Day: July 17, 2021

High-quality, optimized content is the cornerstone of effective B2B marketing and can provide organizations many benefits that can compound the success of their marketing and sales efforts.

1. Audience retention

Relevant and engaging content compels potential clients to stay on your website for longer and encourages them to keep on returning.

Capturing and retaining your target audience’s attention with content allows you to consistently reinforce a positive impression of your brand and core messaging in a way that will translate into more prospects.

2. Curate less invasive marketing

Amongst many other benefits, B2B marketers can avoid overwhelming prospective clients with content marketing as it appeals to potential customers by encouraging interaction on their own schedule.

Marketing in this way is inherently less invasive and therefore more attractive to a better-informed prospect who already has an idea of what they are looking for, but wants more detail. 

3. Social growth

Social media campaigns are fueled by impactful and informative content. As a result, the success of content marketing is compounded by audience growth encouraged by social media reach. 

As the number of website visitors that are drawn in by social media posts increases, so does the amount of followers. 

The resulting increase in social traffic is conducive to higher rates of engagement and improved exposure as the effect continues to snowball.

Aligning social media and content strategies allows for both to grow simultaneously off of each other’s success as brand awareness continues to improve and drive sales.

4. Build brand awareness and trust

Content that provides prospective clients with value helps to build brand awareness and trust that ultimately leads to encouraging sales

Utilizing content marketing is a fantastic strategy for reaching out to potential clients in a creative way that showcases your company’s talent, insights and represents your brand. 

Creating content that is thoroughly researched and engaging for your target audience will result in more earned media such as recommendations and positive reviews that can continue to develop awareness with minimal effort and expenditure.

By aligning content with fulfilling your prospect’s needs, you will be able to connect with them and influence their journey through the funnel.  

5. Establish your brand as an authority

Content marketing is an effective strategy for getting the most out of your team’s know-how and leveraging it to grow your brand authority and thought leadership.

The more knowledge you provide in the form of engaging content, the more traffic will be driven to your site, improving your SEO as you become recognized and trusted as an authority in your sector.

Employing multiple channels of distribution compounds this effect and ensures content gets more viewers and increases referral traffic.

Partnerships with content syndication networks is another efficient method of distribution.

This maximises the effect of your pre-existing and new content by republishing it across the network’s array of sites, increasing brand exposure and authority.  

6. Foster deep relationships with clients

Providing prospects with a stream of personalized, valuable content not only promotes brand authority and awareness but also leads to establishing personal relationships with them. 

Engaging and useful content that focuses on prospect’s needs develops loyalty and trust with leads as well as fueling marketing efforts and conversion rates.

Ensuring your content is personalized for each segment is time-consuming but can be aided by AI-driven applications, software, and tools, as well as listening to and drawing inspiration from leads.

These insights can be used to personalize and test content strategies, as well as analyze feedback to ensure your content speaks to prospects and drives engagement.

7. Generate more quality leads

Providing and linking to a varied library of content on your website can become a catalyst for identifying and developing qualified leads.

Gating content and downloadable resources allows you to collect advantageous information and data that can advise your lead nurturing strategies further down the line. 

Well-optimized, regularly-updated content marketing continues to drive lead generation well after it has been published as more readers continue to find and read it. 

Evaluating your resources and reaching out to prospects with content at the appropriate time and frequency is a powerful way of generating and qualifying more leads.

8. Improve conversion rates

A successful content marketing campaign that engages, informs, and aids your clients can be leveraged to create sales opportunities for your company.

As you address your prospective clients’ problems in your content and provide them with solutions, this is an apt time to promote your own services and products that will help them.

To maintain the effectiveness of your content marketing and avoid damaging your reputation, it is crucial to promote correctly. 

Find a balance between bringing value to your clients and tactfully pitching your product.

Done correctly, you will be able to take advantage of the loyalty you have nurtured with prospects to increase your conversion rates exponentially.

9. Decrease marketing costs and increase value

Whilst it is true that the upfront costs can seem expensive, the greatest investment in content marketing is time.  

An effective strategy takes time to grow and deliver results, but when established, creates lasting value.

 In comparison to traditional marketing, video, or paid advertising, content marketing is far more budget efficient due to its potential to have a permanent effect.

Content marketing is constantly changing and becoming smarter with new tools at B2B marketers’ disposal every year. 

Given the ROI of content marketing strategies, it‘s no wonder why it continues to be the most financially efficient mode of inbound marketing for B2B marketers.

10. Streamline the sales process

Effective content breaks down broad topics into accessible, bite-sized pieces of information that allow potential prospects to self-educate themselves on the services and products you offer.

By publishing and providing a variety of content that informs clients, marketers can achieve lead nurturing in an efficient way that cuts down on sales teams’ workloads.

A well-mapped content strategy attracts better-informed leads by providing them with content that answers common concerns and questions ahead of them being asked.

Creating a content library that covers a broad range of topics is a catalyst for this process, as it allows your sales team to leverage more content to potential clients to encourage their journey through the sales funnel.

This combined with CTAs results in an expedited process that generates more leads who are likely to become sales-ready faster. 

 

Final Thoughts:

In short, the benefits of implementing a content marketing strategy tailored to your target audience are substantial.

Content can be leveraged to meet significant sales milestones and boost your company and brand by continually guiding more visitors to your landing page and keeping them there. 

With new technologies constantly emerging that streamline the process, there’s never been a better time to start your content marketing journey.

Two in three couples had to postpone their wedding due to Covid-19 in 2020, but regardless of the pandemic, 36% of couples went ahead with their plan to tie the knot. From new traditions, including smaller, more intimate ceremonies, to bolder dress and ring styles, there’s no doubt that the wedding industry has transformed in recent years. From the most popular trends of today to what this means for professionals in the industry, here’s what you need to know.

 

Weddings of today — and their unique challenges

 

With vaccinations becoming more and more mainstream, many eager couples who postponed their big day in 2020 are ready to get back to normal — or at least in some capacity — when it comes to their big day. However, today’s brides still face additional, unique challenges as a consequence of the pandemic, particularly if they’re going forward with a larger ceremony and the possibility of not all of the guests in attendance having gotten the vaccine. Returning to a large guest list can, therefore, seem daunting, making smaller, more intimate ceremonies a popular choice.

However, it’s also important to realize that for the industry, professionals now must navigate a unique set of challenges of their own, with planners having to handle and manage a number of postponements from 2020, new clients, as well as those who must postpone or cancel this year due to the lingering effects of the pandemic — not to mention overbooked venues. Additionally, with such a high demand for ceremonies this year, ensuring that reliable staff are in place may also present a challenge. In fact, Jamie Chang, owner and destination wedding planner of Mango Muse Events in Los Altos, California, notes that “The demand greatly outweighs the supply and this is resulting in the importance of alternative options and couples needing to be flexible,” highlighting just how extensive the issue is.

 

Fresh, modern looks

 

Aside from pandemic-induced trends within the industry, new traditions surrounding rings and dresses have emerged, with modern styles overtaking timeless classics. For example, contemporary ring styles offer something uniquely different from the traditional classic band for men, with matte finishes, dark metals like tungsten, and even mixed metals and colors for a modern and fresh spin on old traditions. A more unique approach can be seen when it comes to dresses as well, with today’s brides choosing bold prints and patterns to brighten up the day. Puffed sleeves are also making a comeback, and offer a romantic look, in addition to giving the body a postural presence.

 

The popularization of simpler, smaller ceremonies

 

A number of new wedding trends have been brought to light over a small period of time, thus changing the definition of what it means to get married altogether, and altering the wedding experience entirely. One major trend is the concept of having a “micro wedding”, or having a ceremony with a very small number of guests in attendance. Elopements and simple civil union city hall ceremonies have also become a lot more commonplace, making for a much more special and intimate celebration for the couple.

Generally staying closer to home is another major trend that’s taken over the wedding industry, with many people foregoing travel and lavish destination weddings in exchange for exploring their own backyards. Other wedding trends like streaming the ceremony via platforms like Zoom also present a unique solution for those who would like to go ahead with their plans to have a smaller physical guest list. This offers great benefits in terms of cutting out travel costs while ensuring loved ones can still witness the special day.

In addition to smaller ceremonies, practices that were once considered to be staples at weddings are now plummeting in popularity, particularly in regards to those that pose health safety concerns, like self-serve buffets involving shared utensils. Amy McCord Jones, wedding planner and florist, notes that “The wedding industry has undergone big changes in the past 10 years, and over the top weddings may not be the norm for much longer.” She goes on to add, “I believe couples in 2021 will take a more simplified approach to their weddings.” From simple cake and champagne ceremonies instead of full dinners to a smaller guest list, there are a number of ways that couples may choose to celebrate without breaking the bank.

 

A promising future?

 

The definition of getting married has changed significantly, with couples spending less time engaged before getting married in 2021 than they did in 2019, according to one Zola survey. This, coupled with the consequences of the pandemic and consequent 2021 “wedding boom” bring to light a particularly busy year. The Liberty Hotel in Boston is just one example of this, as October is expected to be their busiest month of the year, with a wedding booked for every day of every weekend, and many of those weddings with more than 100 guests in attendance. However, while being busy is generally considered to be good for business, there are challenges in terms of staffing due to 2020’s layoffs, which puts an immense amount of pressure on professionals.

 

While couples who had to postpone their wedding in 2020 are eager to tie the knot this year, there are a number of challenges that have redefined the way we get married today. From challenges such as maintaining health safety to the difficulties that professionals within the industry now must face, there’s no question of the need for a restored balance.