This problem isn’t new. For over a decade, marketers have been trying to determine how to make our content stand apart. We’ve written from different perspectives, we’ve wrapped it in creative call-to-actions and tried to engage our audience explaining why our content is more unique and valuable than the other guys. So how do we stand apart? How does our content rise above the rest?

We need to think differently. We need to start being human. Let’s imagine that all the web’s content is represented by a city. What brings that city to life? It’s people. When we think of our hometown, we think in context of our personal relationships and experiences. We don’t think of the data (i.e. population or square miles). We think of the high school we went to and the crushes we had. We think of our first job and how tough the manager was. These stories provide the context for the city.

Principles to Humanize Marketing Automation

If we recognize that storytelling humanizes us and is a vital ingredient to our marketing efforts, how do we incorporate it into our marketing automation processes?

• Become a farmer: Many of the expectations placed on sales and marketing teams is about quantity vs. quality. Skills are often based on the ability to convert or win. These terms immediately describe an “us vs. them” mentality. This is not how we build relationships. In a post written by Sean Jackson, he describes the value of thinking like a farmer vs. a salesperson.
  

  “But the farmer has a major advantage over the hunter. While the hunters must go into new territories each day to stalk their prey, farmers stay in one place, planting new seeds and reaping the fruits of their efforts on the same ground they have toiled over already. In return, the land they till becomes infinitely more valuable because it can consistently reap a harvest without the hits and misses of hunting.”

  You’ve likely heard the phrase lead nurturing? It’s marketing speak for building relationships. It’s staying in one place, listening to your customers and adding value by meeting their needs at each stage of the buying journey. But we can’t accomplish this by trying to “hunt for sales”, this must be done by building trust over time, adding value at each step.

• The power of empathy: Many articles have been written about the power of empathy in business. To think like a customer means that we have walked in their shoes. This goes beyond understanding the buying journey or the customer need. When we have walked in our customers shoes, we connect with them on a personal level. We are far more understanding of their needs when we understand their story. Michael Hinshaw states this about the customer experience:
  

  “Several studies back up the fact that no matter who your customers are (B2B or B2C), there’s a high price to pay for delivering a poor customer experience. The thing is, customer experience is really based on how your customers feel. And one of the best ways to make them feel better about the experience is to listen them, understand their concerns, and deliver empathetic service across multiple touchpoints.”

  So delivering a positive customer experience is more than simply knowing what kind of product they use. It’s having knowledge about how and why they use it. If you sell shampoo, you need to know what kind of hair they have, why they chose the shampoo, then deliver value around the entire experience. What do they need before, during and after they shampoo their hair? This information helps create customer empathy. When we deliver this kind of content via our automation processes, it will show that we have listened and seek to provide real value along the way.

• Getting personal: In his latest book X: The Experience When Business Meets Design, Brian Solis outlines the importance of the customer experience. It’s going beyond the data. It’s about getting personal.
  

  “Big data provides great information about customers’ interests, personal and professional networks, location, and many other characteristics. But creating meaningful experiences requires us to get more personal than just mining data. One of my least favorite expressions is, “It’s not personal; it’s only business.”

  This is where the rubber meets the road. Data gives us a limited view of our customers. It shows us open rates, but doesn’t reveal intent. It shows us downloads, but doesn’t indicate purpose. We must take the additional step to “micro-mine” the data. How do we do that? We must be curious. We must gather valuable insights. What are your customers interests, values and opinions? “Data storytellers” (or analysts) have the unique ability to reveal information that do reveal incredibly accurate stories about our audience. Gathering and listening to these stories will help us further humanize our content and create experiences that are meaningful and personal.

The Tactics of Humanization

In order to humanize our marketing automation efforts we must critically look at each interaction during the customer experience as it relates to our communications and determine how we humanize it. Here are a few thoughts to get you started.

• Be Relational: This goes without saying. Create an experience where your customer sees you as a real live person, not a large organization or automated system. Use the proper tags (first name, etc.) from your automation system to relate to your audience. If your customers all have a specific kind of goldfish, then tell them that you are running a special for that kind of goldfish. Speak in an authentic personal tone. Business speak will get you a one way ticket to Irrelevant-ville.
• Segmentation: Another way to humanize our marketing automation is to use one of the most powerful tools in our automation toolbox, segmentation. When we cast a broad net with our marketing and communication, it robs us of our ability to be relevant. Take the time to segment your audience into very specific groups. This will allow you to create communications that are personal and relevant. When we can provide very targeted messages that relate to our customers on a personal level, it will feel human.
• Logical Campaign Flow: This can be tricky. Now that we have this shiny new automation system, it’s tempting to automate our every interaction. But proceed with caution. Remember what it feels like to be the customer. If they don’t answer your email, then sending them another one the next day, is not good relationship building practice. Step back and consider the buying journey. At what steps are decisions being made? When does it make sense to re-engage your audience? Take time to ask some of your existing customers about their journey.
• Consider the Entire Customer Experience: The best way to add value and relate to your customer is to acknowledge them not only before and during the sale, but after it as well. Too often our marketing efforts stop at the cash register. Don’t allow the dollar signs to get in the way of delivering exceptionally personal experience by following up. Are there other areas of the customer experience you can add value to? How did their experience with your product or service go? Were they satisfied?

This is not an easy task. It takes an immense amount of time to walk in the shoes of your customer. From the moment they discover the need, all the way through the moment their need is met, and beyond. But just as any relationship takes time to develop, so does automating your marketing. Marketing Automation is still relatively new. While the systems are vast, there is a simple philosophy that your team should adhere to before generating the campaigns, emails and landing pages that will capture your audience’s attention. It’s the philosophy of making every interaction human.

Regardless of this change, it still must maintain the highest service quality. And unfortunately the data doesn’t lie.

81% of study participants are unsatisfied with their healthcare experience.

This represents an immense gap. Yet, it also represents an immense opportunity. Patients, like customers, are seeking to connect and find value. For decades, physicians and healthcare workers have been perceived as cold, calculated and insensitive. They rush from one appointment to the next, not taking the time to truly understand how patients feel. Both in the physical and emotional sense.

“There is a misperception among providers about how well they are truly meeting consumer expectations,” said Jeff Gourdji, co-lead of Prophet’s health care practice. “Although they acknowledge its importance, providers are finding it challenging to focus on patient experience in the face of so many competing priorities.” (source: Loyalty-360)

How many of us assume we are adding value at each step of the customer journey? Organizations and healthcare providers alike can track and close this gap. A well developed marketing strategy and effective automation solutions can monitor activity and create a more aligned patient experience.

Patient Experience

But it begins with a clear picture of where the patient experience begins and where it ends. Each physician, practice or provider must see the journey from the patients perspective. And it starts long before the doctor opens the exam room door.

When this journey has been mapped out, there are clear intersections where the “brand” connects with the patient. Consider what value you are providing at each step. Where do patients go for more information? What pages of your website are getting the most traction? The most bounces? “But you don’t understand, I’m measured on how quickly I can get patients in and out and there are other priorities I’m responsible for.” Yes, this is true of every business. It may seem too simplistic, but patients don’t care about the competing priorities. They are seeking value, or in this case, the appropriate amount of compassionate care.

“It seems important, then, for physicians to have neither too much nor too little compassion. Aristotle put this succinctly when he wrote that, as a virtue, compassion should be shown ‘to the right person, to the right extent, at the right time.’ He didn’t define how much compassion is right: We have to decide that for ourselves.” (source: New York Times)

The concept of marketing is making it’s way into the healthcare lexicon. Recently I received an email from my primary care office. It was unexpected, so I opened it. It was a gentle reminder to get my flu shot. Wow, that was a well timed email campaign as we enter the cold and flu season. A few months later, I receive another email. Again, not expected. What kind gentle healthcare reminder might I receive today? An announcement that my primary care office is now providing “cosmetic injections”.

Talk about not knowing your audience. Epic fail. Simple patient segmentation would have revealed who would likely desire this service, making the content relevant.

Compassion

So it seems that the healthcare industry has their work cut out for them. They are responsible for ensuring all these important metrics are tracked and improved. And while doing so, exhibit the appropriate amount of compassion (or value) at the right time.

As marketers, what can we learn from this challenge? We are in a service-based industry. We track and manage many marketing priorities as well. But there is one thing we can not miss. We must connect our product or service and add value at each step of the customer journey. How?

Gavin Francis sums it up quite well;

Compassion means “together-suffering” or “fellow-feeling” — a sense of identification we feel when imagining another’s pain. The word “patient” means “sufferer,” and at its most basic level the practice of medicine could be described as the attempt to ease mental and physical pain.

We must seek to understand and connect value to our audience. When we make this connection, we identify with the challenges they face. This is what marketing is all about.

It begins with some self-awareness. Marketing holds the organizational mantle on creativity. They pride themselves on having all the right tools for assessing and understanding the customer need. They focus group test. They A/B test. Then after all the data has been gathered, they develop the most engaging campaigns ever. Sales is no different. They are one of the key pillars for organizational success. They stand in that magical circle called the “Moment of Truth”, and close deals. They brush up on their emotional intelligence skills. They develop deep client knowledge and wield it at the perfect time to bring the sale across the line.

This still happens today. Many organizations still rely on traditional marketing and sales teams to reach customers and deliver sales. But are they focused on the right metrics? The customer is more informed than ever before. The tables have been turned. The customer is now in the driver’s seat. Marketing and sales need to better understand the customer journey in a digital sense. Investing in new social and digital tools are not bad. But if sales and marketing don’t work together, they will never accomplish what they can together. And it begins by adding value.

At the Intersection of Value

Consider the graphic below. It has two lines. The gray line is representative of the customer journey. It has a beginning and a perceived end, which we’ll discover is not really an end at all. The black curved line is your business. As we move from left to right, the goal is to maximize the moments where these two lines intersect. Segments of the journey are indicated by brackets. They are Discovery, Research, Moments of Truth, and Customer Engagement. As these buyer touch-points occur, it’s our job to create and provide as much value as we can. It is in these moments where buyers form their thoughts about your brand. You must help them meet their need by providing value at every point along the way.

Marketing and sales have a unique opportunity to work together to deliver value at every stage of the customer journey. They first need to align on the major segments of that journey. After this is agreed upon, they must align on the value that is delivered at each one of those stages.

Creating Value at Every Stage

We’ve talked about the marketing/sales funnel and how it’s broken. We are in agreement that this is not where we have been before. So how do we know what value we should create at each buying stage? I’m so glad you asked. Let’s look at four typical stages along this customer journey.

• Discovery: The first area we need to tackle is when the buyer learns they have a need. Understanding this stage is a challenge. Start by asking your existing customers about what caused the need. What were they doing when they first discovered they needed your product/service? Where were they? This causal effect will assist you in determining the right content/value approach you should take. It will also help you understand what sites and channels are used when they discover it.
• Research: We all do it. The data doesn’t lie. Research shows that we are going online to find answers to all manner and kinds of questions. And your customers are doing it too. This has never been more true even in the car buying experience.
  

  Today, half of all car shoppers with mobile devices use their smartphones while at the dealership. The top action people perform with their phones while on the lot, not surprisingly, is confirming that they are getting a good price on a vehicle. Searches for Kelley Blue Book and competing dealers occur more often when at the dealership. – Think with Google

  These answers are the key to developing the value we seek to create. Learn as much as you can about where your customers are coming from. What sites do they visit when researching? Are they visiting your website? What content are they viewing? Is it valuable to the research they are doing?

• Moments of Truth: The buyer has become aware of the need. They’ve researched all the solutions. They will now enter the zone that we affectionately call the “Moment of Truth”. It is in this space where your potential customer will make a decision to buy. Our job is to engage the buyer with the reassurance of their buying decision. Sure we will have an amazing call-to-action. The button will be the perfect color and be in the perfect spot. But where is the value? When buyers make a decision, we must create the most value-filled buying experience possible. Is it easy to buy a product on your site? What does your follow up look like?
• Customer Engagement: Now that the buyer has become a customer, the value changes again. It now becomes a matter of user experience and engagement. When was the last time you used your own product? What questions popped up? Was it easy to find the answers? What if the answers were sent before you had the question? It is important that your customer sees the value in a long-term relationship.

Listen and Verify

But it does not stop at providing value. This does not automatically get you the sale. As any marketer worth their credentials will attest, you must always be listening. Each one of these touch-points should be tracked. It will provide you with the data you need to “listen” and verify that it is the right value being provided at the right stage.

For sales and marketing to be successful, it must retool. But more importantly, they must align their focus on providing value to the customer at every stage of the buying journey.

Marketing automation tools are valuable in helping you learn more about your customer. But the value doesn’t stop there. It can be assist you in creating a value-based customer journey that equips the buyer at every stage.

Honda finds marketing rhythm

Massive music effort targets hard-to-reach millennial buyers

Honda, as it turns out, also wants to be cool — cool enough to make an impression on the hundreds of thousands of millennials who pack the park for two weekends every fall. Hence the HR-V on-site and the massive Honda Stage it faces, where popular acts such as The Weeknd, Alabama Shakes and alt-J perform. Honda’s presence in Austin is part of a massive marketing effort that uses music to attract the fleeting attention of millennial car-buyers.

Read the full story: https://www.autonews.com/article/20151116/RETAIL03/311169967/honda-finds-marketing-rhythm

Panera Bread: Marketing Flows Through Cost Of Goods Sold

If you haven’t read Panera’s update on their Animal Welfare program and new commitments, you might want to check it out. Panera Bread (NASDAQ:PNRA) isn’t the only company advocating for the ethical treatment of animals, but they are one of the first restaurants to push so aggressively against the common practices. By pushing against these commonly accepted practices Panera is able to generate goodwill with their target audience. That goodwill serves to bring in customers in much the same way as marketing expenditures.

Read the full story: http://seekingalpha.com/article/3686416-panera-bread-marketing-flows-through-cost-of-goods-sold

Easy Jet Shows Why Customer Intelligence will be Pivotal for Digital Marketing in 2016

It was a well-crafted email campaign, personalised and inspired by a deep-rooted understanding of the customer. A few days ago, I read a blog on the PPC Hero platform, where the author was mistaken segmentation for customer intelligence or insights. Customer segmentation uses conventional parameters like gender, age group, nationality, earning bracket and a few others. On the other hand, customer intelligence goes deeper to more unconventional insights like a customer’s motivations, fears, frustrations and deep-seated habits.

Read the full story: http://customerthink.com/easy-jet-shows-why-customer-intelligence-will-be-pivotal-for-digital-marketing-in-2016/

These three articles all cover different aspects of marketing. Honda is actively seeking to meet their audience where they play and improve their public image by appealing to the interests of their target audience. Panera is handling marketing in much the same way however, rather than just spending money to meet their audience they are taking a more humanitarian approach by not only appealing to the interests of their audience but at the same time improving their business and their world. EasyJet is demonstrating their active approach to customer engagement through listening and responding with personalized marketing and intelligent marketing.

Lastly, we promised an interesting trend we’ve noticed in popular news outlets, you’ve probably seen it, but it may be happening even more than you’re aware. Here’s an example:

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As people become more and more immune to advertising on the web advertisers are seeking new ways to engage with their audience. This marketing strategy is interesting because it requires brands to do more than just create a flashy ad or a catchy tagline. This trend forces more thoughtful marketing. Marketers are now creating content both useful and informational for their target audience. In essence this new trend is simply content marketing being placed on the web where their audience visits. If you’re a marketer you should consider whether sponsored content marketing like this is a beneficial strategy for your brand.

Also, keep in mind that marketing automation involves much more than just setting up a fancy campaign drip flow. You can successfully use marketing automation and the Mautic platform to build personalized marketing strategies and intelligent marketing like what you read about from EasyJet. Curious? You should read more about how marketing automation with Mautic will give you powerful and personalized customer engagement.

Blog Content

One of the first ways you can use your content is for the most obvious purpose of adding value to your website through your blog. This is more than likely the primary reason you started creating content in the first place so this is indeed the most obvious and first use for your content. Your blog helps you build credibility in your industry and improve your search engine optimization. This is clearly a primary purpose of your content marketing.

Slideshare

Once you’ve created this amazing content you need to find as many possible outlets as you can to share it. Slideshares are a very trendy way to get your content out. Take your main points, and turn them into slides. But it’s not as easy as just dumping some content into slides. You will need to combine your text with graphics. Slides are a great way to communicate but they rely on creating a beautiful presentation to share your content. This repurposing content may take a little bit of additional time but compared to the original creation this time is minor an yet yields great return on your investment. (This article goes into more depth on the benefits of slideshare).

Social Media

You will want to make sure you are repurposing your content for social media. This involves more than just sending a link out to your blog article! You need to craft compelling tweets, (be sure to leave at least 2 characters so others can retweet or +1 you) write good Facebook updates, and be sure to share on LinkedIn and Pinterest. This last one brings up a good point. Did you know social media posts with images are viewed and shared more than 40% times more than others? Find or create unique, engaging graphics to share relevant to your blog content.

Podcast

Ever thought about the possibility of turning your blog articles into podcasts or audible posts? You may not find as great of search engine optimization from your content being audible instead of written, but you’ll find other benefits from podcasting including audience reach and a strong brand presence. Plus, think about the value that audio posts can hold for your audience. Attention spans are short, reading time is limited for many, but the opportunity to listen to your great content while doing other tasks is just one more convenience you can offer. Repurposing your content for audio requires a bit of minor reworking and you will need to ensure your audio setup is good quality (otherwise no one will want to listen) but again, a minor amount of work can lead to another outlet for your newly created content.

Webinar & Video Shorts

In addition to the above content outlets don’t neglect the growing popularity of video. Creating video shorts from your content can be as simple as starting a Periscope and opening up discussion about your content. Or you could jump onto emerging video platforms like Blab.im and start a modern webinar. This requires a bit of free thinking about how you can repurpose your content for this outlet but again, minimal work and you can capitalize on all the hard work you’ve invested in the original piece of content.

Final Thought

There are a few things to consider before planning how you will repurpose you content. You don’t want to waste your time repurposing less than high-quality content. Be sure your original content is useful, holds value for your audience and is of appropriate length for repurposing. Once you make sure these guidelines are met then you have a great opportunity to repurpose your content and improve your outreach.

7 Mistakes That Will Doom Your Marketing Automation Implementation

By default, most good entrepreneurs understand marketing. This doesn’t mean that you love executing daily and weekly marketing activities. But it does mean that you respect and appreciate the need for strong marketing efforts. But despite this positive outlook, it can end in doomsday. If you’re not careful, you can make fatal mistakes that do more harm than good to your marketing. Even small mistakes can cause your company a bit of embarrassment that’s best avoided.

1. You haven’t established clear objectives.
2. You don’t understand your customers.
3. You didn’t choose the right automation software.
4. You lack a documented marketing process.
5. Your marketing and sales teams don’t work together.
6. You aren’t offering the right kind of content.
7. You’re selling instead of nurturing leads.

Read the full article here:
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/247236

Pro Prankster Perfect Viral Marketing

Using the Car Lister auto-buying platform is as easy as lifting the front wheels of a Ford Escape taxi off the ground. At least that’s what the pranksters at ad agency Thinkmodo wanted you to believe in a recent stunt. Car Lister’s CEO enlisted the New York viral-marketing agency to pull off a stunt to bring more visibility to the site, which allows dealerships and private owners to sell vehicles in a community-like setting with the help of photos and video previews. So Thinkmodo staged a dispute between a New York meter maid and a rude taxi driver who refused to move from an illegal spot.

Yet it was all just a clever scheme to generate viral attention for Car Lister. The stunt illustrates the power of viral videos that spread rapidly online and are then picked up by TV shows for prolonged exposure.

Read the full article here:
http://www.autonews.com/article/20150720/RETAIL03/307209995/pro-pranksters-perfect-viral-marketing

Study With Major Brands Compares Ad Recall For Mobile and Desktop Promos

When people were asked if they remembered seeing full-page ads, 38 percent recalled seeing the ad on a desktop. Forty-three percent of those who were served the ad on smartphones, tablets and desktops remembered the ad.

Banners had the lowest ad recall rates. Thirty-three percent of people who looked at banner ads on a desktop remembered seeing the ad later. The same percentage of people who saw it on multiple devices remembered seeing ads, meaning that solo desktop banners are just as effective as cross-screen standard ads, even though brands pay extra for smartphone and tablet ads.

Read the full article here:
http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/study-major-brands-compares-ad-recall-mobile-and-desktop-promos-165905

Amazon’s Brand Takes a Hit on Social Media During #PrimeDay

Even with negative tweets up 241%, Amazon claims big win overall. The social media sentiments around Amazon took a noticeable turn for the worse during the first 13 hours of Prime Day, which has the e-commerce site offering a slew of deals to celebrate its 20th birthday. Deals like 35 percent off Velveeta Shells & Cheese—on a day the Seattle-based company predicted would rival Black Friday—created negative responses on Facebook and Twitter.

Read the full article here:
http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/amazons-brand-takes-hit-social-media-during-primeday-165901

5 Ways Live Video Can Rock Your Content Marketing

As content marketers, we can tap into the power of live video to grow our influence, build communities, encourage engagement, and interact with our fans and followers in a whole new way. Not sure where to get started with streaming video? We’ve got 5 suggestions for you:

1. Live Events
2. Live Announcements
3. Live Interviews
4. Live Video Blogging
5. Live Panel Chats

Read the full article here:
http://www.business2community.com/content-marketing/5-ways-live-video-can-rock-your-content-marketing-01275553

This article is meant to serve as an in-depth what is content marketing guide. We pack tons of statistics, quotes, and resources into this single marketing bundle to help you as you learn to use content marketing effectively. You can read through everything at one time, or come back time and again and review different sections to help you as you improve your content and your content marketing automation.

Let’s get started as we normally do by looking at a good working definition. We need to understand what content marketing is and what problems it solves. Here’s a very common definition you’ll find through a standard Google search.

Content marketing is any marketing that involves the creation and sharing of media and publishing content in order to acquire and retain customers.

That’s a pretty solid definition and is rather easy to understand, unlike some of our previous articles content marketing is not a difficult concept to grasp. Instead, content marketing is a difficult task to complete. There’s several reasons for this difficulty but we’ll get to that later in this article. Now that we have a good example of what content marketing is we need to turn our attentions to what makes this type of marketing so special.

What makes content marketing special?

Content marketing is without a doubt a special form of marketing. Content marketing has grown exponentially and has become a staple of every good marketing toolkit. What makes content marketing special and why do so many recognize the value of content? Let’s look at three types of content and see what makes each type special.

1. The Power of Created Content

The first type of content marketing we are calling created content. This is unique, original content that you create for your blog or website. The power of created content is immense. The words you write, the resources and media you create have never been seen before. You are imparting your knowledge and your research to others. Google and other search engines love this type of content. And if you are sharing highly valuable information then you are rewarded for this work. Created content is a cornerstone for what makes content marketing special.

2. The Opportunity of Curated Content

Before we discuss the opportunity of curated content we need to briefly define what we mean by curated. This can be thought of similar to a museum curator. The job of the museum curator is to find, protect, share, and rotate great pieces of artwork so that others can enjoy them. They spend countless hours seeking out fresh, exciting pieces of art to bring to their exhibits. They look for those pieces which otherwise would remain hidden, obscured, and unavailable to their museum-goers. This is a great definition and example of curation. Curated content is done in much the same way.

This is not the blind re-sharing of overly popular pieces of content. Good content curation takes time, lots of time, perhaps not as much time as the original, created content we referenced above but certainly more than just a reblog of someone’s old content. Curated content takes thought. Curated content provides added value to the content to be shared.

3. The Success of Co-Authored Content

The last form of content marketing which helps to make this a successful strategy is what we’re labeling co-authored content. This form of content is when you either share your content on someone’s platform (website) or request someone to publish on your blog or website. Co-authored content gives you a couple of ways to generate value in your content marketing.

First, off-site content, the co-authored content which appears on someone else’s website gives you an opportunity to spread the power of your brand through other channels and reach new audiences. These posts are successful because they can often bring strong links and ties back to your website as well.

Second, on-site co-authored content can be highly successful because you are able to demonstrate the quality of your own website and brand through the power of the guest bloggers you have contributing. As you grow and your guest bloggers become more familiar names your credibility in the industry and in the market space grows and becomes more familiar to people as well.

These are three of the most common aspects of content marketing which help to make this marketing highly successful. These are the common aspects, but what does this content actually look like? What makes up content marketing and what trends are popular currently in this form of marketing? This is the next question we’ll answer.

What are current trends in content marketing?

Content marketing is a constantly evolving and changing form of marketing. To be an effective content marketer requires paying close attention to trends in society. What new technologies are being used, what forms of content are most read, and what criteria is being observed by search engines when ranking content. All of these are important things to consider when constructing a content marketing strategy and a content roadmap. Be sure to keep this constantly changing nature in mind as you review the following current trends. These may change in the future.

1. Infographics

The infographic format is an incredibly popular way of sharing statistical and chart-based information in an easy-to-read format. Think of an infographic as a very long picture with text, graphics, and charts. No one likes to try to read an excel spreadsheet (ok, maybe a few people do) for most of your audience an infographic which displays key pieces of data in a stylish pie chart, or using some other unique way for sharing the otherwise boring, dry data. Here’s an example:

2. How-To Content

The second trend we see in content marketing is the prolific use of how-to articles. These types of content are created to share information about how to do something (obviously). Usually you will find how-to posts are useful to convey detailed or tricky information in an easy-to-follow step by step guide. As Google (and other search engines) work to improve their search results to respond to long-tail keywords, full sentence searches, and even the “question search” the how-to content becomes increasingly important. Search engines love this content because it directly answers a question.

3. Research Content

The third trend in content marketing is similar to the previous one. Research content marketing is the presentation of large amounts of data in an exhaustive, highly detailed piece of content. Research content has many different sources, citations, and authoritative links to establish the quality and relevance of the material. Research content is perhaps the most time-consuming and difficult to create of all the current trends we discuss in this guide. This guide is an example of a research type of content.

4. Top 10 List

The “top” lists are very hot trends in content marketing. These list based posts do several things that make them popular for content marketers.

First, creating “best of” lists gives your audience a very quick way to compare common tools, evaluate their options, and provide a trusted source as a basis for a future decision. When these lists are created the right way they can save your audience valuable time as they do their own research. These lists must be created the right way, because if there is any bias, or perceived favoritism towards a particular product or service the entire post will be disregarded.

Second, creating list content also encourages those businesses, or individuals who “make the list” to share this content with their audiences. Everyone likes a little recognition and a little praise. If you mention them favorably in your list the chances are good they will share your content with others. Because of the highly social aspect of these lists they are highly popular in today’s content marketing strategies.

5. Slideshares

The final content marketing type we’ll mention as a trending format are slideshares. This form of content marketing has certainly become a very trendy way of distributing content thanks in part to the growing popularity and success of Slideshare.com This type of content marketing allows you to share valuable and informative content in a similar way to a live presentation. In fact, one feature available to Slideshare users is the injection of YouTube videos directly within the presentation. This feature provides a great way to blend searchable content with video presentations.

Slides are a popular way of sharing content and have become a rich media format for engaging your audience. Many great content marketers will provide recap posts, and summary slides in the form of a slideshare presentation for a longer research or how-to article. We’ve done so as well in our content strategy. Here’s an example.

We published an extensive article on the topic of Understanding B2B Marketing. You can read the entire article with all the details, or you can quickly skim the following short slideshare.

As you can see, the Slideshare content format is a compelling way to engage your audience quickly.

These are five current trends in content marketing and as technology continues to evolve so will these trends. A good marketing expert recognizes the need to stay current and relevant in their content marketing roadmap. We understand what content marketing is, we now know what makes content marketing special and we’ve looked at five trends in content marketing, but next we need to understand the purpose of content marketing. What’s the reason for all this content?

What is the purpose of content marketing?

All this information is great and we’re beginning to see what makes content marketing special and what the current trends look like, but why bother with content marketing? Is there really any value in this form of marketing? What is the purpose for spending all this time creating, curating, and co-authoring content? These are the questions we want to answer next. We’re going to break down the purpose of content marketing into four main sections.

Inform

This is perhaps the most common reason for creating content. Businesses, organizations, and individuals want to inform others about something. It may be a new feature that’s been released, a new service being offered, or a new product that’s been created. Everyone wants to tell the world when they’ve done something new. They want to inform their audience about their “great new accomplishment”. Unfortunately while this is the most common reason for content creation this should probably be the least used type of content marketing. Let’s look at why we believe this. This informative purpose of content marketing is focused usually on the business creating the content not the audience. A content marketing plan which focuses on the business rather than the audience will fail. There’s nothing inherently wrong with using content marketing for the purpose to inform; but use it sparingly.

“Marketing used to be about making a myth and telling it. Now it’s about telling a truth and sharing it.“
– Marc Mathieu, Global SVP of Marketing at Unilever

Educate

This second reason for creating content is closely tied to the first but should not be confused with it. Using content marketing to educate your audience is an important aspect of a good marketing strategy. Educating your audience does a few things for you. First, educational content demonstrates your expertise and skills in a particular field. This educational content will showcase your abilities, talents, and understanding of a subject. When your audience sees this expertise they will come to trust your judgement and opinions. Second, educational content demonstrates your desire to see your audience become smarter. You are giving them the opportunity to grow and to learn. Think of this as a priceless gift you are offering to your audience, the gift of knowledge. You’re sharing what you know, not just to help them today but to help them every day in the future. This is the practical form of the old saying, “teach a person to fish”. The key differentiating factor between educational content and informational content is who receives the attention.

“Make the prospect a more informed buyer with content.”
– Robert Simon, Four Seasons Hotels

82% of consumers feel more positive about a company after reading custom content.
Demand Metric, 2014

Entertain

You may want to create content simply for the purpose of entertainment. There is absolutely nothing wrong with entertaining your audience, and in many cases this is a welcome break from education and information content purposes. Great content marketing plans take this into consideration and plan strategic content whose sole purpose is to entertain the audience. Everyone likes a good laugh now and then. Whether this occurs as part of a presentation or merely as an additional media resource shared during the course of a particular content marketing campaign the results are the same. They show your audience you’re able to be an authoritative source but also have a good time. You can also use content marketing for the purpose of entertaining and demonstrating your ability to laugh at yourself. This takes confidence and security in your own brand image to be done effectively.

Establish

We’re calling this final purpose of content marketing establishing. You want to use content marketing to establish your brand, establish your credibility, and establish your position with search engines. There’s no doubt content marketing does all of these things. Establishing your brand through word-of-mouth and off-site references is a primary purpose of content marketing. Everyone wants to be the first result in Google. Everyone. The best way to increase your search engine rankings (SERPs) is through high-quality, consistent, authoritative content. Establishment is a key purpose of content marketing. This is the purpose we addressed in our initial question – the value of organic search. Content marketing is the most powerful way to improve your organic search results.

But content marketing has some very real negatives. If content marketing were easy then everyone would do it and do it great. Instead, as we mentioned in the initial part of our guide, content marketing is not a tricky concept to understand, but a difficult task to complete. Let’s look quickly at a few of the negative aspects of content marketing.

What are the negatives of content marketing?

When we examined the definition of content marketing we mentioned that the definition was easy to understand but the task of implementing successful content marketing strategies was difficult. There are several reasons for this difficulty and we’ll look at each of them and how to best handle them.

“Content Marketing is a commitment, not a campaign.“
– Jon Buscall, Head of Jontus Media

1. Content Marketing is time-consuming.

Anyone that tries to tell you that the art of crafting original content is quick and easy is telling you a lie. High-quality content, the type of content that will improve your search engine ranking, establish your brand, and educate your audience takes time and attention to detail. Creating original content requires thought and research, a careful approach to statistics and other third-party resources. Curating quality content takes time to read, evaluate, judge, polish, and frame before sharing with your audience. Co-authoring content requires time spent locating and requesting the time and energy of quality writers. All of these aspects take time. Then consider the time taken to create additional resources and media strategies for each of those content pieces. All in all content marketing is time-consuming. Because of this time requirement many simply do not engage in content marketing. They may understand the value of content marketing; but they don’t truly value it enough to dedicate the resources necessary.

Coca-Cola spends more money creating its own content than it does on television advertising, according to Columbia Journalism Review.
Contently, 2014

Red Bull reportedly employs approximately 135 people just for its media house.
Contently, 2014

When large corporations demonstrate their belief in the importance of content marketing this should be a clear indicator to everyone else. Don’t underestimate the importance or value of great content marketing. Spend the time. Content marketing is worth the investment:

Per dollar spent, content marketing generates more than three times the number of leads than paid search does.
Kapost/Eloqua, 2012

2. Content Marketing is tricky

The second difficulty many face in content marketing implementation is the trickiness of doing content marketing “right”. What do we mean by doing content marketing right? Everyone can create content. Many do not create quality content. Your content marketing platform should not be a mass posting tool stuffed with your identified keywords. Bad content marketing means trying to beat the system by mass posting hundreds or thousands of articles in an attempt to rank higher in search engines. This may help you gain a few positions in the short-term but ultimately will bring about your demise. You may think you can beat Google and other search engines. This should not be your goal. Remember, you want high quality content that accomplishes the purposes mentioned earlier. You want to inform, educate, entertain, and establish your brand and your business.

This is why some consider content marketing tricky. What is right and what is wrong? What’s considered best practice? These are the types of questions you might be inclined to ask. But if you will remember what makes content marketing special, what the purpose of your content marketing is, and what the current trends are you will find yourself naturally creating the right kind of content. Content marketing does not have to be tricky, it simply takes a little common sense.

3. Content Marketing is tempting

We touched a little bit on a tempting aspect of content marketing in the previous point. Massive amounts of articles full of relevant keywords with an immediate boost in your search engine optimization sure sounds appealing. But this thinking is a trap. Remember what our parents always told us growing up, if something is too good to be true…it probably is. Don’t be tempted to spend your time looking for a magic cure, a hidden secret to content marketing that no one else has uncovered. Instead create a marketing plan that accomplishes your goals and follows the right steps. Don’t be tempted by shortcuts that can lead to disaster.

There’s no denying these are some negative aspects of content marketing. If you are aware of the potential pitfalls you’ll be able to avoid them. Your content can be your strongest asset; be diligent to avoid these negatives.

How do you use marketing automation with content marketing?

Next we turn our attention to how you can improve your content marketing platform and content tools. Just because you need to be creating all this content yourself does not mean there are not ways to make your life easier. Content marketing automation tools are still highly useful and have a big part to play in your content marketing platform. Here are three ways you can use marketing automation with content marketing.

1. Scheduling content

Marketing automation (MA) platforms are a great way to help you schedule your content marketing plan. Every good marketing automation tool provides campaign creation. These campaigns allow you to organize your content and outreach efforts along a timeline or based on the decisions of your leads. When your target audience and potential leads reach different stages of your campaign you want to provide them with different content. With marketing automation your content can be recycled, re-shared uniquely with each lead at just the right time. Content marketing automation is a real thing. Marketing automation platforms that focus on the power of content marketing do exist and they provide fantastic tools for scheduling content, engaging leads, and converting leads to sales.

2. Share content

Beyond scheduling your content marketing automation can also help you share your content. MA platforms also give you the ability to engage your social media channels with your content. Creating great content is only the first step. Sharing your awesomeness with the world is the second piece of the puzzle. Amazing content marketing does more than just create content. Marketing automation software is a great way to take your content and spread it. You can schedule posts (see the first point above) to automatically be shared to your social networks.

Sharing content can take two forms. One is the active sharing where you engage your audience by broadcasting your content out on your brand social channels. This is the most common and most marketing automation software will let you do this in one form or another. The second way you can share your content is what we’ll call passive sharing. This means providing your readers the opportunity to share your content without actively pushing it in front of them. Most of the time this takes the form of social share buttons on your content pages. Marketing automation can also help with this by tracking and aggregating the value of these social buttons, where they perform best, and how to improve overall page structure to increase this social sharing and ultimately conversions. Think A/B testing at this point, if you have questions about A/B testing we’d recommend reviewing this quick 60 second video.

3. Save Time

The third way that your marketing automation and content marketing work together is by saving you time. The core purpose of marketing automation involves saving time by helping perform repetitive tasks. While your content marketing must be crafted with care and it requires time to create there are still ways you can save time. Think about all the extra things you do when creating your content marketing plan. Think specifically about those things you do repetitively. Are you spending time contacting your audience via email with every new piece of content? Marketing automation helps you keep in touch automatically (and personally) with your leads. Implementing marketing automation with content marketing creates a powerful one-two punch to delivery and execution of your content strategies.

As we continue in our guide to content marketing and how to get started we now reach a point where we need to stop and evaluate how our content strategies are working. We want to track the outcomes of our content marketing and measure our performance.

How do you measure the results of content marketing?

You’re well on your way to creating killer content. You’ve setup a content marketing strategy and you’re identifying which content marketing trends you want to focus on. You’ve written your first couple articles, or created a Slideshare or two, and you’re stuck on what to do next. Maybe you’ve even implement marketing automation software already. Now you need to start looking at how you measure the results of your work. Here are three common ways you can measure the effectiveness and overall opportunity associated with your content marketing.

1. Conversions

It almost goes without saying that the first way you should measure your conversions. Your content marketing is helping to establish your brand and your search results presence. One of the key ways to measure if you are successful in doing this involves how many conversions you see as a result of your efforts. Let’s talk about conversions for a minute. Conversions can be several different things. Conversions might be form submissions, they might be product purchases, they might be phone calls, they might simply be length of time your visitors spend on your website. There are many different types of conversions. These will be unique to your business, industry or vertical market. Your job as a content marketing expert is to identify what conversions are most desirable for you.

Here again your marketing automation software can help you and make your job easier. MA software can be used to generate reports based on metrics you define. These relate directly to your conversions details. Never worry about manually creating a report to see how effective your marketing efforts are. Marketing software makes this data always available and always up-to-date.

2. Social Engagement

Social media impact is the second way to measure how well your content marketing is performing. Keep in mind you are sharing unique and original content with the purpose of informing, educating and entertaining. Your social engagements will reflect how effective your content is. If you see tweets and re-tweets, shares and re-shares of your articles then you can quickly see which pieces of content are most engaging and receiving the best response. Don’t be hasty to attribute a low social volume with bad content, but do recognize good content is shared.

“Behind every tweet, share and purchase, there is a person. Care more about the person and less about the share.“
– Shafqat Islam, CEO and Co-Founder at NewsCred

3. Traffic Improvements

Lastly strong content marketing can be easily measured by the improvement and increase in your site traffic. When your content marketing is effective your search engine rankings will increase. You will be able to see which keywords you are ranking well using and make continued improvements as you go. There are many great tools to help you monitor the results of your content marketing. Here are a few

Google Webmaster Tools

Google Webmaster Tools helps you track your website as they appear and relate specifically to Google web searches. You can upload your sitemaps, view impressions, clicks, and rankings of your website as Google sees it.

Keyword Spy

Keyword Spy helps you quickly see the organic and pay-per-click keywords of your website and your competitors. You can dig into the statistics behind any site available. Their free version offers a limited number of results. Plans begin at $89/month.

SpyFu

SpyFu is very similar to Keyword Spy but has beautiful charts and graphs and a powerful comparison feature to allow you to see how your site ranks against your competitors. They offer a free version with limited results. Plans begin at $79/month.

SEMRush

SEMRush is possibly the most popular of the tools listed here when asking content marketers what they prefer to use. SEMRush offers many of the same features you’ll find in SpyFu or KeywordSpy. They offer a free version with limited results. Plans begin at $69/month.

Of course there are many more, these are merely a few that can help you keep an eye on your traffic and more importantly your keywords. You can monitor your own content and determine if you are effectively targeting the keywords you have identified as important to your target audience and you can also examine your top competitors and see which keywords they rank well for also. There’s nothing wrong with being aware of what others are doing. This can also help you realize other potential keywords you should focus on with your global content marketing plan.

Whew!

Lots of great information and hopefully you feel like you have a great overall understanding of content marketing, the purpose, trends, benefits, pitfalls, tools and ways to measure success as you build a content marketing strategy for your business. We will follow up in a future article (shorter) with a quick six step guide to getting started with content marketing. You can be incredibly successful with content marketing and implementing a marketing automation platform in your content marketing plan will give you a definite edge. If you have questions or comments on anything above feel free to share! We’d love to hear you thoughts on current content marketing trends as well as maybe what you see as the single biggest problem people face implementing content marketing.

Be sure to also check out Mautic for your marketing automation software. Mautic is free marketing software you can download and install as easy as WordPress or you can run a free hosted version if you prefer. Mautic gives you the edge you need at a price you can afford because every business matters, regardless of size.

Welcome to the world of B2B marketing, where businesses collaborate and thrive together. B2B marketing refers to businesses’ strategies and activities to sell their products or services to other businesses, rather than individual consumers. 

It’s a dynamic and complex field that demands a deep understanding of the target audience, industry trends, and effective communication. Did you know that the business-to-business e-commerce market is projected to reach $10.6 trillion by 2027? This statistic highlights the immense growth potential and lucrative opportunities in the B2B realm.

In B2B marketing, success lies in crafting compelling value propositions, establishing strong relationships, and delivering exceptional customer experiences. Businesses can effectively reach their B2B customers and drive sustainable growth by leveraging data-driven insights, market research, and targeted messaging.

Join us on this enlightening journey as we explore the key strategies, emerging trends, and best practices that fuel success in B2B marketing. Get ready to unlock the secrets of this captivating domain and propel your business to new heights. Let’s dive in.

Definition Of B2B Marketing

B2B marketing, or business-to-business marketing, promotes and sells products or services from one business to another. Unlike B2C (business-to-consumer) marketing, which targets individual consumers, B2B marketing focuses on businesses’ and organizations’ needs, challenges, and preferences. 

Many B2B marketers create content that is directly relevant to the viewer. Moreover, some other marketers also focus on sales and marketing.

The goal of B2B marketing is to establish strong relationships, generate leads, and drive sales in a business environment. It involves targeted advertising, lead generation, content marketing, and networking. 

B2B marketers aim to showcase their offerings’ value, expertise, and benefits to businesses, fostering trust and building long-term partnerships that lead to mutual growth and success.

Key Aspects Of B2B Marketing

Here are the key aspects of B2B marketing:

Larger Deal Sizes: Nurturing High-Value Accounts

In B2B marketing, deal sizes are substantially larger than their B2C counterparts. Marketers must recognize the significance of these higher purchase prices, as they lead to fewer sales but significantly higher individual price points. 

This unique dynamic requires a specialized approach that nurtures relationships with potential clients. By focusing on building trust and showcasing the value proposition tailored to their specific needs, marketers can establish a strong foundation for successful B2B sales.

Extended Sales Process: Patience is Key

One of the defining characteristics of B2B marketing is the longer sales process it entails. The higher purchase prices naturally lead to increased hesitation from potential buyers. As a result, each B2B account requires careful and strategic nurturing throughout the sales journey. 

This process involves multiple touchpoints, extensive communication, and an emphasis on building relationships that span weeks or months. 

Unlike the rapid transactions seen in B2C, B2B marketing demands patience and persistence to guide prospects toward a successful sale.

35% of B2B organizations expect online sales to increase in the next year. — Finances Online

Building Partnerships and Cultivating Brand Loyalty

B2B marketing goes beyond simple transactions: it fosters long-term relationships and nurtures business partnerships. The extended sales process and higher-value purchases create ongoing communication and collaboration opportunities. 

Successful B2B marketers focus on closing the initial sale and maintaining continuous engagement with their clients. For this, you must have the most interactive and easy-to-navigate website possible.

A web developer can be a lifesaver in such cases. You can use the top sites to hire developers and build brand loyalty like never before.

Businesses can cultivate strong brand loyalty by consistently delivering value, addressing their evolving needs, and providing exceptional customer experiences. This loyalty ensures repeat business and opens new opportunities within the B2B ecosystem.

80% of B2B and B2C marketers use Google Ads to launch advertising campaigns. — Ironpaper

Committee-Based Decision Making: Navigating the Complexities

Unlike the individual decision-making process often observed in B2C purchases, B2B transactions involve a committee or group of key decision-makers. 

Each committee member represents a distinct interest or department within the purchasing organization. The involvement of multiple stakeholders introduces complexity and elongates the sales cycle. 
B2B marketers must navigate these intricate dynamics by tailoring their nurturing process to engage with various departments, aligning their messaging with different goals and priorities. 

By understanding the nuances of committee-based decision-making, marketers can effectively influence each stakeholder and pave the way for successful B2B sales.

Transferring B2B Insights to Other Marketing Efforts

While we have delved into the key aspects of B2B marketing, it is important to note that these insights can also be applied to other marketing efforts. 

The strategies of nurturing high-value accounts, fostering partnerships, and understanding complex decision-making processes have overlapped with various marketing formats. 

By leveraging the knowledge gained from B2B marketing, marketers can enhance their overall marketing campaigns and adapt these strategies to other contexts, thereby driving success in a broader spectrum of marketing endeavors.

95% of B2B companies have a dedicated budget for content production. — Thrive my way

Implementing Successful B2B Marketing

The Reign of Content Creation in B2B Marketing

In B2B marketing, content creation is pivotal in establishing a strong marketing strategy. With the ever-growing significance of content across various marketing domains, it is essential to prioritize creating fresh, informative, and shareable content. 

71% of the B2B marketers surveyed say content marketing has become more important to their organization in the last year. — Content Marketing Institute

To measure the effectiveness of content marketing in B2B strategies, nine key goals are commonly used, including lead generation, brand awareness, and customer engagement. 

It is crucial to recognize that B2B marketers prioritize multiple goals above the actual sale, highlighting the multifaceted nature of B2B marketing beyond immediate transactions.

It is also important regarding content is which medium is being used. For example, if you are running a small B2B business, you can distribute the same content through different mediums, like paper, board, digital signages and so many more. But you have to look at the statistics of which medium has maximum benefits for your business. 

As per latest statistics, displaying content through digital signage or digital displays in public places reaches a broader audience compared to traditional mediums like billboards or posters.

The Power of Account-Based Marketing in B2B Strategies

Account-Based Marketing (ABM) has emerged as a highly effective approach for B2B marketers to target and engage key accounts. For account-based marketing, LinkedIn is a heaven.

By focusing on personalized and tailored marketing efforts towards specific accounts, Account-Based Marketing allows businesses to align their marketing and sales efforts, increase conversion rates, and drive revenue growth. 

Personalization is crucial in B2B marketing, with 80% of B2B buyers expecting personalized experiences. — Emarketer

This strategy will delve into the concept of ABM, its benefits, best practices, and how it can be integrated into B2B digital marketing strategies.

As we earlier discussed, distribution matters a lot when it comes to marketing, so when it comes to B2B marketing, explore all the possible options – like exploring industry publications, engaging on LinkedIn, utilizing email newsletters, hosting webinars, and leveraging electronic display systems to reach your target audience effectively.

Leveraging Social Media for B2B Success

Social media has become indispensable to any comprehensive marketing campaign, and B2B marketing is no exception. Social networks offer a unique platform for engaging directly with decision-makers in businesses. 

Recognizing that B2B purchases often involve a committee-based decision-making process, B2B marketers must engage with each committee member individually on social media platforms. 

Research by Harvard Business Review found that companies with strong omnichannel customer engagement strategies retain an average of 89% of their customers.

Social media allows for brand engagement, fostering relationships between buyers and sellers. B2B marketers must utilize social media strategically, focusing on consistent engagement and responsiveness and offering valuable advice beyond direct sales-related content. 

Businesses can establish trust, increase website visits, and enhance their overall B2B social media marketing effectiveness by actively participating in conversations and showing interest in various topics.

Constructing Effective B2B Campaigns

B2B marketing campaigns require a unique approach due to the longer sales process, the emphasis on relationship building, and the importance of brand loyalty. It is crucial to structure B2B campaigns with a longer timeline than traditional B2C campaigns. 

While B2C campaigns may span a few weeks, B2B campaigns should extend over a minimum of four weeks to accommodate the complexities of the sales process. Marketing automation platforms are vital in facilitating effective B2B campaigns by enabling automated drip flow campaigns. 

These campaigns help identify new leads and maintain relationships with existing customers over an extended period. The growing adoption of marketing automation in B2B organizations demonstrates its value in nurturing leads and generating qualified leads. 

While marketing automation platforms offer significant advantages, campaign construction can be accomplished using various tools and methods. The key is prioritizing nurturing leads and establishing a strong relationship over time.

Cultivating Partnerships for B2B Success

Building partnerships is a central focus in B2B marketing. B2B marketers should seek to foster brand loyalty and develop long-term relationships with clients. 
Marketing automation tools play a critical role in this process, enabling targeted marketing to new leads while continuing to nurture existing customer relationships. 

These tools provide comprehensive features such as lead scoring, email campaigns, and personalized content delivery. 

They streamline workflows, saving time and resources. With their advanced analytics, businesses can track engagement, measure ROI, and optimize marketing strategies. Ultimately, marketing automation tools empower organizations to drive growth and deliver exceptional customer experiences.

Trust is a fundamental aspect of B2B partnerships, as larger purchase prices require businesses to believe in the quality and reliability of the products or services. Providing exceptional support and going above and beyond to meet customer needs is crucial for building brand loyalty. 

Proactive support involves actively listening to customer feedback, not only through direct engagements but also on social media platforms. 

Establishing a strong sense of quality and demonstrating a commitment to customer success are essential for cultivating lasting partnerships in the B2B.

Leveraging Digital Signage for Enhanced B2B Marketing Impact

Digital signage has become an increasingly popular and impactful tool in B2B marketing strategies. You can maximize the benefits of using digital signage to engage B2B audiences, deliver targeted messages, and enhance brand visibility with any provider. 

It helps with various digital menu board applications in B2B, such as trade shows, conferences, corporate events, and retail environments. 

Additionally, it would help in the technological advancements in digital signage, including interactive displays, personalized content, and real-time data integration, highlighting how these features can create immersive and memorable experiences for B2B prospects and customers.

Optimizing the Purchase Process in B2B Marketing

The B2B purchase process is significantly different from other marketing verticals. B2B customers often progress through a substantial portion of the purchase decision process before directly contacting a business. 

This emphasizes the importance of well-structured content, social media impact, and campaign funnels that support and guide potential leads throughout their decision-making journey. 

B2B email marketing has an average open rate of around 15% and a click-through rate of approximately 3%.

Marketing automation and other tools are instrumental in managing and nurturing leads efficiently, ensuring minimal personal time is spent until leads reach a qualified status. However, personal contact remains valuable and can be seamlessly integrated into automated marketing efforts. 

Once leads convert into customers, B2B marketers should not overlook the potential for future purchases. Fostering long-term relationships and prioritizing customer lifetime value are key to sustained success in B2B marketing.

Harnessing Data and Analytics for B2B Marketing Success

Data and analytics are crucial in B2B marketing, enabling businesses to gain valuable insights, make informed decisions, and optimize marketing strategies. 

This strategy would explore the importance of data-driven marketing in B2B, including customer segmentation, predictive analytics, measuring marketing ROI, and leveraging AI-powered tools for data analysis. 

It would emphasize the significance of data-driven decision-making in achieving B2B marketing success. According to a study by Demand Gen Report, 77% of B2B buyers claim that their most recent purchase was “very complex” or “difficult”. 

Therefore, data and analytics for B2B marketing help you enhance the buyer’s overall experience.

The Role of Influencer Marketing in B2B Strategies

While often associated with B2C marketing, influencer marketing can also be a powerful tool in B2B strategies. This strategy will focus on the rise of influencer marketing in B2B, the types of influencers that resonate with B2B audiences, and how to effectively leverage influencer partnerships to increase brand visibility, credibility, and lead generation. 

It would also highlight the importance of finding influencers who align with the target B2B audience and provide valuable industry insights.

The Rise of Video Marketing in B2B Strategies: Captivating, Engaging, and Converting

Video marketing has gained significant traction in B2B strategies, as it provides a highly engaging and persuasive medium to communicate complex information, showcase products or services, and establish thought leadership. 

The video marketing sector in B2B is booming in 2023. Video marketing helps keep people engaged on your website for longer. Here’s an illustration from the Sagefrog Report to show you how far it has gone.

This strategy will explore the growing importance of video content in B2B marketing, discussing the benefits of incorporating videos into landing pages, email campaigns, social media, and sales presentations. 

It would also touch upon the different types of videos that resonate with B2B audiences, such as explainer videos, customer testimonials, product demos, and webinars. Furthermore, it would provide insights into video production techniques, distribution channels, and metrics for measuring video marketing success in the B2B space.

Takeaway

Business-to-business marketing is different from other types of marketing. There are several unique characteristics which can present a challenge to marketers looking to shift their focus to B2B marketing. 

In B2B marketing, the target audience is composed of businesses, not individual consumers. It involves longer sales cycles, complex decision-making processes, and a focus on building strong professional relationships. 

However, once you recognize these characteristics and begin to implement the different tactics above in your B2B marketing you’ll find you are well-equipped to be an excellent B2B marketer.

By leveraging these tactics, such as account-based marketing and lead nurturing, B2B marketers can effectively navigate the unique challenges, build trust, generate quality leads, and achieve long-term success in the competitive B2B landscape.

Nikita Sherbina is a writer, marketing consultant, and co-founder at AIScreen, with over 10 years of experience in digital marketing. You can follow him on LinkedIn and explore more marketing tips on AIScreen’s blog.

DB Hurley is the founder of DBH Ventures and a co-founder of Mautic, who describes himself as hyper-focused on enabling the future of technology. You can follow him on LinkedIn and Twitter to explore more of his content.

If you’re looking for a marketing automation tool which can support and grow your B2B marketing efforts we recommend you take a quick look at Mautic, which provides cutting-edge features, an intuitive interface and a solid platform to help you turn suggested marketing tactics into actionable campaigns, informative landing pages, and ongoing email marketing.

The Weekend Work Dilemma

Some jobs require you to work on the weekend. We get that. Some jobs have weekend shifts. But there are some jobs where you’ve been working like a frantic person all week, you’ve met yourself coming and going more than once, and here you are, on a Saturday, still working. If you fall into that last category, well, we think you’ve got a problem. Wait! Don’t leave. We also think we have a solution!

Email Overload

How many emails do you write in a week? How many of those are first points of contact, or follow-up emails to just touch base with various people? We wrote early this week about email marketing and how you can use marketing automation to help you. If you find yourself agreeing with this article then definitely go read that post. We also shared some really cool stats about email on our social media channels throughout the week.

Do you know the ROI on email marketing? Yeah it’s big. #mautic #emailmarketing #mauticmarketing pic.twitter.com/5TF9sJs9ct

— Mautic (@mautic) June 3, 2015

Some decisions are easier than others. Are you spending more than you should? #emailmarketing #mautic pic.twitter.com/H5dE6JPGW7

— Mautic (@mautic) June 4, 2015

If you missed them, well, you probably did because you were too busy writing yet another email. We’re not saying email is unimportant. Just the opposite. But we think you’re working too hard. We think if you took just a few minutes to setup some automated emails you would find yourself with more time. More time during the work week to get everything done. More time to spend doing what you should be doing on the weekend.

Improve Your Time

Marketing automation can sound like a daunting task. Email marketing even sounds a bit tricky. But if you stop and take it one little piece at a time you’ll soon find you’re more efficient than ever. That’s what Mautic is all about! Helping you become more efficient so you can spend your work time doing what you could be doing. And your weekend time doing what you want to be doing.

Obligatory Cat Picture

Working weekend? We get it. We wish you the best in getting it done! And we hope you’ll take a look at Mautic and maybe find a better way. We’d like to leave you with an example of how you can escape your weekend work: Here’s one way!

Reclaim your weekend!