Tag: B2B writing tips

Content marketing, Writing tips

Techniques for humanising B2B content

A human looking robot with a gentle smiling face

B2B content has a tendency to lean towards corporate rather than human. But showing a human side not only helps you stand out, it is also important for building trust and connection with existing and potential clients.

Forging relationships through content, helping people get to know the individuals behind a business, can open doors.

This BBC News story about a woman from a working-class background overcoming barriers to become a barrister is a great example of human storytelling and I wanted to show how the techniques it uses can be applied to B2B content.

Leads with transformation, not credentials

The article opens with the impact of the woman’s story (a viral video, overwhelming responses) before explaining who she is.

B2B content often starts with the company or product. What you can do instead is open with the moment something changed – a result, a reaction, a turning point – then work backwards.

This helps create an intriguing and relatable hook.

Quotes do the emotional heavy lifting

The journalist doesn’t write “she had a difficult childhood” but uses a quote to paint a picture: “I had to step up and do the jobs that my mum couldn’t do, everything you can imagine that a six-week-old baby needs.”

It’s vivid and evocative. 

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General

B2B content marketing: How to think like a journalist and get more readers

Photo by Michael Fousert on Unsplash

Journalists are expert information gatherers, storytellers and writers – they have to be, they want people to pay to read what they’ve written or get clicks on their website to satisfy advertisers.

Here are four tips and techniques B2B content creators and content marketers can adopt to make sure content grabs attention, is compelling and stands out from the competition.

1. Finding a good story angle 🔎

AUDIENCE

Journalists are described as having a nose for a story. The first consideration will always be their readers/viewers/listeners: What is most relevant, useful or of interest?

You can see this in action by comparing national newspaper headlines on similar stories. Each publication will angle the story to the interests and demographic of their main readership.

People will read what is useful, interesting and what resonates.

POINT OF DIFFERENCE

Journalists operate in a competitive market. The same press release will likely have gone to their rivals, so they look for a point of difference to make their version of the story stand out.

That might mean finding extra information their rivals don’t have. Or looking beyond the obvious for a different way of telling or illustrating a particular story or idea.

They are good at getting creative.

2. Adding the human and relatable 🕺🏻

Journalists understand the power of people in stories, from profiles and case studies to pull-out quotes and reactions.

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General, SEO

What makes a clickable headline

A piece of paper in a type writer which has the word 'news' written at the top.
Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

People will decide whether to click on a story or article based on the headline.

You could write a brilliant article, blog post or press release, but if the headline doesn’t ‘sell’ the content to your target audience, it won’t matter.

Think of all the headlines you scroll past vs what you click on to read.

Headlines are so important that some national newspapers and magazines have specialist writers called sub-editors to create them.

So what makes a clickable headline?

Different styles work for different types of content, but the key is creating some intrigue or tapping into an emotion or need.

Headlines also need to give enough information so that the reader knows what they’ll get from reading on.

Here are four headline examples and a breakdown of how they work:

1. Pique interest news headline

This headline, from the North West Business Insider, tells the reader enough, so they know what the story is about but leaves out certain information to help create curiosity.

It tells the reader that it is a development deal, the size of the deal and where it is. What it doesn’t say is who was involved in the deal, the type of development and the details of the transaction.

To find that information, the reader has to click through to the story.

News headlines are a balancing act. Reveal too much, and there is no reason to click through; reveal too little, and curiosity isn’t pricked.

2. Challenge or surprise headline

Presenting a statement in a headline that is incongruous with common thinking or trend is a great way of getting people clicking to read on.

This headline on a LinkedIn article by Daniel Paulusma creates different levels of intrigue depending on your views of hybrid working.

It appears to challenge the thinking of advocates of hybrid working, potentially highlighting something they’ve missed: Am I wrong? ‘What is the evidence?’

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General, Social media

Stop the scroll: Adding value when posting about B2B events on social media

Summary of video:

A conference or panel event you attended can be a great source of social media content, but to help stop the scroll and get your audience to pay attention, add some value.

In this short video, I talk about what made me stop and read LinkedIn posts about events people in my network had been to.

All the posts added value; they didn’t merely highlight that the person had attended a particular event but talked about what they had learnt or what it was like.

Engagement – particularly comments – will give LinkedIn posts more visibility, so I finish by sharing some ideas for getting a conversation started on an event post.

Transcript of video:

Prefer to read rather than watch? Here’s a transcript:

Have you noticed any posts about events that people have been to in your LinkedIn feed in recent weeks?

I’ve noticed some great ones: great because they made me stop scrolling, great because they made me want to click through and read more, and great also because they didn’t use the word delighted, which is always a bit of a bonus.

So what was it about them that got me interested?

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Uncategorised

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…”

Or

“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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