The challenge B2B companies are often faced with is finding new ways to market their product or service. Many traditional advertising opportunities that work for E-commerce, may not make sense for a B2B marketing strategy. One of the biggest opportunities to reach new prospects for B2B is through content marketing. By positioning oneself as an industry expert, or “thought leader”, you can gain the attention of peers in your industry, and create word-of-mouth credibility. Thought leadership can be achieved through creating original, valuable content, here are some tips for getting started.
Industry Focused Blogging
Blogging should be at the center of your content strategy. A well-written blog establishes credibility and shows you are knowledgeable and are staying informed with the latest industry trends. Trying to choose topics that you know may be popular in industry circles at the moment. Blogging about in-demand topics can help improve your search engine optimization and drive new traffic to your website. Make sure your blog articles are optimized to be shared by including social sharing buttons and lead capture forms. By re-purposing your blog into a newsletter, you can drive your existing database to your website and stay top of mind.
Long Form Content
Long-form content goes beyond regular blogging by creating resource materials for your audience. This can be in the form of white papers, infographics, and ebooks. This shows your expertise on the subject matter goes beyond a topical blog post and makes you a resource to your audience. This can help with lead generation, as you can incentivize new visitors to submit their contact information, “Sign-up today to receive our industry guide”. By compiling related blog posts, or existing reports, and repurposing them into an editorial piece of collateral, you can cut down on the time needed to create this content.
Social Media Interaction
This is another outlet where you can publish your original content once it has been created. Make sure to include hashtags (#) with related terms, so they can be found by others searching your topic (ex. #digitalmarketing). You can also use hastags to find out what peers in your industry are talking about, and interested in. Comment and share content that you find compelling and you think your audience would appreciate. In turn, others may do the same with your content, which will expand your reach.
Create Multi-Media Content
Creating audio or video podcasts is a great way to show you are a thought leader. Being able to discuss industry-related topics, and if possible invite other industry experts to take part, can be a great compliment to your blog. If you are camera shy, creating videos or images of your processes at work creates easily sharable content to supplement social media and your blog.
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