Content is both the cause of, and solution to, many marketers’ problems.

Like channels including email and social media, content has taken its place as a fundamental pillar of B2B marketing. When planning campaigns or marketing strategies, content’s inclusion is simply a given – and rightly so. Tackling long buying cycles, building brand trust, or positioning organisations as industry thought-leaders, few channels do the job as well as content. From ebooks and tip sheets, to infographics and checklists, this multi-function solution has a place in all marketing activities… and this could be its downfall.

Topics: B2B Content Marketing, marketing content, b2b content blog, interactive content

In real life, we turn strangers into friends by following three conversational stages - small talk, discussing interests, and sharing feelings. In B2B content marketing, we use a similar communication style to turn prospects into customers.

Topics: B2B Content Marketing, B2B Lead Nurturing, B2B lead generation strategy

The average attention span in 2015 was 8.25 seconds[i]

To put this statistic into perspective, the average attention span of a goldfish is 9 seconds. Yes, that’s right… humans now have a shorter attention span than goldfish! And this information is a generalised number, as when it comes to viewing webpages and content, the time is no doubt a lot less than 8.25 seconds. So, what does this mean for B2B marketing content? Well, the landscape is changing and a paradigm shift is taking place. Are you ready?

 

Topics: B2B Content Marketing, content marketing, B2B Content

It’s no secret that B2B marketing is likely to see a variety of changes during 2017, including new techniques, technology, and methodology. These developments are also likely to include changes to B2B content marketing, as it looks to become less static and more interactive. With the inclusion of quizzes, polls, calculators, and a variety of other tools, the ebooks and tipsheets that we know today are likely to become less of a go-to manoeuvre. However, even with the newer forms of content, there will still be aspects which marketers will need to consider, especially if they hope to succeed…

Topics: B2B Content Marketing, B2B marketing, b2b marketing 2017, b2b content marketing 2017

Although we are marketers, we are also consumers, which means we’ve no doubt seen our fair share of marketing content in our time. Now, consider this, when was the last time a piece of content really captured your attention and kept you engaged? A week ago? A month ago? The fact of the matter is that as marketers flood the industry with sub-standard content, the more we all become jaded to the concept. Additionally, the frequency at which content such as blogs are being published is nothing short of saturation. Without relevance and a realistic publishing frequency, content will be almost useless for lead generation before we know it.

Topics: B2B Content Marketing, B2B marketing, B2B Marketing Content

In a recent report I read, it stated that B2B content is no longer king. The newly crowned king is context. Apparently, in order to generate the best results from B2B content marketing, you need to first study and digest the behaviour of your buyers. For example, what are they talking about on social media? What types of posts do they share? Which media sites do they get their information from? Only once you have this information can you start to segment your target audience into smaller groups and then write content specifically for each group.

Topics: B2B Content Marketing, B2B Content, b2b context

Over the past few years, B2B content marketing has continued its rapid growth in popularity. Whether it’s infographics, ebooks, tip sheets, or case studies, businesses all over the globe are investing in this marketing strategy. Now though, as it becomes apparent that content marketing isn’t just a passing fad, more and more organisations are considering building their own team of B2B creatives in-house to help write and build the ever-increasing amount of content. But is this the best solution? Is an in-house team of writers and designers really a good idea? Well, it would seem not.

Topics: B2B Content Marketing, b2b creative team, b2b creatives

Is your business struggling to prove content marketing is providing a solid ROI? According to a recent survey, this is a common problem among B2B marketers...

Topics: B2B Content Marketing, B2B Marketing ROI, B2B Content Marketing ROI

The B2B marketing world appears to be obsessed with content. 99% of marketers say B2B content marketing is important, and it’s predicted that by 2016, half of marketers’ time will be spent on content alone.

With this in mind, you’d think the majority of B2B organisations would have a solid grasp of their content strategy, and how they’d like to grow and develop it over the coming year.

Apparently not. According to the 2015 Content Marketing Benchmarking Report, 53% of respondents in the report say they’re ‘weak’ or ‘okay’ when it comes to content strategy. 

Topics: B2B Content Marketing, B2B marketing, marketing content, B2B Content

Topics: B2B Inbound marketing, B2B Content Marketing, B2B marketing, B2B Marketing Content, B2B Content

We all know that the B2B marketers who create original and unique content are the ones who will stand out from the crowd and generate the most ROI over the coming months and years. The secret though, is how to change current content curation processes into idea-filled original content that’s engaging and likely to generate leads, sales and revenue. To help you with this transition, we’ve created a scrapbook of ideas and techniques that will have you pushing the boundaries of innovation in no time. And the starting point is the coming together of the right team.

Topics: B2B Inbound marketing, B2B Content Marketing, content marketing, B2B Marketing Content, B2B Content

According to Forbes.com, 58% of B2B marketers plan to increase their content marketing budgets over the coming year. But, will they be investing in original content or curated content? In order to debate and examine this subject closer, it’s first necessary to clarify exactly what each term means.

Topics: B2B Inbound marketing, B2B Content Marketing, content marketing, B2B Marketing Content, B2B Content

During the run up to an election, party political rhetoric increases significantly. By now we are all used to the multitude of leaflets posted through our letterboxes, party political broadcasts replacing TV adverts, and town centres grinding to a halt as MPs speak on a personal level to prospective voters.

Topics: B2B Inbound marketing, B2B Content Marketing, content marketing, B2B Marketing Content, B2B Content

In a recent survey by BrightTALK (which surveyed 600 marketing professionals), the respondents were asked what they believed made B2B marketing content effective. The results, as shown in the graphic below, found that the top three priorities were audience relevance (58%), engaging and compelling storytelling (57%) and information that triggers a specific response (54%). These three factors are the fundamentals of any good B2B content marketing.

Topics: B2B Inbound marketing, B2B Content Marketing, content marketing, B2B Marketing Content, B2B Content

A lot is written for marketers about how to align a content strategy with business objectives. But not a lot for the actual business leaders.

Topics: B2B Content Marketing, B2B, B2B marketing, B2B Marketing ROI, B2B ROI, content marketing, B2B Content