We live in a multi-touchpoint world in which so many different external sources of information compete to influence, educate and entertain us. You name it: Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, video, online articles, website content, podcasts – we are literally bombarded with content daily.
While content marketing is an essential aspect of any modern digital marketing strategy, the key to success lies in creating content that really cuts through all of that noise, content that resonates with your target audience, leaves a lasting impression – and spans the myriad of ways and platforms that people use to consume and curate information.
According to a recent SEMrush survey, 91% of companies achieved some degree of success with their content marketing in 2021, and 71% of the companies surveyed said that success in content marketing had the effect of increasing their budgets. However, only 19% believed their content marketing efforts were ‘very’ successful and 55% said that content marketing strategies needed to focus on improving the quality of content.
Right now, how do you know that your content strategy is working? Is your content being read, can you keep up with demand, is your audience acting upon it and is it driving brand recognition and sales? Or do you feel – like many- that you are in the midst of a content crisis?
Thought-provoking, engaging content forms the backbone of every successful marketing and brand campaign. Whether you want to provoke, persuade, or prompt action, intelligent, well-crafted content can profoundly impact the bottom line.
Strong content helps to build a relationship with your audience and piques their interest so they come back for more. However, we all know that great content takes time and commitment. In an already information-hungry digital landscape, few businesses have the in-house resources to define, develop, and distribute content at the high level needed to power sales momentum and strengthen the company brand.
In the B2B tech world, the buyer journey is often complex and intricate, so it is critical that content plays its part accurately and precisely. From initial customer awareness of your brand, through consideration, evaluation and decision-making, each crucial stage must be supported by engaging information that communicates with confidence.
“Storytelling is one of the most powerful ways to put ideas into the world, but to do this effectively companies need to find their voice and treat their content as a conversation.”
In today’s world of hybrid working, target audiences are shifting, and the way they consume content is changing as a result. The businesses that you are trying to communicate with no longer look the same, with key differences concerning how employees work, their lifestyles, and their use of devices. Additionally, content needs to be original and created with a human element in mind. Especially with a B2B audience, we tend to talk in acronyms and assume knowledge; it is easy to forget the human being on the other side of the screen.
The art to creating great content is to ground it in storytelling. Sometimes reality is just too complex, and stories give your message form. Storytelling is one of the most powerful ways to put ideas into the world, to bring your content to life and engage the reader. But to do this effectively companies need to find their voice and treat their content as a conversation. Successful organisations will also bring variety into their content; so that it is not just one voice telling their story but the voices of many. Think about it – how many times has someone recommended a great book which, when you started to read, you quickly abandoned because you didn’t like the way it was written or rather the style it was written in. Style can be very personal and having the ability to vary your writers and bring in different voices is also key to successful storytelling.
Here at C8, we believe that stories are our primary tools for learning and teaching. Consider how many times a day you use stories to impart data, insights, memories, or just common-sense advice to audiences at work or at home.
As an agency, we are in the unique position of understanding the full breadth of issues facing in-house content marketing campaigns, and have years of experience in generating market-leading narratives that will engage and inspire new leads and sales for B2B brands.