In part one of this series, we talked about the importance of listening to your clients to identify needs and create content that helps solve problems.
But now that you know what content your buyers want, how do you package it?
As discussed in What is Inbound Marketing? there are multiple methods for creating useful content. Some of these include:
- Blog Posts
- eBooks
- White Papers
- eNewsletters
- How-to Guides
- Infographics
- Videos
- Case Studies
- Memes
- Podcasts
- Webinars
- Social Media
Whoa! That’s a lot of options, and some can be pretty time-consuming. So how do you know what works best, and which methods of content marketing are worth your time?
The crux of a successful content marketing campaign for B2B businesses is knowing your client’s buyer persona.
Think about the person who is in charge of making the purchasing decisions: What are their preferred methods for receiving information? What barriers must you overcome to convince them that you are their best option?
If you are trying to reach companies that traditionally put little value in social media but highly value scientific studies and facts, then services like Twitter and Facebook will not be the most effective means of communication.
If your initial goal is to reach an administrative assistant or VP who is doing in-depth product research, case studies and free white papers are excellent options. Tip: Want to give yourself an extra edge over the competition? Make your organization more than just another name by creating a short video that shows exactly how your product or manufacturing process works, or introduces your staff (for a personal touch).
For a busy CEO who prefers to “get to the point” and has little time to spare, a compact and informative infographic or short blog post may be your best bet.
This all sounds great. But where will we ever find the time?
Yes, good content marketing takes time and dedication. But there are several steps you can take to help alleviate the overall burden on yourself and your marketing department.
1. Outsource
You want to create a great video or infographic, but you just don’t have the time or staff. No problem! There are plenty of freelancers out there who would be happy to do this for you. You provide them with a script, graphics and any other information you want them to use, and they generate the content. Just make sure that their fee includes unlimited revisions until acceptance of the final product, and that you obtain all copyrights to the completed video or infographic.
No time to write? Invite guest bloggers to post on your blog about related topics (you will want to proof-read submissions of course), or outsource the creation of a technical article from a freelance writer for a flat fee.
2. Start Small
You don’t have to create a 25 page white paper as your first content marketing project! Think small.
Begin your content marketing campaign with the least time-consuming type of content. This may be something that can be easily outsourced, like an infographic. Maybe you can start making connections on Twitter. Or perhaps you can quickly write a short blog post. Note: Once you start writing a blog you will want to be consistent with your frequency of delivery for new posts.
Smaller pieces of content can often be repurposed into more complex content marketing pieces down the road.
3. Repurpose and Repackage
There is nothing wrong with repurposing and repacking existing content to reach a new audience.
Remember that series of short blog posts you wrote over the course of the past month, one on each of the different steps required to build sprockets? Repackage them into an eBook!
Have a FAQ webpage or help forum on your website where you find yourself repeatedly answering the same questions from end users? Use that information to create a how-to manual for your product!
Did you recently speak at a company event or prepare a presentation on the current state of the industry for your business? Why not turn it into a white paper? Excluding confidential information, of course!
CMS WiRE, recently published a great post by Pawan Deshpande, the founder and CEO of Curata, that expands upon these ideas and further discusses how B2B marketers can use a content pyramid approach to overcome the pain points of a limited budget and staff.
Related articles
- Content Marketing Tips: 10 Tips and Tricks for Creating Content (business2community.com)
- Content Marketing: How To Measure Its Effectiveness [Infographic] (business2community.com)
Written by: Michelle Thompson
B2B Inbound Marketing 
PERK IDEA
September 18, 2013
I notice you normally have 3 points that are valuable.
Indeed a great article simple to understand and easy to apply.
Notice that there are alot research to be done on the customer, the clients channel of communication, channel of information, the channel they use to seek information. After identifying that we craft out the content base on what they are seeking for.
Notice the communication process is a reverse.
Receiver —> Channel ———————————–> Message –> Sender.
(Client) (Places they seek for information) (Content) (You – Trusted Author)