The business-to-business (B2B) eCommerce market is massive, with a valuation of over $17 trillion–five times that of the business-to-consumer (B2C) market. An effective B2B content marketing strategy generates new leads while keeping existing customers engaged for repeat purchases. However, you must create engaging content to attract organic traffic through search engines.
The content creation process for the optimal engagement should begin with having the right customer persona and adequate keyword research. Examples of relevant content for business-to-business content marketing include webinars, blog posts, whitepapers, case studies, research, ebooks, survey reports, and more. Furthermore, you can take this content from the search engine results pages to social media channels and email campaigns.
High-quality content is paramount in building brand awareness and targeting other businesses to start the buyer’s journey. Backing that up with robust B2B content marketing strategies and distribution channels sets you up for success as an eCommerce business. In this article, we will explore the steps for optimal engagement and how you can generate engaging content ideas.
How to Create Content that Engages Your Target Audience
Creating content for other businesses differs from creating content for an end user. The B2B content marketing tools and distribution channels (blog posts, social media platforms, emails, etc.) may be the same. However, engaging business decision-makers takes more work.
Recent research shows that correspondents rely more on content to make B2B purchase decisions. Many prefer visual and practical information, such as case studies or webinars.
With that in mind, here is our guide to creating high-quality content to engage other businesses.
The steps include:
- Attract potential customers with paid advertising or content.
- Provide engaging information.
The following guide is based on these steps. It is as follows:
1. Attract New and Existing Customers
Your customers must first find your website. That means implementing search engine optimization strategies. In the meantime, here are a few things you can do to get started on creating content for your business clients:
Create Your Customer Persona
How would you know what will engage your target market if you don’t think like them? You can create exciting text and video content and still lose out on winning them over if the information is irrelevant.
The buyer’s journey begins with finding the correct information. The best way to know what they want is by creating customer personas. Ask the following questions when making the personas of your potential customers:
- What do your target companies consider essential in a supplier?
- What are their business goals?
- What needs do they have?
- What are the pain points?
- What brands do they prefer?
Sometimes, interviews with prospective customers might be necessary to get this information. This approach helps determine the search intent when these businesses run queries on Google and other search engines.
Keyword Research
The next phase is using the right keywords to create content. Your B2B content marketing strategy should include keyword targeting. Otherwise, your search engine ranking and visibility will be low.
Fortunately, you can use AI software to find keywords for business-to-business content creation. Implementation can range from a simple blog post to video tutorials or webinars.
Any buyer’s journey begins with typing keywords into a search engine. The crawl bots will crawl your website to determine your brand expertise on the subject. You will have higher rankings if you create content around relevant keywords.
Keywords go beyond creating content to generate leads. You can also use them in paid ads to promote your search engine visibility.
2. Providing Engaging Information
With the average American consuming 35 gigabytes of information daily, it falls on you to create standout content. That covers websites and social media platforms.
Today’s business audience stretches beyond websites. That is why most businesses have social media accounts to encourage brand loyalty. They also incorporate omnichannel marketing strategies to reach the target audience where they are.
Using customer personas and keywords can increase your website's traffic. However, leading your new and existing customers down the sales funnel requires something that is engaging enough. Staying long enough on your website is part of the buyer’s journey.
Here are a few tips to help with your content creation:
Produce Around Pain Points
Providing engaging content is as simple as providing solutions. This approach holds for business-to-consumer sellers as much as it does for you, which is why your B2B content marketing strategy should involve and provide a solution to a pain point.
Regardless of the format, your content should provide valuable insights and tips. You’ll need adequate market research to understand your prospective client's pain points or business challenges. Here are a few things you can do to get informed:
- Talk to your customers through phone calls, chats, or emails.
- Use online communities to find out what people are saying regarding your industry.
- Encourage your website visitors to comment on your blog post or other content.
You can modify existing content to reflect your new B2B content marketing efforts. They should provide information on solutions.
The buyer’s journey consists of the following stages:
- The awareness stage is where you generate leads by offering solutions.
- The consideration stage, where the prospect researches your website. It could lead to exploring your existing content as the prospects determine if you are the right fit.
- The decision stage is where the decision-makers determine if your solutions align with their business goals. They decide if they want to purchase your solution or not.
Producing solutions and educational content around pain points fall into the consideration stage. Hence, you must conduct adequate market research. Build around market trends to draw maximum attention.
Create Engagement with Calls to Action
Your B2B content marketing efforts will yield the required results if you include calls to action. What do you want the decision-makers to do after reading or viewing your content?
They can view and leave your website if they can’t find further action. B2B marketplaces often include a variety of calls to action (CTAs) that can help engage decision-makers and encourage them to take the desired actions.
Here are some examples of how to create engagement with CTAs:
- Download this ebook.
- Sign up for our weekly newsletter.
- Register for a demo.
- Contact our sales team.
- Book a testing session.
These buttons should be prominent on your website. Also, you can strategically place calls to action within your content to guide decision-makers toward the desired actions.
Give adequate attention to these buttons by making them visually appealing and easily identifiable on your website. Use contrasting colors, clear and concise text, and prominent placement to draw attention to your calls to action. Consider placing them above the fold, on the sidebar, or at the end of your content to ensure they are easily accessible.
Pick the Right Format
You’ll need different formats if you target customers on various marketing channels. For example, videos might yield positive results on social media analytics but are not ideal for email marketing. Text and pictures addressing business challenges are more suitable for the latter.
The following are content formats you should consider for B2B content marketing success:
- Blog posts
- Customer success stories
- Videos
- Webinars and Q&A sessions
- Ebooks and guides
- Podcasts on marketing trends
- Photos of industry events
- Thought-leadership events with decision-makers
Your website should have a marketing mix of these formats. Spread them around from the home page to your product or solution pages. You can also spread them across different marketing channels for optimal reach.
Tone of Voice
The tone of voice you use in your B2B content marketing plays a crucial role in engaging decision-makers and building a strong brand presence.
When it comes to the tone of voice for your B2B blog posts, it's important to strike a balance between professionalism and approachability. You don't want too sound too formal or robotic, as it can create a disconnect with your audience.
Instead, aim for a tone that feels human and relatable, as if you're having a conversation with the reader. This can help build a sense of rapport and make your content more engaging and accessible.
Influencer Marketing
Many influencers are good at content creation. They also have many followers that engage with them on different platforms. They can be a part of your marketing mix to amplify your brand's message and increase awareness among their followers.
By partnering with influencers, you can tap into their expertise in content creation and leverage their existing audience engagement.
Influencers have honed their skills in creating compelling content that resonates with their followers. They understand the nuances of different platforms and know how to craft engaging posts, videos, or stories.
By collaborating with influencers, you can benefit from their creativity and expertise to create impactful content that captures the attention of your target audience.
Time to Ramp Up Your Website Design
A well-designed website should be part of your marketing goals as it serves as a critical touchpoint for your audience and plays a pivotal role in shaping their perception of your brand.
57% of internet users will not recommend a business with a poor website design. First impressions matter in drawing people in and keeping them engaged.
A solid design will increase engagement with your content. Contact a website design and development agency if need be.
Ensure the cohesiveness of your brand at all times. That could mean sticking with brand colors and other visual elements that represent your brand. These will help with an easy association when your clients see them.
Nurture Relationships - Final Thoughts
Engagement should be your priority as a B2B content marketer. That involves doing adequate market research and producing content in a suitable format.
Take steps to nurture relationships with your clients. Email marketing is an effective way to keep your clients informed about your business.
Focus on pain points and solutions for your target audience. Ensure the tone of your voice is friendly enough while sounding professional. Lastly, stay active on social media channels to connect more frequently with your target audience.
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