Transitioning from outbound marketing to an inbound content-driven strategy often requires a difficult shift in communication style. Typical B2B marketing is filled with overused, self-serving puffery like “best-in-class” and “results-oriented.” As meaningless as these terms are on your homepage and brochure, using the same approach for your content marketing will almost certainly have disastrous long-term consequences.
In order to develop content that builds an audience, earns their trust and leads to sales, it’s critical to first honestly evaluate whether your company’s communication style will attract readers or send them straight to your competitors’ blogs.
Here are 3 ways to help your company make the transition from generic content to authentic communication.
1. Change Your Perspective
The first step is to understand what makes content marketing different from outbound marketing.
Advertiser vs. Publisher
Content marketing is not just advertising with a few “how to” tips thrown in. It requires shifting from short-sighted goals to a long-term view.
Magazine publishers establish themselves as the authority in their niche by creating content for a very specific audience. Your own content marketing approach needs to follow the same strategy, focusing on topics related to the problems your company solves.
Content marketers are the new magazines, newspapers and television stations. The quality and value of your content and the connection it builds with your audience is more influential than any full page branding ad could ever be.
And there’s the irony of the publishing marketing model. Its purpose is to drive new sales and build repeat business, but the right execution requires a subtle approach. When you focus squarely on the needs of your audience first, ROI is inevitable.
Pack a Lunch
Content marketing is not a short-term strategy. Building an audience takes time, commitment and resources. The potential payoff for those who commit, however, can be huge.
The components that make up a solid ongoing content marketing campaign include:
Developing high quality content and establishing publishing channels (blogs, social media, etc)
Converting readers into prospects and then customers
There are no shortcuts. Each step builds upon the last. Expecting to generate a sale from every new Twitter follower or forcing a pitch into every blog post ruins your chances of earning your audience’s trust. The stronger your content, the greater the connection you will build and the less need you’ll have to hard sell at all.
2. Get to the Point
The purpose that your company expresses through its content is critical to earning an audience.
Spock Would Make a Horrible Content Marketer
Nobody is persuaded by data. They are persuaded by meaning. The purely logic-driven decision is a myth.
It doesn’t matter if you sell office towers, copy machines or consulting. Cranking out pages of dry facts and graphs like a robot just adds to the already overwhelming information overload that we all deal with. Your goal as a content marketer is to translate those facts into meaning. If you can use emotion as well as logic to help people solve problems, your content will be far more engaging and persuasive.
Muzak
“XYZ Inc is a leading ______ with a commitment to creating win-win, value-added solutions for companies of all sizes, including Fortune 500 enterprises and small businesses alike.” This type of generic, pointless jargon exists because it’s safe and expected. Like muzak in an elevator, nobody really likes or is inspired by it. It’s just neutral background noise.
Marketing cliches, just like muzak, are largely ignored. Nobody is influenced by corporate platitudes. They are influenced by purpose; why you do what you do to begin with. Being authentic means making a bold statement, standing for something and ignoring the critics. It means not trying to appeal to everyone and instead focusing on dominating the market for the customers who share your vision.
If you want to connect with your audience, you have to be real. Everything else gets filtered out.
Word Budget
From today’s LA Times: “Multi-tasking audiences appear to be tiring of (drama) shows that require concentration.”
Yikes. If the audience for a multi-million dollar television production is so easily distracted, what chance does the average white paper have of being read to the end?
Deliver your content in as concise and readable way as you possibly can. Longer is very rarely better.
3. Is Everyone on the Same Page?
It does you no good to create wonderfully engaging content only to have your CEO or sales manager shelve it for the wrong reasons. It’s critical to get the right people on board first, before you finalize your content and communication strategy.
Fearless Leader
Start at the top and work your way down. Make sure that every stakeholder is not only comfortable with the time commitment needed for content marketing but with your communication style as well. Without that, your well crafted and engaging content will likely be reduced to pointless “professional sounding” jargon.
Death by Committee
Content shouldn’t be written to stroke your CEO or sales manager’s ego. It should be written to serve the people in your market.
The fewer managers involved in the copy approval process the better. Great content is never written by committee. Putting it through the meat grinder of office politics is a guaranteed way to end up with generic filler.
That doesn’t mean that your team shouldn’t be involved. Your service and sales reps are on the front lines with your customers every day and have unique insight into the topics and content customers would be most interested in. Get them involved early and your content’s relevance will go up dramatically.
The Leads Are Weak?
Your sales team should have a clear understanding of where your audience fits into their lead pipeline. Convert readers into prospects carefully, without pushing them too hard and driving them away, losing their trust and damaging your credibility. Only after they’ve expressed interest in beginning a conversation by responding to a specific offer should they be handed off to your sales team for follow up.
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Wouldn’t you love it if customers carried your marketing materials around in their pocket? It can happen when you a create podcast.
Podcasts are audio or video files that get transmitted via RSS feeds and may be played on a computer; however they’re more commonly consumed through iPods and other MP3 players.
A podcast series may benefit your business as part of your content marketing startegy, if you know how to program the content properly.
One of my favorite podcast resources is Steve Lubetkin, who is so into it his handle on Twitter is @podcaststeve. Steve heads up Lubetkin Communications and its subsidiary Professional Podcasts. He’s definitely a podcast pro and offers good tips in this Q &A interview:
Why do you think a company should use a podcast as part of their content marketing strategy?
The primary reason is, useful audio and video programming has a very high positive effect on search engine ranking. So a company that does consistent production of audio or video content will see a big improvement in visibility when people are searching for the topics those programs relate to.
Is there anything in particular you need to know for search engine optimization (SEO) purposes?
You need to learn to use the meta tags in the files. Audio, video and photo files all have the capability of carrying some text information, which is called meta data. And that is what you need to fill out. There are fields you can open with certain types of software, like Photoshop, and you can fill out those fields.
It can be caption information, copyright information and so on. The more information you complete the better it is for you when search engines look at those files. We’re still not at the point where search engines can index the actual audio or video, though that will happen.
What if someone says, “I have a website, I have keywords in the content, and I’ve done SEO on all the pages.” Is there something special a podcast can offer?
Having a website is great, but your ability to bring people to your website is limited, whereas you distribute a podcast with RSS technology using iTunes and other technologies that are discoverable in search.
You can reach a much wider audience who are looking for solutions to problems. They’re not looking for your website. So just relying on, “Well, I have all this information on my website” may not be good enough — because people may not be finding you all that easily.
Is there any kind of content that’s better suited to a podcast?
I think any kind of business to business content can work. Because business people tend to be very busy. And giving them something they can take with them and listen to while driving or traveling to an appointment can be a valuable way of reaching them.
Consumers too. Everybody’s pressed for time.
Is there a preferred way to present the information?
Conversation. Talking to people. If you can create a podcast that has a conversation going on between a moderator interviewing a person, it can be authentic sounding. You can also incorporate audio testimonials from clients who’ve used the product.
If it’s a video podcast you can incorporate demonstrations of the product. You can show the product in the field, with people as they’re using it.
What about having multiple people calling in and having a group conversation — like a panel of experts?
Sure. They could be people who work for you, because you have multiple offices. They may be people that are strategic partners.
I’ve done that with a couple of clients. Where they have a business-based product or service that involves consulting services from another company and they want to have experts from that aspect of the product offering. It depends on the topic area.
What I tell my clients is to think of it as your own radio or TV station that can reach the entire world. How do you want to program your station? You can program it however you want. Your delivery is through the web and your RSS feed is the transmitter.
It would seem not everybody is primed to be a radio announcer. So what’s the best skill set to lead a podcast?
It’s helpful to have a moderator who has some understanding of how broadcasting works. Someone who can keep the conversation moving and who understands the production requirements. The actual guests can be subject matter experts. They don’t have to be radio experts. But that have to be at least engaging and interesting and passionate about their topic… you don’t want someone in a monotone reading from a script.
Of course with a guest you can’t really control what they will say.
Well you can prepare ahead of time. You can collaborate with our guest on what bullet points and messages you want them to cover. It’s not a live spontaneous radio program. It is content that you, the business owner, control.
So it’s not necessarily a free-form discussion. It can be structured, but it can sound conversational.
So what happens when a company doesn’t have anyone with a broadcasting background, but they still what to have someone from their company lead a podcast. What can they do? Is there training for it?
This is where a company might hire a professional to help produce the program. They’re not expected to be radio professionals inside a company, and you probably don’t want to train people. Although it’s not terribly difficult, it may not be the best use of resources. I would focus more on having the people give good presentations on their areas of expertise.
What about the balance between providing expertise – thought leadership – and adding a sales pitch? The reason you’re doing the podcast in the first place is ultimately to drive sales but it may not be a good idea to have a heavy pitch in there.
That’s true. People don’t react well to a podcast that’s a commercial. There are a lot of companies that used to produce commercials for radio and TV where their business has been hurt by the economic downturn and by the transition that’s going on in technology, and so they’re now offering to produce content for the web, but it’s like a commercial.
That gets a negative reaction. It’s a different dynamic. The programming should be more along the lines of the value of a product or service that addresses a particular need, and also to show that you know what you’re talking about.
It sounds like you have to spend a fair amount of time planning the podcast. You want to be sure to structure things pretty tightly.
Absolutely, there are a lot of amateurs doing podcasts because it is so accessible and it’s easy enough to do and the end product is very amateur night because they didn’t prepare. It’s a rambling monologue. For business purposes that doesn’t work…. There are a lot of social media experts who say, the whole purpose is to be off the cuff and informal. But it doesn’t have to be unprofessional. You can be casual a little bit, but you don’t want it to be so loose you miss the points you wanted to hit.
There are definitely important do’s and don’ts to be aware of and it’s great to hear about them from a real podcast pro like you, Steve. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
Here are a couple more helpful podcasting resources:
About the B2Bblogger:
Deni Kasrel is a seasoned (slightly spicy) strategic communications specialist. She helps companies build their brands and engage with communities so they can sell more stuff. Having enjoyed a fruitful eclectic career, Deni is versed in both traditional and digital communications, with special emphasis on content strategy, website development and social media marketing. You may contact Deni via LinkedIn, follow her on Twitter @dkasrel, or visit her blog: The Communications Strategist.
B2B marcom managers solve the content conundrum with a social media workflow.
Content , links and trust are the currencies of the internet. Relevant, useful content provided on a regular basis across multiple social and online media helps build trust. This same content can also generate the links that boost search traffic, leads and sales.
Whether you’re a B2B marcom manager who’s taking on social media as a grass roots effort (you and one or two colleagues) or you’ve enlisted a team, content creation can be daunting, even meeting the bare minimum frequency. A blog alone takes a minimum of 12 posts per month, and it’s recommended that you have at least two months’ worth of blogs already in the queue to ease the pressure of developing content on demand. Like many B2B marcom managers who are beginning a social media program, you and your already burdened staff are responsible for creating most of the content in addition to your day jobs. Before you read any further, make sure you have a content marketing plan and a conversation calendar.
How to develop a B2B social media workflow
One of the biggest hurdles to social media adoption in B2B is adapting the B2B marcom workflow to allow for social media. For starters, you need to develop a sharing mindset and integrate it into your daily activities. Any media that you consume or develop has the potential to become “social media fodder” that can be finessed into a tweet, blog post or comment on someone else’s blog. For example, when you’re monitoring your news feeds, copy one or two articles/posts and quickly post them to your social media status updates or your Facebook fan page, and then bookmark them on Delicious or Digg them. Social bookmarks serve as a good reference for future blog posts and Twitter tweets.
Note: If you’re not monitoring the social sphere and you’re new to social media, start by setting up your listening posts. It will save you a lot of frustration and embarrassment later.
As you develop the social media workflow, you’ll need a repository for all the content you collect (The new buzzword for collect is “curate.”) You’ll also need a system for managing content. Your repository can be as simple as a “content” folder on your desktop and a Delicious social bookmarking account or a Digg account. There are many other social bookmarking sites; so sign up for one, and as you come across content, bookmark it.
Organize your desktop for social media success
Begin each day with a blank document on your desktop. Then, as ideas come to you, add them to the document. If your idea came from something online, remember to copy and paste the URL for future reference. The blank document approach also works well when an opportunity arises to comment on another blog. I find that you can write your comments more freely in the blank document, than the blog comment box. Plus, you can run spell check before copying and pasting your comment into the blog and do a character count to make sure your post is suitable for 140-character status updates. Remember, comments posted on other blogs often become good fodder for a blog post of your own. So save the document each day and revisit it for future blog posts.
Then, organize your browser to optimize time spent online. Save tabbed groups for the social media-related sites you visit such as productivity tools (mentioned below), your listening posts, bookmarking sites and your company’s social media venues.
Take advantage of the free productivity tools such as Hootsuite, Tweetdeck, and Seesmic which allow you to monitor your followers’ and your activity in the Twittersphere and on other social sites. These apps also allow you to schedule tweets as well as simultaneously update statuses on other social networks. Be careful with this one. The idea behind social media isn’t to batch and blast status updates, but to connect with real people real time. Although it’s perfectly acceptable to post what I call reference content—something that you read or saw that may benefit others in your community, but be mindful of the social idiosyncrasies of each community. For example, some posts are more suitable for Twitter, while others may be better for LinkedIn. Remember, not everyone has a Twitter account. So @replies and hashtags, although perfectly acceptable in a tweet, may appear confusing on another social media platform.
Effective B2B social media marketers are masters of time management
In the world of B2B social media, busy B2B marcom professionals must make every minute count. It helps if you think of time in smaller chunks. You may have five minutes before a meeting, which is plenty of time to post a tweet or two. While you were in the meeting , did any discussion spark an idea for a blog post or even a series of posts around a given topic? Make sure you capture those thoughts in your “content” document for future reference. An extra 15 minutes is enough time to outline a blog post. Then carve out a little more time to complete it and post it. Most B2B marcom departments have plenty of existing content that simply needs to be adapted to social media—usually that means shifting from a company focus to a community focus. There are numerous blog posts on the topic of repurposing content. I’ve listed a few below.
You’ll find that as you become more proficient at writing for social media and more comfortable with your workflow, you’ll become more efficient at managing social media, making it less of a burden for an already burdened marcom staff.
Here are a few tips culled from the advice of top bloggers and content creators that will help you overcome the B2B marcom content conundrum:
About The B2Bblogger: Joan is a B2B marcom consultant and copywriter with more than 15 years experience helping high tech and industrial companies generate leads and sales through integrated marketing communications including SEO copywriting, social media and website content. She can be reached at www.jdamico.net and on Twitter @copywriter4u.
Buyer Persona development may just be the most important element in a content marketing strategy. Having a deeper, more personal understanding of your customers leads to content creation that not only builds trust, but also demonstrates your willingness to spend the necessary time to learn the actual circumstances that affect your customers.
With well-defined buyer personas, your content suddenly becomes for *someone* versus *everyone*. And that makes all the difference when trying to build a relationship with your customers through your content marketing strategy.
What is a buyer persona? Here is my buyer persona definition:
A buyer persona is a description of a specific person for whom your products and services are intended. It goes beyond statistics and demographics, and defines behaviors, motivations, likes/dislikes, traits, etc. Its intent is to help you reach your customers on a human level.
Ardath’s Albee,, author and B2B marketing strategist, provides a definition in her outstanding book, eMarketing Strategies for the Complex Sale, – (a recommended must read).
A persona is a composite sketch representative of a type of customer you serve. Personas extend beyond the traditional demographic profiles commonly used to summarize an ideal customer.
The common element of these definitions is that they suggest that you see your customers’ challenges through their eyes and begin thinking about your customers as human beings with feelings and emotions, not statistics and metrics in a spreadsheet.
This change in mindset provides you a more detailed answer to the question, “For whom am I creating this content?” It narrows your focus. Your marketing shifts from being product and company centric to useful, customer-centric content that is for a person – not a target audience. Your content begins speaking to what motivates your customers, what their priorities are, and most importantly, the real world problems that you can help them solve.
In addition to directing your future content creation efforts, buyer personas also provide you a tool to evaluate your existing content. Use your it to ask which buyer persona(s) does this content speak to (if any). You then have a guide for how to edit that content to fit the needs of your new buyer personas.
Bottom line, as David Meerman Scott first told us in The Goobledygook Manifesto, we are in desperate need of humanizing marketing … buyer personas are useful tools and are your first step in achieving that outcome.
Remember, we’re all people first. Bring that mindset to your content marketing strategy and you will create meaningful, lasting relationships with your customers.
Hi, I'm @jeremyvictor, the founder of Make Good Media and Editor In Chief of B2Bbloggers.com.
B2Bbloggers.com is an online magazine for B2B marketers. Our goal is to engage, educate, and make it easier for B2B marketers to find the information they care about to do their jobs successfully.
As a publisher and new media marketing agency, Make Good Media advises businesses how to integrate social media and content marketing with traditional marketing tactics to attract, nurture, engage, and convert customers in the brave new B2B world of the social, mobile web. How can we help you Make Good Media?
Wouldn’t you love it if customers carried your marketing materials around in their pocket? It can happen when you a create 
About the B2Bblogger:
About The B2Bblogger: Joan is a B2B marcom consultant and copywriter with more than 15 years experience helping high tech and industrial companies generate leads and sales through integrated marketing communications including SEO copywriting, social media and website content. She can be reached at 
