B2B content marketing isn’t as challenging as you think. It has been proven time and again, by brands such as Microsoft, IBM, GE, Deloitte and others, that B2B content marketing empowers organisations to solve real business problems. Whether it is generating brand awareness, engaging with existing users, making hype around a new product launch or creating a shift in brand perception – brands have been pushing content marketing to its limits to improve bottom lines.

And it doesn’t end there.

Engaging, insightful and exciting B2B content readily identifies with and is an essential catalyst for the latest trends in digital marketing. This includes marketing automation, web personalisation, mobile and social media or even account-based marketing.

B2B content that shines

Still wondering if B2B content can be as engaging as B2C? Well, the rules that apply to B2C content — being present across platforms, capturing eyeballs with stunning visuals, rising above the noise, and creating an impact on mobile screens — hold true for B2B as well. A LinkedIn Marketing Solutions blog notes, it’s time for B2B to take cues from B2C to produce some fantastic content, and beat B2C by demonstrating the ROI that impresses the C-suite.

B2B content marketers stand out

The 2017 B2B Content Marketing Trends report sheds some light on what top performing B2B content marketers do differently. The report states that 81% of the top performing organisations are clear about their objectives for an effective content marketing program, and they have a definitive roadmap. A whopping 91% of high performing teams are incredibly committed to content marketing, and they are realistic about what content marketing can achieve. The report adds that only a small majority of organisations place themselves at an evolved content marketing maturity level. So, what about those that aren’t having such a great experience with content marketing and struggle to put together a cohesive strategy and measurement plan? Or those that haven’t taken the first steps to make content marketing a process?

Here is the right approach for such organisations to take.

Create content about customers, not product

To begin with, it’s essential to place the customer at the heart of your content marketing strategy. Answer the questions that your customer is asking. Create content that your customers will enjoy. Bring out insights which will directly benefit your customer. Be the knowledge resource that your consumers rely on, and not just a propagator of your brand, products or services.

An efficient way to create content that resonates with your customer is to map it to their journey through the sales funnel. Ideally, all customers that interact with your organisation should be making the purchase/business transaction. For those that fall by the wayside, move away as they go; content marketing can help organisation plug the gaps.

Here’s how to map the customer journey through the sales funnel.

Top of the Funnel:

Often seen as the first step of the conversion process, the top of the funnel consists of a large set of people who are becoming aware of your brand. Content at this stage aims to propel brand awareness, and the types of content that work well here include blogs, webinars, long-form content, video or email newsletters. This is a great time to bring out a blog with the key takeaways from an industry report or research in an insightful article in a leading news portal. It also caters to an audience that your brand is most interested in. LinkedIn is also an efficient way to put out insights and get the conversation going among business decision makers of potential customer organisations.

Middle of the funnel:

This is where the customer is evaluating the purchase decision. At this stage, people will look for case studies, testimonials, how-to content, and demo videos. This is where you can showcase your most remarkable customer success stories that invoke inspiration or share quick, relatable and visually appealing content like an infographic on how to overcome the customer’s most significant business problems. Use videos to demonstrate the qualities of your product that help differentiate it from competitors.

Bottom of the funnel:

The final step to seal the deal. Content at this stage should project the unique value propositions about your product and intricate details. Get innovative with an in-depth blog that is a mix of product details, mini graphics and how-to lists, or drills down to the specifics of your audience segments to create detailed content like a whitepaper that addresses explicitly how your product can help overcome challenges that their industry faces.

To sum things up, go ahead, tell your story but make sure your customers play the lead role.