Today’s business is affected by rapid development in the digital world. The complication and implication vary from B2B and B2C respectively. Every marketing modal differs from the other in complication. Both business models have problems to solve. But B2B marketing problems are harder to solve. They need an efficient strategy.
This is in contrast to B2C marketing problems which can be solved with one overnight stand advertisement. B2B requires a solid strategy aligned well with the business goals for a long-term period.
The B2B marketing funnel involves a complicated sales cycle that needs effective monitoring. Reaching the transaction level in B2B involves many decision-makers. The question is how you can go into the mind of every one of them to answer a different question of your service with just an ad, a short-term strategy?
Unlike B2C marketing, B2B calls for an effective long-term strategy to solve. This is the reason why modern marketers disqualify traditional advertisements or online ads as a long-term strategy. You can learn more about Content marketing & advertisement: what is the best?
Now if you were to ask reputable organizations and marketers where do they relay now?
The answer is, 91% of B2B marketers use content marketing to reach customers. And 86% of B2C content marketers think of it as a key strategy. Why? Learn more here Why and How Content Marketing is the best digital marketing strategy
To be specific content marketing solution in B2B can solve the following common problems that face their market:
- Product or service that is difficult to explain
- The long complex sales cycle
- Creating awareness about new product or service line
The chances are you are thinking about how to solve your B2B marketing problems. Now you are looking no how content marketing solution in B2B fits your needs.
If so, this piece of educational content is for you. In this context, we must discuss the effective role of content marketing service to B2B. This includes why it is important and what are forms of content marketing you can apply to your niche. In the end, you will understand how to solve your B2B problems.
What is b2b content marketing | bridging technologies
Content Marketing Definition remains the same for both B2B and B2C. The only difference is the approach and the targeted buyer persona to be considered in either of the two. Nonetheless, the practice of producing a piece of valuable and consistent content for a specified audience is the same. Likewise, the major intent is to drive profitable action remains the major concern in both B2B and B2C marketing modals.
Now considering the above, what is B2B content marketing in specific?
B2B content marketing is the practice of producing and distributing valuable content to increase brand awareness, traffic, leads, and sales for business-to-business companies.
It is reported that 89% of B2B use content marketing to generate leads. You can read more on How can content marketing improves sales in your business.
Many agencies use content marketing as the channel to reach out to their audiences. A good example here is Bridging Technologies as a digital marketing agency in Tanzania that uses content on a blog as a B2B channel. Through blog content, we generate relevant traffic and desired leads who turn to be loyal customers.
When speaking about a lead in Digital Marketing we refer to contacts that have shown interest in your service. Valuable information you provide convinced them to exchange their contacts and valuable information in response to your call of action. The details include names, email, phone numbers, credit card info, and more important business information. Imagine how you can pursue this without a content marketing strategy, it’s almost impossible.
The role of content marketing does not end to convert website visitors to lead but it assists a brand to align close to the purchase funnel. Rather it helps brands to attract, engage, and delight their audiences, both before, during, and after they make a purchase or engage a service.
Do you want to engage your customers and build a long-term content writing service?
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Content Marketing is important to many businesses not only to B2B. As you know the world of marketing has changed and technological innovation trends. All these force marketers to adapt a change otherwise face collapse.
Online marketing opportunities have. Buyers today are more empowered as they have information available by simply doing a quick search on their mobile phones.
Technology has changed and will continue to change, buying behavior will continue to do so as well. Learning how your marketing can adapt and evolve to match buying behaviors is no more an option. But most important is how to resonate your brand with your prospects and win their trust and loyalty. You can learn more about HOW and WHY Digital Marketing is important in today's business on our blog.
If you rely on online ads as your strategy, there is a problem. Now technology has empowered buyers to be in a position to choose what to see and view. It is estimated that 47% of consumers blocked ads in 2019 according to Forbes. A bitter truth is that if your business does not give something of value to a prospect then you’re not going to stand in the crowd.
In content marketing, content acts as your voice. It enables you to speak one-on-one with tens, hundreds, and potentially thousands. It speaks to those who are looking for answers and insights on regular basis.
As you already know Search Engine has dramatically improved, it has the ability to determine user’s intent. What works nowadays is inbound marketing, for which content is one of its methodologies. It is intended to create one to one relationship with the power of context. With the power of context, it is intended to create a one-to-one relationship.
From your buyer persona in hand, you have insight into their motivations, goals, roadblocks, and behavior.
This helps you to create content that is timely and perfectly fits their needs. This way you will be creating a reason for them to engage with your services, as the user experience (UX) in your company or business entices them.
Buyers need something of value to make them engage with your service or brand. When the case is of this type, what works best for them is the strategy as SEO, user experience, and content creation for the Brand. To give out insights, educating them on the best chances and opportunities to solve their problems. The only effective strategy is content. This is the reason why content is crowned to be the King's strategy.
It’s a king strategy because it provides companies with a massive opportunity to position their brand as thought leaders. It helps to place brands as experts at the top of their field and to become a key voice in their industry.
Do you still doubt the roles of content in your business? Ok! Have a look at the following killing benefits:
Content Marketing is more Cost-Effective
Content marketing costs 62% less than traditional marketing and generates about 3 times as many leads. This is according to an article published by Forbes.
Content more efficient marketing strategy
According to statistics of 1875 marketing,74% of companies found that content marketing increased lead generation, both in quality and quantity (Curata, 2017). Businesses with a content marketing strategy achieved 27.1% higher win rates and 18.1% higher quota attainment than those without a content strategy (CSO Insights, 2019).
Long term marketing strategy
Content marketing has become the new discussion when it comes to online SEO strategies. Professionals consider it as a more effective method even more than simple link building. When the strategy is used in proper ways shows an increase in both organic traffic and higher search engine rankings.
To keep the discussion short high-quality blog and web content provide your websites with the followings:
- Consistently fresh, and so more searchable information.
- A way to maintain business relationships by staying at the forefront of their minds.
- Interesting, informative, and useful information for customers and potential customers.
- The ability to attract more prospects by making offers to assist them.
Hence the role of content marketing in modern inbound marketing cannot be ignored at all.
B2b content marketing vs b2c content marketing
When it comes to B2B content marketing, the idea is about providing your expertise and knowledge about the industry or the field. You do this because your intention is to build customer relations and help prospects solve their problems related to their business. The return to this is the customers will see you as a business they should trust for a solution.
The sole intention of B2B content marketing is to build brand identity, establishing value, and developing trust. For more information on content marketing, take a look at our Why and How Content Marketing is the best digital marketing strategy blog post.
On the other hand, B2C content marketing is about selling an emotional connection that makes customers want to buy your products. The relationship is less about showcasing industry knowledge and more about finding common ground with potential customers. Here the difference is big, varying from the choice of keywords, channels, and overall strategy.
Whether you’re B2B, B2C, or a combination of both, any content marketing strategy must start with thoughtful planning, followed by careful and consistent execution.
Now that you know the major differences between content creation best practices for both sectors it is time to get started. If you are not sure contact Bridging Technologies a digital marketing agency in Tanzania that specializes in this.
What content marketing can solve best in b2b?
Any B2B content strategy aims at building brand identification, establishing values, and building trust in prospects. Even after achieving these, three common marketing problems persist to many B2B that need an immediate solution.
1. Product or service that is difficult to explain
2. A long complex sales cycle
3. Creating awareness about new product or service line
Before explaining the solution, let us have a correct understanding of B2B content marketing goals.
The role of content Marketing in B2B revolves around the focus of establishing your business as a trusted one.
To make it simple all that you want to achieve with content in B2B is as follows:
- Build Brand Identity: Connect your business with products and services
- Establishing Values: You position yourself as a thought leader by making your customer with valuable information
- Develop Trust: Showing the customers that you are not only aware of your products and services but also know what are their problems and how to solve them. This is achieved through developing content around the needs and interests of your base to further show your dedication towards their business.
Problem 01: product or service that is difficult to explain
Every industry or niche faces a challenge in introducing a new product or service. The problem grows when it comes to the point that what you offer is an intangible product that your customers must visualize and have an outcome just on the head.
It is very difficult for instance to explain a service let’s say of assisting a customer getting web ranking and high domain authority as the long-term marketing plan. How advertisement can carry the whole idea and make your customers visualizing that service in terms of a product? Keep in mind in mind the cost associated with money and time which is never replaceable, can you opt for a one-night stand ad as a strategy? How much will you spend and how long-term impact will produce the ROI?
The good news is that, content marketing allows you to explain your offering effectively, without relying on traditional product and service descriptions.
If you sell a complex product or having a service that is difficult for your prospect to understand, using content marketing is never an option. It is the only way to help your buyers with blog posts, webinars, or white paper.
Once you’ve created a connection with them, you can begin to educate them on how your product or service can solve their pain points with a case study.
Do you want to explore more business opportunities at affordable cost and free consultation? Call here to speak with our expert phone number or reach us through the contact form.
Problem 02: A LONG COMPLEX SALES CYCLE
As you know sales and buying cycle in B2B is often long, and includes multiple decision-makers to influence transactions. It's challenging to stay top of mind and keep the conversation going with prospective customers. You need to go on adding values that your business can deliver while removing all the obstacles that hinder the buying decision. This is by answering those specific blocking questions from specific decision-makers. Content marketing is perfectly suited to solve this part effectively and guide all your buyer persona along the customer journey to reach the transaction.
Some small businesses tend to carry the work by themselves while others find experts to play in the field. They want just to focus on their core and vital part, so they hire a digital marketing agency to do the job. Bridging Technologies help with content writing service in Tanzania, you can have a look at our content creation process.
Problem 03: creating awareness about new product or service line
Building awareness is quite different from selling a product but you show how your brand associate with products and services. This is done by providing valuable information to buyers that position you as a thought leader. When people want to make B2B decisions they want facts and data to support their decision-making. This focus can only be achieved through content, and this content writing service is a vital work we do for you at Bridging Technologies.
If you’re looking to expand your business in 2020, don’t neglect the power that content marketing can bring to your marketing efforts. Identify the problem that you’re trying to solve, and then look for creative ways to use content to generate more meaningful experiences for prospective customers.
The power of optimized content can position your brand on top of the Search Engine Results Page, to get organic traffic. The product from awareness effort is the conversion of website traffics to customers through CTAs strategically placed inside a piece of creative content. This activity is accomplished with SEO.
Forms of b2b content marketing
The followings are the six forms of content marketing for B2B:
Webinars
This is simply an online seminar, it gives you live experience interaction when it comes to generating leads, qualified ones. Today the rise of technology makes video content more powerful.
When done right, webinars can be compelling in demonstrating thought leadership and the viability of your product or service.
That’s not to say they’re cheap or easy. A good webinar takes forethought and planning, execution, and regular iteration on subject matter and delivery. But they’re also one of the most powerful B2B content types out there.
Blogs
Blogs are the hub of information. People search just to reach valuable information from websites and online platforms. The information has become a most valuable asset to the business and even buyers. This is the reason why they say content is a King, but did you know Blog is the Kingdom.
There’s been a lot of talk about blogs dying off. If usage is dropping off in your industry, thank your lucky stars. Because blogs remain one the most effective and fastest ways to get your message out and build an audience.
59% of marketers say that email is their biggest source of ROI, and 80% of business professionals believe that it increases customer retention.
It’s a channel to reach B2B prospects in a trusted and very formal way. But it’s not just the delivery mechanism that makes email so highly regarded in the overall marketing content mix.
It’s the role it plays in lead nurturing. Modern marketing can’t just batch and blast anymore—not in a complex sales cycle. You need to earn and hold the attention of buyers, and that means crafting lots of emails that speak to their particular pain points, needs, and solutions.
Marketers invest little in email marketing just because it's becoming a popular and available channel for businesses. As many people use emails, this marketing doesn't need the marketer to invest a lot in new technologies.
White Papers
Chances are, your product or service involves some level of complexity. And then the problems your industry faces are even more confusing to buyers.
The white paper is an in-depth report or guide about a specific topic and the problems that surround it. It breaks down this complexity into digestible chunks. This is often the point where you help the buyer to put their fingers straight onto the issue they can’t quite explain. And the more you can attach valuable research and data points, the better.
Infographics
Think of the infographic as the companion piece of the white paper. Only you’re taking all those insights and breaking them up into digestible, entertaining chunks.
Any top salesperson in B2B will tell you to lead conversations with insight. Infographics are a compelling way to deliver these insights. While the market has become saturated with infographics, the right amount of creativity and actual data can still break through the clutter.
Case Studies
This is where we use a "material form" the most loosely. A case study can take the form of a blog post, a video, a PDF, or something else. The important thing is that a customer is advocating for your product or service clearly and compellingly.
Case studies are an ideal way to show the market value of the goods or services. They go beyond straightforward testimonials by demonstrating how you were able to solve a customer's problem and assist them in achieving success.
With case studies, you will illustrate your accomplishments in a way that will entice a perfect future customer to take the next step toward being a new customer.
Make sure that the emphasis is 90% educational.
CONCLUSION
Now you know the role of content marketing in helping out with problems your business face. Yet you should know and understand that it should not be expensive to acquire a content writing service. But this doesn’t mean it’s that simple to achieve the outcome. It needs a plan and strategies related to your own goals for your own business. This is the reason why B2B outsource content writing service to Digital agencies. Bridging technologies as digital marketing in Tanzania can help your best with this.
You can reach us through or make a short call on +255762110000.
About Author
A content writer filled with a desire to create engaging online content for innovative brands.
