It’s understandable that some B2B businesses have yet to utilise content marketing in their strategy – but the growing importance of content marketing can’t be emphasised enough.
Whilst content marketing has grown in popularity over the last decade, the benefits to B2B businesses may not yet be clear enough for some executives to want to invest in it.
In our blog below we take a deep dive into why B2B businesses should consider investing in content marketing in 2022:
No B2B content marketing plan? You might be missing big opportunities
With a longer sales cycle and more decision makers present, making a sale often takes much more effort for a B2B business than a B2C one.
And for some B2B businesses, there’s fierce competition and challenges such as disintermediation. So why are businesses without a content marketing strategy disadvantaged?
Limited sales collateral
When was the last time you decided to purchase something substantial without reading up on it or the seller? Sales collateral plays an extremely important part in the buyer’s journey, especially within a B2B environment where the buyer has to give equal consideration to multiple options.
Without content like sales collateral (brochures, videos, comparison tables, etc), businesses won’t be able to convince their buyers to choose them.
Missing the chance to connect with prospects
Businesses without content to share with the world have a harder time connecting with their prospects. Without blog posts or social media posts demonstrating that businesses understand the buyer’s struggle and can offer a solution for it, it’s not exactly easy to make a positive impression with a prospect.
Content that helps inform and educate buyers will resonate with prospects and make them much more open to purchasing from that business.
Damaging long-term SEO
Many B2B businesses get a portion of their customers from search engines – so without creating relevant and useful content, it’s impossible for businesses to rank high on Google.
This is especially important in the long-term, as adding another revenue stream is beneficial for any organisation in order to have a plan B in case of difficult times.
Competitors are already doing it
The competition is fierce – and already creating content. As mentioned above, many businesses already have sales collateral, so it’s crucial for businesses to be able to stand out amongst the crowd.
So, if businesses want to start getting ahead of their competitors, attract new audiences, and create stronger connections with their current customers, what can they do to get started and reap the benefits of content marketing?
How B2B businesses can start with content marketing
Many B2B businesses don’t have any plans in place to introduce content marketing into their strategy, but there are ways to do so without causing too much disruption.
Option 1: For businesses that want to do it themselves
If your business already has a sales or marketing team, content marketing may be easier to do than you thought. Content marketing can add some much needed ‘oomph’ to your existing sales and marketing plan and goals – and the best place to start is think about your current tactics and where content marketing can support them.
Are you trying to increase engagement through social media? Improve your organic search rankings? Reach out to new prospects, contacts, or markets? Done right, B2B content marketing can help you with one or all of these goals.
Once you’ve chosen what sort of content you want to start producing, the next step is ideating that content. Ask your sales team what common questions they get asked, talk to your current customers, and sit down to brainstorm with your wider team to get the ideas flowing.
Option 2: For businesses that want to outsource
It’s understandable that many B2B businesses are time-poor or don’t have enough resources to do parts of their marketing themselves yet. It’s all part of the journey to growth, but that doesn’t mean that your marketing should be completely ignored.
Once you’ve made the decision to outsource, finding the right marketing partner to help you create content is the next step. This partner will be able to sit down with you, discuss your goals and objectives, your audience, and then start creating and executing a content marketing plan.
Businesses should look for partners that already have experience working with businesses in their industry, have executed content marketing strategies before, or work with the same transaction-type (B2C or B2B) clients as they do.
Start realising theB2B content marketing benefits
B2B businesses that choose to invest in content marketing will find themselves better off in both the short- and long-term.
Build customer loyalty
When prospects and customers engage with brands, it’s much easier to form connections, trust, and loyalty. This is built over time, so remember to keep your content rhythmic, aligned to your brand and customers. Putting out helpful and engaging content consistently will help businesses engage with their consumers.
Attract new audiences
Depending on where your content ends up, you can attract audiences from new places – thus creating new revenue streams. From Google search results to social media recommendations or an eBook download, a new lead can come from anywhere if your content is being shared or promoted.
Build thought leadership
Businesses that create content have an easier time of establishing thought leadership in their industry, and this is a great way to build trust and reputation with your audience. Being a thought leader in your industry can also grant you some exciting opportunities to get your name out even further and attract more customers – such as speaking gigs at conferences or collaborating with other leaders.
Creating content can grant businesses many more chances to attract new customers, connect with their current customers, and to stand out amongst fierce competition.
Work with someone who understands the importance of B2B content marketing
It’s clear that content marketing for B2B businesses has many benefits and the potential to grow your business further in 2022.
If you’re a B2B business owner looking to invest in content marketing but don’t have the time, this may be the perfect opportunity to engage with a B2B marketing agency that can help you build a B2B content marketing strategy and create a consistent content output for your business.
You can contact us today to speak to a friendly content marketing expert to discuss how we can help your business with content.
