Three Key Ways to Add Value to Your B2B Content

"Most B2B marketers have embraced the notion that they are also 'publishers,'" says Ann Handley in a recent article at MarketingProfs. "In other words, they understand that in addition to being in the business of selling whatever they sell—shovels or software—they also need to be producing content as a cornerstone of their marketing, both to engage and to educate their would-be customers."

But wordsmiths beware! "B2B companies have to produce the right kind of content: Web content that is honestly empathetic and seeded with utility for your customers," she cautions.

How can you consistently produce content that benefits prospects and clients alike? Handley offers tips like these:

 

Walk their walk. "Put yourself in the shoes of your customers, and consider what you can do to best suit their needs," she advises. "Be a voice of trusted reason in your industry, about whatever problem it is that your service or product solves."

Be a "brand butler." Serving is the new selling, and support is the new marketing, Handley explains. Focus on how you can help your customers or prospects make the most of their daily lives (versus the old model of "selling them a lifestyle").

Go beyond words. "Think about 'reimagining' content you already have (or are planning to create) into video, audio, or other formats," she suggests. Examples:

• Record a video interview with your whitepaper author.
• Release a Q&A interview with a webinar speaker based on the audience's questions.
• Publish that interview together with the presentation on SlideShare.

Conclusion: Spread the words that matter most. The key to creating effective B2B content, Handley concludes, lies in "connecting socially with your customers in a meaningful way that actually makes them do business with you."

If you would like to discuss your 2012 social media and email marketing plans and looking for new ideas,  please give me a call at 440-519-1500 or e-mail me at john@x2media.us

X2 Media can help you target your content and get your message to the audience in a way that it is not only seen and heard, but remembered.

Until next month….remember, “you don’t get a 2^nd chance to make a 1^st impression”. Always make it a good one!  From X2Media I would like to thank you for your time.

John E. Hornyak
X2Media, LLC