Companies are now well-versed of the fact that marketing is an essential investment for their business. But are the rules for B2B (business to business) marketing the same as in B2C (business to customer)? And which B2B marketing trends are groundbreaking?
B2B marketers have to overcome other hurdles than in the B2C area. The content should be credible, fact-based, and highly customized for business customers. However, this requires a journalistic way of working that not every marketer can exhibit.
To understand with clarity, let us use content marketing as an example to differentiate;
Set communication goals
The primary goals in B2B content marketing are:
Based on the core goals, companies have to define their communication goals for their content marketing. Is it primarily about building relationships, imparting expertise, or promoting sales structures? The objectives using the SMART-model are developed: specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound.
Set up a content marketing strategy
The precise analysis of the market and the target group forms the foundation of the B2B content marketing strategy. As in B2C, the content to be produced must address the needs, questions, and buying habits of the addressees.
An effective content marketing strategy ensures that you position your brand and, at the same time, react precisely to the needs of other companies. Provide arguments instead of mere assertions. Show your professional suitability with know-how and offer business customers tailor-made solutions.
Produce high-quality content
Seventy percent of corporate content produced worldwide is irrelevant to the target group. It is all the more important to tailor content in B2B content marketing to the target group. The following applies quality over quantity. It’s better to produce one rich blog post a month than five that will leave your potential business partners cold. Use proper branded products and strategies to reach other businesses and increase your reach.
According to a study, 94 percent of managers use newsletters to gather information. As with blog articles: high-quality content is convincing. Therefore, do not create an advertising newsletter, but a useful one.
Reach decision-makers
According to studies, three out of four companies give away reach because they only use their channels to distribute their content. But firing the content on owned media alone does not lead to the hoped-for new customers. This only reaches users who are already connected to the company.
It is, therefore, important to break new ground for content distribution: social media ads, native advertising, and search engine ads are three of the most effective. Furthermore, the business networks LinkedIn and other relevant social media forums should be a permanent contact point for the further distribution of blog content.
Working with influencers also increases awareness of their content among the target group.
Proper business networks
A recurring issue is whether and to what extent Facebook can be used for B2B marketing. On the one hand, the argument is correct that decision-makers use Facebook like other people. But this is also the counter-argument: Facebook is not a business network, but an online platform for leisure, but you should not invest too much in it – according to the prevailing opinion.
One thing is certain: With precise targeting, success in B2B marketing can also be achieved with Facebook. The key here is the change of perspective because Facebook doesn’t sell.
Why is it still useful to be active on Facebook in the sense of B2B communication? Because it’s about more than just selling: maintaining an image, positioning, interacting with the target group, and building trust – all of these are important measures for brand building that can be implemented on Facebook.
Position content correctly in times of digitization
Digitization plays a critical role in reshaping marketing activities. In other words: B2B content marketing must capture the complexity of digitization. Facts and case studies alone, however important they are, are not enough. It takes a bit of entertainment to reach decision-makers.
This includes making content visually appealing: infographics, diagrams, and moving images to ensure an appealing and professional look.
Analyze content performance
If your content is regularly checked, the key question is: Have the communication goals been achieved? But be careful: many companies fall into the trap of evaluating their B2B content marketing measures solely based on whether new business customers have been acquired.
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But other levels of success also play a role. B2B content marketing promotes the establishment of relationships with new and existing customers, consolidates the positioning in the market, and communicates your expert status. All of these are long-term goals that are part of the business.
At the same time, a thorough examination of your content strategy is necessary. Therefore, use tools such as Google Analytics to determine whether you can reach the desired decision-makers with your content.
Conclusion
Successful content marketing in the B2B area is based on high-quality, evidence-based, target group-oriented, and attractively designed content. The associated strategy needs clear communication goals that take into account the cultural customs and structures in companies as well as the motives of the decision-makers.
