Traditional push marketing no longer works, especially not in B2B marketing. We also know that we can’t escape the power of social media anymore. Knowing all this, how to start with content marketing in business-to-business? Buyers, yes even B2B buyers, are searching for information online. They do this themselves, so even before you are in contact with a prospect they might already be following you or be familiar with your services or products. Exactly here is your key to B2B marketing! Make sure that a prospect finds your information, reads or watches it with interest and respond to the call-to-action that you are offering.
So now you can finally get rid of your old-fashioned sales brochures, the ‘look-how-great-am-I’ information, your product functions and features overviews. What are your clients and prospects actually looking for? What do they like? What makes their heartbeat go faster?
This new way of marketing is also called content marketing. An approach that seems to be the only approach left for B2B marketers. It works, simply because you place content in the heart of your marketing, content that helps your target audience.
Results of the yearly Conten Marketing Spending Survey by Joe Pulizzi show that 33% of the total marketing budget is spent on content marketing. The other 67% is still spent on traditional ways of marketing, TV, Radio commercials, Ads, Brochures etc. I have to admit that spending a budget on these traditional things is usually easier and quicker. While an efficient content marketing strategy and the production of good content usually takes up more time, inspiration and resources.
How to start with content marketing?
- Don’t start too big. Try one topic, one series of articles, one whitepaper or one checklist.
- Make sure you evaluate and collect feedback. This way you can experience what content marketing is about and improve yourself with the help of your audience.
- Understand your clients’ needs. Listen, discuss and read! This way you will find out more about your target audience, what they are looking for and how you can offer value. Give people a call, do a survey, find out via Twitter or blogs what topics are most-discussed.
I mention “Understand your clients’ needs” last. We all know that this is where to start. However most successes are achieved by trial and error, just by simply starting and experimenting. Obviously you have to map out what your target audience wants, but don’t let it get in the way too much.
And be alert: Don’t offer cheese balls to your audience if they really don’t like them!
Find also an earlier blog post son this topic: content marketing: what’s your story, featuring an interview with Joe Pulizzi, content marketing guru
