Make your content relatable and actionable

The amount of content on the internet is infinite, and it’s been noted that users rarely read content in-full. If your content doesn’t reach your audience on a personal level, prepare to suffer from a high bounce rate. Content must be relatable and actionable to increase your customers’ attention spans.

First, you will need to find out what resonates with your audience and create a plan to boost it across all of your platforms. Once you’ve done that, you can start developing a plan of action. But what content tactics will engage an audience and encourage them to take the next step?

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1.) Keep it simple

The best way to write content is to understand your readers could range from industry experts to amateurs and anywhere in between. If the piece of content you are creating is overly technical and industry jargon is necessary, make sure and explain it in easy to understand terms.

As we mentioned before, your audience suffers from a short attention span, so write for the skimmer, not the reader! Here’s a few tips:

• Use bullet points to break up long paragraphs
• Focus on clarity over jargon
• Link out important terms to Wikipedia or expert posts to provide more detailed explanations for terms you don’t cover

2.) Tell how to do, not what to do

Writing the “what” is a very on-the-surface content goal. Eventually, you or your reader will desire to delve deeper into the subject. If you want to be seen as a resource, you must discuss the “how” of your topic with your reader:

• Describe your personal processes and tools and explain how you use them to gain a competitive edge
• Give examples from your work and research and how you read the data
• List your resources and share how they helped you improve your knowledge or skill

3.) Include visuals

Showing visuals is one of the easiest and fastest ways to answer your reader’s questions (which appeals the short attention span we keep coming back to). Use graphs, screenshots of tools/buttons/ tabs you used, descriptive images or videos. Anything that will grab attention.

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4.) Answer questions

Since Hummingbird, the web is geared more than ever toward answering users’ questions. During the writing process, think about the queries your audience might have and answer them in a short, to-the-point way. You readers will be happy and Google will be happy. And when Google is happy, you rank higher in search.

5.) Be innovative

Create your content in a wide range of formats and mediums, and be as unique and innovative as possible. Consider your content to be another form of branding yourself. Don’t hide behind your professional website – use innovative content to show users that your brand is personable, relatable, and human!

Want to learn more about how content marketing can improve your digital marketing strategy? Talk to Managing Director, Steve Ballantyne. e: steve@b2bpartners.nz

Or check out our ebook, The Superheroes of Digital Marketing, which features an entire chapter on content marketing alone!

4 “must-haves” of high converting copy

Written by Admin October 22, 2014 content marketing Conversion Rate Optimisation digital marketing marketing strategy

First-class copy is the best way to attract and convert prospects into customers, and customers into repeat buyers. But like so much of conversion optimisation and digital marketing, it is not easy to produce.

That’s why we’ve listed these four absolute essentials of high-converting copy. If you can nail down these characteristics, you’re well on your way to producing some high-converting copy.

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1.) Be clear

The type of content you produce/share is closely related to the product you sell. Users need to understand what your product is, and in order to convey that, you must have clear copy. Clarity is more important that humour, more important than grammatical perfection, more important that anything.

Clarity is about understanding. If users don’t understand your product, they won’t buy your product.

2.) Be casual

We’ve got to break away from stiff and formal writing. Write like you speak! Use simple words and be direct! No one wants to read a landing page that sounds like a university essay. Here’s a few tips to make your writing a little more casual and a lot more engaging:

Break grammatical rules – incomplete sentences, expressions, colloquialisms and slang are A-Okay!
Try dictating your copy rather than writing it. Pretend you are telling a friend about your product.
Refer to the reader as “you”.

3.) Make sure you’ve got a killer headline

On average, five times as many people will read your headline over your body copy, so you had better make it good. A great headline convinces more people to read your copy while a poor one sends them searching somewhere else.

And you don’t have to stop at just one headline. As long as you space them out, size them appropriately and back them up with great content, use as many headlines as you want!

4.) Good copy is easy to scan

Great writers make sure that the content they produce is scannable. It’s not just about breaking things up visually, but rather an entire approach to writing altogether. So, what makes your content scannable?

It has short words.
It used short sentences.
In contains plenty of visuals – they break up your copy and make it more engaging.
It uses bullet points – they’re short, powerful and direct.
It’s utilises “white space” – no walls of texts here!
It contains headlines and subheads.

So you see, it’s just that simple. If you can improve your copy, you can improve you conversions.

What else would you consider to be a “must-have” of high converting copy?

Want to find out more ways to improve your content marketing strategy? Talk to BT Managing Director, Steve Ballantyne. steve@b2bpartners.nz

Or download our ebook, The Superheroes of Digital Marketing, for free!

5 rookie mistakes in content marketing (and how to fix them)

Written by Admin October 8, 2014 content content marketing marketing strategy ROI

Content marketing isn’t hard, but it isn’t exactly easy either. We can’t just blindly whip together some content ideas, throw them into the Internet oven and expect it to come out as a content marketing soufflé. Without proper considerations and strategy, all our hard work is going to collapse in on itself.

Like anything else, content marketing takes continuous trial and error, and a fair few mistakes along the way. So without further ado, here are our “Top 5 Rookie Content Marketing Mistakes” and some quick tips on how to fix them.

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1.) Your content is too branded

Overly branded content looks like a traditional advertisement and thus, will be responded too like a traditional advertisement – like you are trying to sell rather than to engage your audience.

Fix: Form ideas around the overall values and objectives of your company, not the brand itself. Content that is presented in a natural way is far more likely to be well received. This doesn’t mean you must omit any essence of your brand, just be subtle.

2.) You don’t have a strategy

We’ve all been there – devoted time and energy into creating a fantastic piece of content, only to realise…you have no idea what to do with it. To get the most out of your content marketing programme and actually build your brand, engage your prospects and customers and drive sales, you need more than activity. You need a strategy.

Fix: Take the time to understand your audience, develop clear conversion goals and decide what types of content to create. From here, you can develop a content map or matrix for all the possible distribution tactics you can use, and tier them based on content.

3.) You’re not getting your audience involved

Content marketing is not a one-way stream of conversation. Don’t talk at your audience, make it an interactive conversation. It will open doors for new customers.

Fix: Craft content that is interactive – allow audiences to click, explore and participate. Comments and other means of feedback can allow your potential customers to interact with your content and feel more connected to it.

4.) You’ve got the facts, but where’s the emotion?

Content isn’t all about teaching and informing; it’s about connecting and experiencing. Content that is both memorable and impactful taps into the thing that brings us together in real life – emotions that ignite empathy.

Fix: Think of your content as a story. What does the information actually mean to your audience and how can you express that? Let your content evoke an emotional response.

5.) Listen to the data – not your gut

Content marketers who have a comprehensive knowledge of their target audience often create content that they personally think is best without considering any outside sources. One of the most importance sources being data.

Fix: By data, I mean your performance metrics. The ones that tell you which pieces of content are being shared and which ones are being ignored. Rather than to assume what your audience likes, know what they like based on the information you’ve collected.

Content Marketing is a hugely effective method of increasing ROI and overall customer engagement. If you’re making any of the mistakes above, now is the time to improve your process.

Talk to Managing Director, Steve Ballantyne for an audit on your content marketing strategy: steve@b2bpartners.nz

Or you can check out our ebook, The Superheroes of Digital Marketing, which features an entire chapter on content.

Thinking small in content marketing

Written by Admin September 16, 2014 Atomised Content content marketing marketing strategy

This is typical: you expend a lot of energy into a chunky piece of marketing content – then retire it, move on and start working on the next piece. When you do that, not only are you leaving a lot of content value behind, but wasting a real opportunity to get more bang for just a little more work.

“Atomising” is a term coined by Todd Defren in 2008 to mean “sharing content in small bits.”

Breaking your content down into smaller, more consumable pieces is not only more appetising to your already-to-busy customer base, but will feed your business’ content pipeline and increase overall impact.

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We have to disavow ourselves of the natural inclination towards a “bigger is better” mentality, and here’s some excellent reasons why:

5 reasons to atomise your big idea

1. Atomised content is more searchable

Breaking your content up into snack-able portions puts more bait in the water to attract your most important customer – Google. Producing disparate pieces of content gives you the opportunity to highlight a wider number of search terms, cross-link your content and increase your total number of ranked pages.

2. Atomised content is more findable

This is especially true when you repurpose your content and atomise it. Think about it; what will get more exposure for your company? A blog post, or a blog post plus a Slideshare presentation? Every presentation you make should also be able to be found as a blog post. And every blog post you write has untapped potential to become a presentation!

3. Atomised content gets consumed more

In a social media dominated world, where 140 characters equals a fully-formed thought, what is going to get consumed more? A 90-second video or a 25-page ebook? Social media and content marketing trends are shifting toward brevity anda “show me, don’t tell me” mentality.

4. Atomised content gets spread more

The potential for small content to go viral supersedes large content in almost every case. And it’s easy to see why. We are far more likely to recommend or share something that we have actually read. But it’s also a case of simple maths – if you have a fantastic ebook, it’s going to get shared, but if you break that same ebook up into episodic sections, the collective shares for those components will be higher.

5. Atomised content generates more leads

Thinking small in content marketing gives you more opportunities to include CTAs. For instance, a 5-piece series gives you 500% more calls-to-action than one giant volume of work. Additionally, the smaller your content, the fewer words, pictures and other content elements compete against your CTAs, which could provide additional attention and conversions.

The next time you are brainstorming a content execution for your brand, think about how you can take that idea and turn it into two, or four, and so on. That’s thinking small.

Want to find out more about how you can optimise your content marketing strategy? Get in touch. Talk to Marketing Director, Steve Ballantyne: steve@b2bpartners.nz

Visual content marketing: The proof is in the percentages

Written by Admin September 10, 2014 content marketing digital marketing marketing strategy

This year, according to research by eMarketer, it is estimated that some $134.7 billion will be spent on content marketing.

Meanwhile, international market research pro, Mintel, has predicted double digit growth for content marketing in the next five years. With this ever-increasing spend, it’s vital that you are getting the most out of your budget.

You’ve got to give your users what they want. It starts with giving them content that they will actually take the time to consume, and wall-to-wall text, is not the answer. Messages get weighed down and hidden in excessive quantities of text, but images are understood at a glace. So forget your whitepapers, let’s get visual.

Visual content shows your products without telling people about them. Images break through the clutter of online content by communicating ideas quickly, like a snapshot. They also evoke emotional responses. Don’t believe me? Check out the stats below. Our infographic shows how visual content marketing can be advantageous to your brand.

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Visual content marketing is set to dominate 2014. People simply respond better to images, it all comes down to our natural learning style and how we retain information. Have you tested visual content v. written content for your brand yet?

If you want to find out more about how content marketing will work for your business, check out our ebook: The Superheroes of Digital Marketing!

The essentials of content marketing

Written by Admin August 27, 2014 content marketing marketing strategy social marketing

Engaging today’s business buyers is no easy feat. Not only do the messages you send out need to be personalised and relevant to the challenges your audience faces, but the content you produce must be actionable – letting your buyers know what the next step in the process is and where they can go to find more information.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. First, you have to create content that people actually want to read.

Successful marketers produce informative content, personalise it and deliver it to specific leads throughout every phase of the buying cycle. Content needs to not only showcase your expertise, knowledge and thought-leadership, but address the challenges and concerns of your buyers.

The best content will enlighten prospects, facilitate the buying process and lay the foundations for an ongoing conversation.

Produce some eye-catching original content

When you are considering what to feature as your content marketing strategy, remember that your messaging is not limited to articles and whitepapers. Think videos, webinars, microsites, infographics, ebooks and apps. Or set your content apart with a more unique tactic – a video game, movie or cartoon. There’s no end to the ways to interact with your brand; just be clear about who you are creating content for and what purpose it serves.

Curate content to fill the gaps

The average sales cycle for a B2B technology purchase can take up to five months and involve as many as seven people, each of which will be consuming multiple pieces of content during their journey. You probably have a thousand ideas on how to reach each of these buyers, but is your budget going to cover them all?

Curating content isn’t stealing; in fact, it’s a respected social practice. It will help you fill the gaps between original content ideas and will take some of the pressure off your budget. But don’t run the risk of landing yourself in hot water, make sure you credit the source.

Promote your content

Now that you have some brilliantly worded original content and a catalogue of curated content, how do you promote it? How will you get the word out and ensure the right people see it and share it?

There are three promotional techniques to advertise your content: Owned, Earned and Paid.

Owned media is when you leverage a channel you create and control. This could be your company blog, YouTube channel, website and Facebook page. This is your chance to make the most of what you’ve got – but make sure your buyers stay front and center. And think about the devices your buyers use to connect with you – desktop, mobile, tablet? We strongly suggest responsive design to cover all your bases.

Earned media is when customers, press and public share your content and discuss your brand. Every B2B marketer should be involved in the social media that matter to their customers, and the content you produce should be repurposed to suit each channel.

Paid media is when you pay to have third-party channel distribute your message. This includes advertisements, paying for media coverage or distributing press releases on paid sites. The hard part, however, is sifting through the options and keeping track of what is and isn’t working. If you’re buying display advertising, experiment with design and calls-to-action. If it’s pay-per-click (PPC), change up keywords and search terms. Advertising on Facebook or LinkedIn? Target different user interests, groups or job titles. Find out what works for your audience, but bear in mind that people generally put more trust into non-paid channels, so set your expectations accordingly.

Last but not least, make sure your content is easy to find. You could have the most compelling blog, the greatest website and the most informative articles, but it’s all for naught if no one can find it. Keep a consistent look and feel across your content as well; you don’t want your webinar and looking like it came from a completely different company than the ebook!

Over the course of the next few weeks we will be exploring the pertinence of content marketing to any company’s marketing strategy. Check back in each week as we delve deeper into this topic and find out how you can improve your own efforts and strategies.

In the meantime, you can check out our ebook: The Superheroes of B2B Marketing!

The best tactics for your homepage in 2014

Written by Steve March 25, 2014 content marketing Conversion Rate Optimisation SEO

The homepage is a critically important page for many reasons. Oftentimes it is one of (if not the most) trafficked web page that we have on our websites.

Homepages were once the authoritative one-stop-shop for online brands, but over the years, search engines become more adept at understanding what users are looking for and their purpose has become more targeted. Just as the homepage’s purpose has progressed, so too have the wants and expectations of the people viewing them; and as marketers, it’s our job to deliver on those expectations.

To understand how the purpose of the homepage has evolved, we’ll take a look at some of the original ways of developing a homepage and compare them to the practices of 2014.

Give your homepage a singular focus

It used to be that we would promote all of the major sections of our site on the homepage — here’s our product, check out our blog, here’s this new launch point, look at this new thing we’re doing! All of this is great, but they end up competing with each other for attention. And while these methods may have worked for websites of yesteryear, it’s not working in 2014.

Nowadays, we can make each of these different sections easy to find and navigate. This way we can focus our homepages uniquely on the most important information, the most important customers and visitors. Whatever you want to say, communicate it quickly and in a visual-centric way — perhaps a video or some graphics that reinforce your primary message.

From here you can A/B test different variations of your homepage to find out what viewers respond to the best.

Cut back on the keywords

It used to be standard practice to try to cram as many keywords as possible into the homepage. And in the past, this made sense because it would have been your highest PageRank page as well as the page that earned the most links.

These days, Google and other search engines are much more sophisticated and understanding. They know your website is about a lot of different things, not just the one page, and are considerate about a site’s authority in different areas and around keyword terms and phrases. This allows your internal pages to inherit strength and authority from your overall site, which lets you focus on a smaller, more refined subset of keywords on your homepage. Focus on brand-centric keywords and leave the unbranded ones for more specific pages deeper in your site.

Communicate quickly

Back when we were cramming as many keywords into the homepage as humanly possible, we needed walls and walls of text to harbour them.

Since we no longer need to accommodate a generous helping of keywords, you can ditch the lengthy prose and quickly communicate the primary objective of your homepage — your value proposition. Many good homepages use simple text and take a visual-centric approach to help the viewer absorb the information in a swift and interesting way — this could be a video, illustration or graphic, just to name a few.

Don’t stress about the fold

In the past, there was a lot of pressure to keep your important information “above the fold.” But thanks to tablets, smartphones and wider screens, we as website viewers do a lot more scrolling, so really, the concept of keeping everything above the fold is becoming more and more antiquated. Keep some page content at the traditional scroll line, it will keep the experience compelling and draw the eye downwards, encouraging the viewer to keep scrolling and giving visibility to the rest of the information on your homepage.

There is a lot that can be said about homepage development, but these four points cover some very important issues. When writing a homepage, above all focus on clarity and simplicity. Help people understand quickly what the site is about and enable them to find what they are looking for without having to work hard to find it. A well designed and organised homepage will allow your visitors to feel comfortable and confident that they have come to the right place.

If you think your homepage needs some refurbishing, but are unsure where to start, contact our Digital Manager, Veronica Nobbs. She’ll be happy suggest some tips and tricks to get your website running on all cylinders. p: 950 2143

Shorten the B2B sales cycle by leveraging your content

Written by Steve February 4, 2014 content content marketing marketing strategy sales process

If there is one thing that aggravates the modern B2B organisation, it’s the ever-lengthening sales cycle. As the future of your company may very well depend on getting revenue through the door, a sluggish sales course is a growing concern for everyone from CEOs to sales reps.

So first, let’s look at the factors contributing to longer sales cycles:

– Tighter budgets: Overtime, we’ve seen more prudence when buying with inceased emphasis on ROI

– Decision apprehension:Corporate expenses are being analysed more closely, making buyers leery of making a hasty decision

– Increased options: Buyers have almost unlimited opportunity for options, and too much choice can confuse buyers, leading to procrastination

– Poor marketing and selling: If the message isn’t crystal clear and/or the selling process alignment is off, the sale will take longer, if it happens at all

These days, content marketing is the trending topic on every marketer, sales rep and business owner’s mind. We know that propagating fresh, relevant content is essential to a successful digital strategy, but perhaps the most important content marketing benefit is the impact on the sales cycle. A relevant piece of content available to the prospect at the right time in the sales cycle can help accelerate the purchase decision.

Now let’s explore what types of digital content can shorten the B2B sales cycle?

Product brochures and data sheets: Prospects will want to review your product or service literature before making a purchasing decision. It’s possible they’ve already made the emotional decision to buy and are now looking for some confirmation by matching features and functions against their needs. Prospects can also use brochures and data sheets to compare your benefits and features against competitor’s offerings. Whatever the reason, well-organised and complete product and services information can only benefit you.

Company and product reviews: Testimonials and independent reviews will only magnify the impact of your self-written information. These independent commentators provide credibility to your product and brand while alleviating the buyer’s fear of making a bad decision.

Case studies: Case studies are an excellent way to validate your offering and are a great tool to show how a product or service works. This specialised content can have a much greater impact on prospects than a generic product pitch.

“How to” guides: Potential buyers are interested in how they will install your product and use it on an ongoing basis. Assuming your product is not over complicated, providing this information will ease buyer reservation and motivate them to act quickly.

Order forms: The ultimate way to shorten the sales cycle, order forms compel the prospect to take action now. Even if you offer an expensive or complex product, order forms can be used to generate a minor close — perhaps a free trial offer, where you ask for a small commitment upfront, followed by a larger commitment later.

Website information: Think of your website as the Nerve Centre. All of the categories mentioned above should be accessible via your website. Your website is where you are going to be able to educate, motivate and convert prospects into customers.

Price List: B2B companies commonly make the mistake of not listing their prices online. They hesitate, thinking their prices will drive away prospects and give competitors access to their offers. But if you apply all of the above, the price will be weighed against all of the other benefits of the product or service. Don’t lose out on sales because a prospect doesn’t feel you are being upfront.

When it comes to shortening the B2B sales cycle, there is no right or wrong formula when it comes to content length. Different products, services and brands may need more explanation and information than others. But if you feel that your website is getting a little text-heavy, try presenting some of the aforementioned digital content in non-text formats, such as infographics, audio and/or video. Get the information to your reader in a quick, easily digestible manner with clear links and CTAs.

If you’re not sure you’re worried you’re not quite hitting the proverbial nail on the head when it comes to your content, let us take a look. We can help get your on the right path to more money in your pocket! Email erin@b2bpartners.nz

Is your brand making one of these 5 content marketing mistakes?

Written by Admin November 19, 2013 content content marketing

In a recent blog post, we explored how modern day marketers are evolving their strategies to adopt a more consumer-centric attitude. More and more companies are recognising the need to transition from an “always be selling” mindset to one that focuses on having a story to tell.

In an age where an endless amount of choice is at your fingertips, information is what drives sales. For the past few years, content marketing has been hailed as the future of the industry, and by now most marketers have accepted and embraced the burgeoning tool. But as with any (relatively) fledgling discipline, brands are bound to have some missteps along the way. Even the most agile of companies can trip over themselves from time to time, so it’s high time we explore some of the most common challenges content marketers face today.

1. Throw it Out and See if it Sticks

If your brand’s plan for content marketing is “produce content,” then you don’t really have a plan. Launching new content with no clear direction is a ready-fire-aim approach and there’s a good chance you won’t be providing your readers with anything of value. Yes, your brand’s content marketing goals will likely change over time, but before you set out, you should be able to at least answer the following questions:

– Who is my audience and what are their questions? How can I provide valuable leadership with my own content?

– What are my brand’s short term goals for content marketing? Long term?

– What types of content are my competitors producing and what can I learn from them?

2. Content is not Shareable

You want your content to reach as many eyes as possible, but unfortunately no one is going to share if it’s too difficult for them. Every piece of content should have clear, well-placed buttons that allow your readers to share your content with members of their own communities and close circles. To maximise your share-ability, try to include the big three: Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

3. Content Doesn’t Encourage Deeper Engagement

The whole point of content marketing is to connect with your existing and potential customers while establishing yourself as a reliable resource. Encouraging your readers to connect can help form dynamic, long-lasting relationships and brand advocacy. Stimulate engagement by:

– Asking viewers to comment or ask questions

– Offer suggestions for related material

4. Results are not Being Measured

In the beginning, the process of developing good content will be a bit of a matter trial and error. Unfortunately, not all content is created equal, and more importantly, not all content will work for every type of brand. Experiment a little at first but once you’ve got a good base, pay attention to what is working and what isn’t. With each post, your company should be able to measure:

– What is getting the most clicks

– How prospects are finding your content

– How long are prospects staying on your site and looking at additional content

5. No Call to Action

While the primary goal of content marketing is to drive brand awareness by providing existing and potential customers with useful, easy to understand information, it doesn’t mean that we have to avoid salesmanship entirely. Linking your content to a product or service can very beneficial:

– Offers a solution to a customer’s needs or questions

– Establishes your brand’s expertise

– Removes an unnecessary step in the purchase cycle

– Eliminates the need for your readers to look elsewhere for a product or service you offer

Content marketing strategies are unique for each and every brand. If you haven’t gotten started yet, or aren’t sure how to measure whether or not your current strategy is working to the best of its ability, flick our Digital Manager an email. She’ll get your content where it needs to be.

Veronica Nobbs: veronica@b2bpartners.nz

About Veronica:

Veronica has packed years of experience into her youthful career. A NZ digital innovator, she held the role of Digital Analyst for Jason’s Travel before launching her own last-minute hotel stay app. Veronica is Google Adwords Certified and is a specialist in CRO, SEO and SEM and can call on her analytical and marketing skills at warp speed.

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