With digital marketing likely top of mind in your business, have you figured out what you could improve in the coming year? If you think you have all bases covered, you may not when it comes to content. In the B2B world, creating content isn't always so cut and dry either. It doesn't always mean just writing something basic and hoping it becomes found.
Starting a blog was a smart idea, yet what more can you do with your content to make it extra relevant, easier to find, and more educational for a prospective buyer?
The more you pay attention to these details, the more you can streamline the way you create content and bring more targeting. Since the B2B industry is already extremely competitive, the more you differentiate your content from others, the better.
Let's look at what you can do in 2017 to improve your content and the way you market it to people in the world of social.
More Marketing Automation
Smart Insights notes marketing automation is going to become a bigger deal in 2017, even though it's certainly grown considerably throughout this year. At stake is being able to post or send digital content in a more targeted way so prospects see it at the most appropriate times.
Whether it's content you send through emails, on your website, or on social media, automation tools help you get content there when you don't have time to do it manually.
It's always smart to prepare content in advance and then set up a schedule targeting specific days, holidays, or even based on customer habits. By studying buyer habits and knowing when they hang out on your site or on social media, you time content to post when readers are the most attentive.
Shorter And Less Content
When creating content, it's essential to place quality above quantity. Readers are more apt to appreciate you when you've taken time to write something substantive rather than rushed for time reasons.
You can take this to heart because upcoming trends have shorter and less content becoming the norm. The old long-reads you perhaps wrote to your target buyers might not get as much attention because of shorter attention spans and no quality time available. Remember though, shorter is in the eye of the beholder.
More thoroughly researched content published just once a week or two can help build your reputation to a clout level far above competitors with inferior blogs. Think quality over quantity here.
More Personalized Content
No doubt you've heard this before, but it needs special emphasis in 2017. The B2B world still has room to grow when it comes to personalizing content. It comes from a long history of being overly formal in marketing content. And because many in the B2B world take themselves way to seriously and think readers don't like being entertained. Maybe humor isn't always appropriate, but you should at least personalize content more. By making it specific by segment, persona, buying stage, account, or individual lead, you can hone further in on targeting.
Creating Content That's Easily Accessible On Mobile
We've seen this on many marketing trend lists going back several years. It needs just as much attention for the coming year because you have a very good reason to go more mobile with your B2B content.
A B2B blog on LinkedIn recently noted B2B buyers frequently research products on mobile before making a buying decision. Their first encounter with your content is also likely going to occur on a mobile device.
Creating content that's easily adaptable to any operating system is mandatory so there aren't formatting issues. If you make your content truly mobile-friendly, your audience is going to develop the habit of coming back regularly since many B2B buyers are always on the go.
Contact us at The Friedman Group, LLC so we can help you with your digital marketing challenges in the coming year for B2B, as well as B2C.
