The conversion funnel is sometimes different between an "individual" customer and a "professional" customer. For this reason, you need to adapt your strategy marketing and your content when addressing a B2B audience.
Blog posts, whitepapers, and case studies are types of content to prioritize to attract your prospects and convert them. Your goal is to position yourself as a trusted, expert company and an authority.
Let's look together at how to optimize your content B2B marketing.
Content strategy: what are the differences between B2C and B2B?
It's a fact: a content strategy is not carried out the same way for a B2B audience as for a B2C audience. While with the latter the goal is often to generate leads, with a professional audience you must seek to strengthen their engagement with your brand.
Even if they buy the same product, remember that the reasons and motivations that drive their purchase are not the same. You must therefore adapt the content you create, as well as how you promote it.
How to run an effective B2B content strategy?
Make good use of storytelling
Just because you need to have a professional approach doesn't mean you should impress your audience with complicated vocabulary.
Your content should remain easy to understand, so avoid using jargon when it's not necessary, or you risk creating confusion.
Keep in mind that B2B customers are often exposed to dull, personality-free content. To capture their attention, opt for storytelling. You should play on emotions by telling stories:
- Try to align your B2B target's business with the products or services you sell. For example, you can describe how you work or rely on existing customer case studies.
- Tell the story of your product or company. Don't be afraid to share the problems you had to overcome.
- Educate your audience with guides or podcasts to help them stand out and develop their knowledge of the market they operate in.
There are countless ways to use storytelling in your content strategy. If you encounter difficulties, you can trust the skills of a professional copywriter.
Go beyond blogging
An effective B2B content marketing strategy requires a variety of content. So don't limit yourself to writing simple blog posts.
Try other approaches your competitors rarely use:
Besides infographics, newsletters and white papers, try giving professional presentations, creating reports, podcasts or even printed materials. These are used less and less, yet their impact remains strong when well executed.
That said, don’t neglect video. Whether it supports a customer testimonial, a tutorial, an advertisement or a simple presentation of your company, it’s easy to share on social networks.
Webinars are also ideal in a B2B strategy; they allow you to:
- Project an expert image of your company
- Generate leads likely to convert
- Close sales more naturally
- Forge partnerships with other B2B companies
Publish personalized content
Companies that rely solely on blog posts to convert their B2B audience struggle to personalize their communication. That won’t be your case if you follow our previous advice.
With a variety of content at your disposal, you can distribute it at the right time and to the right people.
Your content can be personalized according to:
- Your segmentation
- Your personas
- The stages of the conversion funnel
This way, you’ll easily find the right content to distribute and it will be more effective and persuasive. From your B2B audience’s side, they’ll return to you looking for new content.
Regarding distribution, share your content on platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter or SlideShare, and don’t forget email marketing, of course.
If a content strategy seems on the surface to be as effective in B2B as in B2C, adjustments are required for professionals.
Blog posts are no longer enough: you must stand out to demonstrate your expertise and keep your audience engaged with your brand. This requires logical, personalized promotion.
Always remember to track the results of your strategy so you can improve, and don’t be afraid to experiment.
12 content ideas for your B2B strategy
To help you find inspiration and continuously nurture your prospects with your expertise, here are 12 ideas for content B2B to use right now!
1. Customer case study
Publishing client case studies allows companies to concretely showcase their expertise.
It's therefore essential to rely on real clients and concrete actions that will resonate with your prospects.
To ensure your audience identifies with the case study, take the time to present:
- The company
- Its challenge
- Quantified data at the time of contact
- The solutions offered
- Each step of your intervention and the quantified results
2. Customer interview
To help your prospects with their purchasing decisions, it is advisable to offer content based on customer interviews.
3. Market research
A market study immediately positions you as a reference in your field.
Indeed, having a thorough knowledge of the trends and developments inherent to your industry demonstrates your dynamism, flexibility, and reassures about your ability to adapt.
4. Expert interview
To prove their expertise, companies should present their team members. The primary benefit of this B2B content lies in humanizing your communication. Prospects can put names and faces to your services.
Moreover, interviews demonstrate the breadth of skills of internal team members. And if a company's teams have strong expertise, the company’s overall image is the one that benefits.
Finally, a discussion with a recognized professional allows companies to "evangelize" their prospects about the challenges of their industry — which can sometimes influence the purchasing decision!
5. Blog posts written by your team members
Publishing blog posts authored by your team members is an excellent showcase for your company.
Each of them can thus:
- Present a vision for your industry
- Offer useful advice
- Demonstrate your analytical thinking
Like interviews, this content provides irrefutable evidence of the expertise within your company.
6. Educational video
Educational videos aim to meet several objectives. By offering educational content to your prospects, you increase the chances of seeing your engagement rate soar while generating numerous leads. You also expand your audience among video enthusiasts.
Yes, not everyone likes to read long articles, studies, or interviews!
7. Infographic
Infographics are intended to summarize information in a simple way. This can include:
- A list of tips
- A data-driven study
- A market analysis
This visual is very popular with internet users because it is easy to view and share on social networks.
8. Opinion piece in the specialist press
The content you write can also be published elsewhere. You can express your opinion on a given topic, share your perspective on your industry, or analyze a news event in the press, on a blog, on a webzine, in a trade magazine, etc.
An opinion piece has strong persuasive power and proves to be a highly relevant format for managing your e-reputation.
9. White papers
A white paper allows a company to showcase its expertise through detailed content. Indeed, this multi-page document enables you to address a specific topic in a pedagogical and comprehensive way.
White papers let you demonstrate your know-how and knowledge in your field to convince prospects to use your services.
10. SlideShare
Now essential in the B2B sphere, slideshares generally offer educational content. Like a PowerPoint presentation, this format lets you distribute, analyze, and expand information across multiple slides for better understanding.
11. Beginner's guide
Part of your audience may not necessarily be experienced in a specific field in which you are a professional. Don’t be dismissive of them. Take the opportunity to create content specifically dedicated to these beginners.
Even if your audience is generally skilled in a field, spend time researching the basics of that topic. You can be sure your guide will be consulted!
12. Trends
Time passing, current events, and technological advances mean new trends constantly emerge. Take advantage of this to create dedicated content such as: Social Media: 8 trends to watch in 2020This type of content will become a new source of traffic.
Our tip
By relying on these ideas, you'll be able to offer expert content to manage your image, acquire leads, and drive conversions.
If you lack the time or skills to create this content, know that a freelance web copywriter can help you! Place your text order now on Redacteur.com and give your B2B communication a boost.
