Introduction
Marketing gets bad press in some quarters. Some see it as too pushy, cajoling consumers to make purchases that they don't need. Others criticize the tactics of digital marketers as they track user activity and gather data. And some object to the way that marketing content uses exploitative, sloppy language, playing fast and loose with facts.
All of those criticisms have a degree of truth to them - and they all apply to B2B marketing as well. However, in this blog, we'd like to make the case for one form of online marketing that definitely can have wider benefits: B2B content marketing.
What is B2B Content Marketing?
B2B (business-to-business) marketing is an essential part of modern markets. Businesses need ways to interact. Buyers need to find out about the products offered by suppliers and competitors, while vendors need ways to expand their audience.
Modern B2B marketing places a heavy emphasis on SEO and content creation. This basically means that businesses create blogs, articles, web pages, social media posts, videos - and many other forms of content - all of which are intended to connect with other businesses.
So that's our starting point. But it's only really a hint of the wider uses of B2B content marketing, so let's dig deeper.
1. Done Well, B2B Content Can Have Educational Benefits
Nowadays, B2B content writers constantly need to think about the relevance and usefulness of the material they create. While this is partly due to the demands of Google's search algorithms, it's also a reflection of how effective useful content can be - compared with pure marketing materials.
For instance, company blogs can't just describe products or make exaggerated claims about their quality. The most effective examples inject use-value into every posting, offering tutorials, advice about issues that affect customers, and in-depth information about the way that a company's products can help.
In the process, B2B content can elevate the quality of the information in specific fields, while enabling buyers to solve their problems more easily.
2. B2B Content Creates Fruitful Links Between Buyers and Sellers
Secondly, B2B content marketing can make markets more efficient - at least on a micro-scale.
Whether they source software, consultancy services, HR assistance, networking solutions, or office furnishings, businesses need to make the correct decisions. And they need to have reliable suppliers who they can refer to again and again, both for repeat purchases and customer support.
Good content marketing allows buyers to make well-informed decisions (to "know the product" before handing over a penny). It also fosters good relations between the businesses involved, smoothing out future interactions.
3. Content Marketing Makes Life Less Annoying for the Online Community
Finally, B2B content marketing is a much less invasive, irritating way to market products than spamming emails, using pop-up ads, or using underhand methods like adware (which some businesses still rely on).
Content marketing involves writing texts or creating videos that take the interests of customers into account and seek to persuade, rather than overwhelm them. It provides detailed information, rather than motivational slogans and context-free numbers. And it takes consumers seriously, instead of seeing them as products themselves.
As a casual web user, you might not even realize that B2B marketing content is even designed to sell a product. But you will come away with a knowledge of what the product can do, and who is selling it. At least if the content is well-written and sensitive to the reader.
Foreground Content Marketing in Your B2B Strategy
B2B content marketing works, but it isn't easy to implement. That's where it often makes sense to enlist the help of expert writers and communications specialists. And that's also where greatcontent enters the picture.
Our B2B content market hosts writers, analysts, and editors who know the ABCs of B2B content creation. And with that kind of expertise at their disposal, clients can craft texts that meet marketing goals, while offering the added value that we've been discussing here. If you want to learn more about how it works, feel free to get in touch today.
