When it comes to capturing the attention of your readers in the B2B world you have to provide value, tangible evidence and most of all engage with your reader. Great content is worth the thousands of pounds (£/$) if you do it right and keep doing it. If you don't have a marketing strategy check this post I created for you before.
Follow the points below and you will increase the likelihood of your content being shared and most importantly being read by your target audience.
Tell a story – stories are a great way to hook your reader, we've all had fairy tales and other great stories either read to us, or played on a cd player or even watched great fairy tales at a Disney film in the cinema. They hook you in, and once you hook your readers in, they're in the palm of your hand. But it's got to be good.
Get to the point – no one likes reading fluff. The quicker you get to the point, the better it is for you.
Back up your Advice – statistics are everything. If you can't back up your data, no one will take you seriously. Even big companies use small stats, ever seen a shampoo advert? 90% out of 50 people agreed their hair was better off using L'Oreal! So even small stats count, and if you don't have any use credible sources. Run a survey if you need to!
Use instructional videos and images – leverage your time, using images or videos that help guide people through the steps to a certain outcome, this will put you in the position of problem solver, ultimately the expert or the go to person and possibly a sale.
Give readers more – at the end of your article, consider offering additional resources or guides. For example, having a downloadable PDF, presentation or a checklist will help increase the value of your content.
Solve your customers' problems – or fuel their passion. Even if a problem is not related to your product, solving it through content will increase the likelihood of your readers coming back and possibly them becoming a customer.
Test content – Don't rely on text alone, as humans we communicate online through Visual(What you see), Auditory(Audio, what you listen to) and Kinaesthetic(How something makes your feel) modalities. Test; Podcasts (mp3 audio), Video's (Face to camera and screen captures), Presentations and Info-graphics. Now you can measure, which get the most response with regard to shares and lead generation.
Turn your text into visuals – B2B content typically has a lot of statistics and data. Consider using infographics instead of text for data-rich posts. A great way to engage people visually and less demanding on their eye for detail.
Take action – Its pointless reading this stuff and not taking action, you visited this page and read this list for a reason, "To increase website traffic" so that you can increase sales right? Yes… Then go do it.
So you're now in a position to action this checklist, short and simple to follow, that's what I intended. Of course there will be lots more points you can do but the key aim here is for you to take action and not for me to overload you in your busy day.
Remember once you've created the content, publish and market it online, Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Instagram and even In your printed newsletter if you have one. Just a few places you can use!
What content creation tips or strategies do you use? I would love to know, comment below.