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How B2B Tech Companies Use Content Marketing
John Himes
May 17, 2023
B2B technology marketing is a challenge. Between managing the complexity, differentiating your product, and targeting a niche audience, it can be difficult to raise awareness about your product to the level it deserves.
That’s why content is an indispensable part of your go-to-market strategy. But how do B2B tech companies use content marketing effectively?
Your customers also have questions. They’re looking for advice and insights that will help them to overcome their business challenges. They want to know more about technology–maybe even discover something they didn’t even realize existed–because they’re looking for a solution to a problem.
Just as they need to understand how your solution will create value for their business, they want to be sure that their vendors are experts who they can count on to deliver results.
This is what makes content marketing a powerful force. It helps your customers find you then educates them so that they trust you.
Don’t just take our word for it. According to Statista data, 30% of marketers say content has the highest ROI of any digital marketing channel. That’s why 90% of all marketers use content marketing.
These are our top tips and best practices for using content marketing to grow your B2B tech business
Use content to demonstrate outcomes. Highlight the value of your technology in a way that’s relatable and approachable for non-technical decision-makers at organizations that can benefit from your solutions.
At the same time, it’s crucial to prove your chops to the CTOs, engineers, and IT leaders. They also need your content to be useful, interesting, and accurate.
Walking that fine line isn’t easy. That’s why companies that do so successfully gain a competitive edge in the marketplace.
These are the top ways that B2B technology firms use content marketing to drive revenue growth.
Lead generation
Generating leads through inbound marketing traffic is the first thing that we associate with content marketing for good reason. Bringing potential customers to your site and keeping them there is an essential step for many customer journeys.
It really comes down to answering their questions. Ask yourself: what is my customer typing into their search box?
Answer what’s on their mind, then follow up by giving them a unique takeaway that they’re not going to find anywhere else. This could be an industry trend, an emerging use case, expert advice, or anything else that leaves them thinking, “Wow! I didn’t realize that, but now that I do, I need to learn more. I’m glad I found this company.”
That’s what transforms a casual visitor into a qualified lead.
From there, you need to think about how you can cast a wider net that will meet the needs of different customer journeys. For instance, 81% of B2B marketers are on LinkedIn because the platform lets us expand our content’s reach.
At the same time, there are some customer journeys that require going deep instead of wide. For these leads, you want to offer something valuable, such as an ebook that helps them to solve their problems.
You can then use this high-end content as a lead magnet by offering it in exchange for their contact details or for agreeing to sign up to your newsletter.
Build trust and authority
Positioning your company as a trusted partner and voice of authority is especially important for B2B tech firms. This is particularly true because of how long the sales cycles are.
Your customer needs confidence to invest. Content gets them ready to pull the trigger. It’s about continuing that dialogue and building trust.
Gallup research shows that “when customers strongly agree that their supplier is a trusted adviser, they produce 1.5 times greater revenue and are 2.5 times more likely to say they are ‘extremely likely’ to repurchase the company’s products or services. They’re also better brand advocates, being 3.6 times more likely to report that they are ‘extremely likely to recommend the supplier’s products or services.”
So, how do tech companies use content to grow their relationships and become trusted advisers?
It happens at the cross-section of valuable information and the right brand voice. You need to do more than just answer their questions, educate them about how your technology fits into their tech stack, and demonstrate how you deliver outcomes to your customers.
You need to position yourself as an approachable expert. Your content needs to build credibility by being technically sound, but it’s just as important for it to be compelling, engaging, and relatable.
Even if you’re a massive enterprise, your customers expect a human touch. They want to know that they’re not going to get stuck in an endless loop with a chatbot when they submit a support ticket. They need to be assured that, even though your product may be high-tech, your company is grounded in humanity.
They need to want to work with you.
Even Warren Buffet goes so far as to say, “I work only with people I like. If I could make $100 million dollars with a guy who causes my stomach to churn, I would say no.”
Since content marketing is your chance to make a good first impression, both substance and style are equally important.
It’s your opportunity to put the right foot forward, start the conversation, and help your customer get to know your culture and your product.
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Convert leads into loyal customers
Technology content is useful far beyond the initial discovery phase. Sales teams can leverage content to convert qualified leads into customers and to engage current customers to build loyalty, solidify ongoing relationships, and upsell additional solutions.
“B2B salesforce leaders, especially those in forward leaning industries such as tech, must create content that the field can bring to market,” explains Gross, Piacentino, and Bombardi for Harvard Business Review. These assets include “white papers, 1-3-year technology transformation roadmaps and standard pitch materials, as these will allow salespeople to position themselves as thought leaders.”
Good content can be the final push someone needs to sign up for a demo or get buy-in from management. It helps salespeople close deals by giving them another axis to leverage. Great content eliminates doubt.
At the same time, no matter whether you’re a subscription-based SaaS company or a hardware OEM, continued thought leadership is essential for building long-term customer relationships.
When you continue to engage with current customers, when you use content to address their pain points and help them navigate the uncertainty of today’s ever-evolving tech landscape, they’ll reward you in kind.
They’ll continue doing business with you. They’ll recommend you to their colleagues. They’ll be the first ones in line when you launch your next product.
In an article for Forbes, Lauren Fairbanks, CEO of S&G Content Marketing, tells us to “answer this: what are you doing, in terms of content marketing, to help your current customers succeed?”
Their success is your success. Content is one piece of that puzzle.
Putting the pieces together
Content marketing is more than just search engine optimization (SEO). It’s about building up a dialogue with your customers that positions you as an authority, an industry leader, and an approachable company that’s just as committed to human relationships as to bleeding-edge technology.
Content can bring leads to your site. It can keep them coming back via channels that they’re already on, such as LinkedIn and email. It builds trust and empowers salespeople by giving them the tools they need to make conversions.
All the pieces need to fit together for both you and your customer. That’s where we come in.
Dynamic Tech Media specializes in content marketing for B2B tech companies. From big-picture strategy to creating content to developing a brand voice that’s trusted and insightful, we deliver real results.
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