With everything going digital around, it is beyond the shadow of a doubt that it is equally important to understand and implement the techniques of content marketing ‘appropriately’.
For the Business to Consumer market (B2C), it has already proved to be inevitable and as far as the Business to Business market (B2B) is concerned, it is equally imperative. According to the marketing trends, if marketers (B2B) adopt the relevant marketing strategies, they do not yield the expected output, or rather the results are not surprising.
Let us discuss a list of ‘Dos’ for any B2B company, encapsulating the ‘Don’ts’ so that it can flourish with the elixir idea of social media and content marketing.
- Lay down a coherent strategy: B2B is basically the exchange of products, services, or information between businesses, unlike businesses to consumers. So it apparently turns out to be a complex process. Any convoluted process can be simplified with a predefined ‘documented strategy’. It is important to build a vision keeping in mind the long-term sales cycle. A few essential pointers while strategizing can be-
- Have a record of goals set to be achieved.
- Identify the target audience which is basically for understanding and solving their needs.
- A set platform to exercise the above tasks effectively.
- Be consistent: The biggest challenge B2B companies face while content marketing is maintaining consistency. One has to work rigorously to produce engaging content. As the results may take time, continuous efforts are required to influence decision-makers. Basically, it is important to envisage the prerequisites and plan accordingly beforehand.
- Customer Relationship is a strength: Similar to the important concept of content marketing, it is important to focus on the target audience. What is different with B2B companies is that they need to focus on providing remedies to the target audience rather than hyping their product. They should be able to convey the idea about how well the product can be used to solve the problems. They must focus on answering the queries and satisfying the inquisitiveness of the buyer.
- Qualitative and Quantitative metrics: The significance of the returns must not be ignored by business companies. The effectiveness of any social media initiative or any marketing campaign can be measured with these two criteria. There must be a proper mechanism to monitor the crests and troughs on a regular basis.
Some of the key points for evaluation can be-
- Number of visits to your website
- Visibility on the Social media platform
- Number of interactions
- Number of downloads of your eBook
- Valid product feedback
- Interactions with influencers
- Importance of Personal Branding: Having a ‘face of the brand’ can’t be ignored. The idea of not identifying the necessity of having a well-known face that can bridge the gap between the company and the buyer can prove to be a blunder. Having a strong online presence and invoking trust among the people is important. Also, the top management must have the capability to demonstrate the values and expertise of the company. This can result in positive responses from the prospects/customers/suppliers.
So it is the time to reinvent the wheel and come out of the misconception that content marketing is only restricted to B2C companies. Careful implementation of the above points can help you grow opportunities and multiply your chances to excel in the business.
