Category: B2B

B2B vs. B2C Content Marketing: What’s the Difference?

Understanding your customers is the key to great marketing.

One of the first steps a company must take when they are redesigning their website, launching a social media campaign, or exploring inbound marketing efforts. Is to identify what tactics work for a B2B versus a B2C company. In order to make sure that their customers are being reached using the proper channels and the right content.

What is B2B marketing?

B2B is short for business to business. Business to business marketing occurs when a company’s products and services are designed for other businesses instead of individual consumers. The company needs to market directly to other businesses, which means that their methods of marketing their business will differ from B2C content marketing.

What is B2C marketing?

B2C is short for business to consumer. Business to consumer marketing occurs when a business provides products and services to individual consumers. Such as grocery items, clothing and accessories, or dining experiences. In addition, services such as home organization, house repairs, or job search consultation. These businesses must communicate directly with end users, who might find their products and services online or in store.

Why is it important for your web design, social media, and inbound marketing experts to understand the unique needs of a B2B campaign versus a B2C campaign?

B2B and B2C websites will differ greatly from one another. B2B companies might provide comprehensive user guides and intensive product details on their websites. B2C companies may be communicating products to customers who may not need to understand the ins and outs of the industry and manufacturing. Or about a product’s specific applications.

On social media, approaches between the two types of companies may differ.

Giveaways, contests, and ads directed to the general public may work well for B2C companies. While targeted, industry-specific information may be more appropriate for B2B customers. Inbound marketing efforts will often look very different for a B2B versus a B2C company, their buyer personas vary greatly.

Ask the professionals working on your website, social media efforts, and inbound marketing campaign to discuss your unique needs as either a B2B or B2C company. An expert will be able to talk with you about how to best tailor your marketing efforts to your customer base.

Posted on by AJ

Developing Your Content Marketing Strategy: A How-to For the Business-to-Business Crowd

Do you have a lot to say to your potential customers? Blog posts, web content, and social media posts just waiting to be written? Before you begin putting your products or services into words, take a moment to strategize around the distribution and targeting of your content.

1. Define your target audiences.

Your goal is to convert visitors to your website, blog, or social media profiles into customers. You need to have a keen understanding of who those customers are before you begin to create content. Think of the industries you are selling to. Think of the people working in those industries who are likely to buy your product or services. Those are your targets. Write down the job title of each target, and imagine their goals, as well as their concerns and questions. Develop this into a written description of each target, called a buyer persona. Inbound marketing campaigns often make use of buyer personas to visualize each target specifically as they are creating content. This practice allows you to keep your targets and their interests in mind as you go along.

2. Be clear about your goal of converting visitors into customers.

With every line of content you create, remember to keep your ultimate goal in mind. You are engaging in an inbound marketing campaign in order to convert visitors in paying customers, and you must make sure that every blog post, landing page, content offer, or social media post is steering your visitors toward that conversion point. In a blog post or content offer, this may look like something as simple as a presentation of information with a call-to-action directing the reader to contact a sales representative. On social media, it may be more subtle, as you create social media posts that gently nudge your visitors toward the idea of engaging with your company on another level.

3. Focus on appropriate channels.

Take a look at the actions and movements of your target audience. Focus on their behavior. Do they participate on Facebook or Twitter? Are they clicking through emails to get to your site? Are they commenting on blog posts? If you see a trend that points to a preferred method of communication, use that method to get to your potential customers. If your customers do not have time to click on individual emails, but are active on Facebook, make social media your channel of choice.

Working with an expert in content creation and distribution will help you to get started and to produce quality content that is distributed successfully. A firm that specializes in inbound marketing can help you to kick off your campaign!

Posted on by AJ