Do B2B content strategies differ from B2C?
How effective are your tactics?
What’s the best content for a B2B marketer?
A large percentage (71%) use visual assets in their social media marketing. Close behind was blogging (70%). Podcasting is only used by 10% of marketers and represents an opportunity.
B2B marketers are much more likely to use blogging (77%) when compared to B2C marketers (64%).
Podcasting is also more common among B2B (12%) than B2C (9%).
The self-employed are more likely to use blogging (79%) than businesses with 1000+ employees (54%).
MOST IMPORTANT CONTENT
We asked marketers to select the single most important form of content for their business. Only one choice was allowed.
- Nearly half of marketers (45%) selected blogging as their most important content, followed by visual assets (34%) and then videos (19%). This chart clearly reveals the importance of the written word.
Blogging is more important for B2B marketers (57% say it is the most important) than B2C marketers (39% claim it is most important).- B2C marketers place more importance on visual content (40% say it is the most important) than B2B marketers (only 24% claim it is most important).
- For self-employed marketers, 57% said blogging was the most important, compared to only 29% of those at businesses with more than 1000 employees.
B2B
70% of B2B marketers are creating more content than they did one year ago, even those who say they are least effective (58%) and those without any type of strategy (56%).
AREAS ACCOUNTABLE FOR B2B CONTENT MARKETING
As would be expected, the owner or C-Level executive is mostly responsible for the content in the B2B space. However, after that the next three areas are pretty much equal from Product Marketing, down to PR and Communications.
Interesting to note, a few years ago the PR departments of companies was the number one area accountable for social media content. Today it ranks fourth.
B2B CONTENT MARKETING TACTICS
Articles, blogs and eNewsletters are some of the tops choices of B2B content marketers. Shows how the written word is still important in reaching their audience.
More importantly I believe is the fact that they become thought leaders through this content. As a thought leader you gain the trust of your peers, prospects and clients.
Not much separation between 2nd and 4th place in terms of tactics. Video by all predictions will continue to gain and be the #1 one choice in the near future. Companies are still struggling with “How to do Video.” as well how best to utilize in their content and marketing strategies.
EFFECTIVENESS OF MARKETING TACTICS
In person events is the #1 effective tactic. Lest we forget it’s still a people business built around trust either in person or online. Social Media Platforms are just tools to help us get to our stated goals and objectives.
Surprising close behind are Webinars which are all online, followed closely by videos and blogs. Webinars have grown significantly over the last few years as technology and adoption have increased. As I say “The Internet is the Death of Distance.”
CHALLENGES THAT B2B MARKETERS FACE
The top three are fairly close. The #1 challenge is producing Engaging content for the B2B marketer. It’s important to pay attention to what resonates with your audience and what time is the majority of your audience online.
Followed closely behind is being consistent. Let’s face it…Life happens. However, we must be disciplined and motivated as to the WHY we produce content. The stronger the WHY the more committed and consistent you will be.
ORGANIZATIONAL GOALS B2B
Brand awareness was the #1 goal of a B2B content marketer. Interestingly according to the Social Media Examiner Study 2015 it was #1 as well.
Following close behind was lead generation and engagement. One would expect Sales to be higher than 4th, yet most understand the difference in Social Media Marketing to be one of a soft sell.
Consumers and Businesses are getting tired of the bombardment of SELL, SELL, SELL. Although we all instinctively want to sell, the smart marketers know that its a different process today.
METRICS FOR B2B CONTENT MARKETING
The #1 metric being measured is website traffic. Yet I’ve noticed in this study that SEO or Search Engine Optimization is hardly mentioned. Yet they go hand in hand with driving traffic, along with brand awareness.
In a noisy internet world we enter a keyword or keyword phrase and instantly Google displays millions of pages. So my question to business is…How will you be found?
EFFECTIVENESS OF B2B PLATFORMS
Most people you ask would say Facebook is #1 because of it’s size, yet it ranks 6th. However, in the B2C space Facebook is #1. So as a business owner and marketer, it is vital that you choose your social media platforms according to effectiveness.
Yet research clearly shows that LinkedIn is the #1 social media platform B2B in the B2B space, with Twitter continuing to gain year over year.
What I find fascinating is the effectiveness of YouTube in this space. Not too long ago, we thought of YouTube for music and entertainment videos. Clearly “How To” videos are making and impact on business effectiveness in the B2B space.
HOW OFTEN TO PUBLISH
42% of content marketers publish daily or multiple times per week. It has become clear that you are in control of the content, which in an of itself is a daunting task. Yet, the rewards are there for the picking.
Does it require time and effort? Yes, and the longer you wait the further behind you will be in this face paced business world. Time waits for no man.
While B2B is clearly different than B2C when it comes to marketing content, their are some similarities. All struggle with content, where to find, what resonates and being consistent.
“Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative.”
– Oscar Wilde
Sources: Social Media Examiner Marketing Report 2015 | Content Marketing Institute |Marketing Profs
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About Blair
Blair Evan Ball is a Social Media Coach and founder of Prepare1, a company that works with businesses, individuals and non-profits. He is a former executive with a Fortune 50 company, and his national division did $1Billion+ in sales annually.
Blair has written three e-books: Facebook for Business Made Easy, Facebook Pages for Business Made Easy, and WordPress Blog Setup Made Easy.
Blair also educates, trains entrepreneurs and business professionals how to amplify their brand, increase revenues, and raise more funds.
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This is an awesome article in the use of the graphics is so powerful I’m going to start implementing ASAP thank you
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