Tag Archive for: content marketing
As the year-end approaches, it is a good time to reflect on what marketing methods have proven most effective over the course of the past year. With B2B lead generation marketing budgets expected to increase by approximately 5 percent in 2018, it is important to know which techniques are working so that you know where to invest your marketing dollars.
So what were the clear winners in 2017 when it came to B2B lead generation tactics? Read on to find out and to learn more about how these tactics can help make 2018 your business’s most successful year ever.
- Content Marketing. It seems cliche by now but content really is king. Well-written content that connects, educates and inspires its readers will establish you as a thought leader in your industry. It also will do wonders for your SEO ranking so people can find you online. Finally, it will increase the number of prospects who reach out to you instead of the other way around. What’s best? The cost-per-lead is very reasonable.
- Email Marketing. Email marketing continues to be a force unlike any other in the world of lead generation. Part of its appeal is its versatility. Use it to promote your blog, sales event or just to connect with customers and prospects. Make sure it includes a killer call – to – action and there is virtually no end to the success you can achieve with this type of marketing. In fact, email marketing has been shown to be one of the best ways to nurture leads.
- Pay-Per-Click. One key to making PPC work harder for you is to make sure that all of your ads don’t end up on the same landing page. With separate landing pages for each keyword, your PPC campaign can be even more successful at converting sales. Just make sure that your landing page copy matches the initial search.
- Social Media Marketing. This technique is proof that it pays to be patient. If you keep with it over the long haul, your social media efforts are very likely to pay off in the form of new leads. Consider this: In 2017, the third leading source of visits to websites originated from social media platforms. With almost 75 percent of internet users on social media, it is easy to see how lucrative social media marketing can be in terms of lead generation.
Business-to-business marketing differs in many ways to business-to-consumer marketing. While in both cases you are selling a product or service to another person, that is where the similarities end.
Despite this fact, many B2B marketers write their content in much the same way they would write B2C content. If you are looking to improve the ROI of your B2B marketing strategy, it is important that you take a hard look at your content and make the necessary adjustments so it is more B2B-friendly.
Here are some ways you can tailor your content in such a way that it speaks to specifically to a B2B audience.
- Ditch the hard sell. B2C copy can afford to take more of a hard sell approach but businesses don’t want someone to tell them that they know their business better than they do. Instead, outline how your product or service will help to solve a problem.
- Remember that less is more. While you should explain the benefits of what you are offering, don’t go into excruciating detail about every aspect of what you are selling. Remember, you want to entice them to contact you to learn more.
- Keep it professional. Keep in mind that anything you write could land in the hands of CEOs and the tone of your content represents your business. Get too casual and you might come off as unprofessional. While it is fine to be conversational, make sure you don’t sound glib.
- Mind your headline. Headlines for B2C articles and blog posts can get away with being dramatic. B2B readers are not as impressed by over-the-top headlines. Instead opt for a more straightforward approach that highlights a current topic in the industry or that addresses a specific need.
- Use the correct terminology. Don’t write about topics you haven’t thoroughly researched. Nothing will damage the credibility of your brand more than writing on topics that you aren’t familiar with.
- Include an effective call-to-action. Don’t assume your readers will know what to do once they’ve read your content. Do you want them to subscribe to your newsletter? Visit your website for more information? Download an eBook? Make sure you tell them. And don’t bury your call-to-action either. Make sure it is big and bold and can’t be missed.
Writing B2B copy and writing B2C copy involves different tactics. Make sure you are aware of those tactics so your content will do all it can for your brand.
If you are a B2B marketer, you are likely always on the lookout for news ways to fill your sales funnel. After all, lead generation is the lifeblood of any business.
While most articles on the latest trends in marketing usually hit around the New Year, we thought we would mix things up a little and do a mid-year assessment of what are the hottest trends in B2B marketing right now. After all, things change quickly in the marketing world so it is important to know how to best promote your B2B brand throughout the year.
- Channel Integration. It is always tempting to focus on individual channels that seem to work well for your B2B brand. However, integration of channels can do wonders for your brand. No longer does it make sense to spend all of your marketing dollars on email marketing, for example. Savvy B2B marketers understand the importance of integrating email marketing with web optimization and social media-or whatever combination works best for their particular brand.
- Personalization. Individual interactions are all the rage. Providing seamless, unique experiences for customers that is both user-specific and time-sensitive leads to huge bumps in ROI.
- Account-Based Marketing. Account-based marketing involves getting more personalized information from users. The more personal information you can get from users, the better you can customized their experiences which means they will remain on your website longer and visit it more often.
- Video, Video and More Video. If text or video are both available on a website, most people will click on the video. The options with video are virtually endless. You can livestream from a tradeshow, perform product demonstrations, give behind-the-scenes tours of your business and much more. This is all in addition to posting straightforward brand videos and client testimonials.
- Content Marketing. This is certainly not a new trend but its popularity continues to grow. B2B companies benefit greatly from content marketing because B2B buyers have a longer sales journey than B2C buyers. That means B2B customers have more time to pour over content which will allow them to make the best buying decision. It also means you need to constantly work on upping your content marketing game.
No matter what you think about the latest marketing trends, one thing is for sure, there has never been more ways to connect with customers and prospects. The key is to find a few of the trends you know you can excel at and work hard to take full advantage of them.