What is B2B content marketing and why is it important?

by | Jun 4, 2018 | Content Marketing, Marketing

You may think that your organisation wouldn’t benefit from using B2B content marketing. Or maybe you are a start-up and unfamiliar what B2B content marketing is and why you should be using it. The fact is, content is everywhere. And despite some saying there is just too much content out there already, content marketing is still going strong.

So what is B2B content marketing and why should it be an important part of any marketing programme?

What is it?

Let’s start with the basics. Here are a couple definitions I’ve found that really get at the essence of what B2B content marketing is:

“Content marketing is a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.” (Content Marketing Institute)

“B2B content marketing is the art of using content to expand your business’s audience, strengthen and develop brand affinity, and ultimately drive leads and sales by appealing to other businesses.” (WordStream)

The take-away from these definitions is that content should be valuable, relevant and used to develop and strengthen your brand. If you want to attract and maintain an audience you need to supply quality content that your audience is interested in. Your content should promote your company in such as way that you stand out above all the other content out there.

Types B2B Content Marketing

As you probably already know, there is a long list of types of content you can use for B2B content marketing. Here are few of our favourites:

According to the Content Marketing Institute’s 7th Annual B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends—North America social media posts are the most used type of content marketing. However, blog posts remain very popular amongst marketers (something we can attest to). Seemingly, less traditional forms of content, such as video and webinars are becoming increasingly popular.

Data from: Content Institute

Keep your audience in mind when choosing what kind of content to use. This is key. People consume content differently while some people are happy to read through a long research report with tons of interesting statistics, others prefer more condensed bits of content like white papers or blog posts. Also, some people like to receive their content in a more visual or audio form which is where video and webinars really have the advantage.

Why is it important

In that same report discussed above, 91% of respondents used content marketing and 88% of them agreed that ‘content marketing is an important component of our organisation’s marketing program.’ It’s clear that content marketing has an essential part of B2B marketing but why is it so important? Why do so many B2B companies practice content marketing?

Customers are researching more online before they purchase

Digital technology has made is easier than ever to find information anytime and pretty, much, anywhere. Here are some statistics that show how this easy access to information has affected how B2B buyers research and interact with suppliers.

  • B2B buyer is 57% way through the purchase decision before they contact a sales representative. (CEB)
  • 89% of B2B research is done online. (Google)
  • 53% of B2B buyers prefer to independently research online (Forrester)
  • 59% prefer not to interact with a sales representative (Forrester)

With potential customers doing much of their research before they contact vendors, having information available about your product is imperative. And with all the content out there being produced by competitors, your content has to stand out and be noticed. The right kind of marketing content can actually put your company in the position of being a thought leader and may actually help shorten your customer’s buying cycle.

Marketing content increases SEO and steers traffic towards your website

B2B marketing content is an almost sure-fire way to drive traffic towards your website. When done conscientiously and focusing on keywords and phrases you can build your SEO. Good content also increases the amount of mentions your receive on social media as well as the amount of backlinks you receive from other sites.

High quality content goes a long way

Marketers do not have endless budgets. So using what budget you do have wisely and efficiently is vital. B2B marketing content like white papers or research reports are useful pieces of marketing material in their own right. However, this kind of content it prime for reuse and repurpose for other content like blog posts and webinars.

Repurposing your content can be cost effective. While the cost of a good piece may seem like an investment (although it doesn’t have to be), the marketing mileage you can get out of just one white paper or research paper is well-worth it.

These are just a few of the many benefits of B2B content marketing. If you’re a new company, developing a content marketing strategy may seem a little daunting but it doesn’t have to be. With the proper guidance and quality content you, too, will start to see the benefits.

Let us help. If you have any questions, let us know. And if you’re already using B2B content marketing, please share what benefits you’ve experience. Comment below. We’d love to hear from you.