Everyone does content marketing now. Or? A closer look often shows that there is a lot of ado about nothing. Because not every company that blogs, posts regularly on Facebook or publishes its own video tutorials actually does strategic and successful content marketing. In most cases, a lot of potential is lost. Content marketing offers great opportunities, especially in B2B, to win new customers with a manageable amount of effort.
In this article, you will learn about some of our most successful content marketing examples in B2B. Please understand that some of our customers want to remain anonymous.
Three examples of successful content marketing in B2B
A long-term content marketing strategy that gradually introduces interested parties to the products or services is particularly important in B2B.
Broken down to the essentials, it is about addressing the target group with the right content and turning them into customers with a targeted lead process. Divided into individual steps, it looks like this:
- With the help of buyer personas, we first analyze which problems and questions are relevant.
- We find the right keywords and topics.
- Experienced editors write the articles. They pay attention to the style wishes of our customers, the “demands” of the buyer persona, and SEO criteria.
- As a supplement to the articles, we offer readers additional content (so-called lead magnets) that they receive by email.
- This triggers an email funnel that will send you additional content tailored to your interests over the next few days.
- In this way, the readers build trust in the expertise of the sender and are ultimately ready for the first specific calls for action. For example, an offer for advice or a low-priced product.
- Gradually, the intensity of the calls to action increases – to the point at which the recipient either accepts the offer or unsubscribes from the list because they are simply not interested in the product or service being offered.
So much for the theory. Let’s take a look at some B2B examples of how this content marketing strategy can look in practice.
B2B example # 1: brand awareness with content marketing
The first customer that we would like to present as a successful example of content marketing in B2B sells charging stations for e-cars. These were developed and also produced in England – our customer is responsible for sales for their region.
It has been our task since the beginning of 2020 to make the brand known on the market. To this end, we regularly plan and publish blog posts on all aspects of electromobility and sustainable energy. The aim is to generate leads with specific purchase intentions. First and foremost, these should be wholesalers and electricians, who in turn advertise the charging station in B2C. Interested parties can use the blog posts to download additional materials – e.g. checklists for wall box installation or comprehensive technical guidelines for electromobility.
Then they are forwarded to a topic-specific funnel in order to deepen the interest and develop into a purchase intention.
Result of this example of a well-thought-out content marketing strategy:
- 500+ relevant keywords in the top 10 search results
- 4,000+ relevant leads
- 20,000+ monthly website visitors
B2B example # 2: Continuous traffic surge and awareness
The second example of successful content marketing in B2B is an industrial company. Our customer sells CHP systems and has also specialized in their maintenance. After the company had been controlled by the parent company for a long time, we have been taking over marketing since 2017 and have thus supported our customers in establishing their own brand.
The industrial company entrusted us with the entire online marketing. From website creation and maintenance to content marketing strategy and implementation, to online advertising and social media support, we take on all tasks.
Just like in the first example, we generate new B2B leads via search-engine-optimized blog posts as part of a classic content marketing strategy. Since the topic is very specific, we were able to continuously increase the Google ranking and website traffic.
Interested parties who request a lead magnet will receive not only the newsletter but also other relevant content by email over a period of several weeks. In the further course of the e-mails contain various calls for action to arrange a consultation. In this way, addressees can calmly build trust in the company. Since the customer sells expensive, complex products, this is extremely important.
The long-term strategy with content marketing is particularly effective here. Since 2017, we have been able to generate relevant leads for our customers evenly and reliably.
Read Also: how to write a convincing email
B2B example no. 3: Building a knowledge platform in the HR area
Some time ago we set up a blog in the HR area for one of our customers. The aim was to transform the blog into a central knowledge platform and contact point for all topics relating to human resources. In this way, we wanted to gain leads for our client’s job boards and recruiting platform.
Although a new post was only published every two weeks, we were able to achieve numerous very good keyword rankings within a very short time. Accordingly, the number of users also rose steadily, which in turn manifests itself in a constantly growing list of potential customers.
Two less successful examples of content marketing in B2B
We’re honest: from time to time there are projects that don’t work so well. Every agency is sure to do the same. But who wants to admit that sometimes things don’t go perfectly?
Content marketing is the form we implement it is a dynamically developing discipline. Many factors influence the success of individual measures and we often have no control over these factors. Examples include changes in the Google algorithm, which directly influence ranking and reach. Therefore, constant A / B testing and trying out new tools are just as much a part of our work as the regular recognition that some tools or measures, unfortunately, did not bring the hoped-for success.
However, the causes of bad projects are often much more mundane, as the following examples of content marketing in B2B show:
Hardly any leads
With the B2B customer in this example, our task was to organically build an audience with the help of weekly blog posts and to win long-term buyers for 3D printers. In principle a standard task. And actually also a grateful content topic.
But even after several weeks and numerous perfectly formulated and keyword-optimized articles there was
- not a single relevant keyword ranking
- little traffic on the blog posts and
- thus hardly any leads.
In the search for the cause, we discovered that the WordPress website, which had only recently been created by another service provider and on which the blog was running, had some hidden technical defects. These were punished accordingly by Google. Unfortunately, our customer was unable to have these problems rectified. Due to the lack of leads, he ended the collaboration with us a little later.
What did we learn from this project?
The best blog posts are of no use if they are not found. In this case, simple technical problems played the biggest role. Since then, a prerequisite for cooperation has been an error-free WordPress site, which we prefer to have our own web designers create. Experience shows that the pages that we set up ourselves deliver better rankings faster.
Too little communication
Now and then we have customers who are simply never available. On the one hand, this makes collaboration more difficult and, on the other hand, it hinders the success of the content marketing measures.
This is shown by this example of less successful content marketing in B2B.
We wanted to promote free webinars on social media. Usually, these are particularly successful channels for generating new contacts. However, if a customer only rarely finds time to carry out this – i.e. less than once a year – this channel cannot develop its full potential. We also rely on the content-related cooperation of our customers for most topics, so that our texts reflect exactly the right content and personal assessments.
A lack of cooperation can then quickly lead to contributions that appear to be interchangeable at will.
These were a few examples of why strategies are sometimes less successful than originally planned.
Our learning from the most successful content marketing examples in B2B
What are our most important insights from the content marketing examples described by our B2B customers?
- Content marketing takes time. Strategies have to be long-term in order to produce good results.
- Good communication and close cooperation are very important.
- Testing and trying out are essential. Agencies need the necessary leeway to be able to try out new ideas or unusual strategies.
- Constant analysis and optimization of the implemented measures are the basis for lasting success.
