Without proper promotion and amplification, the effort is wasted.
This doesn’t seem like much of a secret, but apparently it is — because too many marketers haven’t gotten hip: You’re wasting tons of energy and resources on content creation if you aren’t backing it with a sustained, strategic promotion plan.
TopRank’s campaign with B2B telecommunications firm Mitel exemplifies the impact of a thoughtful promotional strategy behind valuable content. Boosted via sponsored influencer placements, their “The Now of Work” ebook reached millions through organic earned media.
Evidence is mounting that provides insight into three priorities that must take center stage if you want your B2B content marketing programs and campaigns to thrive in the modern marketing environment.
Stanford University found that stories are 22 times more memorable than facts. Is it any wonder that, according to the latest Content Preferences Survey from Demand Gen Report, 41% of B2B buyers seek content to share that tells a strong story and will resonate with the buying committee?
Not only does using stories as the framework for your B2B content help make the substance more cohesive, memorable, and shareable, it also – when done well – helps your audience relate and connect to it. “Storytelling is the language of emotion,” wrote Rooster Punk founders Paul Cash and James Trezona at MarketingProfs recently. “When you tell a story, you invite audiences to be in touch with their feelings, to get personally invested and to be swept along in the narrative. Great brands, like great stories, explore what makes us human.”
Indeed, research by Think with Google and CEB showed that B2B buyers are 50% more likely to make a purchase if they connect to a brand on an emotional level.
“Use emotion, storytelling, and soundtrack to grab attention in a way that will resonate with all category buyers and make the most of that earned attention by conveying a message that will link your brand to a specific buying situation,” advises LinkedIn’s Tyrona Heath*, whose B2B Institute has conducted eye-opening research and analysis around the measurable impact of emotional messaging in B2B marketing.
Third-party content can be extremely powerful for planning
When it comes to shifting focus from your brand’s solutions to your audience’s wants and needs, there are obvious challenges at play.
How do you truly know what they care about? How do you deliver legitimate value and add credibility to your message?
According to Lee, the key lies in OPC: Other People’s Content. Tap into existing tools, topics, and experts to elevate your brand beyond its own platform and resources. For example, you can:
- Find topics your customers care about with Semrush.
- Discover questions your customers want answered with StoryBase.
- Identify industry experts on those topics with Traackr.
- Partner with experts to answer buyer questions with Nimble.
- Create an experience combining expert and brand content with Ceros.
- Inspire experts to share stories where buyers are influenced with SparkToro.
Through the melding of your brand’s expertise with respected influencers already known to your audience, you can create easy-to-find best answer content that inspires. Best of all, you can do it in a scalable way.