B2B content marketing explained

Here at FIG, we get asked a lot about content marketing – what is it, how much content you should be producing, what should you be saying and the most common question of all, does content marketing work for B2B?

The last question is sometimes difficult to quantify unless you use content marketing with automation and can track what is working in a planned modular fashion. But 89% of B2B marketers use content marketing according to the Content Marketing Institute. Probably the biggest driver however should be what your customers are doing which will determine why content marketing is so important.

72% of buyers turn to Google during the awareness stage and 47% of buyers consume between 3 -5 pieces of content before talking to a sales rep*

We know from our own experience that buyers use the Internet to ask questions, to educate themselves and to do research before making a purchase. This happens in B2B as well as in the consumer world, so I would say there is definite evidence to suggest that content marketing has an effect on attracting and retaining an audience. Having good, quality content available on your website and social media platforms can help potential customers make informed choices, helping to expand awareness about your brand, about your products and services and ultimately to help drive sales leads.

How effective your content marketing is depends on whether you have defined your audience (the more generic you are the less effective it’s going to be), the quality and relevance of your content to that audience, and that it forms part of an overall marketing strategy with clear goals and aims.

‘82% of buyers feel more positive about a company after reading their custom content’ –Demand Metric

How does content marketing work?

Quality content – higher conversion rates

The more relevant, quality content that is on your website means your potential customers have more reasons to stay on your website, building trust and ultimately higher conversion rates or enquiries.

Higher visibility in search engines

The more relevant, quality content you upload on your website is another page search engines are going to index. And if it is recognised as good quality content there are more opportunities to rank higher in search engines.

Higher domain authority

High quality content increases the perception of your expertise and relevance, increasing trust in your site. If this content earns more inbound links from external sources your website domain authority will increase further and a higher domain authority is linked with higher search rankings.

Improved brand reputation

If people find your content helpful, informative or enlightening, they’ll see you as an expert in your field and trust your brand more. If they see your content published on external sources, such as LinkedIn or in trade and business publications, they’ll perceive you as even more trustworthy.

Top Tips for successful content marketing

1. Combine well-researched, well-written content with the visual – including infographics, videos, maps, images and slideshows.
2. Keep your content targeted to your specific audience for greater success – consider the challenges your customers are facing and use content to help them rather than to sell your products and services.
3. Promote your content through social media, email marketing and press releases. Consider using Google Adwords and Facebook Ads to increase visibility.
4. Post regularly on the same days and encourage feedback via social media to build a regular audience.
5. Regularly review your keyword strategy to ensure you’re targeting the right keywords in your content marketing.
6. Be consistent and have a plan, don’t rely on writing content when you feel like it, it will never happen. If you know you are going to struggle with time for content marketing, get someone to help you.

Want to know more about content marketing, from the latest trends to even more top tips? Click here to download our content marketing guide.