Tag: Content writing

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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Content marketing, General

Summer content ideas for B2B businesses

Photo by Belinda Fewings on Unsplash

Summer meant slimmer issues of the B2B commercial property magazine I worked on, as more of our subscribers were on holiday.

But we still produced weekly issues with some seasonal, lighter or different features.

One I remember was a ‘favourite film’ survey of property CEOs and managing directors. It was fun and showed a different side to the industry leaders’ personalities.

The choices also became a talking point.

We also used summertime as a hook to look at usually unexplored commercial property markets such as seaside towns and holiday parks.

There were lots of tourist and holiday-related property angles to explore.

While the summer was a slightly quieter time for the property industry, not everyone was away.

And people perhaps had more time to read.

There are also those who might not completely switch off while they are away and might spend a bit of time catching up with some reading.

So don’t discount the Summer period and stop publishing blogs, articles and LinkedIn posts completely.

There is still an audience and a potentially more easily engaged audience.

It’s also a good time to try some different content, perhaps ahead of the autumn period.

Here are some Summer B2B content ideas:

💡 Is there a particular Summer related problem or challenge clients have that you can cover in an article or series of articles?

💡 Do you get certain types of enquiries over the summer that you could write about?

💡 Do a summer-themed survey of clients and/or staff as a lighter get-to-know-you piece, e.g. favourite holiday destination, ice cream flavour, best summer film etc.

People’s choices and favourites often make a fascinating read, and humans are naturally curious.

💡 Use summer events as hooks for market-related content; here are some property examples:

  • Staff summer party – the value of bars with terraces
  • Staff fun day – piece on leisure-tainment
  • Sporting events – sport venues and impact on regeneration

💡 Building designs that make the most of sunny weather

💡 Safe working on developments during hot weather

💡 How your business manages workloads during the holidays

💡 What the summer is like for your business (it might be a busy time).

What are your Summer content plans?

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More content goodness you might like to read:

Content marketing, Social media, Writing tips

Writing LinkedIn posts: 3 different styles of opening lines

Photo by Nik Shuliahin 💛💙 on Unsplash

The first two lines of your LinkedIn post are critical for stopping the scroll and drawing readers in.

If it’s boring and doesn’t grab attention or intrigue, people will scroll on by.

There are many ways to write an attention-grabbing opening line on a LinkedIn post. Here are three examples using this post I wrote about the dangers of relying too heavily on one social platform.

1. My original opening line

What would you do if you couldn’t post to one or more of your social media platforms?

It happened to me recently.

I started with a question that would (hopefully) give pause for thought and intrigue – ‘What would I do?’ ‘How does my strategy compare?’ etc.

Followed by the start of a personal anecdote to add to the intrigue and make it relatable.

2. Less direct/conversational

I could have gone for something that didn’t involve ‘you’, which I know makes some B2B content creators a bit itchy because it’s more conversational and direct:

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Content marketing, Writing tips

Adding value to B2B business news updates on LinkedIn

Photo by Greg Bulla on Unsplash

LinkedIn recently changed its algorithm to shift the balance from ‘clickbait’ content to more meaningful posts.

This article gives a good explanation, but to boil it down, it seems the algorithm is looking for relevancy and meaning through knowledge and advice.

Now you should never write purely for the algorithm (that way, madness lies). But this change is a good reminder to ensure your content, whether on LinkedIn or elsewhere, offers value to your target audience.

If you use LinkedIn to post news and business updates, it’s an opportunity to enhance those stories to make them stand out.

Here are some value-add ideas using B2B built environment businesses as the reference point:

Leasing deal announcement

Content value-add ideas:

  • What does the deal say about current market conditions?
  • If it fits or bucks a particular occupier trend
  • Anything you learned working on the deal or any surprises

Development milestones (planning, topping out, completion etc)

Content value-add ideas:

  • Talk about what the particular milestone means
  • How does this development fit into the broader market/what does it represent
  • Any lessons learned from the process so far
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Copywriting, General

Another word I’d like to ban from B2B copy

Photo by Ian Schneider on Unsplash

There’s another word that needs to join ‘passionate’ and ‘delighted’ on my banned B2B vocabulary list.

It gets used in B2B business copy a lot:

Solutions.

I saw a press release about a ticketing company recently that described itself as providing ‘ticketing solutions’.

And an office fit-out company that offered ‘workspace solutions’.

Solutions, as used like this, suggests an answer to an unidentified problem.

But what is the problem? How do I know what you are solving?

It’s meaningless. Puff.

And that is amplified because it’s hideously overused.

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