The world of B2B is not short of examples of worst practice when it comes to content marketing. From the bombarders to the self-interested, there are many content criminals out there. Follow these tips to make sure you’re not among them.
1. Speak editorial, not advertorial
A lot of marketing people talk in strap lines and ‘brand speak’ – don’t do this unless you are writing an ad or billboard for your tradeshow. That is not how you would talk directly to your customer, yet many marketing and business leaders still feel it necessary to put their corporate message spin on every piece of content.
2. Speak like a person, not a brochure
Customers don’t expect to be part of a sales process anymore – they are able to do their own research and are more likely to buy from you if they like you and believe what you (or even better, your customers) are telling them. At the end of the day, all things being equal, people buy from people. When all things are unequal, people still buy from people.
3. Address pain points, not product
Customers are just not interested in the next interface or version of your product. It doesn’t matter if the portal has been designed by Steve Jobs, if you don’t explain why it’s different or does a better job, you’re not marketing it right. (I lied about Jobs, that might be an exception.)
While we are on the subject, exactly what is the relevance of your new board appointment or acquisition? How does that help your company address the issues in the market place? These questions must be answered if you are going to communicate these stories or produce this content and make it relevant.
4.Integrate your channels so they all connect and point back to each other
Your customers or influencers are looking at you from all directions these days – you don’t always know it but they are. Consistent messages and links back to your website so you can identify them will make the marketing message and infrastructure work more effectively. It is also worth noting, that in the tech sector, where so many company names are similar, consistent imagery also helps brands become known more effectively.
5. Use evangelists and credible people
Everybody knows that sales and marketing people have an agenda, and in the same way the customer no longer wants to feel sold to or doesn’t buy from brochures, they want to learn about their market from people they trust and have something new to say. Choosing these people who can communicate and evangelise the message can make a real difference. Particularly if they are overflowing with enthusiasm and sector knowledge.
6. Don’t add pointless calls-to-action
Give something away to expect something back. If your call to action is to provide a really useful, educational guide or webinar, then you can expect an email address to be forthcoming. ‘Contact us’ immediately after a thought leadership piece just undermines the quality of your thinking.
7. Do add useful calls-to-action and keywords
When creating content, always think about the next natural step to continue the dialogue with your customer. Make those links, buttons and downloads visible, but in a logical place and context with the rest of you content.
8. Think to yourself: is my content educating or entertaining?
It should be at least one. Everyone likes to laugh. Especially in business. And less is more. Don’t always weigh the rest of the world down with the quality and in depth nature of your thinking (especially in the blog). Not many people have the time or attention span to read it. With apps like Instagram, Snapchat and Vine, it is obvious the way our capacity to consume is going. Make it visual, relevant, to the point.
9. Obey the basic rules of frequency, it’s not quality over quantity
However influential you are, if you flood my LinkedIn or Twitter news stream, it will get tiresome. There are some basic best practice numbers on how often to post, and when, that are worth taking a look at. Times of the day and week also have an impact. It’s not an exact science, but it’s worth thinking about.
10. Plan and measure
Your audience will tell you if you are getting it right – the wonderful thing about all of our interactive channels now, is that your customers tell you directly if they like your content. If it’s relevant you will see it shared way beyond your own personal network. All of these tools and online metrics are in place to measure your impact. Make sure you set benchmarks before creating your content marketing strategy and plan.
