B2B marketing & sales is a really hard nut to crack (or at least most feel that way, including myself).
There’s so many things that influence what results you’re getting and many different departments are interdependent.
However, there’s one very important part of the puzzle you can control quite firmly yourself, especially if you’re sitting in marketing, and that’s your content.
Success often comes down to how well you can deliver the right message to the right audience and a solid content strategy is key here. A good content strategy is much more than just a collection of content ideas - it’s a detailed plan guiding how you engage, educate, and convert your audience at every stage of their journey.
But how do you create a content strategy that actually works for your business?
In this post, I’ll break down the key elements of a successful B2B content strategy and show you how to use it to generate pipeline, build relationships, and drive long-term results.
Let’s do it 🙌
Good question!
You’d want to bother because without a well-structured content strategy, your efforts can feel random, and your messaging may lack consistency. For B2B marketers, this can mean missing out on critical opportunities to connect with your audience.
Having a clear strategy helps ensure your content is aligned with your business goals, whether it’s generating leads, boosting brand awareness, or driving conversions.
Research from the Content Marketing Institute shows companies with a defined content strategy are more likely to see success across key metrics like lead generation, sales, and customer engagement.
With a strong content strategy, you can:
Increase brand visibility through content that positions your company as an industry leader.
Nurture leads more effectively by delivering content that guides prospects through the buyer's journey, from awareness to purchase.
Stay consistent by ensuring a unified tone, message, and style across all your content.
Generally, having a content strategy ensures you’re making it as easy as possible for yourself and your team to make intelligent decisions and progress on all external activities you may have to drive growth.
Let’s take a look at how you can build your own content strategy 👇
The first step in any content strategy is defining what you want to achieve. Your content should serve your broader business objectives. Start by asking yourself:
- What’s the main goal for your content? (Lead generation, brand awareness, customer retention, etc.)
- How will your content help achieve that goal?
- What metrics will you use to measure success?
For instance, if your goal is lead generation, your content strategy might focus on creating gated assets like e-books or webinars. A key metric here could be conversion rates; “how many people fill out a form to access the content?”.
Additionally, set clear KPIs. For example, webinars are particularly powerful, with 57% of B2B buyers preferring them during the awareness stage, according to Demand Gen’s 2023 Content Preference Survey.
Knowing your audience is very important. In B2B, you’re often communicating to multiple decision-makers, so it’s important to understand their roles, needs, and challenges. This is where defining your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) and Buyer Personas becomes essential (you can take a look at our blog post about ICP mapping here).
Start by identifying:
Demographics: Age, gender, location, job role, and industry.
Behavior: How do they engage with content? Are they active on LinkedIn, do they prefer podcasts, or are they more likely to download a white paper?
The more specific you are, the better your content will resonate. Customer interviews and feedback from your sales team can help you gain insights into their pain points and decision-making processes.
A well-rounded B2B content strategy includes a mix of content types that cater to prospects at each stage of the marketing funnel - demand generation, nurturing, and demand capture.
Here’s a breakdown of content types and when to use them:
Top of funnel (Demand Generation): In the top of your funnel, you want to create awareness, interest, and demand for your products & services among your ICP. Here, focus is on building brand awareness, mental availability, and engaging your potential customers early in the buying process through various category entry points (CEPs).
Content like how-to guides, blogs, and research reports works best. In fact, 72% of marketers say how-to guides are the most effective for attracting traffic at this stage.
Middle of funnel (Nurturing): Nurturing is the phase in the customer journey where your potential customers have already been introduced to your brand, and shown some interest, but are not yet ready to engage in a dialogue. Here, you’ll want to focus on increasing the chances of a conversation by building further trust, providing more in-depth information, and highlighting your values, so the customers move closer to making a decision.
Content like case studies, product overviews, and webinars are ideal at this stage. Case studies resonate particularly well, with 62% of buyers favoring them during the consideration stage.
Bottom of funnel (Demand Capture): Demand Capture is the phase in the customer journey where you focus on converting potential customers who have already shown a concrete interest into a dialogue with sales. While Demand Generation aims to create awareness and interest, Demand Capture is about capturing demand from potential customers who are considering a solution.
Demos, client reviews, and success stories are common types of content at this stage of the funnel.
In addition, content like original research and comprehensive guides are particularly effective throughout the funnel, as they provide valuable, in-depth insights that differentiate your brand.
Here’s some inspiration to different types of content you can use throughout your funnel:
Once you’ve identified the types of content you’ll create, it’s time to organize and schedule them. A content calendar helps you maintain consistency and plan ahead for major campaigns or product launches.
Break down your content calendar into:
Campaign themes: Focus on key topics or business objectives, such as a product launch or industry trend.
Publishing frequency: Decide how often to publish, whether it’s weekly blogs, monthly webinars, or quarterly research reports.
Distribution channels: Plan where each piece of content will go live. LinkedIn is especially effective for B2B marketers.
Creating great content is just the beginning. You need to ensure it reaches the right audience. Here’s how you can get the most of your content:
Owned channels: Use your blog, social media profiles, and email newsletters to distribute your content.
Earned channels: Partner with influencers, guest post on industry blogs, or seek backlinks to expand your reach.
Paid channels: Leverage retargeting ads, sponsored posts, or paid search to promote high-value content like e-books, white papers, or webinars.
Remember, not every piece of content needs equal promotion. Reserve your paid and earned media efforts for your best content. A good way here could be to use your owned channels first, to see how well your content resonates with your audience, and then decide from there.
Finally, it’s important to measure how your content performs. Use metrics like:
- Average time on page.
- Bounce rates.
- Conversion rates.
- Social engagement.
- Search rankings.
- Evaluate what’s working and make adjustments as needed.
For example, if case studies are performing well at the nurturing stage, consider creating more of them.
Regularly reviewing your content’s impact ensures you’re always improving and aligning with your business goals.
A well-crafted content strategy is essential for any B2B company looking to stand out in a crowded marketplace. It ensures that your content is not only aligned with your business objectives but also designed to guide your audience through every stage of their buyer’s journey.
Remember, creating a successful content strategy is an ongoing process. Keep refining it, stay consistent, and focus on providing value to your audience with every piece of content you publish.
Then reach out to me on email, kh@profoundnorth.com, or by phone, +45 28 88 12 62.
Or reach us through the form below 👇