Content marketing is a term that gets a lot of buzz these days, but the basic concept of capturing prospects and buyers through stories has been around for generations.
This video put together by Content Marketing World shows a full timeline of the history of content marketing, including examples. According to the video, the term “content marketing” emerged only around 2001, but the concept itself started over a century ago. The earliest example they cite is John Deere’s magazine, The Furrow, launched in 1895. (This magazine is still around, with a circulation of 1.5 million in 40 countries and 12 different languages.) The video also calls out “The Michelin Guides” put forth by tire manufacturer Michelin back in 1900 to help drivers maintain their cars and find good inns and hotels while traveling.
What is the ultimate aim of content marketing? Broadly speaking the goal is to get prospects and buyers to connect with what you have to offer through storytelling and education. The Content Marketing Institute is even more specific in its definition of content marketing:
“The technique of creating and distributing relevant and valuable content to attract, acquire and engage a clearly defined target audience in order to drive profitable customer action.”
If the purpose of content marketing is not only to attract prospects but also to turn them into customers, then it only makes sense in a B2B context to focus closely on your value proposition. In other words, B2B marketers need to remember that there’s generally a big difference between the ways B2C marketers approach content in contrast to their B2B counterparts. In a previous post, Why Branding Doesn’t Work on B2B Customers, we made clear distinction between the “rational” world of the B2B customer and the “irrational” world of the B2C customer.
“B2C marketing efforts are frequently driven by such irrational factors as image, self-satisfaction, fashion, the need to be cool, sex appeal, etc. That’s why consumer marketing generally lives and dies by advertising. Very few consumer products or services can survive without it. Consumer ads, promotions and other image projections often establish the product’s value and create the demand for it.
The B2B world, by contrast, is rooted in the rational. Branding that appeals to irrational or perceived needs just isn’t going to work, because in the end businesses will not buy nor continue to buy things that don’t actually help their business.”
In other words, the B2B decision-maker looks for economic value when investing in a solution. While a great story might be appealing to B2B prospects, they won’t become customers unless that story can illustrate how you can help them save or make money.
Although many B2B marketers think of content marketing in terms of articles, blog posts, PDFs, white papers, video, and infographics -- all great and valid forms of content that can engage prospects and customers -- I don’t often hear about assets that can help a prospective customer understand the value that an offering can deliver as part of the discussion. These assets include such things as value calculators and ROI tools and I believe that they're a critical component of a content marketing strategy if the offering is more than a standard transactional decision and constitutes a significant investment. Considering the interest the B2B buyer has in financial metrics, I think that is a missed opportunity.
What kinds of content marketing do you rely on to attract prospects and turn them into customers? Do you use ROI tools or value calculators as part of your content marketing strategy? Please share your thoughts in the comments section.
