If you’re a B2B marketer, chances are you’re churning out a lot of content. “Content is king,” you might be muttering, as you compile stacks of blog posts, white papers, case studies, and more. But in the rush to keep the fresh content coming, you may be making some common mistakes. We’ve put together a list of “what not to do with online content marketing,” to highlight the 5 most common digital marketing failures that we see in B2B content marketing. Then at the end of this article, you can download a checklist on Content Marketing Best Practices, for 5 easy-to-implement B2B content marketing tips.
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You think that because your product is “boring” your content should be boring too.
If you drill down deep enough, you’ll find someone or something that benefits from your product – and that’s the subject for your story. The lowliest nut or bolt plays a part in creating something of significance. There are no boring B2B products – only B2B marketers who lack imagination and curiosity.
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You write for engineers and use a lot of jargon.
Even if you actually are writing for engineers, your copy shouldn’t sound like it came out of a technical manual. Engineers – and other audiences – want to be informed, inspired and persuaded by marketing communication materials. And your copy shouldn’t be unreadable by anyone who’s not from within your industry. Avoid jargon and the dreaded acronym overload.
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You don’t include any options for readers to interact with you.
Isn’t the whole idea to strike up a relationship with readers and website visitors? Every piece of content should include a call to action. Make it easy, simple and fast to complete – and don’t ask for too much too soon. Maybe ask for a name and an email to start, in exchange for a download, or even a one-question poll, just to break the ice and start interacting.
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You talk about the strengths of your company instead of the problem that your prospect has and how your product can fix it.
Just like at a cocktail party, we all want to avoid the person (or website) that can’t stop talking about themselves. There is a time and a place to emphasize your company and product strengths, but it isn’t at the beginning of the conversation. That’s when you need to focus on your prospects’ wants and needs, and learn about their problems and pain points.
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You stick with your clunky old website interface.
Don’t think that because you’re in a “traditional” industry you can get away with using an old-style website interface. Your prospects and customers may think of your offering as “traditional,” but you can bet they’re buying stuff online via the best website interfaces that exist – and they notice the difference when they visit your site.
On the other hand, there’s a lot you can do to make sure your content shines.
Check out our checklist on content marketing best practices, for 5 easy-to-implement B2B content marketing tips.