Content marketing works across the board and may involve many strategies. These sources of information should educate and entertain your prospects. You need to appeal to a variety of content consumption habits and preferences. Your marketing content may include e-newsletters, white papers, video blogs (vlogs), blogs, and webinars
Content is so useful because it works for you. You can offer it to prospects through email campaigns, or they can find it on their own through your website, social channels, or ads, and it works to convince and convert them without you having to break out (and potentially bore them with) the standard pitch.
Why content marketing is essential for B2B companies
B2B marketers know that this area is more likely to have a longer sales cycle, and thus establishing long-term relationships should be your priority.
B2B marketing involving communicating with individuals in very targeted fields. These people are looking for detailed and factual information. So you need to be prepared to offer supporting resources (of any format) that convey quantifiable data about how your products are developed, how they’ve been solving similar customers’ problems, and what makes you different. Teaching tools like case studies and white papers, for instance, tend to be very popular for B2B.
You’re dealing with individuals who may or may not be the decision-makers in their company. So, you must provide relevant, informative, and exciting information that can be easily communicated to reps, smaller teams, and higher-ups to ultimately win them over.
How content marketing and lead generation work together
Content marketing will be your go-to, particularly for those MQLs. It’s what your marketing team is going to use to move leads further through the funnel. Sharing eBooks, webinars, blog posts, and social feeds—whatever it is, you use content to get attention and keep it long enough that a prospect can relate to what you’re conveying and realize that you could help them.
When it comes to B2B, most experts agree that the most effective lead-generating strategies are (in no particular order):
- Social networking
- Content marketing
- Search marketing
- Email marketing
Across pretty much every industry, email stands out as a versatile and budget-friendly means to generate brand awareness, educate and inform your audience, and send offers, and this is especially the case when utilized in combination with marketing automation.
Types of lead generation content
You won’t find that just one type of content will skyrocket your lead gen efforts. But a combination of the most useful, entertaining, and informative pieces will get you the attention you’ve been looking for. Depending on your business and the information you need to convey, you can try a variety of content formats.
Blogs
Blog posts are wonderful ways to interact with buyers. They’re super valuable because you can do whatever you want with them: create evergreen posts, create long-form pillar content, create snippets out of existing posts, or even create simple, short clips you can use to intrigue readers into following you for more detailed information.
A few tips to make sure your blog stands out:
- Be sure to advertise it on the appropriate social channel(s)
- Make sure it’s SEO-optimized
- Include an intriguing call to action at the end (e.g., subscribe or follow)
- Make sure it’s well-formatted for readability (e.g., large font, plenty of white space)
Remember that content comes in a variety of formats, and a careful balance of visual and written is crucial here as is using the right social channels and marketing techniques to promote them.
Emails
Email marketing shows a consistently high ROI through various industries and types of marketing. It’s useful because it’s not only versatile, but it’s direct without being overly invasive. Email has the potential to attract people in a fairly personal way, and this is one of the reasons why it works.
Social Posts
Social media is a great way to give a personality to your business, and to interact with your audience less formally and in a way that doesn’t appear sales-driven.
To get started you need to figure out the best channels for you and the businesses you’re targeting. Depending on the platform, you may choose to share something funny and buzz-worthy that gets attention, something that’s intriguing and thought-provoking, or something that’s educational and professional. You want all of these pieces to be highly shareable though. Likes, comments, and re-posts are excellent indicators that you’re resonating with your audience and be sure to acknowledge those who share your content.