B2B Content Marketing That Converts: Your Complete Guide

Picture this: You’re two months into working a B2B deal that doesn’t seem anywhere near the finish line. You’ve been going back and forth with a seemingly endless list of decision-makers on the buyer’s side, each with different requirements and preferences. You want to seal the deal, but the question is: What resources and tools will make a difference? 

Well-crafted B2B content can make more of an impact than you might think. The majority of B2B marketers say that content marketing helps drive brand awareness, nurture leads, and improve customer loyalty. And given that nurturing leads through a longer sales cycle is a major challenge for many businesses, content marketing strategies can make a huge impact.

The thing holding many B2B companies back from pushing forward with content marketing is the struggle of creating consistent, valuable content. This B2B content marketing guide will walk you through the steps of developing and implementing your own content strategy. You’ll be creating content that converts before you know it. 

What is B2B content marketing?

One of the great advantages of content marketing is its versatility. You can create any content you want for your audience, across a wide range of channels. The flip side of that versatility, though, is that you can’t take one content marketing strategy and apply it like it’s one-size-fits-all. Content marketing is most effective when you tailor your strategy to your precise audience and marketing goals. 

At its core, B2B content marketing is about building trust with buyers and developing your brand’s authority in your industry. You share relevant, valuable content that addresses questions or concerns your target buyers may have. 

B2B vs. B2C content marketing

A B2C content marketing strategy often focuses on evoking emotions or even entertaining the audience. This content tends to be shorter and more casual. It matches the B2C buyer’s journey, which often moves quickly — someone can go from reading a blog about a new supplement to purchasing it in just a few minutes.

B2B content marketing, on the other hand, is quite different. The focus is more on educating and engaging the audience than directly promoting a product or service. 

Since B2B sales cycles are longer and involve multiple decision-makers, B2B content can be more targeted. You might write one article geared toward buyers’ financial executives and another tailored to technical teams — all about the same topic, just from different perspectives. 

B2B content marketing examples and types

B2B content broadly falls into four categories: education, lead generation, relationship-building, and sales. As you develop your strategy and create content, keep these key examples in mind.  

1. Educational content that builds authority

There are probably lots of topics that your target customers want to learn more about. By covering them, you can build your brand’s authority as an expert in the industry. You’re showing them that you know what you’re talking about and you have the answers they need. 

Popular forms of educational B2B content include:

• Blog posts
• Whitepapers
• Case studies
• How-to guides
• Industry research

2. Lead generation content 

You can also use content to directly generate B2B leads. The key is placing valuable content, such as ebooks and webinars, behind a “gate.” To access this gated content, interested customers need to provide their contact information.

It’s a win-win. Customers receive valuable content and you generate leads for your business. From there, you can create automated lead nurturing sequences through email marketing, SMS marketing, or other channels to get closer to a sale. 

Work on optimizing your landing pages and opt-in forms that serve as the “gates” to this gated content. The more persuasive these forms are, the more leads you’ll be able to generate. 

Keep in mind that there’s generally a trade-off between the number of fields in a form and the number of completed forms you’ll get. Find a balance between creating a form that asks for all the information you want about a new lead and one that’s easy for leads to fill out. 

3. Relationship-building content

Since the B2B sales cycle is so long, building relationships with potential buyers is crucial for closing sales. Content can help you do that. 

One example is email newsletters with business and industry updates. A newsletter is a convenient way to keep your B2B email list up to date on the most important developments at your company or within your industry. Sending a newsletter helps ensure your audience doesn’t forget about your business during lulls in the sales cycle. 

You can also use social media for relationship building. It depends on your industry, but LinkedIn is generally a key social platform for B2B. Engage your followers in the comments of your posts, in direct messages, and even on related pages. Your own posts will help you build thought leadership and pull in new audience members. 

Develop an automated welcome series for new subscribers to your email list, too. Automation eliminates the need to send each message manually and you’ll know the welcome emails are automatically getting your relationship off on the right foot when a new potential B2B customer joins your list. 

4. Sales support content 

Content can also do a lot of heavy lifting as sales support. Consider creating content like:

• Product demos
• Tutorials
• Comparison guides
• ROI calculators

Based on what prospects interact with, serve them automated follow-up content to keep them interested. 

Building your B2B content marketing strategy 

Before you jump into creating B2B content, you need a strategy. Your content marketing strategy will guide the types of content you create and the distribution channels you choose. 

Know your B2B buyer’s journey 

Start by thinking about the journey your B2B buyers go through. It probably starts with awareness, moves into consideration, and then reaches the final decision stages. 

You need content that maps to each of those stages. It’s also crucial to address the points of view of the multiple stakeholders involved in B2B decisions. Your content will be much more persuasive if you can address the concerns and interests of all the stakeholders. 

Create valuable, educational content 

When you’re creating your content, focus on solving business problems, not selling products. Offer industry insights and other thought leadership that your audience might not be able to get elsewhere. 

Choose the right content distribution channels

Finally, decide where to distribute your content. 

LinkedIn and professional social platforms are ideal for shorter-form content. You can always direct readers to longer versions on your brand blog.

Use email marketing to nurture your leads with automated sequences and newsletters. 

Outside of these options, you can also publish in industry publications and partner channels to reach wider audiences. 

Measuring B2B content marketing success 

Like any marketing strategy, B2B content marketing can always be improved. But the only way to know what’s working and what could use improvement is to track your results. 

Key metrics that matter for B2B

Keep a close eye on important content marketing metrics like:

• Quality of leads generated
• MQL conversion rates
• Content engagement (Likes, comments, other interaction)
• Time spent on the content
• Sales cycle acceleration

Tools and platforms for B2B content marketing 

Having the right tools in place will make B2B content much easier and boost your results. 

Look for tools that integrate with your CRM and existing sales systems. Ideally, the platform should also have automated reporting and analytics to make it easier for you to understand how your content is performing. 

There are all-in-one content marketing platforms and more specialized tools. While an all-in-one solution may be more convenient, weigh the benefits of tools that offer more comprehensive features instead. 

Start nurturing your B2B buyers with content marketing today

The B2B sales cycle is long, but it doesn’t have to feel endless. Consistently sharing valuable content with your B2B audience will keep them more engaged throughout the process. Your content also helps you generate leads and build your authority within the industry. 

If the prospect of creating an entire content marketing strategy seems overwhelming, don’t worry. Start small with one channel and scale up from there. You may be surprised by what a difference even one B2B marketing effort makes to your brand’s success.  

Looking for more actionable tips and strategies to market your B2B brand? Check out our guide to B2B marketing.