B2B company content can be very hit or miss. Sometimes executives like to discuss topics simply not interesting to the reader. At other times, companies make big announcements via content channels that might not be appropriate for outside readers. So what do buyers say about B2B company content overall?
Based on Statistica’s report which discusses content marketing in the United States, it seems buyers have some interesting thoughts on company content overall. Since B2B marketers allocate 28% of their total marketing budget to content marketing (Content Marketing Institute), these marketers should know what buyers like and dislike. Let’s dive in and examine the implications of these statistics on B2B content marketing campaigns.
This is a very big mistake both B2B and B2C companies make: trying to use all the channels available and using none of them well.
For B2B marketers, selecting the right channels is important in reaching the target audience. On average, B2B companies use six channels to distribute content, and the most important B2B marketers noted, according to Content Marketing Institute, are email, LinkedIn, print, YouTube, Twitter, and Slideshare. Users want consistent content, which means B2B marketers must decide where the content does well and stick to those channels. Just because there are many, many social media networks out there, doesn’t mean the audience uses them all.
Trying to “be funny” can be a B2B company’s nightmare, but it can be done. Take Zendesk, a customer service software that balances between humorous and professional in their Twitter account.
https://twitter.com/Zendesk/status/895042445410545666
While the company provides a serious service to its professional clients, they use Twitter to have fun with customers and lighten the conversation. B2B content writers don’t always have to be serious, especially on social media channels. But, just remember, if you’re going to use comedy, make sure it is not offensive to anyone.
Buyers don’t want advice on restaurants from a company who sells software. Instead, buyers want to hear about the software industry, trends, and news. B2B content marketers should stick to what they know and discuss topics relevant to the platform or software. More importantly, writers should always relate news and content to buyer pain points, opportunities, values, and challenges.
By staying committed to a content marketing strategy, of which only 41% of B2B marketers are (Content Marketing Institute), writers will have success. Only 37% of companies have a documented strategy, so B2B content writers should write down a doable process and stick to the plan in order to deliver content to meet consumer demand.
B2B companies must use a strong writer who can deliver polished, well-written content. What’s becoming more important for B2B companies is having content that matches the buyer’s position in the sales funnel. Buyers want to see content relevant to them. So, if they are highly technical potential buyers, they don’t want to see content that dumbs down certain concepts.
In order for B2B companies to handle both sets of stakeholders (technical and non-technical), they should implement marketing automation to segment these groups and target them appropriately. Personalizing content, as well as calls to action that comes at the end of that content, can help B2B companies engage readers and push them down the sales funnel.
B2B content marketing must be relevant to buyers and relevant to the buyer's stage in their decision process.
According to the Content Marketing Institute study, 78% of B2B content marketers use website traffic to measure success. This metric really does not give much information on how much of the content was digested, if the person clicked the CTA, or if this resulted in a marketing lead. Especially if the goal is lead generation, B2B marketers should use stronger metrics and tools to find out audience response. Heat maps, for example, can measure how much of the content the reader viewed and at what point they clicked off the page. Conversion assist data can be vital to measuring the relevance of content to a buyer's decision process.
Sources
https://contentmarketinginstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/2017_B2B_Research_FINAL.pdf