Want to Win at B2B Content Marketing in 2017? Focus on the Fundamentals.

Here are a few ideas: Look at your prospects’ trade association websites and the media kits of their industry publications for insight on demographics. When your prospect is in the research stage, he or she is researching potential solutions to the problem or need, looking for information that will provide a better understanding of the problem and all the ways that problem could be solved. When your prospect is in the shortlist / evaluation stage, he or she is researching providers that can solve the problem or need. You’ll want to make sure that you have content that addresses each stage of the journey and that you provide this content at the appropriate times. You can take this principle further by encouraging them to make a commitment publicly. Refer to expert opinion and research in your blog posts, articles, and white papers. You can use this principle by limiting the number of seats in your webinar, limiting the time your offers are available, and offering one-of-a-kind specials for niche groups within your target audience. Bounce Rate — This metric will tell you if people find your content valuable enough to continue reading after they get past the first few sentences. Social Shares — If your number of visits is high but not many people are sharing your content, that could mean people don’t find it very valuable. Lead Quality — If your lead quality is low, you need to better target your audience.

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Marketing has gotten pretty complicated. There are so many strategies, infinite numbers of tools available, and myriad metrics to track. It can be overwhelming.

Marketers are getting so focused on the new and the changing that they’re losing sight of the fundamental. But the reality is that the fundamentals are still fundamental and they haven’t changed. And if you stay focused on them—even if you aren’t up on the latest innovation or on the newest platform—you can beat your competitors (who are likely in the majority of people who’ve gotten distracted).

1. Know your audience.

There is no substitute for market research. But you don’t have to use pricey focus groups and survey mailings. There are excellent ways to gather the intel you’ll need without the help of a large market research firm. Here are a few ideas:

  • Look at your prospects’ trade association websites and the media kits of their industry publications for insight on demographics.
  • Check out your prospects’ social media pages and LinkedIn groups, and watch for how they describe their frustrations as well as things they get excited about.
  • Look at the case studies of your competitors or other companies targeting the same audience for information on common pain points.
  • Interview your ideal clients and/or prospects, asking these questions:
    • When did you realize you needed help with [the problem your product or service solves]?
    • Tell me more about that problem — how it manifests itself in your work week/life.
    • What do you look for in a product or service provider?
    • What’s your typical method of researching potential products or service providers?
    • What websites do you use on a regular basis?
    • What social media platforms are you active on?
    • What publications do you read?
    • How do you prefer to learn information? Webinars, podcasts, eBooks, blogs, videos, one-sheet PDFs, infographics?
  • Survey your email list with the same types of questions as those listed above.

2. Map your content to the buyer’s journey.

What your prospect is interested in varies according to where he or she is in the buying journey. I like Rocket Watcher’s framework for content mapping.

  • When your prospect is in the no need / awareness stage, he or she is beginning to experience symptoms of an underlying problem and is unsure what to do or even how significant the problem is. You’ll need to provide content that diagnoses the problem and digs into the risks of not doing anything about solving the problem. Blog posts, articles, videos, webinars, infographics, and one-page downloadables are all good content formats for this stage.
  • When your prospect is in the research stage, he or she is researching potential solutions to the problem or need, looking for information that will provide a better understanding of the problem and all the ways that problem could be solved. This stage calls for content like blog posts, articles, videos, webinars, podcasts, infographics, white papers, and eBooks that focus on this information.
  • When your prospect is in the shortlist / evaluation stage, he or she is researching providers that can solve the problem or need. During this stage, the prospect will develop a shortlist (or consideration set) of…

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