Publishing great content is only half of the equation. You also must give your audience a great content experience if you want them to keep coming back for more. Here’s how …
“If a piece of content is published, and nobody reads it, does it exist?”
This was a question that Hana Abaza asked when she spoke at Pipecon, a B2B marketing and sales pipeline conference in Toronto.
Many B2B marketers produce great content. However, it may not bring them the shares, leads and conversions that they hope for.
According to Hana, VP of Marketing at Uberflip, the problem may not be your content, but your content experience. For example, a lot of prospects may view your content, but you may fail to send them to a landing page where they can opt in for more. Or your content’s format may make it difficult to read.
“If your experience is bad, you’ll lose leads, customers and revenue,” says Hana. “Then, content marketing will turn into a cost center as opposed to a growth driver.”
Hana stated that great content is scanable, actionable, sharable, scalable and you-oriented (SASSY). Here’s how you can make you B2B content SASSY:
1. Scanable
Today’s customers are uber busy and don’t have time to dive into a long-form blog post (unless they see immediate value in it). The easier your content is to read, the more likely customers will see the value in reading it.
Here are some ways you can make your content more scanable:
- Use short paragraphs.
- Add headers and subheaders to break up long blocks of text.
- Use bullets and numbered lists.
- Post write-ups below your videos, in case people don’t want to watch a long video when they only need one point from it.
- Make sure your designs include lots of white space.
- Check how your content looks on mobile devices.
2. Actionable
As marketers, we’re not creating content for the sake of creating content. We’re creating content to attract more leads and turn them into customers. Every piece of content needs a call to action that asks your audience to take the next step and move further along your funnel.
Think about how Ikea stores have arrows on the floor that guide you to exactly where the company wants you to go. Where do you want people to go after they check out your content? Do you want them to view other content, register for a webinar, subscribe to your blog, sign up for a demo or do something else? Include a call to action that asks them to take the next step.
It’s also important to pair the right call to action with the right content. For example, you don’t want to promote a “Marketing 101” ebook on the same page as a blog post about advanced marketing. Make sure that your ads and calls to action align with your content.
3. Sharable
Is your content worth sharing?
One way to make your content sharable is by focusing on topics that matter to your target audience. The more they see themselves in your content, the more they will share it. Ask your sales and customer service teams what questions they get from customers. Then, address these questions in your content.
Another way to get more shares is by asking. For example, you can include a line at the end of an email that asks readers to forward it to a colleague. You should also make sure your social sharing icons are easy to see and use on mobile devices.
4. Scalable
Hana stated that “scalable” content is content that scales to any screen size.
Google is placing more importance on mobile-friendly websites. If your content isn’t optimized for mobile, your Google rankings may decrease. In addition to the wrath of Google, you’ll also face lower conversion rates if people can’t interact with your content on mobile devices.
Now is the time to provide your audience with a great mobile experience. You can use this Google tool to determine if your website is mobile friendly.
5. You-Oriented
Much B2B content talks too much about products and features. However, your audience doesn’t want to know about how great your products are. Instead, they want content that helps them solve their top challenges.
Here are some ways to make your content “you-oriented” and focus on your customers:
- Personalize your content.
- Segment your audience and provide them with relevant content.
- Review your website and ask if it’s easy for your prospects and customers to find what they need.
- Use the Customer Focus Calculator to see what percentage of your copy speaks to your customers versus speaks about yourself.
“Very few people think about optimizing their content experience,” says Hana. “Doing so can give you a huge advantage.”
3 Ways to Apply This Information Now
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Download the B2B Call to Action Cheat Sheet to discover how to get readers to take the next step after viewing your content.
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Read “How to Attract B2B Customers With Personalized Content” to learn how to craft “you-oriented” content that engages customers.
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Click to share this article on LinkedIn. Sharing quality content increases your visibility and credibility with your existing contacts, creating conversations and potentially new business.