As the U.S. economy starts to recover, B2B companies are looking to find ways to make their brands more visible to potential customers. One of the best ways to accomplish this is to make sure you have a strong content strategy in place. Not quite sure where to begin? Then you’ll want to check out these five B2B content engagement tactics you need to know for 2022.
Why your B2B Content Engagement Matters More Than Ever
The sheer volume of content being produced every day makes it difficult for your content to stand out. This is why B2B content engagement is more important than ever.
When it comes to content, a lot has changed over the last few years. In fact, the definition of the traditional marketing funnel has completely changed. Now, it’s all about content.
However, it’s no longer viable to simply create content for the sake of it. This is especially true for those in B2B. While many B2C brands can create content that fits into several places within the customer journey, B2B brands need to focus their attention on creating content that suits the specific needs of each stage of the customer journey.
This is where many brands’ content strategies fall short. Studies show that most B2B teams (67%) focus their attention on creating top-of-funnel content, which is content designed to draw the attention of the customer. However, this very same content is least likely to engage the customers during their purchase journey, and they’re more likely to skip over it entirely.
It’s no longer enough to simply talk about your products and services and hope that customers will come walking through your doors. Instead, it’s about providing leads with a highly personalized experience.
Source: Hushly
By creating content that addresses the needs of your audience at every stage of the process, you’re sure to see your overall content engagement increase.
Not only do 80% of B2B marketers believe that personalization improves customer relationships, but 88% of those in B2B believe that buyers expect more relevant and personalized content that addresses their needs and keeps them engaged.
5 B2B Content Engagement Tactics for 2022
B2B marketing teams are in a unique position. They have the opportunity to communicate with leads who are actively searching for the products and services they offer.
While this is great, it also means that these leads are already in the consideration stage of the purchase journey. To make matters more complicated, most leads are researching multiple brands at once, which means they’re more likely to skip over B2B content that doesn’t address their needs.
If you’re looking to make the most of your content, you need to focus on your B2B content engagement tactics for 2022. Here are five tactics to get you started:
1. Try New Media Options
Sure, while the phrase “content is king” still rings true, it’s a big mistake to sit back and assume your blog will do all the work for you. If you’re trying to boost your content engagement, you need to think outside of the box when it comes to your creation and distribution strategy.
This is why it’s crucial to try new media options. Blogs, social media, eBooks, online videos, and even infographics are all great options for B2B brands looking to improve their content engagement.
While articles are still one of the top ways to reach and engage with your audience, there are dozens of different media options worth exploring. It all depends on who your audience is and what it is they are searching for.
Source: Hushly
2. Make the Most of Your Martech
If you’re not familiar with the term “martech,” it’s essentially a combination of marketing and technology. In other words, martech is the technology that marketers use to help them improve their content engagement.
For example, you can use martech to target your audience by looking at data from external sources. You can also use martech to understand the behavior of your audience and create more personalized content. By understanding your audience, you’ll be able to engage them with your content better.
3. Polish Up Your Storytelling Skills
Storytelling is one of the best ways to engage your audience. It’s an age-old technique that has been used for centuries to connect with people on an emotional level. And now, more than ever, it’s essential B2B brands use storytelling in their content marketing strategy.
Unfortunately, not all B2B brands are great storytellers. This is primarily because most B2B marketing professionals fixate on the fact that their audience are professionals who make their decisions based on fact – not emotions.
However, as a B2B marketer, if you cannot paint a vivid picture of how your products or services work and how they can benefit your audience, then you can’t expect your audience to buy them. You have to show them how your products or services can help them.
Not quite sure what storytelling looks like when it comes to B2B marketing? Here’s an excellent example from Google Small Business:
Sure, while Google does include snippets of their products/services throughout the video, they use the meat of the video to showcase great small business owners and how creating a “human” connection is crucial to small business success and creating a supportive community in general.
It leads viewers to believe that Google is not only supportive of small businesses, but that they play an active role in this greater community – encouraging other small businesses to check out what services they may have to offer.
4. Invest in Digital Opportunities
Digital marketing already plays a big role in B2B marketing. However, B2B marketers were forced to adjust how they approached events, promotional opportunities, etc.
As more brands were compelled to invest in digital events and even hybrid events, it proved that digital opportunities could be a valuable way to increase content engagement amongst B2B consumers.
For example, consider the following: a B2B company offers a hybrid event that combines digital and physical opportunities. They can use digital marketing to promote the event and encourage participants to RSVP or request more information, while also using physical marketing to promote the event.
By combining both physical and digital opportunities, B2B marketers can get more eyes on their content. For example, you can use your email marketing software to send out reminders about the event and use your social media channels to share promotional posts about it.
5. Prioritize Empathy When Creating/Sharing Content
While B2B marketers typically have a fairly good understanding of what the audience is looking for and their problems, the biggest mistake is creating content without any sense of empathy.
Empathy is the key to content engagement. It’s the way that companies can connect with their audience on a deeper level, and it’s one of the most important factors in gaining their trust and establishing a long-term relationship with them.
As a B2B marketer, it’s your job to understand your audience, but it’s also your job to provide them with content that resonates with them on a personal level. Your audience will see you as the authoritative figure they need to trust and follow when you do that.
Create a More Meaningful Content Experience with Hushly’s Adaptive Content Hubs
If you genuinely want to stand out, then one B2B content engagement tactic for 2022 that you should consider implementing is an adaptive content hub.
By using an adaptive content hub, you can:
- Engage with all your customers on their own terms
- Create a more meaningful content experience for your audience
- Provide each audience member with their own personalized experience
With Hushly’s adaptive content hub, you can make your B2B content experiences more engaging for your audience. Thanks to AI and machine learning, you can ensure that your audience is only getting the most relevant content possible to help them along their customer journey.
Curious how Hushly’s adaptive content hubs can help you with your content engagement? Request your demo today!
