B2B Content Marketing: 3 Key Hacks For Building an Effective Strategy That Drives Results

It’s often said that while you’re entitled to your own opinions, you’re not entitled to your own facts. Well, the facts are in.

Modern B2B marketing budgets are on the rise and marketing leaders are carving out more and more of the pie for content marketing.

Why such a focus on content marketing? Because it works.

Content marketing is an essential part of any serious marketing plan due to its ability to build credibility, generate quality leads and smash sales goals.

Here’s a quick look at the numbers:

These are just a sample of the results you can expect from smart and driven marketers who develop strategic and creative content marketing plans that feature clear goals and a confident plan for meeting them.

But what about B2B content marketers who run content programs without any goal or strategy in mind?

Wait, There are B2B Content Marketing Pros Who Don’t Have A Plan?

Yes. Almost half of content marketers are out there operating without a documented strategy.

I’m as shocked as you are. These folks aren’t just missing the mark. They’re wasting time, money and resources in the process.

Such inefficiency almost seems to justify the significant distrust CEOs harbor toward marketing.

So what can be done about this troubling lack of documented content strategies plaguing B2B organizations?

I’ll be honest. I don’t have a grand solution featuring analyst-backed insights and a groundbreaking new paradigm that will vanquish the issue to the fires of Mordor.

My solution is much more novel. These folks need to a damn create a damn plan.

I assume the roughly 50% of content marketers without a plan have the best of intentions. They may also be under a lot of pressure and struggling to manage feelings of professional self-doubt.

With that in mind, along with a personal commitment to leading with empathy and kindness, I believe it’s possible to guide anyone in this situation to craft a content marketing plan that meets industry standards and drives success.

But it requires more than just advising that the most important part of a successful plan is simply to create good content.

That’s a platitude disguised as insight that overlooks the essentials.

So let’s dive in and explore what those essentials look like and why mapping them out before writing a single word is necessary for success.

Ready?

Hack #1: Create A Content Marketing Editorial Calendar That Goes Beyond Just Content

A well-structured B2B content marketing editorial calendar serves as a day-to-day roadmap that ensures your efforts are organized, optimized and ready to reach the right stakeholders.

It’s not just about keeping track of blog posts in a spreadsheet. it’s about aligning your B2B content creation efforts with overarching business goals.

I really can’t stress this enough.

A proper content marketing editorial calendar ties your content efforts directly to business objectives — think market expansion, product launches and aggressive customer acquisition efforts.

“I can’t stress this enough. A proper content marketing editorial calendar ties your content efforts directly to business objectives. When done right, it’s like flipping a power switch that supercharges an organization’s ability to smash goals and drive revenue.”

When done right, it’s like flipping a power switch — supercharging your ability to hit and exceed strategic business goals, drive revenue and secure a competitive edge.

Let’s take a look at what elements should be included in strategic B2B content marketing editorial calendar.

• Your Content Goal
  Content goals should ladder to company growth and revenue goals. With these benchmarks in mind, you’ll find yourself on a straight track to effective B2B content creation that never lets you to forget the “Why” behind what you are doing. 
  
  
• Your Industry Target
  In B2B content marketing it’s vital to hit the mark when developing industry and vertical-specific content. Be sure to remember the unique cultures and elements associated with each of them so you can tailor your content and message appropriately.
  
  
• Your Target Persona
  Who are you trying to reach? Identifying your target persona means getting to know them vis thorough research before content ideas even begin to percolate. What makes them tick? If you have this locked in, your content will speak right to them.
  
  
• The Content Focus
  What idea and message are you selling? Is it the benefits of your flagship product or an explanation of what makes your product special and differentiates you from the competition? Understand what you are planning to “sell” so you can ensure your content is effective.
  
  
• The Content Type
  Choosing the right content format based on customer research will be your golden ticket to capturing attention. From blogs to videos and everything in between, the format should match target audience preferences to maximize engagement and message delivery.
  
  
• Your Distribution Channel
  The channels you select for distribution of your content is as important as developing it in the first place. Select the right one(s) based on your research to ensure it lands.
  
  
• The Publication Date
  Scheduling content to align with key dates and events, as well as peak times of online engagement, can turn a simple blog post into an explosion of traffic. Do the proper research to get it right.
  
  
• The Content Owner
  Assigning ownership to content in the pipeline is key to ensuring there is zero ambiguity about who is responsible for overseeing development until completion.
  
  
• The Stage of Development
  All (great) content goes through the following stages of development: conceptualization, creation, review, revision and publication. Understanding which stage your content currently sits helps manage production timelines and ensure quality control.
  
  
• Measurement Metrics
  Once launched, how do you measure success? Metrics need to demonstrate how they contribute to the only thing that matters 一 revenue. So keep track of CTRs, impressions and social shares, but remember, if they don’t help add to the bottom line, it’s time to readjust.

Never mistake the importance of a proper content marketing editorial calendar. It’s pivotal to proving your efforts are serious and focused 一 something not even generative AI cannot truly replicate (yet) on your behalf.

At A Glance: Key Elements of a Modern B2B Content Marketing Editorial Calendar

And here’s an insider tip: lock this down right and that “create good content” platitude I grumbled about earlier takes care of itself.

See, if you get these parts right, you have the blueprint for creating the exact type of content that delivers. Use it as an outline and it will hit all the right marks.

Next, let’s dive into why crafting a distinct editorial voice bolsters the strategic vision outlined in your editorial calendar.

Hack #2: Craft A Compelling Editorial Voice That Speaks To Your Customers And Separates You From The Competition

An inconsistent editorial voice can seriously undermine B2B content marketing efforts for any organization. It’s a major faux pas.

But let’s step back for a moment. First we need to establish a proper answer to an important question.

What exactly is an editorial voice? 

An editorial voice refers to the unique persona of your content. It conveys a brand’s personality, making it not only recognizable, but relatable and trustworthy. Crafting a strong editorial voice means creating stylistic consistency across every piece of content you produce in order to make sure your audience instantly recognizes and connects with your brand no matter what platform or medium they find it.

“But why do B2B organizations in particular suffer from inconsistent editorial voice syndrome? “

But why do B2B organizations in particular suffer from inconsistent editorial voice syndrome? 

In my experience, small businesses and startups suffer from inconsistent editorial voice due to a lack of resources and more more pressing priorities.

Mid-market and large enterprises tend to suffer as a result of poor departmental alignment and bureaucratic red tape.

Regardless of size or maturity, the risk of inconsistent editorial voice is very real. Without it, organizations risk confusing their audience, blending in with competitors and content failing to achieve its potential.

Getting this right requires more than just setting guidelines. It involves lots of listening, thorough internal research and buy-in from the brass. Engaging key stakeholders early and often in the process will also be important so no one is caught off guard and everyone stays on the same page.

Below are several questions to help get you started on defining your editorial voice.

Answering these questions lays the foundation for crafting a compelling B2B editorial voice, which, when integrated into your content efforts, can poor rocket fuel on your content efforts in ways you never imagined.

Okay! Congratulations on making it this far without nodding off.

Next we’re going to talk about setting goals and metrics that allow you to measure the success of your efforts.

Hack #3: Set The Right Metrics Based On Your Content Marketing Goals

You have your bullet-proof editorial calendar in place. You’ve nailed down your editorial voice. You went deep into your cave and came out with a slew of content gemstones.

You’ve executed your strategies and now you want to know if your hard work has paid off.

How do you know if your efforts have victoriously led you you to Valhalla?

Well, it starts with the goals you’ve defined. But measuring progress toward reaching them means setting and tracking the right metrics — both qualitative and quantitative — to determine if you are close to meeting them.

Here’s a straightforward guide to help get you fired up and thinking right about how selecting the right metrics are key to measuring content marketing success.

Your Goal: Engagement and Brand Awareness

Tracking engagement and brand awareness is critical to understanding if your content is hitting the mark with your intended audience.

By keeping tabs on these metrics you’ll be able to determine what what’s boosting brand awareness and what’s not.

• Clicks & Views. Track the number of clicks and views your content receives, either through direct website visits or other distribution channels, to measure your brand’s reach. Dig into your analytics to measure what catches your target audience’s eyes and gets the most play.
  
  
• Social Shares. Monitor the quality and quantity of the shares and general engagement your content receives on social. These numbers are not marketing wins by themselves, but this data absolutely matters because it can help you determine which topics resonate.
  
  
• Subscribers & Followers. Keep an eye on subscriber and follower counts. Notice a jump after dropping a killer video? That’s no accident. Analyze why it works so it can be repurposed. And don’t forget to engage with these newcomers. They’re tomorrow’s customers.
  
  
• Comments. Dig in because here is where the gold lies. It’s all there — customer sentiment, feedback for improvement and ideas for future content. Looking at the bigger picture, this is also the exact type of data to be fed into customer data platforms for laser-targeting.

Your Goal: Lead Generation and Customer Conversion

Similar to measuring engagement and brand awareness, tracking lead generation success is key because tells you if your content is working.

Take a look at the following metrics. They will help you zero in on what successfully grabs attention and gets people to hit “buy.”

Here is where web analytics tools are your best friend. Tools like Google Analytics, Adobe Analytics and MS Clarity provide a window into your audience’s behavior and the content is most successful in converting leads.

Remember that continuous improvement is the name of the game here. Regularly dive into your website performance data to stpot trends and tweak things as needed.

• Clicks. Clicks are important when tracking lead generation success, too. When measuring the impact of your content, it’s the clicks that lead to pages that generate revenue that matter. Think landing pages, sign-up page, downloadable resources and more.
  
  
• Conversion Rates. Do you know what matters even more than clicks? How many users are MQL/SQL-qualified and complete a desired action on those “money pages” like filling out a form or grabbing a white paper. Track these and you’ll find everything you need to know about the effectiveness of your content.
  
  
• Funnel Stage Analysis. Understanding the types of content found in the B2B content marketing funnel — TOFU, MOFU, and BOFU — is critical to determining how effective your content is. Each stage should guide prospects deeper and deeper. Analyzing where they disengage also helps identify leaks in your funnel that need plugging.
  

YOUR GOAL: Sales Enablement

Setting a goal dedicated to making sales enablement more efficient through content marketing means arming your sales team with the type of content that helps close deals.

But first, it’s vitally important to align your efforts with sales.

Start with a discussion that ensures mutual understanding. You are not telling people how to do their jobs. You are asking how you can support the sales process. This approach prevents your inquiry from being perceived as unsolicited advice. It also helps positions that content you create as tailored tools for them to use.

Once what you develop is put to work in the field, it’s time to measure how helpful it is in supporting the sales process. Let’s look at how that’s done.

• Usage by the Sales Team: Monitor how frequently sales uses marketing content to get the job done. What helps them move deals forward? Is it case studies and white papers? Infographics and video? Find out and take note.
  
  
• Sales Cycle Length: A no-nonsense metric. Determine typical sales cycle length and identify where lags occur. Jump in and help sales by creating content that addresses it. With a large enough sample size, you can measure exactly how much your content has helped.
  
  
• Lead Quality by Marketing Channel: Keep an eye on which channels are not just generating leads, but generating the right kind of leads. Are your white papers pulling in more ready-to-buy professionals than your webinars? Find out by by asking sales.

Before You Dream Up A Single Word, Remember The Foundations

Before you dream up a single word, it’s crucial to put the foundational elements of an effective content marketing program in place.

Establishing a proper editorial calendar, a clear editorial voice and specific goals with a defined measurement plan are not just suggested best practices — they are necessary for committing to the excellence you owe to your team, your company and yourself.

Set up these essentials and watch your content fly off the handle. In a good way, of course.