How To Use Content Marketing To Generate B2B Leads
In the following, we will be discussing an important topic that is “How to use content marketing to generate B2B leads” and will discuss it in detail within the article. In B2B business, leads are typically a company’s livelihood. Unlike B2C purchases, most B2B merchandise and services require thought, research and deliberation before a buying decision. As a result, generating quality leads could be a key function of B2B marketing teams across industries. Though there are multiple methods businesses can employ to garner leads, about ninety-one percent of B2B marketers are utilizing/using content marketing, making it among one of the top implemented approaches.
There are several strategies B2B marketers credit with increased lead generation, and a few undoubtedly result in more success than others. Though what works for one business might not work as well for another, there are some approaches that are effective across the board. Check out the four B2B lead generation content marketing methods with a proven track record listed below.Regarding this Digital Marketing Course in Dwarka are do their job so well.
1. Webinars
As webinars are usually considered high-value, individuals merrily provide their contact info and details in exchange for hands-on training, real-life application and expert knowledge — all from the comfort of their desk. When hosting webinars to drive B2B leads, ask lead-qualifying questions to better gauge the intent of registrants on the event sign-up page. You should consider asking about interest in your product or questions/queries or service to assess where registrants are in the sales cycle. When brooding about hosting a webinar, make sure to think about the following:
Topic:
Pick a topic that’s specific to your audience, and present it in an inviting approach. Think of a very catchy title, create assets that truly speak to the subject matter as well as stay on topic throughout the presentation. Also, think about scheduling time for a Q&A session after the webinar presentation, therefore, attendees can ask the expert queries. These queries may give insight into the information your target audience is seeking.
Speaker:
Though webinars are perceived as high-value, it is also very easy for attendees to hop off or multitask during the session if the speaker is less than stellar. As a result, it’s extremely necessary for the webinar presenter to be compelling as well as charismatic/attractive. Though this can be more difficult via a webinar compared to an in-person presentation, talented presenters can captivate an audience despite the lack of face-to-face interaction.
Survey:
At the end of the webinar think about surveying attendees (or even during, depending on what program you are using to host the webinar). You must find out what they did and didn’t like about the presenter, topic, content, etc. Use this data to organize for your next webinar or future content marketing projects.
Recording:
Record the webinar; you could either do this through the webinar program or even with other video-recording software. Not only can you use the video to assess what you could do differently in the future, but you can also provide the recording to attendees in a follow-up email. Additionally, you’ll distribute the recorded video as a content offer for webinar registrants who didn’t attend. It can also be posted on your site to be viewed by additional visitors.
2. Industry Events
Industry events are a goldmine for content marketing. Not only are you able to provide content at events through speaker presentations and live updates, but you can also use the content for pre-event promotion and capture content at events to be used later. Consider these content ideas:
Pre-Event:
Speaker interviews: Interview speakers before the event through text, video or even on a podcast. Use this content to promote the event and ask the speaker to share their interview as well, to gain extra exposure.
Offer Useful Event Tips: using your numerous platforms (social media, website, blog) publish helpful advice relating to the event. You can additionally list nearby restaurants, sponsored party locations, interesting things to do in the area, and so on.
Hashtag: As soon as it is available, you must use the event hashtag when you are promoting across networks. You will be shocked at the number of individuals following that hashtag well before and after the event.
During Event
Speaker Presentations: attempt to become a speaker at various events by providing educational presentations for the attendees. Include as much info as you can in your speaker pitch; most events get flooded with pitches, thus you’ll need to find some way to make yours stand out.
Live Updates: Live blog/tweet from the event (by using the event hashtag!) as well as encourage others from your organization to do so as well. Share other peoples’ updates about the event on your platforms.
Post-Event
Event Review: Use your notes from the event to place along with an incident review. There are a number of ways to do this— through a blog post, article, video or podcast. You should share your thoughts on the venue, session as well as everything in between.
Photo Album: Use photos you took at the event and place along a photo album on Facebook, Flickr or another photo-sharing site. You need to share the album with event attendees, speakers as well as the host.
Curate Content: depending on the size of the event, several people may be writing event reviews or posting photos as well as videos. Curate all content related to the event as well as share in a blog post or on Storify. Everyone included will want to share the piece as well. Some of your pre-event and during-event efforts can open doors to new individuals (leads). But, get additional leads out of the event by providing event-specific content once the fact, too.
3. Free Guides and Whitepapers
Free guides and whitepapers have been used in content marketing for quite some time and continue to be very effective. Like webinars, recipients usually consider guides and whitepapers high-value, making it easy to justify providing contact details.
When making whitepapers, make sure your content speaks to a particular audience persona and consider what info that persona desires and needs to do complete their job. For example, if you offer online marketing services, you may market to the following personas:
Marketing Professional:
One of the personas you market to maybe a marketing professional who is interested in learning different marketing tactics and how to execute them successfully.
Manager/Director:
A different member of your audience may be a manager/director-level person who is more curious about the overall marketing strategy.
CEO/President:
Another may be an organization CEO or President who is evaluating whether or not to bring in an external marketing agency. All of these individuals are leads (some more valuable than others), though they have completely different intentions and consume different content. As a result, each persona needs to be marketed to and nurtured in a unique way.
4. LinkedIn Groups
LinkedIn groups are actually premade discussion forums available for use without the added hassle of forum development, hosting, privacy and much more. A group takes hardly any time to set up – requiring simply a couple of group details and a photo/logo. Also, while setting up the group, you can indicate whether you would like the group to be open (that is anyone can join) or you can request to join (that is members should be approved), which may vary depending on the theme or group topic.
When making a group with hopes of generating leads, make sure to brand the group accordingly. In order to be successful in lead generation, start and participate in relevant discussions as well as build relationships with members. Share blog posts, videos, whitepapers as well as other content that may be useful to group members.
Encourage members to share experiences and challenges to build the group’s value. Though every person who joins is essentially a lead, find out more about members through discussions to better qualify leads and understand the person’s pain points and needs. With this info, you will be more prepared to follow up with each lead and potentially gain more traction.
In Summary
There are various tactics that can be leveraged to generate B2B leads with content marketing. In fact, twenty-eight percent of B2B marketers reported using between 5 and 9 content marketing tactics to drive leads, while 64 percent reported using more than nine. As you’ll see from these statistics, a successful B2B content marketing strategy includes a variety of methods and there is no one-size-fits-all solution. However, webinars, in-person events, whitepapers as well as LinkedIn groups have been proven effective across almost all industries.
