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4 Ways To Get More From Your B2B Content Marketing

Posted: 31 May 2012 12:47 PM PDT

For too long, marketers have been saying that content is "king" without really knowing what that means. Far too many marketers have produced far too much content that largely gets ignored. Far too many marketers don't produce enough content. Far too few marketers realise the importance of communities in which to distribute their content. If money is tight in B2B marketing, we need to innovate - here's how you can do that with your content.

# 1. Define audiences, THEN define content

Do you really understand your audience? Have you spoken to them recently? Do you know what their pain points are? Everything starts with knowing your audience, and knowing what they are seeking at each point of the buying cycle.

Content marketing strategies that really work are those based around the buying cycle.

They provide prospects with the information they need at each stage of that buying cycle, from first-touch through to deep-delve and short-listing.
The key is understand what they need at each particular point of the cycle, doing a content audit of what you already have and align it to AIDA.

# 2. Provide content for users, not for yourselves

A common problem with B2B content is that it's boring. Boring and internal. Too often, B2B marketers write content that is jargon-heavy, full of acronyms and internal brand names, and is hard to read.

However you view your audience, they are still human beings, so talk to them as human beings. Never present your internal structure as if it's something your audience is interested in. They aren't. They want to work with someone who:

understands their problems
can provide a solution to their problems
they can trust with their company's money & time

They don't want to work with someone who:

thrusts a menu of services in their face at the first opportunity
waffles on endlessly about how good they are
waffles on endlessly about what they do

Talk to your audience first, and talk back to them in their language. The level of engagement you will see with your content – measurable in your web Analytics package – will rise significantly.

# 3. Get your content "out there"

Now it's time to start using your networks. Google once said "build it and they will come", and every writer knows that this is a lie. They won't come unless you go to them first.

First of all, optimise the content for search engines by using words and phrases that people actually use themselves. You can use the Google External Keyword Tool for this – but you don't have to be overly scientific. Just think about what people say, how people search, common industry terms, common industry problems and issues – and optimise your content to include those words.

This helps you get the content noticed by search engines, but it's communities who drive the internet, and communities who will eventually decide who ranks in search engines. Search engines are already taking into account the number of social shares a piece of content receives – so your participation in relevant communities is essential.

Build up your twitter following and share content with them (not just yours)
Build up your LinkedIn network and share thought leadership with them (not just yours)
Share documents on DocStoc and Slideshare
Answer questions on Quora and other Q&A websites

It's not up to you to build a community – it's up to you to be part of one that already exists, and to leverage it for maximum visibility of your content. Nobody likes people who just push their own content out there, so take the time to build your profile as someone who is an expert in your industry.

# 4. Optimise, analyse, diversify

Now you have content, and now you have an audience – it's time to tweak your content, and your strategy, accordingly.

Web metrics are freely available, and can tell you bounce rates, links that have been clicked on, time spent reading the site, social engagement – all the signs that can inform you whether someone has enjoyed reading your content or not.

Take time to diversify your content strategy. Words alone won't cut it, so include video and images as much as possible. Include podcasts if appropriate. As you diversify, you will find new streams of visitors to your content – and you can analyse their engagement.

Related: The Content Is King Myth

What's the bottom line?

You are not a publisher, so ultimately there's a bottom line in all B2B marketing and that's sales. Is your content driving people through to that enquiry form? Is your content contributing to the funnel?

There are two things at play here: first of all, making it happen. Secondly, proving it. Let your metrics tell the story – whether they be of decreased bounce rates across your website or an increase in conversion rate from first-time visitors, or an increase in repeat visitors. Your content is a point of engagement for every prospect until they pick up the phone and start talking to you. So prove that it is making a difference!

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Image: "Content computer concept./Shutterstock"

15 Ways To Win The SEO Battle

Posted: 31 May 2012 09:17 AM PDT

SEO stands for "search engine optimization." Search Engines use processes to identify content to match a user's search query. Website owners use SEO in order to be identified by these Search Engines, and so increasing the traffic to their website and potentially escalating sales and profits.

All major search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Bing have such results, where web pages and other content such as videos or local listings are shown and ranked based on what the search engine considers most relevant to users.

Google

Google is the most popular Search Engine at present, Google logs 2 billion searches a day. However, it has never released full details of its SEO Algorithm (the actual process by which Google searches through websites). Below is a useful You Tube clip of Google's Webmaster explaining how Google search works:

Click here to view the embedded video.

So, from experience and vast research over the last few years I have compiled a checklist which I use regularly (almost daily at this stage).

Related: The 7 Day SEO Diet

SEO Checklist

This SEO checklist includes the most essential checks that one should make before publishing a website online and should be updated regularly. SEO is a constant battle and requires constant monitoring and updating and so this check list will help to focus on the most important aspects.

Keywords

Complete an extensive keyword analysis to find words relevant to the industry/product/niche.
Create high quality content which will be searched by search engines. However, remember that this content must benefit your website's users in some way. Pointless content dilutes your brand's message. Ensure that content is added regularly – a blog/latest news section on website would aid this.
Add unique titles and descriptions to each page of the website.
Add important keywords to page titles, meta-descriptions and the HTML headings (H1-H6) Again remember that these will be seen by users to it is important to write these to entice the users further into your site.
Ensure all images on site have a descriptive ALT text included

URLs, Links and SiteMap

Include important keywords in URLS
Ensure links are SEO friendly. Use dashes as opposed to underscores in URLS
Create links from homepage to each page and vice versa.
Check that all links work, and bring the user to the correct page. Remove all broken links.
Registered domain name should contain relevant keywords if possible
Create XML and/or HTML sitemaps. Submit these to search engines and ensure these are updated regularly.

Analytics

Ensure Google Analytics account (or other web analytics package) set up and integrated with site by adding the tracking code on all pages of the website. To get full details of how to obtain the tracking code are, click here.
Develop a strong Link building Strategy for inbound and outbound links.
Monitor competitor websites
If using Social Media, make sure these are included on website.

SEO is a cost-effective method to acquire customers. There is no payment to the search engines for being indexed. SEO is useful for generating visitors to your website and so, boosts brand visibility and awareness.

Engaging in SEO forces website owners to have better websites because search engine crawlers recognise errors in code and so correct, valid code is a must, making a better website for search engine crawlers and users alike.

The constant battle of trying to get your website ranking highly in Search Engine results is eased if the basics of SEO are implemented. If your website isn't search engine optimised, you are missing out!

"If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door" ― Milton Berle.

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vineri, 1 iunie 2012