Anyone who's anyone is having a go at content marketing. In fact, 94% of small businesses, 93% of B2Bs, and 77% of B2Cs all use it. So basically, that’s everyone.
There’s one little problem, though. Just because everyone is “having a go” at content marketing doesn’t mean they are winning at it.
According to Top Rank Blog, 69% of B2B marketers do not have a documented content marketing strategy. And according to Content Marketing Institute, only 9% of B2B marketers consider their content marketing efforts to be effective. So, it’s really no secret that haphazardly creating valuable content without a plan for doing it consistently often produces less than stellar results.
Are you sick of reading statistics yet? Alright, I’ll cut to the chase. Is all of this content production worth it? Are we all blogging just because someone told us we had to?
Blogs should NEVER be posted just for the hell of it, or just because you feel like it’s mandatory to get two blogs posted a week. More isn’t always better. There is simply too much competition on the web to even consider being a content “Top Dog” without the proper planning in place.
In order to succeed, you should be asking yourself questions like, “What is my content marketing strategy? Do my readers know what to do after they read what I have just posted? Do I truly have content marketing goals?” And if you have set goals, “Are my goals self-serving or designed to add value to my reader’s lives, jobs and overall existence?” Lacking an answer to even one of these questions can be the proverbial nail in your content coffin and it’s a primary reason why many B2B marketers are failing at their content strategies.
But there’s hope, people!
If you’re an overwhelmed B2B content marketer, don’t worry - you’re not alone in this quest to do content marketing the right way! There are so many B2B folks sucking down the Kool-Aid with all the best intentions and goals to get it right!
Here are a few valuable tips to help you do just that:
Plan out a content marketing strategy
“Ah! But this sounds so scary and WAY too complicated, not too mention time consuming!” I know, I just took the words right out of your mouth, didn’t I? The thing is, a content marketing strategy isn’t scary at all, it’s actually quite simple. Many experts will start throwing around complex jargon like KPIs, due diligence, etc. And while those are all necessary, technical logistics don’t need to be the focal point to begin developing a kick-ass strategy. Ask yourself these three questions and you’ll be able to develop a strategy that gets results:
- Who are you? In other words - what are you offering to the world that actually solves people’s problems?
- Who are you reaching? For example - What are their interests, where are they located, and what are their habits/behaviors that touch upon using your product?
- What are you trying to accomplish? AKA - your content should have a goal of moving the user to a specified and measurable next step.
Explain the benefits to your audience
How do you expect to convert leads and customers if they have no idea what action to take after reading your content? User intent is a crucial part of content marketing, and every search query has it. Your job is to understand that intent and have your content appear in search results, concluding with an additional piece of valuable content the user can download afterwards to continue their journey with your brand. Offer a free guide, case study, webinar, infographic or video...whatever your heart desires. Just make sure that it’s well thought out and reviewed internally prior to publishing to ensure it really appears as something of value and worth downloading.
Set content marketing goals
There are 4 goals that I typically tend to dwell on when beginning a content marketing strategy.
- Brand awareness & reinforcement: Content marketing is organic, authentic and a surefire way to start driving engagement. Your first goal should always start with mapping out new and exciting ways for creating awareness of your products/services.
- Lead conversion & nurturing: How are you going to define a lead? Will you create engaging content that encourages someone to give up their information so you now have permission to market to them? If so, set a goal of how you will use new content to help guide them throughout the buying cycle.
- Customer conversion: A.k.a. why is your solution better than Competitor A? Plan ahead and include customer testimonials, case studies, etc. in your marketing efforts that showcase you’ve rocked it before, and you can rock it again.
- Customer loyalty: Setting a goal of turning prospects into customers is only one piece of the puzzle. Now you need to determine how you will turn customers into passionate advocates and cheerleaders of your company and your brand so they’re excited to brag about their experience with you. Customer-focused newsletters or webinar series are always a great way to achieve this!
Content marketing strategy - from the outside, it can look tricky, maybe even mysterious. But it’s time for B2B marketers to cut through all that mental clutter and start doing content marketing successfully. At the very least, if you haven’t already, we challenge you to create and define a well thought-out strategy and take this tried and true approach to the next level. And if you want a second opinion on your strategy, we can help! Schedule a quick call, and let us take a look!
