inevitable development that might be relevant to them.
Instead of bombarding customers with self-promotional tactics and hard-selling, businesses will create a compelling narrative about a product or service. B2b marketers are known to find subtlety in story-telling.
- User Experience Matters
Your clients need to connect with a brand in some way. You must express a unique experience with a brand to breed customer loyalty. Consumer loyalty comes through generating high-quality content that a variety of customers will identify with.
- Collaboration
It is essential for businesses to team up with other companies in light of the content marketing business. For instance, engaging a content marketing agency will be ideal in lead generation and inbound marketing.
Additionally, sharing your platform through guest posts will heighten exposure to your content. Eventually, traffic will be sent back to your website or even to your social media profile.
Primarily, you will benefit from the concept of content curation when you host other businesses’ content on your site.
- You’ll Gain Through Paid Ads
Platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook are great tools for b2b. For example, a topic like disruptive b2b marketing (marketers look for what prospective customers are missing to find ways of getting to them) will have an infinite number of shares on social platforms. The more shares you gain implies you’ll receive more attention. Additional attention suggests the potential for more conversions.
In the content marketing business, b2b content marketing can (when done right) match b2c ones. Below, you’ll find five b2b content marketing examples that are favorites to marketers.
- CB Insights
It devises technology meant for persons in the VC space. It appeals to a broader spectrum of audience. Mostly, it attracts the attention of investors and technology enthusiasts.
- Mattermark
It is an intelligence platform that incorporates public data to help investors make a decision. The system picks-up news and trends you need to know in promoting content marketing business.
Once you identify the problems your brand will solve for your customers, Mattermark will help you create relevant content that’s easily accessible by consumers.
- MYOB
Since each consumer has their own set of concerns, MYOB has a detailed b2b content marketing plan meant for any particular customer. It is an indication that the system understands the specific needs of its clients.
As a b2b marketer intending to use MYOB, it is critical to first understand your audience.
- Deloitte Insights
This service company specializes in auditing, consultancy, technology, and much more. Deloitte’s selling point is the fact that it collaborates with a great cross-section of industries; from life sciences to government agencies.
The cliché’ here is, as a b2b marketer, and as you create those content hubs; it’s wise to add a ‘knowledge center’ amongst them. The center will focus on educating your audience about the valued things it needs to learn.
- NextView Ventures
NextView is a B2b Company that has an active online presence. It focuses on analysis, stories and resources to help start-ups design effective strategies in the content marketing business. It has a separate blog from its website.
The distinct blog shows b2b marketers it is okay to publish off-domain content.
Types of Content Marketing
- Blogs
When trying to promote content marketing business, blogs are best fitted to improve SEO and gain more traffic to your website from search engines. If you have a limited marketing budget, a blog can still help you by supplementing any form of advertising with inbound content.
According to Forbes, sites that incorporate blogs have 434% indexed pages compared to those that don’t. The implication is that websites with blogs acquire a more significant opportunity of ending up on the initial pages of search engines.
- Videos
In digital marketing, it is vital to include video content. Videos are likely to grab targeted consumer’s attention quickly. Research put it that one-third of online activities are spent viewing video content.
According to BrightCove, businesses that integrate videos increase their organic traffic by 157% from search engines. Furthermore, videos increase the amount of time spent on a site by 105%. The more time potential clients spent on your website, the higher the chances of your business making a sale.
- Infographics
Infographics enable firms to provide useful information to their audiences. This type of visual content marketing empowers the audience to visualize data, for instance, statistics. It helps them understand how something works.
- Case studies
In the content marketing business, case studies help illustrate how your company has assisted a specific customer. They highlight special applications for their services or products.
- E-Books
E-books allow you to create a stable relationship with customers. Consumers will trust your brand and later on come to make a purchase when they ready.
Benefits of Content Marketing
Irrespective of whether you are promoting b2b or b2c in growing content marketing business, there are several advantages attached to it:
- Enables you to create credibility and authority
- Rises visibility of your brand
- Increases brand cognizance
- Opens a means of communication through comments and social shares
- Produces traffic to your website to develop lead generation
Why Small Businesses Need Content Marketing
As a small business owner, you should realize that 70% of consumers prefer to learn about a business through an article. And many customers look for that content over any other form of advertisement.
Researches reveal that 86% of people skip television adverts. Remarkably, 44% of people disregard direct mail, while 91% of e-mail users unsubscribe from businesses’ e-mails.
So, content marketing is powerful for small businesses. It will help you increase sales, save on operational costs, gain more loyal customers and most importantly acquire a competitive advantage.
Content marketing business is an excellent method to reach potential customers organically. Rather than pushing an undesired advert in their face, you’ll leave them with a lasting positive first impression about your products and services. Although you might not get an immediate sale in return, you’ll have attained the ultimate goal – providing value.