B2B content marketing is the opposite of B2C, which is not for everybody. This blog explains all the distinctions between B2B and B2C content marketing. In this session, we will also cover B2B industry content marketing obstacles. From consistently writing great content to tracking ROIs, we will be discussing the most common content marketing pain points and how to get around them. Whether you’re a veteran marketer or just starting out, this blog has quick tricks to optimise your B2B content strategy. Now get into it and up your B2B content marketing ante.

Businesses need B2B content marketing to gain authority, acquire leads, and grow. Where B2C content marketing caters to individual consumers, B2B content marketing caters to the special requirements and concerns of other businesses.

The Content Marketing Institute has found that 84% of B2B marketers saw brand awareness increase, 76% increased lead generation, and 58% more sales through content marketing. That’s why B2B content marketing works, and it’s gaining traction in the market.

But there are also some peculiarities with B2B content marketing. Marketing has a lot to deal with, right from coming up with interesting content for complicated products to getting ROI right.

Let’s see in this blog the difference between B2B and B2C content marketing. Next, we’ll get into 10 B2B marketers most common struggles. We’ll also equip you with how-to tips to help navigate around these barriers, so you can develop good B2B content plans and create business impact.

B2B Content Marketing vs. B2C Content Marketing: What Is the Difference?

B2B and B2C content marketing are both designed to connect; however, they are very different in concept and execution. Let’s talk about four of the differences between these strategies.

1. Target Audience

B2B content marketing serves companies and professional buyers, with sometimes many players involved in the buying cycle. Such audiences want specialised information, industry knowledge, and business solutions. B2B content solves hard-to-understand requests, provides knowledge of current business conditions, and speaks to various functions of an organisation.

By contrast, B2C content marketing is for the individual buyer their needs, feelings, and lifestyle. B2C material is more likely to be sex-inclusive, sentimental, and relevant to the preferences and needs of the consumers.

2. Value Proposition

B2B content marketing targets business value, efficiency, and ROIs. Its content focuses typically on what products or services are going to do for a certain business issue and can be more productive or affordable. It’s usually more rational and factual, with the features, specifications, and overall value.

B2C content marketing, on the other hand, focuses on personal gain, emotional resonance, and immediate gratification. It is usually about how a product or service will make the customer’s life better, or they feel better, or they solve a problem. Value propositions in B2C are generally easier and more emotional than in B2B.

3. Sales Cycle

B2B content marketing supports the long sales funnels that can be months to years in case of a big deal. This longer cycle calls for content that engages leads through customised, data-driven experiences at every phase of the buyer’s journey. B2B content includes detailed eBooks, case studies, and product comparisons to support deep analysis.

B2C content marketing, on the other hand, has a much shorter time period of sales. The consumer makes decisions on the basis of less information, and often in a short period of time. B2C content generates interest and attraction instantly, where they’re usually promotional, product highlights, and lifestyle benefits to get people to make quick purchases.

4. Metrics and Analytics

The content marketing KPIs of B2B are typically lead, sales pipeline, and customer lifetime value. Marketing qualified leads (MQLs), sales qualified leads (SQLs), and conversion rates throughout the sales funnel are the KPIs. B2B marketers also like to monitor traffic to certain pieces of content to gauge their effect on sales.

B2C content marketing metrics, on the other hand, tend to be about reach, engagement, and direct sales impact. They usually use site traffic, social media, conversion rate, and average order value. B2C marketers look at customer behaviour on a first-impression basis and brand metrics.

Now that you have read about B2B vs. B2C content marketing, let’s move on to B2B content marketing problems.

10 B2B Content Marketing Challenges

1. Consistently producing high-quality content

If you want to consistently write great content, then you need to write informative content that’s relatable to B2B consumers. That takes understanding of intricate industry topics, and that can be time- and resource-heavy.

The trick is to keep up with content requests without losing quality. When you’re doing all this and having to squeeze it in between other activities, there’s always going to be gaps, and if the content is not on point, it can be damaging to your reputation and relationship with your audience.

To combat this, create a content calendar so you remember topics and deadlines. You can do content syndication (making different versions of existing content and posting it on various platforms). This allows you to spread out and engage more without having to constantly add new content.

We, for example, syndicated GoTo, a remote work technology company. Therefore, GoTo’s pipeline and Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs) grew by 138%.

2. Balancing Content Quantity and Quality

How to find the balance between quantity and quality of content is about how to write as much content as possible to stay on top and also produce some quality content that is unique and interesting.

You publish too much, and you’ll be drowning in content or posting low-quality content. And if you just write good stuff, then you may post so little that nobody remembers you exist.

For the best of both worlds, go with a quantity versus quality content strategy. Be organised with a content calendar and spacing out your posts so each one is researched and done well. Use user-generated content to augment your own content production, too.

3. Write articles on complex B2B products and services

B2B products and services aren’t necessarily easy to write content for that is both educational and useful.

If it is obviously technical, then it can lose your readers; if it is too simplistic, it may not really represent your product or service at all.

To resolve this, reduce concepts using analogies and examples. Include visual content like infographics or explainer videos to make things more comprehensible.

4. Creating Differentiating Content

B2B content is a jungle full of companies posting the same stuff. And there’s so much out there that your message can get buried in.

Without any easy-to-identify path to stand out, it’s difficult for your brand to stand out. This makes it less helpful for you when it comes to connecting with prospects.

To combat this, find your value proposition and include it in your content. Prove yourself, share original content, and tell a story to your audience that is relatable to them. Also try new layouts and channels so you can engage with your viewers in fresh ways.

5. Content and Buyer Journey Alignment with Buyer Journey

Content fit with the buyer journey: Content that caters to your users at every stage of the buyer journey.

Your content won’t reach your audience at their stage of the journey, and it probably won’t convert them. Badly matched content can result in missed sales as prospects will not have the knowledge to decide.

6. Adapting Content to B2B Buyer Groups

Personalisation of B2B content is about developing content for different types of audiences. This means knowing what their nature, difficulties, and purpose are.

You will likely be sharing something ineffective and bland if you don’t personalize. B2B customers require content that’s applicable and direct to their business. The less personalised your content is, the less you engage and convert.

To deal with this, first begin by targeting your users by industry, company size, or role. Create content based on data to suit the specific needs of each segment. Employ account-based marketing (ABM) and tailor email campaigns to every group that really connects.

7. Writing content that is SEO-Readability Optimised

SEO is about achieving the right combination of SEO and readability; your content should be both easy for search engines to crawl and enjoyable for readers. So you need to use keywords and SEO without making your copy uncomprehensible.

This is the nitty-gritty; stuffing your content with keywords is a nightmare for the readers. In contrast, if you are just writing to be readable, then it might not show up well in search results, and fewer people will come across it.

Getting this right means doing keyword research to identify keywords and naturally incorporate them into your posts. Consider headings and paragraph breaks for readability. & Above all, have content that answers your visitors’ questions for the sake of SEO and user experience.

8. Adapting Content for Multiple Platforms

The same content that works for one platform won’t work for another because each platform is different and users have different expectations.

If it is a long article like, say, that’s awesome on a blog but doesn’t stand up on LinkedIn. The same goes with videos; longer videos are most popular on YouTube, and shorter videos are most common on Instagram.

Fix it by finding out where your visitors go online and tailoring your messages for them. Be branded as per each platform. Also, don’t be inconsistent and bore everybody.

9. Measuring Content Marketing ROI

It’s important to know your content marketing ROI to know what is working for you. But this isn’t always straightforward, as content has not always had a positive, immediate impact and therefore can’t always be quantified.

And content marketing has so many different numbers, like how many people are viewing your content or the number of leads you are generating. It’s hard to discern which ones are working.

This can be addressed by having measurable and objective KPIs (kick-boxes) for your content. Analyse it and collect data like conversions and quality leads. Recheck these regularly to improve your plan and show that your content is effective.

10. Blending Content with a Long-Term Marketing Plan

Your content has to be incorporated into your overall marketing plan so that you can have a common brand message and utilise your marketing budget effectively.

But sometimes, your content works in isolation from ad, social, or sales. If it does, then your message will end up being inconsistent, and you won’t be able to leverage your content across channels.

How to combat this is to tie content initiatives to your marketing aims. Assist other teams so that content fuels programs all over the board. Check and improve your content strategy frequently in alignment with your marketing strategy.

Learn to Elevate Your Content Marketing Technique to the Next Level!

Now you have heard what the top B2B content marketing pitfalls are and how to avoid them. Then let’s apply these learnings.

Begin by analysing your content strategy and what needs to be done to make it better. From personalising to SEO-friendly content to aligning content with your marketing strategy, every tweak will get you closer to having real results.

Remind yourself, B2B content is ever-changing, so be agile, open to change, and take action accordingly. Then go ahead and apply these tips and see your B2B content marketing campaigns generate effective sales.