The Top 10 Things B2B Marketers Were Talking About in 2016 (and What You Must Know in 2017)

Happy New Year!

I hope you’re easing back into the swing of things after the holidays. If you’re planning for the year, now is a good time to look back at what B2B marketers talked about the most in the last twelve months.

From top performing content to productivity tips, here are my top 10 blog posts from 2016…

1. How to Create B2B Data Sheets that Drive Sales

Data sheets… sell sheets… technical specifications…

Whatever you call them, they are an important part of any B2B salesperson’s toolkit. However, many B2B marketers load their data sheets with too much text and visual clutter. This not only causes your core message to get lost, but it also overwhelms your readers.

Here’s how to create killer data sheets that drive sales…

2. The Top 9 White Paper Mistakes That Kill Your Credibility and Chase Away Leads

White papers are a B2B marketing workhorse.

B2B buyers – especially technology buyers – rely on them for in-depth information when making purchasing decisions. According to Eccolo Media, white papers are the #2 type of content that B2B technology buyers use during their purchasing process. White papers are also used across all stages of the sales cycle – from awareness to decision.

When done correctly, white papers can present a compelling argument for your product or service.

Here are common mistakes that prevent you from getting the most value from your white papers…

3. 5 Steps to Creating a B2B Brand Voice that Resonates with Your Customers

Finding your brand voice isn’t something that you do once and then forget about. As new competitors and products come into the market, it’s crucial to stay aware of how your voice comes across to customers.

For example, many B2B companies create new voices for new products. But they don’t update their overall corporate voice to match where they want to go in the future.

Over time, inconsistencies in your brand voice can add up to a host of mixed messages, as Marketing and Sales are unsure of how to talk about your products and services. This lack of a consistent voice ultimately leaves customers confused about how you can help them.

Here’s how to evolve your voice over time to keep pace with customer, industry and product changes…

4. How to Use Content to Improve Your Customer Experience

Here’s a sobering statistic from Gartner …

By 2020, customers will manage 85% of their relationships with enterprises without interacting with a human.

Yikes!

Here’s how to use content to attract leads, turn them into customers, and keep them coming back…

5. How B2B Buyers Are Engaging With Your Content [Data]

Let’s face it …  

Your content marketing efforts don’t mean anything unless your ideal customers engage with your content and take action.  
To help you get the most out of your content investments, I’ve compiled some recent statistics on how B2B buyers are using content throughout the sales cycle.

Check them out here.

6. The Top Dogs Of B2B Content Marketing [Infographic]

B2B marketers use an average of 13 content marketing tactics – from blogging to webinars. But with so many choices, what types of content will help you attract the most leads and turn them into customers?

Here are five winning B2B content marketing tactics…

7. Productivity Hacks for Smart B2B Content Marketers

It’s no surprise…

According to research from the Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs, B2B marketers are producing more content than ever. In fact, 76% of B2B marketers are creating more content than they did last year. They now use an average of 13 content marketing tactics – from blogging to white papers to webinars.

Here are seven tips that will boost your content marketing productivity…

8. How to Make B2B Buyers Believe You (Even When You Don’t Have Any Case Studies)

Case studies are one of the top dogs of B2B content marketing.

B2B customers rely on them to make informed buying decisions, as case studies give customers social proof that your products and services deliver results.

It’s no surprise that 71% percent of B2B buyers in the awareness stage and 77% in the evaluation stage cited that testimonials and case studies are the most influential types of content.

Here’s how to create amazing case studies that help convert prospects into customers…

9. 10 B2B Content Marketing Planning Mistakes That Are Stifling Your Success

We’ve all heard the saying, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail”.

With content marketing now mainstream (88% of B2B marketers in North America use content marketing), most brands have jumped on board with generating more content in the hopes of boosting brand awareness, engaging a larger audience, and standing out from their competitors.

But only 30% of B2B marketers think their content marketing is effective. This is because they’re going in without a plan. To win at content marketing, you need both a strategy and a plan to implement that strategy.

10. 7 Questions to Ask When You Create a B2B Content Marketing Strategy

Content marketing has gone mainstream. Most B2B companies now use content to raise brand awareness and stand out from their competitors. However, new research from the Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs has some surprising statistics. According to the B2B Content Marketing 2016 Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends report, only 30% of enterprise B2B marketers think their content marketing is effective. Why is this?

Next Steps

Are you ready to make your 2017 content a smashing success? Download Your 2017 B2B Content Planning Guide: The 5 Questions You Need to Ask to Make Your Content Successful This Year and Beyond.