Why Content Marketing is Important for B2B Software and Tech Marketers

When thinking about B2B marketing, it can be easy to forget that you’re communicating with the same people that use Google (or other search engines) to discover news on a given topic, check the score of their favorite team’s game, find the lyrics to a song, or locate the nearest location of a specific store.

The list goes on and on, but the point is, B2B buyers are online and looking for information on products or services much like any other consumer.

Then, factor in that less than 20 percent of businesses consider legacy relationships a factor when purchasing an enterprise software solution digitally, and the writing is on the wall.

B2B software and technology marketers need to make sure their brand’s products or services are visible online – and this all begins with a strong content marketing strategy.

In this post, we will take a closer look at how content marketing efforts can help B2B software and technology organizations:

• Showcase Intricate Products or Services in a Digestible Manner
• Target Specific Segments of the Audience
• Achieve Search Engine Visibility for Many Keyword Targets
• Capture and Generate High-Quality Leads

Showcase Intricate Products or Services in a Digestible Manner

Here at KoMarketing, as we begin getting integrated into a software and/or technology client’s marketing program, we very often (and quickly) notice they have very little website content for their core products or services. While product or services pages are certainly a necessity and should be the starting point for all new content marketing programs, the commitment to those pages and associated keywords must blossom into something much larger.

As you think about expanding beyond a sales-heavy product or services page, research to understand exactly what your customers or prospects are searching for. This can be done through the creation of buyer personas (and interviews), interacting with customers via social media, or conducting keyword research that relates to your services.

Once you better understand your audience, you can then begin creating blog posts, infographics, webinars, videos, whitepapers, and much more, which break down the benefits of your products and services in greater (targeted) detail.

Target Specific Segments of the Audience

As a B2B software or technology marketer, you understand the needs of your buyers may vary depending on the size of the organization, industry, location, etc. As a result, you likely have different offerings for a multitude of buyers.

Content marketing opens the door for beginning conversations on a granular level. Forrester reports that 92 percent of B2B purchases start with search, and B2B buyers are demanding personalized experiences. Use content marketing to create collateral that speaks to the specific pain points of a subset of your audience. This will show your organization understands the complexities of today’s business world and that effective solutions need to be customized and scalable.

Achieve Search Engine Visibility for Many Keyword Targets

For this section, we will use a real-world example to see why this is important, and how it can be done. Let’s say your organization’s core focus is on marketing automation. You will likely build your website around “marketing automation” as a core keyword, which is certainly a solid starting point. But, as your content marketing strategy evolves, it’s critical to create content that can be seen (and consumed) by prospects that may be looking for your solution in a more specific manner, or simply using different words or phrases to discover your website.

Take a look at the snapshot below (SEMrush):

As you move down the list, you will quickly notice some other “related” keyword opportunities. For example, nearly 1,000 searches a month are for “what is marketing automation.” If you don’t have content on your site that’s answering this question, you would be missing out on plenty of opportunities to drive brand awareness and open the door to future sales discussions.

If you’d like a detailed explanation of how to create new content based on expanded keyword research, give this post a read.

Capture and Generate High-Quality Leads

At the end of the day, if your organization is going to put dollars and personnel into an effort (like content marketing), you will need it to be bringing in real business opportunities. At the onset of your content marketing program, it will be critical to produce various types of content (blogs, reports, case studies, etc.) to determine what works best with your audience.

As you create assets, think about ways to “pull-in” leads. For example, as you produce free content marketing assets, think about placing other more comprehensive assets behind lead generation forms. Once you have this content, link to it across your website, or simply place it at the bottom of popular pages so the reader can easily navigate there after they consume the content.

Once you understand what’s driving the most qualified leads, you can then refine your tactics and become even more effective.

Final Thoughts

Content marketing is a critical component of an effective business strategy in 2020 and beyond. We hope this post helped to explain the importance of content marketing for B2B software and tech marketers as they determine what channels to emphasize in the near and distant future.

Feel free to connect with me on Twitter to keep this conversation going!

If you’re looking for more information on effective online marketing tactics in the B2B software and technology industry, give this post a read: A Comprehensive List of Link Building Ideas for B2B Software and Technology Marketers