Content marketing can be defined as a strategic marketing approach that is focused not only on creating but also distributing relevant, valuable and consistent content in an effort to attract and retain a defined audience and to ultimately drive profitability. With over 90% of the business in B2B content marketing, there is high competition for your audience’s attention, and your content has to stand out. To make your B2B marketing strategy successful, below are five secrets you should incorporate.
Solve a problem
Problem-solving is a fundamental marketing concept, and it should be reflected in your content. Content marketing will be most successful when you are in a position to deliver content that solves a relevant and specific problem for your audience. Buyers are becoming more and more self-directed when making purchasing decisions and in their research. They use the search engine to find answers; that is why most searches will start with how, what, where and why. Your audience is looking for content that will offer the best answer that solves their problem. Therefore, by producing content that offers answers to your audiences’ problem, you will not only gain more traffic but also foster engagement and also nurture your audience to action.
Always choose to produce quality content over quantity.
When it comes to content marketing, quality always tramps. However, with the big push to fill your content calendar, the quality of your content can quickly start going downhill. While it is important to be consistent and to keep content flowing, you do not want to lose sight of the quality of the content you produce. Do not give your audience a reason to go looking for content from your competitors, strive always to produce high-quality content that will keep them coming back for more.
Make it personal
Successful content marketing is more than just a commitment to creating content. Most buyers do not want to be addressed in generalities; they do not want to be another face in the crowd. Your buyer wants to feel special, that is why you need to create a buyer persona. By developing a buyer persona, you are able to address all the issues and aspects that might have an impact on when, why, and how your client will buy.
Show credibility
Your clients need to know that you are a credible source of information. You can do this with well-done content which allows you to give the best answer over and over again. By doing so, you prove to your audience that you can be trusted and you are an expert on the subjects you discuss. Once you have gained their trust, you can effectively influence their purchasing decisions. It is worth noting that expert content increases the purchasing consideration more than branded content.
Be patient
One of the main objectives of content marketing is to lead generation and sales. Most people will expect to see results after producing their first content, but that is not always the case. Content marketing does not produce short-term results that a traditional promotion would. Content marketing is a strategy to reach your audience at multiple touch points on their journey hence it is a long-term play. In the end, content marketing is about long-term value and strengthening customer relationships.
There is much more to content marketing than producing and creating content. Use the above tips to help you up your content marketing game and with patience you stand to reap the benefits.
