Content marketing is the core pillar of all B2B inbound activities – especially those in the tech industry.
In the saturated landscape of B2B tech companies, numerous describe themselves as "disruptive," "agile," or "innovative" in their advertising, leading to a sense of uniformity. To truly distinguish themselves, businesses must adopt a thoughtful content marketing strategy, create compelling social media posts, and harness the power of user-generated content. These approaches can genuinely set a company apart from the rest.
This is where the power of content marketing comes in.
Today, B2B companies need to think about the experience that they offer to potential clients if they are to successfully differentiate in a crowded market. Any company can say that it’s “disruptive” or “innovative” – but the proof is always in the experience.
A successful content marketing strategy, complemented by a clear content marketing definition and effective marketing strategy, can create a compelling experience from the initial brand engagement to the point of sale and beyond. This integrated approach remains the primary focus for many of today's content marketers.
Check out the following blogs to learn more about B2B Marketing:
- What Is B2B Inbound Marketing? The Complete 2023 Guide
- The 6 Best B2B Marketing Channels for B2B Companies
- How do I Start a B2B Marketing Campaign? | A 2023 Guide
Figures released in the Content Marketing Institute’s latest report – ‘Content Marketing in the UK: 2017 Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends’ – reveal that 75% of content marketers working today are focused on using the power of content to provide an “overall exceptional experience” for their audiences.
(Image source: contentmarketinginstitute.com)
What’s more, 72% are using content marketing to build long-term relationships with prospects and customers. To do so, 71% are prioritising delivering content quality over content quantity, with 60% focussed on using content for differentiation.
(Image source: contentmarketinginstitute.com)
Beyond the Blog - The Many Forms of Content
Often, when people think of content marketing, it’s the humble blog that comes most naturally and easily to mind. While it’s true that a B2B tech company’s blog will almost certainly form as the cornerstone that holds up the walls of all other content marketing efforts, by no means are blogs the only form of content that require focus and commitment.
If we take one last look at the ‘Content Marketing in the UK’ report, we see that companies use an average of eight different content marketing tactics as part of an overall strategy.
(Image source: contentmarketinginstitute.com)
As expected, blogs enjoy the top spot – 93% of the companies surveyed use them, with social media content (80%) and email newsletters (78%) also proliferating.
But, below these, we’ve got everything from eBooks to videos, infographics, interactive tools, digital magazines, podcasts and webinars.
Blogs are a great way to improve SEO and deliver the core information that your prospects and customers need. However, when it comes to creating experiences and building long-term relationships – top priorities for three-quarters of today's content marketers – it pays to go beyond the blog. That's why modern content marketing strategies use a panoply of different tactics, including content strategy, search engines, and creating content, to support the important work that blogs are doing.
Why B2B Tech Companies Need Content Marketing
Investing in content marketing is a solid move for any business to make. It can provide brand lift, be used for lead generation, improve SEO and of course help a business differentiate as well as deliver an experience like no other in the market.
If all of that didn’t combine to be reason enough alone for you to consider content marketing for your B2B tech company, consider this…
Everything Begins with a Search
Yes, it does.
Even in the B2B realm, buyers and decision makers are using search engines to find the services and solutions they need to improve their business operations.
According to Think With Google, 71% of B2B researchers begin their research in front of a search engine, and 90% use online search specifically to research business purchases.
What’s more, 77% of B2B buyers won’t even speak to a salesperson until they’ve done their own research and, as such, many traverse 90% of buyer’s journey completely independently – meaning that you’ve got to ensure that your content is doing the educational work that has been historically left to salespeople.
(Image source: searchengineland.com)
This also means that your B2B tech company needs to be showing up in SERPs (search engine results pages) to even stand a chance of being considered. Content marketing – and particularly blogs – is how you will make that happen.
B2B tech companies need to ensure that their websites are search engine optimised – which means creating a steady flow of useful, informative and engaging content that B2B buyers can read, link to and share amongst their networks. This is what will increase your SERP rankings.
Read our post ‘SEO for Tech Companies: The Essential Guide’ for more on this subject.
Establish Your Authority and Credibility
Nobody likes to be sold to anymore. Nobody likes intrusive advertising, or a brand ceaselessly subjecting them to self-promotional messaging. Although we mustn’t confuse B2B buyers with consumers, we must still remember that when B2B buyers go home after work, they are in fact consumers, too.
As such, the same psychology is at play. B2B buyers are just as wary of outrageous claims from B2B brands as they are from B2C brands that are trying to sell them things they don’t need.
In fact, some commentators are suggesting that that there’s no such thing as B2B or B2C any longer. Rather, today, sales and marketing are all about P2P (person to person) exchanges.
(Image source: hubspot.net)
The key to cut through a B2B buyer’s jadedness of a lifetime’s exposure to unsolicited B2C marketing messages is to just avoid them completely and treat your prospects like the real people that they are.
B2B buyers want to know that there are real people – real experts – at work behind the scenes of your tech company and content marketing once again is the way to do it.
Be it through blog output, infographics, how-to video tutorials, case studies or webinars – content is key to establishing your credibility to a clearly defined audience. If you can prove to your prospects and customers that your website is a valuable source of information, you’ll first win their attention, then their minds and eventually their hearts.
What’s more, with each piece of well-researched, engaging and educational content you publish, you will be adding huge value to your brand beyond that of what you are trying to sell – and that’s priceless.
Over to You
Done well, online content marketing can have a profound effect on business results. It will improve the buyer's experience of your brand, help to build your reputation as a trusted and credible authority in your niche, aid in the discovery of your business in search and enable you to start building long-term relationships with prospects and customers.
However, it requires time, effort and a solid strategy from the outset. To find out more about that, we direct you towards our recent post, ‘How to Develop a Content Marketing Strategy for Your Tech Company’.
In the meantime, if you need help with any element of your content marketing campaigns or overall strategy, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with the growth experts here at Incisive Edge today.
