Developing an effective content strategy is critical for B2B organizations if they want to stay ahead of the competition and maintain a strong online presence. It can seem overwhelming when developing a content strategy, but using these three key elements will get you on the right track:
- Strong individual and cross-functional leadership
- Writing that resonates emotionally with readers
- Deep knowledge of your audience
Strong Leadership and Cross-Functional Collaboration
To get the most out of a creative team, leaders need to create an environment that cultivates empowerment. A combination of one-on-one and group meetings can help make that happen so everyone has a chance to present ideas and receive constructive feedback.
“I would meet one-on-one with team members, and I also instituted weekly meetings so we could all learn the big issues of the moment and what each person is doing,” says Laura Dobbins, a content leader based in New York. “We shared the challenges and successes that people had. I started meetings with a round-robin format, with everyone sharing in (ideally) 15 seconds their high point/success of the week.
Everyone on the call had a chance to speak up, plus it helped us know what each other was working on. A great side effect was that it also revealed solutions to situations that would arise, which other team members could learn from. It set up an atmosphere of success and recognition for the team.”
Content in particular touches nearly every department. Consequently, cross-functional collaboration is vital. You gain fresh perspectives and the ability to tackle challenges from different angles, thus facilitating problem-solving in the most effective way possible. This approach also forges workplace relationships, which usually results in streamlining operations and ensuring projects are not only completed in an efficient timeline but are aligned with organizational objectives.
Dobbins recalls a specific project involving cross-functional departments to improve content visibility, attributing success to interdepartmental coordination. “We worked closely with the programs, website, SEO, and demand generation teams,” says Dobbins. “We needed to integrate perspectives and improve our SEO strategy. The collaboration resulted in a cohesive brand voice for the company across its many channels.”
Using Emotion to Connect with Readers
Creating engaging content is a multi-faceted skill that requires emotional intelligence, strong writing abilities, and an understanding of SEO factors. Technical skills are important, but emotional intelligence is what will make your content truly resonate with your audience. Put simply, emotional intelligence and writing skills are both essential for creating content that people will want to read.
“It’s important to have an understanding of how people get engaged and what makes good content. Sometimes that’s from how the headline, subject line, and sentence structure are put together – looking at it from a technical standpoint,” says Dobbins. “Stepping back and evaluating how the writing hits emotionally is essential…especially with content that is traditionally thought of as ‘dry.’ Look at what you are writing and think about how your audience will receive what you are saying — find the emotion in it whether it is delight, an ‘aha’ moment, or even slightly mysterious.”
Understanding Your Audience
How can content creators make great content without understanding their audience? They can’t. That’s why you need to dig deep and learn about your audience’s needs, wants, and desires. Armed with this information, content creators can identify the problems their readers need solved—and create content that helps them.
“It’s important to research and get to know your audience by talking to salespeople, reading the publications your audience turns to, and interviewing your target audience directly. Then you can bring it all together into content pieces that help solve the biggest problems, whether it be through eBooks, blogs, videos, podcasts, or other formats. Different people gravitate to different formats,” says Dobbins. “I personally take a very strong educational standpoint to all content. You’re either informing about something new, educating because someone needs to know how to do something, or you’re entertaining and pointing out something delightful or interesting. Your B2B content needs to do at least one of these three things.”
Understanding your audience is essential in providing them with meaningful, accurate, and relevant information that aligns with their values while using language they can easily comprehend, particularly in a B2B environment. Having a grasp on the perspective and needs of your audience not only provides an angle for content, but it also determines the mode of delivery.
If you want to create a successful content strategy for your organization, it is important to keep these strategies in mind. Taking the time to work on developing each of these areas will result in a well-rounded and effective content strategy that can help your business meet its goals.