Content marketing has never been more effective, as 74% of organizations report that it plays a key role in increasing lead generation. But, with heightened competition with other organizations to get your content seen by the right audience, it has become difficult to generate quality leads, according to over 45% of organizations. Many times, this happens because of which channels are being utilized. One channel that was popular in the past might not be as effective while others are making more of an impact. To help you navigate the complexities of choosing the right channels and B2B content marketing distribution, this blog gives you the tactics to understand what content marketing channels are available and how to choose the right ones for your organization.
Identify Your Content Marketing Goals
Before diving in to choose the most effective channels to use, take some time to identify your content marketing goals. These goals will guide you to decide the relevant channels and what content to distribute on each. There are many goals of content marketing, but to narrow it down to just a few, we are going to focus on brand awareness, thought leadership and lead generation.
- Brand Awareness: The more people that know about you, the more conversion opportunities there are. To increase brand awareness, it is important to think of channels that reach a large, broad audience.
- Thought Leadership: Showcasing expertise to various industries and audiences establishes trust. The more trust a prospect has in you, the stronger the relationship, which in turn can lead to a buying opportunity. To boost thought leadership and expertise signals in the industry, think about key publications or channels where thought leaders consume content.
- Lead Generation: Generating leads is all about obtaining information from an anonymous audience member. Think of channels where an audience might be anonymous and ways that you can collect contact information to turn them in to a known lead.
Consider the Different Categories for Content Marketing
Not all content marketing channels fall into the same category. Some are organic, some are paid and others are acquired. These categories play a key role in choosing what channels to utilize because having a successful content strategy requires a mixture of these. Here is a quick snapshot of each category.
- Organic: These channels are where you control all aspects, including messaging, content and branding. Your website, email marketing newsletter, social media platforms and video platform are some examples of organic channels.
- Paid: These channels enable you to generate results in a short period of time. If you can narrow who you want to reach to a specific subset of your target audience, your marketing efforts can be effective and aim to generate quality leads. Note that because these are paid, it can be costly and become ineffective as more time passes.
- Acquired: These channels are those that are not paid or organic but require effort to obtain. While these hold valuable credibility, it can be more of a challenge to utilize channels in this category than organic or paid. Media coverage and guest blog posts are two examples that fall in this category.
Utilize These Content Marketing Channels
With your organization’s goals in mind and an understanding of key channel categories, you can now consider different content marketing channels to use. Below, we have provided a few important examples for each category that we recommend you explore.
Organic Channels
- Website: Your website is the host of all content and is the primary point of contact with a prospect. Any content goal you have (brand awareness, thought leadership or lead generation) can be supported with the content on your website. When thinking through the content on your site, it is important to also think about the buyer’s journey and what content fits with each stage. Read this article about the content development process for each stage of the buyer’s journey to learn how to effectively leverage content at each stage.
- Social Media: Social media is an ideal way to generate brand awareness. There are 5.17 billion people across all social media platforms, giving you a broad audience to connect with. If your goal is to generate more leads and boost thought leadership, consider using LinkedIn for your B2B organization. Over 80% of LinkedIn members are key decision makers, which is often the audience you want to get your content in front of to boost lead generation.
- Email Marketing: Email is a staple for B2B organizations and is another great way to support your goals. Ideas include: generate more leads by adding a free demo or consultation call to action; boost thought leadership by sharing industry-specific insights; and increase brand awareness by adding links to social media and sharing new content. Plus, the larger your email database, the more people you can reach.
- Videos: 91% of businesses report using videos in their content marketing, rising over 30% in just a few years. This shows the shift in influence that videos are having on B2B audiences as more organizations make the move to utilize them. Try to incorporate these across the buyer’s journey as well to help move leads through the funnel.
Paid Channels
- Advertising: Advertising is a great tactic to generate leads. While the quality might vary at times, it can generate quick results for your team. Whether you are using Google Ads or social media ads like LinkedIn Ads, you can target your audience with specific, relevant content. Content tailored for the audience helps increase conversion opportunities.
- Sponsored Content: While similar to advertising, sponsored content can help meet thought leadership goals your organization might have. Writing an article or report and then paying to get it posted on reputable websites or publications allows you to reach a specific audience and showcase your organization’s expertise.
Acquired Channels
- Third-Party, Industry Publications: Getting a blog, article, report or other content asset featured on a third-party or industry publication is a huge achievement. And because these features happen by you submitting the asset, without payment to have it featured, goes to show the quality of insights your team put together. This channel is important to leverage for thought leadership and even brand awareness as it gets your name in front of a relevant audience.
Take Your Content Marketing to the Next Level
As content marketing becomes more competitive, it is important to stand out. That is where Launch Marketing can help. Discover our content development services and our client successes creating effective campaigns and content across various industries. If you are ready to elevate your content marketing, contact us today or request a free marketing consultation!
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