B2B content writing Archives

B2B content mistakes to avoid (part 2)

Mistake: Poor or cryptic headlines

Your headlines (or opening lines on a LinkedIn post) are the most important words you’ll write.

They need to tell and sell to your target audience: Tell people what they will get if they read on, and make them want to read on.

Look at a headline in isolation. No image or other text, just the headline. Does it make sense on its own?

Be wary of play on words, puns and other cleverness that potentially obscure the meaning.

Those clever punny print tabloid and magazine headlines are often rewritten for the online version because they don’t work on a crowded home page.

It is better to be clear and include keywords.

Look at your headline objectively. Is it focused on what is likely to pique your target audience’s interest or something you find interesting?

If another business wrote it, would you click on that story, article or case study?

Every word of your headline needs to earn its space.

Mistake: Trying to say too much

You get on a roll with writing your article, and it becomes a case of ‘and another thing’. I’ve been there, and it’s fine if you are a prudent editor.

Trying to cover too many different things risks diluting your point and leaving your audience confused. Focused content leaves the readers in no doubt of the point you are making.

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Audience engagement

B2B content mistakes to avoid (part 1)

Mistake: Quantity of content over quality

I’ve done this, created content because I feel I should publish something, rather than creating something to meet a specific goal. I’m now better at being more targeted, though.

Yes, regular content is a good thing, but publishing for the sake of it doesn’t deliver on goals; it’s just adding to the noise.

Every piece of content needs to have a specific aim.

Before you create, define the content’s purpose. What do you want people to do as a result of engaging with this particular piece of content? What goal is it supporting? If you don’t have a clear answer, then either reframe it or ditch it.

Mistake: Focusing on the wrong thing in your B2B content

This is probably the most common mistake I see. It’s easy to talk about what is interesting to you and your business, what you’ve done, etc., but content is about the audience, not you.

For content to land, what you say has to align with what your audience wants to hear.

We are all selfish when it comes to what content we consume; if we are giving it our time, it needs to give us something in return.

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Uncategorised

3 common B2B content mistakes to avoid

B2B content marketing is a learning curve and there maybe things you are doing that damage your content’s reach and engagement without realising it.

Here are 3 mistakes to avoid with your B2B content.

1. Not making B2B content about the audience

The hard truth is that people don’t have time for all the content out there, including yours.

They are discerning about where they choose to invest their time (just as you are). This means your content has to work hard to make the time investment worthwhile: What’s in it for them?

Making a B2B audience care about your content means it needs to be helpful, interesting (to them), relevant, relatable…entertaining even.

There is always a place for news and business updates, but shoe-horning in referencing to the business and services at every opportunity is salesy and won’t serve.

The same goes for content that always starts from the perspective of the business, regardless of the topic.

Smart content marketing starts from the audience’s perspective, delivering something relevant and worthwhile.

It focuses on what the audience wants to know, not what the business wants to tell them.

Smart and effective content is clever with its messaging; it builds a positive reputation and respect.

Being known for being helpful, interesting, relatable and knowledgeable is more powerful than being a business that is just self-promoting or selling.

This leads neatly onto:

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B2B content: Using questions in your intro and getting creative

In a previous post, I talked about the importance of your opening line and gave four simple ways to write intriguing intros. One of the ideas was to use a question, and I wanted to explore this a little further.

A neon question mark — Photo by Simone Secci on Unsplash

There are different ways of using questions, from the simple to the bold.

Probably the easiest is to ask the question that you go on to answer in your article or blog post. Here are two made up intros to give you an idea:

“How has the pandemic changed demand for offices? There is no doubt that lockdown has forced a reassessment of working practices, but what does that mean for…”

“Will community uses be the key to reviving the high street? With more shopping taking place online, landlords and local authorities are looking for alternative uses to fill vacant retail units…”

But you can get a bit more creative.

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Audience engagement

B2B content and the art of writing an intriguing opening line

The headline on your B2B content needs to grab attention and stop the scroll, but your opening line needs to keep the reader hooked and make them want to read on.

It is a powerful combination, but how do you write an intriguing intro to your article or thought leader?

A desk with a notebook and pen in the foreground and laptop behind with a blank screen. — Photo by Nick Morrison on Unsplash

Writing an intriguing opening line is a powerful tool. There are simple ways of creating intrigue, and you can also get quite creative.

Below are just four ideas to give you a flavour and hopefully inspire your content writing. I’ve made up some examples to illustrate – they are complete fiction, so don’t think of them as actual market commentary.

1. Use a question

Questions can be used in several different ways – lookout for a future blog post on this. But one simple technique is to focus your intro on a question that you subsequently answer in the article.

Framed correctly it gives the reader an indication of what the article will cover and asks a question they are keen to find the answer for.

Examples:

In a competitive post-Covid office market, how do landlords ensure their vacant space attracts occupiers?

Or:

How do you land occupiers when the office market is competitive?

2. Challenge common perspectives (or misconceptions)

Presenting an idea which challenges commonly held perceptions or assumptions – or misconceptions can be a great way of intriguing readers.

It is something unexpected, and people want to know where there might be gaps in their knowledge.

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