‘Content marketing’ attracts a lot of buzzwords, and we wouldn’t blame you if that has put you off in the past. So let’s cut through the jargon — what’s content for? The short answer is, to reach people that you want to sell to, show that you’re an expert in fixing their problems, and start conversations that win new business.

It’s the same story as any sales or marketing initiative — you’re earning prospects’ trust:

• 61% of decision-makers say thought leadership is more effective than product marketing at demonstrating value
• 81% want an expert to challenge their assumptions
• 83% of a buying journey happens before any interaction with a supplier

If you’re smart with your resourcing, targeting, and data, content marketing can fill your pipeline with warm prospects. It’s certainly not easy, but when you get it right, the leads start coming in, and the enquiries land in your inbox, you feel unstoppable.

Here’s how to grow your business using content marketing.

Inject your personality

If you only get one thing right about your content, make it this: do not be boring.

Everyone knows that the purpose of marketing is to stand out from the crowd, yet in B2B communications, people seem to immediately forget that and think they should be bland and unremarkable.

Yes, it’s business, it’s serious, and there are big deals at stake, but that’s exactly why you need to be authentic and human. That’s what puts people at ease, not sterile corporate speak or industry jargon.

Combine creativity, expertise, and perhaps a little humour, and you have a winning piece of content.

Research: what do your prospects like?

Give the people what they want — you know your market better than anyone, and that should include how they like to consume information. Do they like weighty guides, flickable infographics, videos, blogs, podcasts…?

Where is the best place to put what you create? Do your targets spend their time online on forums like LinkedIn? Do they respond well to emails? Do your buyers tend to search for solutions like yours on Google, or do they not tend to know that they need them?

Invest time in understanding what you should create, where you should put it, and how you should promote it, and you’ll make sure that you don’t spend your budget or time in vain.

Test

Once you’ve done your research and executed your campaign, record the results, understand them, and compare them to the next round of content. You never want to be flying blind with your marketing, and data will help you navigate.

At the root of effective testing are targets. You need to define what success looks like. If you’re generating leads, how many do you need, what are their job titles, and what sizes and types of businesses do they work for? You can’t measure without something to measure against.

Cater for the whole buying journey

About 5% of any given target market is ready to buy. The vast majority of your prospects are either researching solutions, maybe only just realised they have a problem that needs fixing, or don’t even realise that yet.

When you map out your campaign and your strategy, be smart about what will appeal to whom at which stage of the cycle. Be sure to have some content for everyone, wherever they are in the buying journey.

Work with the experts

The best investment you can make in growing your business is to work with experts who can help you stand out from the crowd.

If you want to get your business noticed, contact Nutcracker today. We’ll create a content strategy that cuts through the noise, creates conversations, and converts customers.

It’s 020 3941 0305 or hello@nutcrackeragency.com.