B2B content marketing 101

Creating content specifically for the purposes of marketing towards other businesses comes with many challenges, and it’s becoming harder to stand out in a saturated marketplace. However, more and more businesses are investing in this particular type of marketing. And so, we’ve put together a B2B content marketing guide to help you better understand the intricacies and benefits that come with targeting other businesses with your content.

What is content marketing?

• Content marketing is the creation and distribution of interesting and valuable content to your audience. The main purpose of your content is to engage users and entice them to make a purchase with your company.

Instead of bombarding users with ads, content marketing achieves brand growth by offering information that genuinely interests target audiences. However, the content is created in such a way as to build a relationship with your company based on trust. This is radically different from other forms of marketing where the common practice is to force a transaction. Rather than pushing users to make a purchase, your main goal is to build a relationship with them. This way, when users are ready to make a purchase, they will obviously turn to you as a trusted brand.

What makes content marketing so important to B2B companies?

B2B transactions are usually much larger in scope than traditional retail purchases. B2B usually involves manufacturers or wholesalers purchasing products and services in bulk. Most of these transactions happen somewhere in the supply chain. If both parties are satisfied, repeat business is a common practice for B2B companies. Unfortunately, winning over clients and even generating high-profile leads can be very hard.

The marketplace is filled with companies who are trying to stand out and secure a stable line of profit. Simply marketing your services to companies probably won’t be enough to win them over. If you truly want to win their trust and turn them into long-term clients, you’ll need to take a more delicate approach. In case you are having trouble winning overpaying customers, you should consult with a digital marketing agency New York that can help you refine your approach and craft the perfect B2B content marketing campaign for your business. Content marketing basically comes down to building up a relationship with your audience over time.

You will need to work hard on the relationships with your target audience to win their loyalty and their business. One of the best ways to accomplish this is by offering quality content that will speak on your behalf. That kind of approach isn’t intrusive or aggressive. Instead, it comes from a position of self-assuredness, which any true industry leader should aspire to.

5 benefits that B2B content marketing can accomplish:

Establish your company as a trusted source of information

By offering relevant information, tips and guides in your field of expertise, you will be able to rise as a trusted source of information. Your audience will gladly share your content, which will have an additional positive effect of boosting your SEO. Experts for SEO services NYC recommend using informative content as the best way of appealing to search engines. Google has made it their mission to deliver only trusted information to users, so crafting quality content needs to become a top priority.

Build brand awareness

Educate your audience on how to use your products and how to make the most of their purchases. Use this as an opportunity to establish yourself as the go-to choice when they decide to make a purchase. Try to let people know who you are and get them to equate your brand with products from your industry. This way you will be the first company they think of when someone mentions a related product. Even if this doesn’t immediately lead to a sale, it can bring users to your website and give you more opportunities to offer them your products.

Engage users

Your content can also be used to engage users. By this we don’t just mean having your audience read your articles. You can also get users to share your content and comment on your posts. Obviously, social networks are the best platforms to foster user interaction, and you should invest in social media marketing New York in order to establish a strong online presence. Once you manage to get a conversation going between your users, you should try to respond to as many questions and comments as possible. Interacting with your users will establish you as the company to go to if you have any questions or problems.

Generate leads

You can use many forms of marketing to generate leads. However, it should be noted that not all leads are equal. Not every contact will hold the same value for your company. You’ll need to have a way of prioritizing which leads are worth pursuing. B2B content marketing can be of help here, and CRM software will let you track who has been sharing your content and interacting with your company. If you have been actively engaging users in conversation, you will be able to tell which leads are close to making a purchase.

Upsell more expensive packages

If you have been using content marketing to educate your customers on how to use your products, you should have an easy time upselling customers. Take your time to inform them of how important certain products are. Let customers know how well your additional services can complement the use of your products.

Carefully crafted content will even do most of that work for you. Users who have been following your brand for a long time will already have done most of the research themselves. They will know the benefits your services provide, and your job will only be to close the deal with the right offer.

To summarize

When properly used B2B content marketing can achieve wonders for your company, and can help you secure repeat business from high-profile customers. Unfortunately, building a relationship with your customers can take a lot of time. However, if you are willing to put in the effort you’ll be able to land loyal customers who will stick with you for a long time.