By Melanie Sovann
Whether you outsource your business’ content marketing needs or delve into writing and design yourself, creating appealing content for B2B audiences can be challenging. After all, the wants and needs of B2B stakeholders often vary from those found in B2C prospects, making the content writing process that much more complex.
According to Elise Dopson, 89% of B2B marketers use content marketing as a means to attract new leads, however, only 37% of companies state that they have a solid content marketing strategy in place. This shows that adequate planning and purposeful content writing can indeed help you gain new B2B contacts regardless of the industry your business operates in. With that said, let’s dive into what makes for appealing B2B content writing and how you can use it to your advantage going forward.
B2B Content Writing Basics
Let’s start off small and talk about what B2B content marketing represents before diving into writing itself. As the name might suggest, Business2Business (B2B) content marketing is the art of appealing to other businesses with your advertisement – not individual, B2C consumers. This makes B2B marketing more complex and detailed in terms of information delivery and value proposition presentation.
Different company representatives from across the globe will look for various data in your B2B content marketing which will either turn them into your leads and contacts or (pun intended) lead them away from your brand. Finding the right balance between factual data in regards to your business and the industry you operate in with a unique tone of voice and call to action is what will determine your success on the B2B content marketing scene.
Advantages of B2B Content Writing
Now that we have the basics out of the way, let’s dive into the “why” of B2B content writing and why you should implement it into your advertisement. As we’ve previously stated, content writing aimed at B2C stakeholders won’t have the same effect when a B2B representative sees it.
These individuals require a different approach, one that will effectively inform them of your business’ product portfolio, company culture and values as a company. As such, B2B content marketing can bring a plethora of advantages to your brand compared to other businesses on the market, including but not limited to:
- Brand-aligned, company-goal driven content marketing
- Growth of industry authority and business reputation
- B2B stakeholders can quickly assess your brand’s viability in terms of collaboration
- Higher SEO score which leads to better search engine ranking
- Improved return on investment in terms of B2B networking
Content Writing for B2B Audiences
These tips will help you refine your B2B content writing process to generate more quality leads.
1. Develop Your Target Audience
In terms of audience targeting, B2B content writing is not unlike B2C marketing. This means that you will have to develop a good sense of which audience profile you want to attract with your content writing early on. Do you aim to attract big company representatives, small business owners, CEOs or independent freelancers and self-employed professionals?
Every type of B2B stakeholder will look for something different in the content you write and publish for them. Depending on the target audience you settle on, your writing will change in small details such as whether or not you use personal pronouns and how often do you engage the reader through calls to action. Choose the types of people you wish to attract from the start and your B2B content writing will become that much better for it.
2. Cut Out the Excess
One of the biggest differences in terms of content writing structure from B2C to B2B is the fact that the latter readers don’t have a lot of time. B2B stakeholders will skim through your content and look for keywords and most important elements before moving on to a dozen other content pieces for the day. This makes short-form writing essential for your B2B content writing, requiring you to cut out any excess in terms of fluff and filler before publishing.
Focus on informative writing with factual data, key takeaways and external links for proof of your claims in order to appease the B2B audience. Avoid long-form blog posts and opinion articles in B2B writing and instead focus on smaller, digestible pieces of content with hard-hitting information to attract potential leads to your business.
3. Social Proof & Analytics Matter
B2B stakeholders will often want to hear about how you treat your clients and customers, especially from the horse’s mouth. This makes social proof data and analytics pivotal to your success in terms of showcasing your business’ viability for B2B networking.
Make sure to incorporate social proof content such as testimonials, reviews, sales data, and customer satisfaction rates into your B2B content writing. Showcase the data which will help you drive your point further without delving into minute analytics which will bloat your content (keep it short-form).
4. Quality Over Quantity
In terms of attracting B2B collaboration partners, it is pivotal for you to focus on content quality over quantity at any given moment. Don’t fall into temptation of posting new content every day or more than once a day on your website or business blog.
Space out your B2B content writing so that the readers have sufficient time to digest each post before you move forward. In that aspect, it’s good practice to rely on a strict content calendar which can be planned a month in advance and used as a publishing compass. Review each piece of B2B content writing before publishing and take your time in the editing and formatting phases of post-production to maintain your business’ reputation.
5. Optimize for Search Engines
Even though B2B stakeholders have different content expectations and goals in terms of what they read on the web, SEO is still an important part of the equation. Search engine optimization (SEO) represents a set of global algorithms set by Google which allows original and relevant content to rank high in search engines such as Bing and Yahoo.
You can use platforms such as Google AdWords and SEM Rush to quickly assess which words and phrases to integrate into your content post-production to allow for higher ranking. Implementing trending SEO keywords and formatting patterns into your B2B content writing is highly efficient in terms of attracting new readers to your business website and blog.
6. Make It Easy to Share
B2B stakeholders will often look for interesting industry content to share on professional social media platforms such as LinkedIn. In order to meet them halfway, you can integrate social media sharing options into your blog and website respectively.
Small quality of life additions to your business’ online front will do wonders for your lead generation and global exposure. Make it easy for others to share your B2B content writing and you will undoubtedly attract lucrative B2B stakeholders to your business over time.
7. Offer Conversion Opportunities
In order to entice your B2B readers into conversion, you should make it a native part of your content writing going forward. Small calls to action which revolve around their subscription to your newsletter or for them to book a live chat with your representative will have a great effect on your lead generation.
Don’t create passive B2B content writing without a key takeaway or a call to action which will directly correlate with your goals to appeal to potential business partners. Make sure that readers understand what it is that you are trying to accomplish with your B2B content writing and the desired effect will manifest itself naturally.
8. Be Available for Follow-Ups
Lastly, some B2B stakeholders might not be convinced with your content writing or value proposition without direct communication with your representatives. It is pivotal that you enable your potential stakeholders to communicate with you, your salespeople, CEO of the company or anyone with the authority to speak for the business.
This interaction can take place via social media, email, website chat or even video depending on what you settle on. Be available for any questions, concerns or counter-proposals B2B stakeholders may have in terms of networking and collaboration. Avoid one-sided B2B content writing without reader interaction and you will reach your partnership goals that much more quickly.
In Conclusion
While it may seem overly complex and dry at first, B2B content writing offers the same level of creative freedom and expression as B2C marketing does. What separates the two is the fact that the former will allow you to engage other business owners and company representatives such as yourself instead of clients and consumers. Look for the right approach which suits your content writing style and tone of voice in terms of B2B content marketing and the right networking partners will engage your content effortlessly.
