No matter the type of service you offer or the B2B audience you try to attract, content marketing is a crucial part of achieving that goal. According to the Content Marketing Institute, 90% of B2B marketers focus on providing informational content to their target audiences, with 61% claiming that their top priority is SEO visibility.
Finding the best way to attract your target stakeholders can be tricky without an adequate content marketing funnel set up. With that in mind, let’s take a look at how you can set up your B2B marketing content pipeline up for success and reap the benefits of lead and revenue generation from successful networking.
1. Set your Company’s Goals
The first order of business in terms of setting up a B2B content funnel is knowing what your goals actually are. Do you want to attract B2B clients which will use your platform and/or services? Is your goal to attract networking partners which share your business goals and long-term vision?
Once you know exactly what kind of B2B stakeholders you want to attract, it will be far easier to produce attractive content aligned with their interests. Make sure that your content creators are informed of your goals and metrics in order to keep them in mind in future content production activities.
2. Segment your Target Audience
Once you set your company goals in stone, you should segment your target audience as best as possible. You can segment B2B stakeholders based on their industry, service portfolio, scale, and other factors.
Different businesses will react to content marketing materials in numerous ways so it’s best to specialize early on. Don’t rely on generalized content which will (or won’t) cater to everyone since you will rarely achieve the desired effect in doing so.
3. Create Original Content
Creating original content is easier said than done – especially in competitive industries such as eCommerce, marketing automation and ERP systems management. However, finding an original voice in your industry will do wonders for your brand reputation, industry positioning, and B2B stakeholder awareness.
Original content can be anything from blog posts, infographics, visualized data, educational graphs or interesting industry statistics coupled with your branding and visual style. Coupled with a writing platform such as WoWGrade.net, you will quickly and efficiently position your company in the B2B marketing sector. Don’t limit yourself to written content exclusively however – the more varied your offering is, the better your chances of success will become.
4. Focus on Calls to Action
Even though your content will focus on B2B stakeholders who are familiar with what you do, you should still rely on actionable wording in your marketing efforts. Calls to action are a reliable way of engaging readers to act on whatever content they just digested.
Simple actions such as “Contact us soon” or “Subscribe for more info” can do wonders for your conversion rates and networking. Don’t publish content without CTAs since informative yet passive content won’t perform as you might expect. Entice B2B readers into an action which suits your interests through the content you produce and you will always end up with a net positive gain.
5. Optimize for SEO
Whether to search for networking opportunities or new platforms to use in their businesses, B2B stakeholders will use search engines to do so. Websites such as Google, Yahoo and Bing operate based on Search Engine Optimization (SEO) parameters which apply for all online content.
Factors such as keywords, formatting, multimedia optimization and topic popularity all add up to your overall search engine ranking. Use tools such as Google Keyword Planner and SEM Rush to find out what types of content and wording are trending in your niche before publishing. This will increase your content’s visibility and set it up for success in terms of attracting B2B networking opportunities.
6. Publish on Multiple Channels
You should make the most of what the web has to offer in terms of multichannel publishing. Social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are ripe for picking in terms of B2B networking. Email marketing and chatbot engagement can also work wonders if you have a mailing list or healthy website traffic available to work with.
Sponsored search engine ads can also raise industry awareness of your brand and help you reach B2B stakeholders more easily. Choose several communication channels to publish B2B marketing content on and you will achieve your engagement goals that much quicker.
7. Be Available for Follow-Ups
Lastly, B2B networking is all about two-way communication. Potential partners and clients will want to talk to your representatives, a chatbot or arrange a live video conversation before converting. Avoid simply publishing B2B content and hoping for the best.
Make sure that you monitor your content, email, website and social media pages 24/7 and have available representatives get back to would-be stakeholders in a timely manner. This will build a positive reputation for your brand and ensure that other B2B companies also reach out to you due to the professional way you handle incoming engagement.
In Summary
Producing B2B marketing content is not unlike B2C marketing – it’s all about audience targeting and calls to action. However, setting up the perfect production pipeline which suits your company’s interests and content creators’ skills is another matter entirely.
Explore ways in which you can approach and engage B2B stakeholders before committing to a long-term marketing campaign. Once you find a system that works, the right partners and clients will flock around your business in no time.
AUTHOR BIO:
Lori Jones is a graduated Digital Marketing Specialist with a Master’s in Audience Profiling. She is an editor and a contributor at Studicus.com and Study Ton where she aims to put her knowledge into practice. Lori spends her free time reading fantasy novels and catching up on jazz music.
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