The B2B buying process has changed, and most B2B purchase decisions are now made online, No longer are sales representatives the sole source of information for clients and customers. Instead, you can use content marketing to communicate directly with your target market.

Almost 50% of the buyers who are shortlisting vendors are millennials, and this number is still growing. This means that your business needs to be easy to find on Google, relevant to your target audience, and communicate the way millennials expect. 

If you’re not yet harnessing the power of content marketing, now’s the time to do so. Here’s how you can get started:

Decide Where to Start

If you haven’t yet taken the time to create a content marketing strategy, this may seem like a time-consuming, resource-intensive process. However, there’s no reason why you can’t start small, by focusing on the specific needs of your business. 

One way to do this is to consider where your target market is spending the most time online. For B2B businesses, this is often on sites like LinkedIn. Instead of creating numerous social media profiles and attempting to be active on all of them, it makes more sense to narrow your focus and become a trusted resource on the channels that busy professionals are using. 

Consider Creating Whitepapers

You may find that your clients are looking for detailed information about how your products or services work, and why they’re a good option for them. In this case, whitepapers can be an easy way to dip your toe into content marketing.

One way to use whitepapers to increase your leads is to make sure they’re gated (requiring an email address). That way, you can build your list of warm leads and provide prospects with the information they’re looking for at the same time. 

Focus on Pain Points

If you’re hoping to harness the power of content marketing, you may have considered starting a blog for your business. Blogging is an excellent way to demonstrate your industry knowledge, improve SEO, create brand awareness, and boost your position in the search rankings. 

However, there is a right way and a wrong way to create a business blog. The wrong way is to write what we like to call ‘company picnic’ blog posts. Sure, your customers may be interested in your team building exercise or company cookout. But this should only make up a small percentage of the types of posts you’re sharing. 

Instead, focus on your potential customers’ pain points. The best way to do this is to get very clear on exactly who your target customers are, so you can understand the problems keeping them up at night. Consider their day-to-day challenges, job roles, and the issues your product or service can solve for them, and write your content accordingly (without making it a giant sales pitch). 

Provide free, helpful content that speaks to these pain points, and include a call-to-action so they know how to get in touch if they need more information. 

Don’t Forget Email

59% of B2B marketers consider email to be their most effective revenue-generating channel, and 40% consider email newsletters to be the most critical aspect of their content marketing success. 

By building your email list and creating a dedicated email marketing strategy, you’ll be able to reach leads at every stage of the buyer’s journey. Since the average person checks their email 15 times a day, you’re more likely to connect with key decision makers in their inbox than anywhere else. 

Not sure where to get started with your content marketing strategy? We can help you create a strategy that works for your business. Get in touch today to learn how.