A report released this week by Immediate Future found that senior B2B buyers are craving informative and opinionated content on relevant topics and keywords. Here are four formats that can help your business to engage with potential clients and important customers.
Storytelling articles
Creative storytelling was once seen as a luxury only applicable to big B2C brands, but B2B marketers now recognise how effective a narrative can be at tapping into business buyers’ emotions and driving them to take positive actions. Fortunately, storytelling can be woven through a variety of content formats, but articles are a great entry-level option for getting them off the ground.
Video
The research by Immediate Future found that B2B professionals are now spending more time with videos on YouTube, so it makes sense to supplement your high-quality written output with some immersive clips. Including videos within an article or a blog can vastly improve the experience for audiences and enables you to tackle subjects in different ways.
Infographics
B2B buyers want advice and to be educated when consuming content. Infographics are perfect for packing in trending stats and facts into a concise and simple-to-read format. They are also a perfect blend of the written and the visual. Senior buyers prefer to share content rather than leave a comment. Infographics are an ideal format for sharing as they are short, engaging and to the point. Just make sure to conduct in-depth research so that everything you say is authoritative and factual.
Thought-leadership editorials
A separate study by FleishmanHillardFishburn found that buyers prefer to work with third parties whohave built a reputation as an expert in their respective industry. Producing long-form editorials will enable you to showcase your knowledge and passion for a particular subject and answer your target audience’s pressing queries and big questions. Being an authority in a specialised field will increase your standing.
FleishmanHillardFishburn’s Claudia Bate concludes: “Modern B2B marketing needs to appeal to both hearts and minds. The decision-makers that matter do not leave their emotions and personalities at the door when they go to work. Creative storytelling, quality content and a distinctive brand identity are hugely important tools for breaking through the noise to drive real business value.”
