Why Your B2B Company Needs a Blog, Like Yesterday!
As a B2B content creator, I’m going to be honest with you: It’s not as easy to create content in this space. That being said, if it were easy, everyone would be doing it, and they’re not. This is a huge advantage! Dynamic content creation is lost on a lot of B2B companies, so the advantage is all that more powerful when the competition isn’t doing it too.
B2B just isn’t as sexy…or is it?
Nope, it’s not. You aren’t selling perfume or football tickets. No one is getting excited about whatever it is you have to offer, and that’s no one’s fault but your own. Sexy is sort of a marketing term. We really just mean having something that they want. What do you have that other businesses want? I can tell you what you should have. You should have insight, credibility, a stance, relevant information, answers and quality. How else will you convey these things to your audience?
Set Yourself Apart
They have their pick. Chances are, they need a product or solution, so they’re going to head straight for Google and go from there. The company site is the first, and sometimes, only way to differentiate yourself from the pack. A blog not only gives B2B companies a chance to stand out, relevant and properly socialized content helps out with Google ranking. When posts are created with SEO in mind, they can really drive traffic to the company site long after their publish date.
You Have a Voice. Use It!
Many B2B companies are under the illusion that because they aren’t peddling beauty products, they don’t have to have a culture, brand or personality. False! That is exactly why B2B companies need a blog.
Establish Credibility
When decision makers are shopping around for a software company (or whatever you happen to offer), what they’re ultimately looking for is the peace of mind that they are going to make the right decision. A great site, low price and good salesman still don’t establish any kind of credibility in the customer’s mind. This is the one corner of the internet where companies can share their expertise, promote themselves and be seen as industry leaders. If you know what you’re talking about…talk!
Answer Questions
Decision makers don’t want to be an hour long phone call, they don’t want to route around on a web site for answers and they most certainly don’t want to fill out a form for more information during a preliminary search. Figure out what questions customers have, and answer them right away, before site visitors even know they have the question. A blog is the perfect opportunity to make shopping around far easier for the customer. Making information easy to find and digest is only helping your cause.
Content and resources are commodities, and commodities are sexy (in the marketing sense of the word). If your B2B company doesn’t already have a blog, or it’s a tad lack-luster, check out this compilation of B2B companies who have really embraced content creation to establish their place in their given industry. Of course…it’s by Hubspot.