What is the business purpose of your B2B content? No one is putting fingers to keyboard for fun, but how do you angle your content so that it delivers on your goals while still engaging the audience?
Business goal: Raise visibility and become an authoritative voice
Through your content, whether that is on LinkedIn, your website or a newsletter, you need to demonstrate a good understanding of the sector/industry you work in. Obviously.
It’s important to have ideas or a fresh take. Talk about the problems that no one else is talking about, or if it’s ground that has already been well discussed, can you add a unique take?
Lots of people talk about well-known problems and challenges, but few are offering a way of navigating issues.
Can you highlight alternative approaches and a means of delivering a positive change? Is there a different way of doing things that isn’t really talked about? Can you move the conversation on in some way?
Could you spearhead a campaign behind which you can rally industry peers to make a material difference to your sector?
Building a reputation as an authoritative voice takes time and consistency, but it opens a lot of different doors:
💥 It can get you noticed by conference organisers looking for expert speakers and panellists.
💥 It can put you on the radar of journalists who cover your sector, leading to interview opportunities.
💥 It can make it easier to pitch thought leadership to industry publications.
Business goal: Building trust and connection with a target audience
This, of course, works in parallel with raising visibility and authority, but think about different ways to demonstrate that you have a deep understanding of your target audience.
How can you be relatable, and what can you talk about that helps build trust?
For example, can you help your clients help themselves in some way, such as showing them best practices to save money and time?
Can you address common concerns about hiring or working with a business like yours?
Open up a little bit. Think also about how you can help people get to know your team and business (it isn’t necessarily just talking about what you do).
Make sure your content is relatable and sounds human.
Pro tip: Editing by committee inevitably means content ends up sounding stilted and corporate, so limit the number of ‘editors’.
If you are hiring, how can content be used to showcase what work-life is like at your business?
Becoming a trusted, relatable voice can help deliver leads and attract the right people. People work and collaborate with people they know, like and trust.
Framing your content appropriately and becoming a trusted voice can give you an edge in a competitive market:
💥 It can support more article clicks, newsletter signups, downloads of white papers and reports.
💥 Boost attendance at your events.
💥 Help with recruitment.
💥 And, of course, it can help attract potential clients and collaborators.
What’s your goal with your content?
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