Every organisation, whether it is a boutique or a multinational corporation, will need to do business in the cyberspace. Today’s information marketplace demands a diverse range of content types in order to be considered relevant by online users. If the content is not carefully targeted and organised, it becomes difficult to deliver to search engines, which results in lost revenue and decreased exposure. Worse, it can drive potential customers away altogether.
The purpose of content marketing is to enhance your site’s search engine rankings by providing consumers and other site visitors with information that they can use to make an informed decision. Search engines are constantly crawling the internet looking for new websites that have fresh, relevant content. By providing consumers and site visitors with the information they will value, you increase your chances of attracting new traffic and establishing online credibility. For internet marketing strategies, content truly is king!
Factors to Consider when Creating a Content Strategy
The ideal content for marketers is that which informs, but also entertains. This means content that employs a mix of entertainment and informative elements is considered the most successful in most industries. Understanding what content best for tech prospects goes beyond simply identifying which types of content work for your business. You must know your audience, their interests and their pain points and understand their buying cycle.
Building long-term relationships with tech prospects is critical. Long sales cycles are the norm for B2B brands, so mapping your content to their buying cycle is crucial for success. This means there is no longer a need to design content around a single idea, and instead, design around multiple ideas; you should start by building your brand identity and creating awareness of your brand through the publication of educational and helpful resources; the next step should focus on inbound marketing with refined messages; followed by sales enablement initiatives that aim to convert prospects; and finally, methods that aim to keep customers (Guido Bartolacci). This results in higher conversion rates and loyal customers.
The type of engagement strategy is the best way to nurture prospects from cold to warm. It also helps to provide the same content on multiple platforms and through multiple formats. The goal here is to maintain consistent, quality content, regardless of the format in which it is distributed, keeping your brand in the forefront of your prospects’ minds.
In the B2B tech world, there are often multiple decision makers that need convincing, so its best practice to cover a variety of topics that provide value to all involved, at each stage of buying cycle (Deegan, Yvonne, 2019). To maximise return on investment (ROI), organisations should look to create content that has the most potential to engage decision makers. The ability to connect with these decision makers can have a dramatic impact in the success of your marketing. This can achieved by proving that you understand what challenges they face, as well as positioning yourself as a thought leader, and highlighting your unique solution that can solve their current needs (Invisia).
For tech organisations, it’s not uncommon for products and services to be complex. For this reason, video content can often generate the best engagement statistics. Creating videos that are humorous or entertaining will help you stand out from the crowd (Invisia). Not only can your prospects easily understand the value you can offer them, but they’re also more likely to remember your brand. Infographics and animated explainers are alternative ways to provide easy-to-digest material. The creation of this engaging content encourages the reader to visit the business’s website in order to learn more.
The key to any successful content marketing is to understand who your audience is. The best way to know this is by leveraging data (Harvard Business Review, Janet Balis). Data has become a critical part to any strategical demand generation activity and will be a fundamental success factor for businesses. Tech install data refers to information collected from databases of people using various technological platforms. Tech organisations can use this data to target prospects based on their technology requirements, helping them to create more impactful and customised campaigns (Mane, 2020). By utilising tech install data, B2B organisations can target prospects with the technology profile best suited to their business. This will provide a foundation for your content marketing plan, allowing you to identify opportunities that represent the most value.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, content marketing for tech prospects isn’t too dissimilar to any other form of content marketing. The primary focus is to offer value in an engaging way. There are, however, key elements that should be focused on. These include understanding your target profile’s needs, their current technology stack and the channels they are most active on, and tailoring your strategy around these insights. All of this information can be understood through data. In response to the longer buying cycle, brands should ensure content for each stage of the buying cycle exists, and that it’s versatile enough to engage multiple decision-makers.
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by Listencat
