What is the importance of content planning for B2B?

Producing content is a challenge for every business: one week, your team is full of content ideas; the next week, everyone struggles to develop even one good piece of content.

Producing great content that attracts your target audience requires careful planning. But it's worth it. Here's why:

B2B buyers are more proactive than B2C consumers when looking for information. They want to see helpful content from B2B before making a purchase decision. If they get that, they're more likely to buy. 

If you hesitate to invest in a clear content strategy and rely on cold outreach instead, consider this: 90% of B2B decision-makers don't respond to any form of cold outreach. Channel your resources into the right content strategy instead. 

What makes excellent B2B content?

The difference between excellent to average B2B content is how well you know your target audience. That's a point many businesses struggle with. Often, they have a client avatar but find it's vague and doesn't get used much. If you experience a similar problem, it can help to get back to basics. 

You can learn about their struggles in various ways: first, regularly read media relevant to your audience. Make notes and address these topics with your clients when you get the chance, such as at fairs or conferences. A short comment, said at the end of an event, can often give you better and faster insight into your clients' problems. Additionally, regularly send our questionnaires and survey with tools such as SoGoSurvey to gauge your client's mood. 

Suppose you can answer your clients' questions with unique content. In that case, you're creating a connection with your clients that will eventually lead to increased sales. 

What should you include in a content plan?

Your plan should start with SMART goals (an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Timely) that outline what your business wants to achieve in a specific time frame. Examples are a 10% increase to your website or a 5% increase of leads in May. Cover the channels you want to use and the different awareness stages of your target audience. 

In the awareness stage, your B2B prospects know they have a problem and start looking for solutions. Long content such a blog posts that explain how to solve the problem are ideal. 

After the prospects have gathered enough information, they enter the consideration stage. They can clearly define their problem and are looking into different ways of solving it. Ebooks are helpful. 

In the decision stage, the prospects have decided what kind of solution they're looking for and are now comparing different offers. Webinars and any 1:1 contact are what they're looking for now. 

How do you plan content for the month?

Based on the overall content strategy, look at this month's SMART goal and think of content that can support it. One tip: look at specific days of the month that could be relevant for your target audiences, such as world coffee day or international mental health day. Include them in your monthly content plan- they're a great way to reach a wider audience and put your brand in context. 

How do you align your business goals with your content strategy?

Make sure you communicate your business goals clearly to your marketing team. For example, tell them you want to increase traffic to your website by 1200 visitors a day instead of just saying you want to see more website traffic. Every content suggestion should be scrutinised and checked if it supports your business goals. That is especially important when it comes to trends.

It's easy to be swayed by yet another viral TikTok sensation and feel you have to jump on the bandwagon before it's too late. Remember that trends, by the very definition, don't stay around for long; do you want to pour your time and resources into something only relevant for a few weeks?

If the trend ties in with your business goals, it's worth doing looking into it. But don't let your enthusiasm for a video or article guide your content strategy decisions. Evergreen content is often more beneficial for your business growth than trends. 

As consumers, most of us are familiar with marketing strategies such as influencer marketing and product launch campaigns. Businesses, however, are less likely to respond to these tactics. They want to know you've got what it takes to increase profit and get more leads.

Therefore, your content strategy should focus on authoritative content that solves their problems. Answer their pressing questions with valuable, practical content that is easy to consume, and you'll attract B2B customers. 

A common myth is that B2B shouldn't be emotional; that's just for B2C marketing. The idea behind it is that we're rational humans while working and emotional when scrolling for fun. That's too simplistic. A recent Google and CEB's Marketing Leadership Council study has shown that B2B brands drive more emotions than B2C brands.

They're much less rational than we like to think. And it makes sense when you think about what's at stake. The wrong consumer decision might result in a small financial loss, while a business purchase gone wrong can put the whole enterprise at risk. 

You do, however, need to show the financial value your product or service offers. After all, businesses want to increase profit; their existence depends on it. They need to see proof that you can deliver what you promise. Make sure to include relevant B2B data and graphics that illustrate the benefits of doing business with you. 

Your customers most likely prefer to work with salespeople or account managers; you can support this need with a blog article or a video that features them. 

B2B customers are also more likely to look for long-term solutions to their problems. Your content should outline how your product or service is more than a quick fix and can (ideally) solve multiple issues simultaneously. 

Which type of content is most used in the B2B setting?

Blogs are a great way to engage your B2B audience. 80% of decision-makers prefer an article rather than an ad when it comes to information, so investing time and effort in well-written blog posts will pay off. 

Email marketing is another way to turn cold into warm leads. 4 out of 5 marketers would rather give up on social media than email marketing- that's how powerful they find it. If you need inspiration, you can find great B2B newsletters on Substack. 

Pay-per-click advertising (PPC) helps to get your brand in front of a wider audience. Pay to target your relevant audience and make sure to make it local if your product is only available in a specific region. 

What if no one in my company has time to write content?

In that case, I recommend outsourcing your content production to a content writer with experience in the B2B sector. With a clear content strategy, that shouldn't be a problem. Ideally, they can even support your efforts and help you find suitable topics for your target audience. 

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