The Complete B2B Content Creation Guide

With more and more business revenue driven by leads that are generated online, the focus on B2B content creation has intensified. Smart companies realize that relevant, useful information draws potential customers into the sales funnel.

While content creation for consumers-B2C-might garner more attention in the marketplace, a strong B2B content creation strategy can produce quantifiable, bottom-line results for B2B businesses as well. More than just snackable content designed to engage for a few minutes and drive a quick consumer purchase, B2B content is based on strategic initiatives. It needs to attract, engage, and most importantly, generate quality leads. By building trust and helping prospects, great B2B content moves potential buyers further along the sales funnel.

Before we dive into B2B content, let’s talk about three ways it’s different from typical B2C content.

B2C purchase decisions are typically driven by emotion. When it’s B2C content, you want to connect with buyers on an emotional level-make them feel good about your brand and the qualities it imbues. With B2B content, you need to start by developing content that establishes trust with potential customers. The stakes are higher in B2B-purchase decisions typically involve multiple people, and are often long-term contracts.

B2B buyers want to see the ROI of your product or service. When a consumer chooses one brand of toothpaste over another, they probably don’t view it as an investment they plan to evaluate. So B2C content can have an informal voice. In contrast, B2B content needs to start the process of convincing a potential customer that the product or service will create cost savings or efficiencies that will help them grow revenue. A solid B2B content strategy will use logic and data to sway the decision-makers.

Maybe you’re not convinced that a B2B content strategy will really move the sales needle for your company. Wondering how an investment in high quality content will make a difference is a valid concern.

The reality is that all kinds of companies are currently using B2B content successfully. Done well, it provides quantifiable ROI. Whether it’s through blog posts, social media, white papers, user-generated content, or any of the other avenues that are available to B2B marketers, the right content marketing strategy delivers results. A critical piece is providing intelligent, well-researched material. Remember that people who are deeply involved in an industry, especially those who are empowered to make purchase decisions, have a great deal of knowledge already. They are experts already, and they’ll have little patience for B2B content that is thin or just scratches the surface of a topic.

Enables the sales team. When the right content is created for a B2B brand, it also helps educate and empower salespeople. It provides them with material they can use to navigate a potential buyer through the process and turn them into a customer, and reinforces the pain points that are likely for the prospect.

Still not convinced that investing time and resources in B2B content creation is worth it?

Well, a quick browse of the internet will show you just how much is out there-blog posts, visual content, landing pages, webinars, and more. And that endless supply has raised expectations, so your customers and potential customers now expect high quality content. If your target audience visits your website and doesn’t see fresh, informative material, it sets off alarms. You never get a second chance to make a first impression, and you’ll appear less capable than your competitors. It’s important to deliver factual, well-researched content that will establish you as an authority.

Once you commit to creating content for a B2B audience, how do you ensure that it’s a valuable part of your overall marketing strategy? How do you create content that delivers ROI? What kinds of content will drive lead generation?

Whether you’re a small business or a large corporation, developing quality content takes creativity, attention to detail, and consistency. For every company that does it well, there are scores that flounder or just muddle along without seeing an impact. If you want to be a part of the former group and develop B2B content that really works, here are some tips:

Tell good stories. Not fibs or half-truths, but relevant information delivered in a human way. When embarking on a B2B content marketing strategy, it’s easy to fall into the trap of filling everything with industry jargon or buzzwords in an attempt to sound like your idea of an industry professional. Don’t go overboard on the lingo-keep your content clear and easy to understand. Think about the best storytellers you’ve met in your life. Have they been the people who seem intent on demonstrating how intelligent they are? Or the ones who engaged you throughout a tale with wit, relevance, or imagination?

Target buyer personas. As much as possible, think about B2B content like a one-on-one conversation instead of a presentation in a massive lecture hall. Before you create a piece of content-whether it’s a blog article, a webinar, a LinkedIn post, a video-decide who you’re hoping to reach. Your buyer persona shouldn’t be an audience so narrow that it’s not useful, but recognizing different kinds of customers will help you craft B2B content that connects with purchasers at the key point in their decision-making process. To help define your target audiences, account-based marketing can be an effective way to create messages that resonate with the people receiving them.

There’s not one, clear path to creating quality content that works for your company. It’s an ongoing process-companies need to consistently provide information that clients and prospects find valuable and moves them closer to a purchase decision.

Remain open to fresh thinking-you just might find your target audience reacts really well to long-form articles when you figured they would be more likely to embrace webinars and visual content. Reach out to your customers and have conversations to help you identify areas that interest them. Connect with your sales team to find out what prospects consistently identify as pain points. Keep up with the topics covered in your trade journals to see if there is material you can build upon and make especially relevant to your products or services.

Yes, B2B content creation is an investment of valuable time and resources. But done well and consistently, it pays off.

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