B2B Content Marketing

B2B CONTENT MARKETING CHALLENGES

MarketingProfs

41% of B2B marketers say producing engaging content is their biggest content marketing challenge.
That’s up 14% from last year.
20% say it is producing enough content.
18% cite having the budget to produce enough content.

THOUGHT: We’re approaching the point where people are realizing it is a given that content is an essential ingredient of marketing these days. But the problem of creating content remains, as the numbers above indicate.

First and foremost is the challenge of having the talent and expertise to create valuable content. The fact that the outsourcing of content creation is on the rise illustrates that point.

It also illustrates how important it is for professional communicators to be content creators themselves, so they understand how to go about it and learn what content is engaging and what content is not, and, most importantly, how content can propel action.

That, in a B2B environment, is usually the top priority. Indeed, the same MarketingProfs survey reports the goals B2B marketers have for their content marketing programs:

• 68% cite brand awareness and customer acquisition
• 66% cite lead generation
• 61% cite customer retention/loyalty
• 56% cite website traffic
• 55% cite engagement
• and 55% cite thought leadership

Walk before you run with content marketing.

Take an inventory of your organization’s assets that might be put to use as content. If you don’t have your product manuals online in this day and age, you’re probably frustrating the hell out of your existing customers.

That’s content; and formatted properly, it can probably be put to use as search engine fodder while also serving the needs of your customers.

Do you have product photos? Videos? Are they online and optimized?

Once you’ve taken care of the easy stuff, the content you’ve already got but haven’t used, then you need to start really studying your audience(s) to understand what they find valuable and engaging.

That should not only be the foundation of your content marketing strategy but it’s also half the battle in the creation of the content itself.

THROWBACK THURSDAY: This has nothing to do with technology but it is pure, unadulterated awesomeness: Scientists have gotten their hands on some high quality Woolly Mammoth bone marrow from which they can extract DNA which they could then use to clone the animals…and bring them back to life! Can you say Ice Age Park?

Thank you for competition.