Believe it or not, some companies are still skeptical about the benefits of B2B social media. A lot of B2Bs think they are boring, at least compared to most B2Cs, and wouldn’t be interesting to social communities. They also perceive that it’s harder to measure the effectiveness of social on the B2B side of […]
Mind the Gap: The Missing Link to B2B Content Marketing Success
Many B2B marketers have a disconnect between the content they’re producing and the content their customers actually want. If your content doesn’t hit the mark, buyers won’t respond. Here’s how to identify and fill your content gaps so you can wow customers and get them to take action. It’s every content marketer’s worst fear … […]
How to Create Your 2015 Content Promotional Plan
In today’s B2B marketing world, things are moving fast. Tweets fly through streams … Buyers mass-delete emails … And your last blog post was yesterday’s news. If you want customers to see your message, you can’t schedule a few tweets and hope for the best. Since it’s the end of the year, you’re likely planning […]
5 Keys to Creating B2B Content That Engages Different Verticals
According to new research by the Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs, B2B marketers create content for an average of four audiences. The 2015 B2B Content Marketing: Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends – North America report also states that B2B marketers use an average of 13 different content marketing tactics. This tactics include blogs, e-newsletters, case studies, […]
Why IT Buyers Aren’t Responding to Your Content [Insights from SpiceWorld]
According to a new report from Spiceworks, technology marketers are missing the mark when it comes to engaging IT buyers. The How to Win Friends and Influence IT Pros report states that IT pros want to have honest conversations with their peers and brand reps when they make buying decisions. However, technology marketers place […]
Should You Use Social Media or Traditional Marketing to Engage IT Buyers? [IT Pros Sound Off]
When it comes to making the best use of your marketing time and resources, should you: Send more emails or post more content to your blog? Create a direct mail campaign or run ads on LinkedIn? Host a webinar on your website or a Hangout on Google+? With so many options, it can be hard […]
7 Ways to Promote Your White Papers to Get More Downloads, Leads and Shares
White papers, guides and ebooks are time-intensive content marketing projects. It’s surprising that many B2B marketers put lots of time and resources into developing white papers and then simply post them on their websites and hope leads will pour in. Unfortunately, it’s not this easy. Here are seven ways you can promote your white papers […]
Should You Remove the Comments Feature From Your B2B Blog?
My name is Rachel and I just removed the comments feature from my blog. When I made the decision, I wasn’t thinking about blocking opinions that differ from my own or dealing with trolls. I simply wasn’t getting enough comments to make keeping the feature worthwhile. The empty comment boxes made my blog look sad. […]
How to Build a B2B Blog that Attracts Leads and Increases Your Conversions
According to InsideView, B2B marketers who blog generate 67% more leads than those who don’t blog. However, many B2B marketers struggle to engage their target audience and increase their conversions through their blogs. Check out the webcast below, where I discuss how to build a B2B blog that attracts high-quality leads and motivates them to […]
How to Optimize Your LinkedIn Company Page for B2B Lead Generation
LinkedIn is proving to be the No. 1 social network for B2B. The B2B Content Marketing Report 2013 Survey Results revealed that 85% of technology marketers believe LinkedIn is the most effective social network for distributing their content.* In addition, HubSpot found that LinkedIn’s visitor-to-lead conversion rate is 277% higher than Twitter and Facebook. These […]
5 Keys for Creating a Call to Action that Boosts B2B Conversions
The strength of your calls to action directly impacts your conversions. However, many B2B marketers treat the call to action like an afterthought. They may devote hours – or even days – to developing a piece of content only to spend just a few minutes writing its call to action. One of the biggest mistakes […]
How to Say You’re the Best Without Boring Your Customers
If you’re like many of today’s savvy B2B marketers, you probably spend a lot of time creating educational content for your customers – such as blog posts, videos and e-books. However, there comes a time when you must move beyond giving out advice to talk about your company. This can include anything from your “About […]
How to Draw Readers into Your White Paper
One of my clients believes that most B2B marketers just “throw shit against the wall” and hope that it sticks. This may keep you busy, but it won’t bring you great results. When you’re putting a ton of time and effort into creating a white paper, you don’t want to throw random content out there […]
How to Interview Subject Matter Experts for Your White Papers and Other B2B Marketing Content
Obtaining quotes and facts from subject matter experts is a crucial part of writing an authoritative white paper. I like to conduct interviews as early as possible in the white paper writing process, as it can be hard for subject matter experts to find room in their schedules to talk to you. When you’re writing […]
How to Write a Creative Brief for Your White Papers, Reports or Ebooks
Before you develop a white paper or other major piece of content, you need a creative brief that outlines your objectives and sets you on the right track. Although many organizations have a standard creative brief, they may not have one containing all of the questions that you must answer to create an effective white […]
5 B2B Lead Generation Tools that You Should Be Using
I love to ‘geek out’ and try the latest and greatest in marketing and social media tools. Here are five free or low-cost tools that can help you bring more traffic to your website and generate more B2B leads: SpeakPipe SpeakPipe is a widget that lets people leave you voicemails via your website. Below is […]
How to Write B2B Email Subject Lines that Get Your Messages Opened
Email subject lines are often an afterthought. After preparing your email’s content, you might only have a few seconds to dash off a quick subject line and send out your email. However, since the best B2B customers often come from in-house email lists, you should spend more time crafting subject lines that get readers to […]
How to Build Credibility with B2B Technology Buyers
I recently attended a Spiceworks event where a panel of IT buyers told a room of technology marketers exactly what they like and don’t like about IT marketing. One of the most surprising things the panelists said is that all marketing content – even customer testimonials and case studies – can’t be trusted, as it’s filtered […]
The 4 Things You Must Include in Your White Papers to Engage, Persuade and Convert Leads
One of my freelance projects involves finding interesting technology resources and recommending them on a client’s blog. I read a lot of technology white papers and often pass over quite a few duds before I find one that is valuable enough to share. The main reason that I will refuse to promote a technology company’s white […]
The 5 Biggest B2B Case Study Mistakes
According to the B2B Content Marketing 2013 Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends-North America Report, 71% of B2B marketers are using case studies as part of their content marketing strategy. This is because case studies can be a powerful tool that educates prospects on how to solve their challenges while proving that your services are valuable. However, many B2B marketers make mistakes that diminish the value of their case studies and turn what can be a compelling story into just another sales pitch that nobody wants to read. Here are the five biggest case study mistakes …
