Introduction to content marketing for B2B
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Transcript of Introduction to content marketing for B2B
OverviewContent marketing is the new buzzwordin digital strategies. But few of us reallyknow what content marketing means, orwhat it can do for B2B businesses.
In this presentation, we introducecontent, its strategies and its principlesin a B2B context.
Ready? Let's make content!
Anabelle Bernard FournierContent Strategist
Stikky Media
ContentThe concept of "web content" includes a widerange of things:
Website copy (blog, static pages)eBooksSocial media updatesGraphics and picturesVideosMusicPresentationsWebinarsEtc.
Anything that isdelivered throughthe web iscontent!
ContentThe purpose of web content is to:
AttractInformEntertainInfluenceTeachConnectShare
Your business, sales and
marketing strategies will
determine the purpose of
your content.
"I have my website. Our team tweets a little.We have a Facebook page. Why focus onproducing content?"
That's a question we often get, especiallyfrom our B2B clients. Seeing the ROI ofcontent can be difficult when managers areused to traditional sales-driven metrics.
"There is no single metric you can show your boss that will categorically give theROI of the content you produce" -Kieran Flanagan, Hubspot
Content production
Content marketingContent marketing has tangible benefits:
Increases leadsIncrease salesAttracts more visitorsRaises your pricesImproves your search results positionDecreases marketing and advertising costs
Planned and executed by marketing professionals, your
content marketing efforts will drive traffic to your site and
increase leads. It’s capable of playing a role in helping you
better qualify leads, too. -Barry Feldman, Convince and
Convert.
""
Content marketingContent marketing also has intangiblebenefits:
Proves your expertiseBuilds trustSpreads awarenessEducates prospects, clients and employeesInfluences purchasing decisionsImproves customer serviceAttracts the right clientsConnects you to other experts
Content marketingmodel
The most consistently used content marketingmodel, in both B2B and B2C, has 4 steps:
Turning strangers into visitorsTurning visitors into leadsTurning leads into customersTurning customers into promoters
Models from different companies will usedifferent words, but the steps are alwaysessentially the same.
Strangers
Visitors
Leads
Customers
Promoters
Attracting strangers
Each step of the model uses a different set oftools.
To attract strangers, content marketers use:
Search engine optimizationBlogsSocial media
Catching leads
Once strangers are on your website, theybecome visitors. To turn them into leads,provide them with:
Calls to action to clickForms to fillLanding pages to visit
The point of these tools is to gather emailaddresses (always with the consent of theperson) by offering "gated" free content.
Making customers
Once you've captured visitors' emails andturned them into leads, you must convincethem to buy your product or service by:
Identifying and classifying themSending them emailsListening to their buying signals
Of course, giving them more content in theform of blog posts, ebooks and webinars isgoing to strengthen their trust in yourcompany.
Motivating promoters
The last step of the process is to motivateyour satisfied customers to promote yourproduct or service. You can:
Organize eventsLaunch contestsInvite their contribution to your content
Motivated promoters are going to spread theword to even more strangers, starting thecycle all over again.
Content for B2Bmarkets
The beautiful thing about content marketing(also known as inbound marketing) is that itworks for every market--yes, even the mostobscure B2B field. In fact, it's especiallyeffective for B2B.
B2B customers have a long buying cycle thatcan be supported by publishing content andusing email campaigns.
Content for B2Bmarkets
B2B marketers constantly face the challengeof explaining complex products, but longercontent forms like ebooks, webinars andpresentations make it much easier.
Inbound marketing is also a great way tosegment your leads and provide personalizedinformation that responds to specific needs.
Conclusion
Content marketing has completely changedthe way people do business. Permissionmarketing has supplanted interruptionmarketing. Cold calls are no longer necessary,as leads now warm themselves.
B2B marketing has yet to completely adoptcontent marketing, yet these are thecompanies that have the most to gain by thismodel.
All Digital. Real Sweet.
Our website: www.stikkymedia.com
Our blog: www.stikkymedia.com/blog
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Interested in our content strategy and marketing services?
Email [email protected]
Call us1-888-819-3756