B2B content marketing can be very difficult and will only get more difficult in the coming years. That's why we decided to write a comprehensive, detailed guide on content marketing intended for B2B businesses. Ready? We can begin.
What is B2B content marketing?
The article was revised and updated in May 2026. Check with specific service providers for technical information.
As the name suggests, B2B content marketing is an art use your own content to expand your audience, strengthen and develop brand affinity, and ultimately increase conversions and sales by influencing other companies.
All that separates B2B content marketing from other types of marketing is the exclusive focus on companies doing business with other companies. In short, this is not about classic consumer content that we encounter every day.
How does B2B content marketing differ from B2C content marketing?
Above all, B2B must be useful. If the reader can't apply these elements of your content to their own work or business, then you've failed. This does not mean that you cannot publish off-topic from time to time, but as a B2B content marketer you should have a top priority to focus on trying to become a leader in your industry.
To taktiež neznamená, že B2C content nemusí byť taktiež užitočný, nie je to však jeho primárna úloha. Pozrime sa na brand content, ktorý publikuje napr. Red Bull.
photo source: redbull.com
Red Bull's content is primarily entertaining. It includes remarkable things that happen through all multimedia channels to create an exciting experience. This is great for increasing brand awareness, but less so when it comes to directly increasing sales.
We can see a similar example with Google search and the Display network. Search (in this metaphor B2B content marketing) is more focused on data and search results, while Display network (B2C content) is more effective for increasing brand awareness.
Again, this doesn't mean your B2B content will do well if it's cliche, boring or forgettable. B2B content marketers must balance the 3 main criteria of content marketing – usefulness, engagement and high quality even more perfectly than B2C content professionals.
How to do B2B content marketing correctly
Now that we know what B2B content is, let's see how we can use it effectively on marketing channels. There are quite a few variables to consider here, so let's dive in.
Identify your ideal target audience
Predtým, než dáte vášmu publiku to, po čom túži, musíte o ňom vedieť čo najviac.
Although you may have already segmented your audience into the stage of the sales funnel, each part is made up of individual people. This is why reader personas, like customer personas, are so important.
Pravdepodobne si myslíte, že vaše publikujem je príliš široké na to, aby ste ho definovali týmto spôsobom a v určitom zmysle máte pravdu. Takto podrobne môžete svoje publikum rozdeliť až potom, čo ste najprv vyskúšali cieliť na širšie publikum. Avšak, akonáhle začnete publikovať svoj prvý obsah, môžete ísť do detailov jednoduchým použitím údajov z Google Analytics.
Here you can learn a lot about the people who visit your site. You can see basic demographic information such as age, gender and city, as well as interesting data, showing the topics they are interested in. This is extremely important for your business as it provides a way to adapt and expand into new, potential areas.
By now you should have a rough idea of your audience. This will allow you to target them more effectively as you will be able to speak more clearly and in a way that will resonate with them based on their demographic profile and interests.
You already know something about your audience. How do you know what to write about?
How to constantly come up with new ideas
One of the biggest challenges facing content marketers in any industry is how to come up with new ideas consistently. It's easy to come up with topics to write about in the beginning, but after a while you've probably hit a dead end.
A good way to identify new topics in your niche is to look at what people are sharing on social media. There are a number of online marketing tools that can do this, but this is probably the best BuzzSumo.
photo source: buzzsumo.com
BuzzSumo allows you to search real-time data on all major social networks to identify the topics that have the highest attention. Based on this, you can prepare content that represents your point of view on an existing topic that people are currently enjoying, or feel free to have the opposite opinion as well, when you take an opposite position towards a generally popular topic, which you support with relevant arguments.
A very simple example would be digital nomadism. The mainstream opinion is definitely in favor, but an article with the opposite opinion could interest people more, as it represents an original, previously unseen view of the matter.
You must also include user intent when considering new ideas. As mentioned above, you know more about your audience by researching demographics, but you will also need to anticipate what your audience wants to read and what they will gain from reading your article.
When it comes to intention, you have to remember that the user asks himself only one question when making a decision - what will he get out of it? It's the same question marketers ask themselves when on the phone with a prospective client, and you as a content marketer need to do the same.
Promotion of your B2B content
Content promotion is absolutely essential in today's online world. Competition is intense and depending only on organic reach is pure suicide.
Look at the chart below. This represents a gradual but steady decline in organic reach on Facebook:
source: propakistani.pk
This should be a big concern for social media marketers and those who want to promote their content on Facebook. Fortunately, Facebook advertising is still remarkably cost-effective.
An example of great B2B content marketing
General Electrics is probably best known for its advanced microwave and television division led by Alec Baldwin, but it also has one of the best content marketing strategies in the B2B industry.
GE is truly a huge organization with many divisions, hundreds of product lines, and thousands of brick-and-mortar stores. As you might expect, GE publishes a lot of content in an effort to appeal to a number of customers in a variety of industries, but it's The Txchnologist online magazine that is most significant to the company.
photo source: txchnologist.com
At first glance, The Txchnologist could be confused with B2C content. The site has a modern website that gives visitors a sleek online experience, but the magazine's content hasn't sacrificed substance for style.
Content will focus on the most advanced technology being developed by GE's R&D teams in a way that shows users the benefits of GE technology along with how technology is changing the world in a broader sense.
Overall, GE with The Txchnologist proves that B2B content doesn't have to be boring or disjointed. In fact, it can be a competitor for B2C magazines and websites when it creates creative and unique B2B content.
Take it a step further
As we could see, there are a number of elements that a B2B content marketer must consider. Although it can be intimidating at first, you've hopefully identified a few commonalities that B2B content marketing has in common, whether it's usefulness, engagement, or high quality.
If you are thinking about your own content marketing strategy but don't know where to start, you can help with our internet marketing service.
photo source: unsplash.com
source:
http://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2016/12/01/b2b-content-marketing
