After all, audiences and buyers want best practices and key industry insights that will help them get ahead. So here are three best practices that will help B2B marketers succeed in their content strategies: 1. Know your audience first and then build awareness Knowing what your customers want will help you in outlining the content required on your website or blog. After all, your corporate website is the face of your brand in the digital world, and is often the initial touch-point between brand and customer. Take customers through the consideration stage Moving the customer from awareness to consideration typically involves feeding them with information that generates positive brand sentiment, and illustrates why your brand is a better alternative over your competitors. As customers continue their research, they are likely to be hungry for personalised product demonstrations, and in-depth information such as pricing, recommendations and case study examples. Take a look at Tetra Pak, a leading food processing and packaging solutions company with a growing presence in India, as a good example of engaging content creation. Although intricacies behind the product design can be technical, Tetra Pak was able to demonstrate the advantages of its packaging by allowing potential buyers to interact with the product both offline and online, ensuring they are fed with the necessary information at the consideration stage -- just like how B2C brands would market to end consumers. Clearly in this scenario content becomes a must-have for B2B brands, and marketers are looking at more innovative ways to create high-quality content that not only establishes authority but builds meaningful relationships with their target consumers. It’s time that B2B companies in India too, focus on perfecting their online marketing strategies to yield greater business results in the long run.
In a world where audiences are deeply immersed in content, marketers need to adapt to this changing landscape. This has led to the rise of content marketing as a storytelling vehicle, with brands shifting from simply crafting messages to creating experiences.
B2C marketers seem to have generally embraced this shift earlier in the days, prioritizing content marketing. Blogs and content hubs are now regarded as the ultimate megaphones for companies; websites have to be more interactive and social media channels hold the reins of CRM . According to Content Marketing Institute, 37% of B2C content marketers are developing a more documented content strategy than before and dedicating approximately 32% of their budgets to it.
But while B2C brands have grown increasingly mature in their understanding of content, many B2B businesses are still early on in their transition to delivering the essentials customers want to consume. There’s no question that white papers, case studies and webinars are important elements in the content marketing toolbox of businesses. After all, audiences and buyers want best practices and key industry insights that will help them get ahead. The stark reality, however, is that businesses are so focused on increasing their content output that they lose sight on keeping their content effective.
In order to succeed in the unique B2B space, marketers need to go back to the drawing board; looking into the fundamental goals of content marketing: engaging, retaining and converting.
So here are three best practices that will help B2B marketers succeed in their content strategies:
1. Know your audience first and then build awareness
Knowing what your customers want will help you in outlining the content required on your website or blog. After all, your corporate website is the face of your brand in the digital world, and is often the initial touch-point between brand and customer.
In just about every aspect of their web experience, customers should be able to walk away with an understanding of your business, the fact that they possess a need, and certain value propositions of your product, or service.
Apart from tagging each piece of your content with potent meta-data, think about the emotional connection that your content can create, so that customers remember you. Consider publishing white papers and blog posts on relevant social media channels or content publishing websites. Thought leadership pieces are also a great content-type to consider.
2. Take customers through the consideration stage
Moving the…
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