B2B Blog Strategies From The A-Team

Harrie Truscott

August 23, 2015   Follow
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Acquisition

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Do you remember the first time you saw The A Team? 80s television fans would know them as that wanted group of ‘Soldiers of Fortune’; a bunch of misfits who took a left field approach to getting the job done. Now, imagine how valuable that team of government trained crack-commandos could be if they were in charge of writing your business blog!

“If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them…”

Maybe you can use a bit of the A Team’s help for your own B2B blog strategy..

You are probably reading this post because you’re in a bind. You’re creating B2B Blog strategies, writing posts for your business and trying to make sure you’re always on track. It can be time consuming, creatively daunting and difficult to wrangle ‘business relevant content’ into a tidy parcel of content fit for human consumption.

First of all, wake up and smell the cold drip and realise that B2B blog readers are people too! Like us, they’re typically people who are short on time, searching for information to resolve a need and want to be told the facts without feeling like they’re being sold to. Are you looking to fulfil the reader through your content strategy? Well you’re in the right place, FOOL - so let’s get started.

Here are the 4 things you should be doing with your B2B blog strategy:

Don’t write about yourself

"Don't look at me, Look at him!” 
- Lt. Templeton "Faceman" Peck

Unless a business is reading your blog because they already know who you are, it’s likely they came across you by Googling a question or searching for information to resolve a problem. Writing about your brand or services in a direct and sales type conversation throughout your blog can actively deter customers from continuing to read the valuable wisdom you are looking to impart.

Instead of talking about yourself, take a leaf out of Lt Templeton “Faceman” Peck’s book and try talking to your audience about things that interest them. Think about each of your buyer personas, what they want (both in their businesses and lifestyles) and how you can give that to them. The secret to getting this right is through a mix of social listening, clearly setting out your objectives and planning your content alongside your sales funnel. 

 

TIP: If you absolutely can’t help yourself and insist on writing about yourself, focus on the features and benefits of your product, instead of discussing the product. For example: you are Porsche and you know your customers like luxury cars, but what would help them? Tips on how to finance their new car? Great vehicle tax deductions for professionals? Or even great places for a driving holiday through the summer are all great examples of ways to support your customer through a buying journey without being all ME, ME, ME!

 

Make a connection with your B2B audience

“Give me a minute, I'm good. Give me an hour, I'm great. Give me six months, I'm unbeatable.”
- Col. John 'Hannibal' Smith

Your audience is either reading your blog to resolve a pain point, search for more information about their issue, or research your brand or business further. Once they’re there you’ve achieved the first step - but how do you keep them reading? The positioning of your blog content is both the alpha and omega when it comes to creating successful and entertaining content for your readers.

Connect.


Are you sure who your audience is? Surprisingly, many businesses don’t take the time to think about this. We like to think of Content Marketing as the roof atop a series of strategy pillars including SEO, brand alignment and - importantly - your buyer personas. So in order to really connect with your audience, you need to do a little research in order to understand who they are.

Not sure who you’re writing for? Take 5 minutes to build out your buyer personas for a more cohesive strategy.

Have you noticed your customer base acting differently in the last 5-10 years? Consumers have slowly grown their marketing independence and are using different methods to make connections with the businesses that best suit their needs. They are doing it on their own time, and that is more often after business trading hours. This alone is reason enough to have a blog.

Stuck for content? Here’s how you can get some ideas about what your audience might like to read in your blog:

  • Listen in relevant forums for ideas to support your consumers needs.
  • Conduct some social listening to see what people are asking in your industry.
  • Utilise your long tail keywords for understanding search volume (qualifying).
  • Put yourself in their shoes. What would you want to know if you didn’t know it already?
  • Talk to your sales staff to gather information.

Don't be afraid of a little personality

"Talk to me, talk sense so I can talk back. Not all this jibber jabber like breaking the peace and all that.” 
- B.A.Baracus 

The most important thing when it comes to a blog is to consider it as your best sales staff ‘opener’. If you threw “Bad Attitude” Baracus into your blog post as a guest writer, would he get more interest? Use social interest to help your message along.

Your blog is a one way conversation response to a question your future customer is looking for an answer on. Now think about Christmas lunch when Uncle Frank Shows up with his booming baritone and his ego and how much you prefer to talk to your cousin, Jenny - because her stories make you feel like you were there too. Personality is key to engagement.

Think your persona doesn’t have a sense of humour? Test it out and see if your engagement spikes. I dare you.

 

Formatting. Formatting. FORMATTING.

“Close the door! I know you're airborne rangers, but that was ridiculous!” 
- Capt. 'Howling Mad' Murdoch

Your B2B personas will all likely have one particular characteristic in common: that they are time poor. Don’t make them feel like Capt. Howling Mad Murdock while perusing your copy - rather, get to the point quickly with a little supportive narrative, and use easy-to-read formatting so the reader can quickly find what they’re looking for. Don’t make it hard for your reader - instead, give them value.

TIP: Remember to use your keywords in headings (H2/H3) to reassure the reader that the information they searched to get them to your page got them to the right place (just like Murdoch would have landed you exactly where you needed to be). Google Panda isn’t just about search engines finding your information easier - the new implementation is all very “human” - so use it to your advantage.

By implementing these easy B2B blog strategies into your content marketing efforts, you’ll find your business and your customers connecting on a whole new level.

What Next?

 

Like Hannibal, we “love it when your plan comes together” - so start putting your best foot forward by giving back to your audience before asking them for something in return.

Give before receiving; it’s just basic manners.

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