Anybody involved in B2B marketing can tell you that everything is changing all the time. As more and more companies embrace new methods of marketing, the B2B marketing strategy sphere evolves further, which means that any company wants to make a difference needs to constantly be adapting, especially when it comes to Google-friendly content.
For blue sky thinkers, an ever-evolving landscape presents a unique advantage, as it gives your company the opportunity to constantly grow, adapt, and stay on the forefront of your industry.
The best B2B marketing strategies rely on content marketing to do the heavy lifting — particularly through a strong business blog. What we’re going to do here today is break down what it takes to write a solid business blog, and also give you a few examples of some of the very best we’ve come across in our experience.
What makes a good B2B marketing blog?
When it comes to running a solid B2B marketing blog, some people think that the key goal is to produce an overwhelming amount of content. Some even go so far as to post daily. But as you’ll see below that can be a big waste of time.
More than quantity, it’s the quality of blog articles that matter. Of course, you need to publish regularly, so that Google — as well as the rest of your industry — understands that you have something to contribute to the conversation, but there is such a thing as oversharing.
Informative & Readable Content
A business blog needs to provide information to readers without boring or overwhelming them with needless information. Your articles should provide topical insights, opinions, and ideas relevant to your industry, with the confidence to cut through the noise of all the cookie cutter B2B marketing blogs out there.
Ultimately, a blog should help you build a vibrant, loyal community around your brand. You also need to work hard to develop a blog that stays relevant. It should never just be a one hit wonder, but instead should act as a resource that helps you stay connected to your industry and the community around your brand all year long.
As I said above, you don’t want to over publish, so once a day is really overdoing it. But publishing longform, helpful articles on a weekly basis will really help you to stay relevant to your target audience, and won’t make them feel like you’re being too pushy.
Strong articles published weekly will also help you catch Google’s attention, and the more articles that get indexed, the more relevant you will appear to Google when people search for terms related to your industry.
Not only will you be building great articles for people who know how to find you, but you’ll also rank on Google’s coveted search engine results page (SERP) — bringing people to your blog who have never even heard of your website before.
Expertise Matters
A blog needs to do some serious work — after all, you’re trying to convince potential clients as well as fellow industry experts to continue reading, get comfortable with your site and your brand, and then eventually open their wallets.
A blog needs to be a resource that helps you connect with your B2B community with expert writing that addresses real needs. There are ways to find cheap and easy content (content farms are notoriously bad, but hey, they’re affordable!), but it will just be filler, without the killer content your users are actually looking for.
The best B2B marketing blogs are run by experts. And that expertise doesn’t just translate into better writing. You also need someone with expertise in search engine optimization, who can tailor your blog articles to target people who are already looking for what you’re selling but who haven’t found you yet — through carefully curated keywords and metadata.
An expert blog writing campaign is keyword focused, targeting people on Google already searching for terms related to your industry. These blog posts are also written by a professional, and not a content farm.
Your audience matters and so should your content.
The right articles build trust. First the reader trusts your content, then they trust your brand enough to buy.
Content Should Be Topical
B2B blog posts offer your company the chance to connect with readers and potential customers around a specific topic or purpose, but what these posts are really doing is driving customers down the funnel. The links in your blog articles not only strengthen them for Google’s search algorithm, but they also allow readers to click through to your product or service pages.
Creating a high level of engagement and dwell time requires content about timely topics demonstrating why your specific brand is the most reliable, expert, capable, and informed in its industry.
Blogging success takes time, but by producing consistently high-quality content that follows a rigorous production calendar, you ensure that your articles are well-written, well-edited, and posted strategically.
At Sterling Content, we pride ourselves on the ability to craft high-quality B2B blog posts on a schedule that gets companies noticed on Google.
Every blog is different, but there are some common elements that all successful content possesses. Here are the qualities we think make a top content producer stand out.
Use Precise and Pertinent Keywords
Keywords are the core of a B2B blog — so it’s vital to conduct SEO research and find the keywords that are the most relevant to your audience’s search tendencies.
Monthly keyword research will keep your content relevant. An expert content curator will also let keywords dictate the content itself, keeping your articles buzzworthy and relevant to your industry.
An expert content company like Sterling Content will let keywords guide your content calendar month to month, staying on topic while also performing due diligence with regard to SEO.
Stay Focused on Topics that Matter
A blog should never contain fluff. The right blog creation company will select a purpose and then focus on that purpose for the entire post.
Every blog article should address a burning question that your users are asking. Are you trying to teach something? Build interest in a new product or service? Explain the nuances behind a rising industry trend?
Pose the question guiding your users’ interest, and answer it with knowledgeable follow-up.
User journeys start with a need — even one as simple as “how do I find product X in city Y?” So, you need to ask a relevant, well-crafted question, then answer it with your industry expertise.
Make the content about sharing insights and information, not pushing the brand down people’s throats. Not every post should spotlight your services. In fact, you might sometimes look for a thorough perspective or new twist on an old topic.
Think Outside of the Box
When you offer a fresh perspective or actionable tips that actually answer user questions, you empower the reader. When you share actual industry tips, you demonstrate how your company is leading the way in the thought market, which substantiates your leadership in the industry.
People are always looking for a quick way to learn and apply a concept, confirm they know something, or debunk something they may have doubts about. Write creative, differentiated blog content and you’ll lead your audience where you want them to go, along with the added bonus of standing out as a knowledgeable B2B star.
Images, Videos & Meta-Data
Simply put, metadata is key information that is hidden in a post. Unlike the copy that users actually read, metadata tags can be attached to articles and even individual images. They’re invisible to the reader, but they act like a magnet for Google.
A good blog post will include several attractive images that are also tagged with keywords related to the article and to the industry at large.
Google tracks the amount of time that users spend reading an article, and images add to what we call ‘dwell time.’ In Google’s new analytics algorithm, they have prioritized a metric called engagement, which includes how much time users spend exploring any one page.
Images, infographics, videos, and other assets that keep them on the page longer will prove to Google that your article is informative and relevant, and worth being placed higher on the search engine results page.
Time is Money
Anyone can throw money at a content farm and hope that publishing eight or ten pieces over a month will bring attention to their site. Of course, any expert will tell you that this is simply not true.
Filler content does not help to boost your brand. Instead, every article should have a question that needs answering and should provide information to users who come to your site with that question in mind.
Some questions are easier to answer, and a shorter article will get the job done. Other articles may be larger thought pieces that ask several questions, and require several thousand words in order to address properly.
An expert blog curation company knows that varying your article length is not only helpful for users, who may have a different amount of time they can spend every time they visit your site, but they also know that varying length helps Google privilege your articles, as well.
Always remember that the first Google rule of thumb is: variance is key.
Some articles only need 750 words to get their point across. Adding 250 more will not add any extra value. A longer think piece, on the other hand, may require 2000 words or more (like this one!). Once you’ve established a budget for the amount of words you’re going to be publishing each month, your content provider will dole out that word count in the most strategic way possible.
The right blog curation company will help you develop a content calendar and a set number of monthly articles that vary in length based on need and budget.
Examples to Follow
Now that we’ve broken down the principles of good B2B blog writing, we thought we’d share with you some of the companies that are really doing it right.
Here are our top 3 picks for the best B2B marketing blogs …
Reforge
Reforge is a membership community that pulls in its audience through a live cohort-based program. Membership grants access to a wide variety of content from Reforge’s resources including a community of vetted peers who can provide feedback on what you’ve learned in Reforge’s various helpful blog articles so that you can execute better.
These peers include top executives, thought leaders, and expert content creators who can provide you with some boots-on-the-ground support and mentoring. Reforge is not just a blog, but an ever-changing and growing community of content experts who want to help one another.
Lenny’s Newsletter
Lenny’s newsletter is a personal favourite here at Sterling Content. But beware, because once you start reading these engrossing articles, you might never stop.
Topics range from “How the biggest consumer apps got their first 1,000 users” to “My favorite product management templates,” which means there’s a topic that everyone will find helpful.
Author Lenny Rachitsky has an incredible voice while also being pretty darn smart about the topics he covers, which include industry growth, trends in content marketing, and even the occasional blog where he addresses reader questions directly. His Twitter account is also very informative, providing marketing insight in real-time.
Lenny also has a great podcast where he interviews product leaders and content growth experts. If you want actionable, practical advice on building, launching, and developing your own blog, make sure you tune in.
Ariyah
This no-strings-attached blog provides an incredible amount of evidence-based marketing insights and case studies to help you build out your business to business blog.
The amount of information is nearly academic, and if you’re looking for a sophisticated, straightforward approach that includes insights on cutting-edge technology as well as statistical techniques, you can’t go wrong with this blog.
Browsing this blog is like reading of the best of selection of journalistic reporting on the facts of the content marketing business. It’s also quite refreshing not to have to wade through self-promotional opinions and anecdotal evidence. If you want the facts, and only the facts, this is the blog for you.
There you have it.
Hopefully, this article has helped you understand the ins and outs of creating a functional, profitable, and engaging business to business blog, and maybe you’ll have fun exploring our three standout examples.
If you have any further questions, contact us today and we can discuss your options for building a better blog. And don’t forget to check in to the Sterling Content blog regularly for more updates and industry expertise.
