Why Your Content Needs a Strategy

In just a few short years, we’ve seen content creation and client engagement morph from intermittent push campaigns to the more disciplined, multi-channel practices of inbound marketing. The evolution was inevitable. The digital revolution has changed the customer journey and forced service providers to meet client needs anytime, anywhere. It has also required more content, greater relevance, and audience focus to continuously attract, convert and close transactions. 

This change has particular importance to many B2B marketers who understand the value of positioning their firms as thought leaders and leveraging content to strengthen client relationships and generate leads with target audiences. The challenge is that this can be “mission impossible” in large firms where partners are the business generators and content is technical, often used to connect with small groups of clients or prospects. Partners produce many articles and posts, but collectively don’t often grow mind share. Nor do they reach many of the firm’s clients who may not be aware of the breadth and depth of services you offer. 

Let’s face it, your content needs a strategy. And your content strategy needs strong processes to support it. As firms shift from mass marketing to hyper-focused content strategies, they require a roadmap to connect content with targeted buyers and directed tactics to engage them in your ideas. 

A Bit of Context 

Competition to get buyer attention is fierce. In a 2014 column in Time, Tony Haile, CEO of Chartbeat, talks about the new Attention Web. In his research, he notes the average reader spends 15 seconds on a page or perhaps a little longer if they are interested in what you have to say. The challenge, he says, is that we confuse what people have clicked on with what they’ve read. We also mistake sharing for reading.

To take it a step further, McKinsey’s recent research on Brand Success and Digital Darwinism indicates that as more offline buyers shift to digital tools, the number of digital touchpoints is increasing by 20% annually. In their sample, 39% of digital buyers engaged in the initial consideration of a brand; another 42% used digital tools for the consideration and evaluation stages. 

Considering the proliferation of content and its importance in purchasing services, how can marketers segment, connect and convert business buyers with meaningful content and purposeful interactions? 

5 Ways to “up” your Content and Engagement Game 

1. Content needs a strategic platform. In many B2B firms, and partnerships, in particular, content creation can be an individual sport. Occasionally, professionals work in teams or as a practice, but often the overriding interest of using content to generate leads encourages partners to develop their own, sometimes narrowly focused articles. Firms need to step back and think big and think brand. This involves creating a thought leadership platform that addresses c-suite issues for senior executive audiences that will position the firm for larger cross-functional opportunities.
2. Impactful content requires compelling points of view. If the end game is to engage and influence readers, content needs to convey new perspectives.   Create articles that are memorable and easy to read. Take positions and provide actionable recommendations.
3. Engagement requires reaching the right audience with the right content at the right time. In a digital world, campaigns require distribution plans based on focus and targeted reach. Firms need to dive deep into their client data and ensure their growth plans link to a well-defined segmentation model that includes all prioritized contacts and companies. Develop a engagement plan for each segment.
4. Manage your CRM system; don’t let it undermine your efforts. There are many ways to get your content noticed, but it begins with reaching the right decision-makers with informed insights and customized messages. This requires a firmwide commitment to data quality with processes to involve partners and staff. It should also have enriched data to include company size, industry, related businesses or subsidiaries, and most importantly, partner relationships and contact trustees.
5. Content needs to spawn activity, which means partners must participate. Communications, subscription-based or otherwise, require follow-up plans. They can be as simple as arranging calls or meetings or hosting events and webinars, but without it, your content will hit the wall quickly and marketers will struggle to demonstrate real campaign ROI. Encourage them move beyond content creation to seize the subsequent relationship-building opportunities to promote their ideas. 

Content can be a powerful tool to build brand and stimulate business development. When effectively created, managed and shared, it can open more doors to get you closer to the client. The key is to give your content a better strategy and improved processes. You and your clients will notice the difference.