B2B Vs. B2C
Content marketing is a strategy used by marketers to acquire new leads and drive sales.
You’ve seen countless types of content shared across the internet, and it’s no surprise that some content engages audiences better than others. Most of the time we probably think of content marketing as a tactic for B2C business, but 92% of B2B markets are using content marketing compared to 86% of B2C marketers.
What’s The Difference?
To use content marketing successfully, there are three questions you want to answer first: Who is your target audience? What is motivating your audience as consumers? Where is your audience located?
B2C consumers are more likely to use their emotions to make decisions, meaning marketers use content as a means to connect with customers on a personal, “more human” level.
Although B2C content marketing should primarily promote sales and increase leads, marketers can have fun establishing a unique brand and entertaining viewers.
B2B consumers are driven in a different way, often looking to leading industry experts for guidance and assistance. Where B2C might tug at emotions to connect with a lead, B2B marketers want to focus on facts. B2B consumers want to work with trusted and respected professionals so marketers should aim to drive leads and sales by promoting their renown and professionalism.
Brands Who Nail B2B Content Marketing
It might seem like B2C marketers get to have all the fun, but there are many B2B companies that use content marketing in new and exciting ways while still providing relevant and valuable information to their viewers.
We get the feeling that video marketing will be big in 2019. Upwork recently released an entertaining campaign featuring creative animations, bright colors, and a saucy sense of humor. What started out as short animated videos led to more digital and print advertisements and content. Releasing content with this type of humor can be a bit risky for some brands, but in this case, Upwork was able to attract a greater audience through pop culture references and having some fun with their content.
2. Charles Schwab: Own Your Tomorrow
As a financial services firm, you might not expect an emotional video series campaign, but B2B marketing focuses on brand recognition first; once your company has a reputation as an industry leader, you can begin to branch out in media. As a well-known firm, Charles Schwab can emphasize their humanity as service providers through campaigns like this.
3. Greenpeace: Don’t Suck the Life from Our Oceans
These powerful ads manage to deliver a profound message using a single image and a short tag line. The right imagery and a few choice words can tell the viewer everything you want them to know without clogging your post with explanations. Campaigns such as this work on most platforms as well, making it easy to fit into your social media marketing strategy.
4. Zendesk: Zendesk Alternative
When your target audience is looking into your services, they’re probably also checking out your competition. This customer support software company embraced their audience searching for a “Zendesk alternative” and decided to co-opt the term and make the best of it. The website features a video interviewing the “band” and links to their social media pages. Now whenever someone tries to look for Zendesk’s direct competitors, they are top ranked.
5. Hootsuite: Game of Social Thrones
This masterfully animated video works in pop culture while advertising services. Incorporating pop culture can make or break a campaign and should be done carefully; while it could be a huge hit, it could also come off as trying too hard to be “hip.” If you do choose to go down the pop culture route, make sure you fully understand what you’re referencing and how it is relevant to your message. You don’t want a DiGiorno #WhyIStayed situation on your hands.
Content marketing can be just as effective for B2B as it is for B2C. Stay relevant, provide value, get creative, and focus efforts on engaging your target audience and you too can create a memorable content marketing campaign whether you’re marketing to businesses, customers, or both!
Thanks for reading,
Christine
