The word is out that 2012 will be a key year for content marketing. More B2B focused companies are incorporating content promotion in addition to the promotion of their own products or services through various marketing activities.
However, certain points should first be considered in order to ensure quality content. Below are some examples:
Establish a strategy for content development
This will help set objectives. According to an American study entitled “B2B Marketing Trends 2011 Survey,” the main three goals of companies are:
- to recruit clients and prospects;
- to generate sales; and,
- to educate the market.
Once objectives have been established, a company will then be able to carry out an action plan to achieve them.
Create quality content
Content must be engaging and spark the reader’s interest, so relevance is the key. Different analyses such as the number of visitors to a website or the semantics of the highest performing keywords can be used to evaluate content relevance.
Moreover, content should meet a certain need, so it is important to consider different elements as market segments. Or as different stages of a buying cycle where these segments may be found. Or even as the readers’ profiles. This demonstrates why creating quality content often requires the efforts of various departments of a company.
Amongst the other criteria that differentiate quality content from the rest are its coherence (between different media and between different content), its consistency and its distinctive character.
Ensure the visibility of the content
On one hand, content visibility is ensured by the channel type (traditional or other). There are several channels for delivering content, some of which are more specific to B2B like case studies, white papers or webinars. This should be adapted to the target and especially to the content.
On the other hand, content diffusion is a key element in bringing the content to light. It is necessary to determine the communication channels preferred by the target and favour their use. Let’s consider social media, for example. LinkedIn, Twitter or even sectional social media are perfect for diffusing content for B2B companies.
Lastly and regarding web 2.0 content, an indexing strategy plays a fundamental role in content visibility. For more information please read the blog post on The importance of an SEO indexing strategy in B2B inbound marketing.
Editorial marketing requires strategy and structure. Only this way will B2B editorial marketing become a fruitful venture with unsurpassed value for money.
