Content marketing essentials: A get-started guide
In B2B marketing, content is an essential component for building trust, informing prospects, and nurturing long-term relationships with other businesses. In an environment where purchasing decisions are complex and involve multiple stakeholders, high-quality content helps establish credibility, provides valuable insights throughout the buyer’s journey, and differentiates the company from competitors. By delivering tailored content that addresses the specific needs and challenges of your target audience, you can guide prospects toward informed, desirable decisions.
Table of Contents
What is content marketing?
Content marketing is a strategic approach focused on creating and sharing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract a clearly defined audience and drive customer action.
Traditional paid digital marketing often focuses on immediate, transactional gains through methods like PPC (pay-per-click) campaigns and display ads. Content marketing, on the other hand, is strategically designed to attract and engage business decision-makers and influencers, driving profitable customer actions and nurturing long-term partnerships.
Hand-picked examples to help you get started
You can use various types of content to inform your audience, demonstrate expertise, generate leads, and build strong relationships with your customers. Here are some of the most effective content marketing formats, with examples from companies in the B2B space.
White Papers and E-books
White papers and e-books are in-depth reports or guides that offer valuable insights on specific topics. They inform readers on complex issues, provide solutions, and demonstrate a companyโs expertise. These content pieces are often used as lead magnets by requiring users to provide contact information before accessing the material.
Example: Cookiebot by Usercentrics offers white papers on topics related to data privacy and compliance, helping businesses understand and navigate the complexities of GDPR and other privacy regulations.
Case Studies
Case studies provide real-world examples of how the products or services have helped customers solve problems or achieve goals. They follow a challenge, solution, and results format, making them powerful tools for demonstrating credibility and effectiveness.
Example: HubSpot features case studies showcasing how their marketing and sales software has helped companies increase leads, improve customer relationships, and drive business growth.
Webinars and Online Events
Webinars are live or recorded online seminars that allow companies to share knowledge, demonstrate products, and engage with their audience. They provide opportunities for real-time interaction and Q&A, which can help build relationships and trust.
Example: SE Ranking hosts webinars focused on SEO best practices, digital marketing strategies, and how to use their SEO tools. These webinars feature industry experts who provide valuable insights into the latest SEO trends and actionable tips for optimising website performance.
Blogs and Articles
Blogs and articles are regularly updated content pieces that cover topics of interest to the target audience. They are a key way to share expertise, educate readers, improve SEO, and drive traffic to a website.
Example: Namecheap maintains a blog that provides valuable tips and insights on domain registration, web hosting, online privacy, and digital marketing, catering to both beginners and advanced users.
Videos and Tutorials
Videos and tutorials are effective formats for demonstrating how to use products, explaining complex topics, or sharing customer testimonials. They engage viewers visually and can be more engaging than text-based content.
Example: NordVPN creates video tutorials on how to set up VPN connections, use their security features, and protect online privacy, helping users understand the importance of cybersecurity.
Podcasts
Podcasts are audio programs that cover a wide range of topics. They are convenient for listeners who can consume content while multitasking. Podcasts help build brand authority and connect with audiences on a more personal level.
Example: We, at Fractional Teams, have recently launched a Grow2Market podcast, sharing transformational ideas, common mistakes and real-life experiences to help telco, cloud and IT businesses, whether they are startups, established or pivoting.
Listen to our podcast on:
Social Media Content
Social media content includes posts, updates, and engagement on platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter (X), Facebook, Instagram, and many more. It helps companies reach a broader audience, engage with followers, and share valuable content regularly.
Example: Stella AI uses social media to share engaging content, such as quick tips, productivity hacks, and customer success stories. Stella AI also interacts with followers through comments and shares user-generated content to build a sense of community and engagement.
Interactive Content
Interactive content includes tools like quizzes, calculators, and interactive infographics that engage users and provide personalized results or insights. This type of content is engaging and can collect valuable data from users.
Example: Our free mini SEO audit allows you to check how well your website is optimized for a particular keyword. You will get information on major issues that might affect your rankings and what steps you can take to improve your Google Search ranking performance.
Benefits of content marketing for organic SEO
The goal of organic SEO is to attract more visitors and leads to the website or other channels, such as social media, through non-paid methods. This is where free, high-quality content comes into play, helping you to rank higher in search results.
Strategies for measuring success
So, now youโve created and shared valuable, exciting content with your audience. Whatโs next?
Attributing ROI to content marketing can be tricky as it often drives indirect benefits, such as brand awareness and customer loyalty, over a long period rather than immediate returns. Multiple touchpoints in a non-linear customer journey further complicates this process, as itโs difficult to pinpoint which specific content pieces drive conversions. For example, prospects may engage with content at different stages, go back and forth between different channels, and take various actions before converting. This non-linear journey makes it difficult to track the direct impact of specific content pieces on the final conversion.
Thatโs why measuring and attributing ROI in content marketing requires an approach, combining quantitative metrics with qualitative insights:
- Engagement Metrics: Analyse likes, shares, comments, and page views to understand how well your content resonates with the audience and its overall effectiveness.
- Conversion Metrics: Track specific actions taken after engaging with content, such as content downloads, to measure the content's direct impact on sales and revenue.
- SEO Performance: Assess improvements in search engine rankings and organic traffic as indicators of effective SEO integration.
- Customer Retention Rates: Evaluate whether content marketing efforts lead to higher customer retention rates compared to times when content strategies are less emphasised.
- ROI Analysis: Compare the costs involved in creating and distributing content with the revenue generated from these initiatives to determine the return on investment.
If you’re looking to elevate your content marketing strategy and drive meaningful results, contact Fractional Teams today. Our experts are ready to help you create compelling content that will resonate with your audience and support your business growth.
Kateryna Novozhylova
Hi! I'm Kateryna Novozhylova, co-founder & CPO at Fractional Teams. I write about product management and agile development practices.
