{"id":8045,"date":"2017-06-21T13:11:10","date_gmt":"2017-06-21T13:11:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/spacebar.in\/contentious-old\/?p=1207"},"modified":"2022-11-24T11:40:44","modified_gmt":"2022-11-24T11:40:44","slug":"the-complete-b2b-content-marketing-checklist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spacebar.in\/contentious\/the-complete-b2b-content-marketing-checklist\/","title":{"rendered":"The complete B2B content marketing checklist"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1><\/h1>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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\u2019s 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 <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Let us take a look at the comprehensive B2B content marketing checklist.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>1) Figure out your business goals<\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_1208\" style=\"width: 638px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1208\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1208\" src=\"https:\/\/spacebar.in\/contentious\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Business-goals-2.jpg\" alt=\"Identifying business goals \" width=\"628\" height=\"355\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spacebar.in\/contentious\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Business-goals-2.jpg 628w, https:\/\/spacebar.in\/contentious\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Business-goals-2-300x170.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 628px) 100vw, 628px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-1208\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Goals for your business<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Image Source URL \u2013 <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pixabay.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">www.pixabay.com<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">First and foremost you should know what you want to accomplish through content marketing. With the right content marketing strategy you can, <\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Build brand awareness<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Educate your buyers about your business offering<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cross-sell or upsell your product\/services<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Interact with your potential customers (other businesses)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Generate new leads<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">2) Create your buyer persona\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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 \u2018who is your audience?\u2019 and \u2018what are their specific needs?\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">3) Create content based on events<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Make sure that you create content based on recent events. This will help your audience to connect better with your content. For example, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">IBM developed a report on\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www-05.ibm.com\/services\/europe\/fashion\/customer-experience.html?iio=pagenda&amp;cmp=w&amp;ct=c36006uw&amp;cr=twitter&amp;cm=h&amp;csot=-&amp;ccy=-&amp;cpb=-&amp;cd=-&amp;cpg=page\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">how fashion brands are using digital media and identifying newer ways to target their customers.<\/span><\/a> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This report was published by their retail division which had detailed analysis about what fashion brands should do to engage with their audience.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">4) Target content based on buying stages<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Try to design your content in a way that your audience proceeds from one buying stage to another. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The buying stages in consideration are (AIDA) <\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Awareness<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Interest<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Desire<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Action<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">5) Know the USP of your company<\/span><\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_1210\" style=\"width: 638px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1210\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1210\" src=\"https:\/\/spacebar.in\/contentious\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/What-is-your-USP-2.jpg\" alt=\"Deciding your USP\" width=\"628\" height=\"388\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spacebar.in\/contentious\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/What-is-your-USP-2.jpg 628w, https:\/\/spacebar.in\/contentious\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/What-is-your-USP-2-300x185.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 628px) 100vw, 628px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-1210\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Showcase your USP<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Image Source URL &#8211; <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/coolinsights\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/coolinsights\/<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">6) Look for gaps in your content<\/span><\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_1211\" style=\"width: 633px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1211\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1211\" src=\"https:\/\/spacebar.in\/contentious\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/gaps-2.jpg\" alt=\"Fix the gaps in B2B content marketing\" width=\"623\" height=\"416\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spacebar.in\/contentious\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/gaps-2.jpg 623w, https:\/\/spacebar.in\/contentious\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/gaps-2-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 623px) 100vw, 623px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-1211\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Fix the gaps<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Image Source URL \u2013 <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pixabay.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">www.pixabay.com<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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. <\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">7) Connect your business expertise to content<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While you focus on creating effective content for your audience, don\u2019t 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. <\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">8) Have timelines for your implementation process<\/span><\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_1212\" style=\"width: 585px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1212\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1212\" src=\"https:\/\/spacebar.in\/contentious\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Meeting-deadline-2.jpg\" alt=\"Timelines in B2B content marketing\" width=\"575\" height=\"258\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-1212\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Meeting your deadline<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Image Source URL \u2013 <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pixabay.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">www.pixabay.com<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">9) Promote your content<\/span><\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_1213\" style=\"width: 636px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1213\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1213\" src=\"https:\/\/spacebar.in\/contentious\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Promote-your-content-2.jpg\" alt=\"B2B content marketing \" width=\"626\" height=\"416\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-1213\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Promote your content<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Image Source URL <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8211; <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/pixabay.com\/en\/content-is-king-online-marketing-1132256\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https:\/\/pixabay.com\/en\/content-is-king-online-marketing-1132256\/<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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. <\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your own channel (website, blog, newsletter)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Social media<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Paid media <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Influencers (bloggers)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With the complete checklist in hand, you now have set the road map to effective B2B content marketing.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":8023,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"categories":[106,160],"tags":[177,179,110],"class_list":["post-8045","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-2","category-content-marketing","tag-b2b-content-marketing","tag-content-creation","tag-how-to-write","category-106","category-160","description-off"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/spacebar.in\/contentious\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8045","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/spacebar.in\/contentious\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/spacebar.in\/contentious\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spacebar.in\/contentious\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/27"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spacebar.in\/contentious\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8045"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/spacebar.in\/contentious\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8045\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8554,"href":"https:\/\/spacebar.in\/contentious\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8045\/revisions\/8554"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spacebar.in\/contentious\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8023"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/spacebar.in\/contentious\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8045"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spacebar.in\/contentious\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8045"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spacebar.in\/contentious\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8045"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}