B2B content marketing is gradually becoming the new buzzword in the marketing world. More and more B2B companies are incorporating content marketing in their marketing strategy. Some B2B companies such as IBM and Salesforce have tactically used content marketing to reach their audience. If you are a business to business enterprise and are new to the concept of content marketing, then here’s a list of things you should keep in mind. Just like any other marketing strategy there are a series of steps to follow to implement your content marketing strategy

Let us take a look at the comprehensive B2B content marketing checklist.

1) Figure out your business goals

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First and foremost you should know what you want to accomplish through content marketing. With the right content marketing strategy you can,

• Build brand awareness
• Educate your buyers about your business offering
• Cross-sell or upsell your product/services
• Interact with your potential customers (other businesses)
• Generate new leads

2) Create your buyer persona 

This is where you try to have a deeper understanding of your audience based on their demographics and psychographics. For example for a company like salesforce, their target audience would be companies which have a full-fledged sales team who need cloud-based software for customer relationship management. So these can include, companies that provide financial services, consumer goods, healthcare services, retail and automotive services to name a few. You should try and find out ‘who is your audience?’ and ‘what are their specific needs?’

3) Create content based on events

Make sure that you create content based on recent events. This will help your audience to connect better with your content. For example, IBM developed a report on how fashion brands are using digital media and identifying newer ways to target their customers. This report was published by their retail division which had detailed analysis about what fashion brands should do to engage with their audience.

4) Target content based on buying stages

Try to design your content in a way that your audience proceeds from one buying stage to another.

The buying stages in consideration are (AIDA)

• Awareness
• Interest
• Desire
• Action

5) Know the USP of your company

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And this goes without saying that before creating content, make sure you know what your business is all about, what is its unique selling point, what is its expertise, and what is it that you want to communicate to your audience. This also includes being aware of the strengths and weaknesses of your business. Once you have an answer to these questions, you can set up a then stable foundation for you to create interactive content.

6) Look for gaps in your content

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Once you have a rough draft of your content then take time out to go through it again and again to identify any gaps. Audit your content thoroughly before you start promoting it. This will help you make any last minute changes, identify any type of sensitive content which could be detrimental for your brand image. Inventory your content and organize it in a systematic manner.

7) Connect your business expertise to content

While you focus on creating effective content for your audience, don’t forget to connect your content with your business offering. For example, while writing a blog for your automobile website, make sure that you talk about the latest advancements and direct your audience to your services page or contact us page. Try to design your content in a way that it indirectly speaks of the strengths of your business offering.

8) Have timelines for your implementation process

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See to it that you have definite deadlines for your work goals. Maintain a proper timeline for the implementation process of your content marketing strategy. So have a production and delivery schedule on a sheet and make sure you adhere to it. Without a defined timeline, your content marketing efforts can go haywire, decreasing the effectiveness of your plans.

9) Promote your content

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Lastly, showcase your content to your audience through blogs, videos, social media posts and wherever possible. Decide the channels based on your target audience. There are four broad categories of channels through which marketers promote their content.

• Your own channel (website, blog, newsletter)
• Social media
• Paid media
• Influencers (bloggers)

With the complete checklist in hand, you now have set the road map to effective B2B content marketing.