5 Content Marketing Ideas

1. 5 Content MarketingIdeas FOR B2B ECOMMERCESITES

2. Contentistheking Business-to-Business Electronic Commerce (B2B ecommerce) is one business method that has seen a rapid evolution over the years. With growingcompetition,B2Becommercebusinessownersandmarketing managersareconstantlylookingforeffectivecontentmarketingstrategies thatcangetthemthereturntheydeserve. Whenitcomestomarketing,b2bcontentmarketingisoneofthemost crucialtacticsthatcanhelpecommercebusinessessignificantly.Itbasically involvestheprocessofcreatingvaluablecontentforyourtargetaudience, via different formats, and using techniques like email marketing, paid search,searchengineoptimization,etc.tolurepotentialcustomerstoyour ecommerce platform. With over 90 percent of B2B marketers using content marketing and related strategies, it is evident that this is indeed very important for an ecommerce business, provided you make your contentvaluabletoyourusers. HerearesomecreativeandeffectivecontentmarketingideasforyourB2B ecommercebusiness:

3. UseContentUpgrades Contentupgradesincontentmarketingreferstoofferingavaluableand compellingpieceofcontentinreturnforauser’semailaddress.Yes,thisis an effective technique to lengthen your email list, while your users get somethingusefulandrelevant.Thesecontentupgradescanbeofdifferent types,includingeBooks,tutorials,andPDFs. WithcreatingandusingcontentupgradesforyourB2Becommercesite,it is vital that you first understand the type of content that your potential customerswouldbeinterestedin.Ofcourse,noonelikestogetspammed and therefore people are always wary in sharing their email address just about anywhere. Hence, your content upgrade should make them enthusiasticandmakethemwanttosharetheiremailwithyou. SomeusefulcontentupgradeideasforB2Becommercebusinessare: 1 • DownloadablePDFversionofausefulblogpost • Aprintablechecklist,sayalistofingredientsrequiredtomakeafeast • Accesstoanexclusivewebinar • FreeaccesstoafulleBook • Audioorvideorecording • Afreeemailcourse • Accesstoafreeresourcelibrary • Accesstocasestudies

4. StartaBlog Believe it or not, blogs still work. If you hadn’t known already, traffic from search engines is highly targeted, and one of the best ways to rank on Googleandattractahugepoolofpotentialcustomerstoyoursiteistostart ablog.Thekeytocreatingasuccessfulblogistomakesurethatyourblog posts provide value to your readers, who will be both existing and new customers. Trytocreatecontentthatisbothinformativeaswellasentertainingand engaging.Yourcontentcaninclude:industrynews,industrytrends,guest/ expert interviews, product guides, product reviews, company announcements,andmore. Justremember,yourgoalwithablogisnottosellyourproductsorservices, buttoprovideyourvisitorswithvalue,andtrustus,theseleadswilldefinitely returntoyourblog,oftenoverandoveragain,beforetheymakeapurchase. 2

5. EmailMarketing AnothereffectivecontentmarketingideaforB2Becommercesitesisemail marketing.Thisistypicallyknowntobethemostengagingcontenttype becauseofthefactthatemailsdirectlylandinthemostpersonalspaceof yourusers.Sendinganemailtooneofyourusers’accountcanberelated sendingthepersonaphysicalmailtotheirhouse.Ofcourse,thecontent hastobeengaging. Remember,ifauserhassharedhis/heremailaddresswithyou,youhave developedatrustwiththemalready.Therefore,youneedtomakesurethat thecontenttheyreceivefromyouviaemailisusefultothemandpertinent totheirneeds,andnotjustspam,whichcancompletelyruinyourbusiness’s reputation. 3

6. eBooks Your customers come to you because they wish to achieve something usingyourproductsorservices.Regardlessofthetypeofproductorservice yousell,youcancreateeBooksondifferenttopicsandcategoriesrelatedto whatyousell.Fromhowtopurchaseaproductonyourwebsitetohowto usetheproduct,howtostorethem,howtheproductorservicecanbenefit theuser,andsoon,yourchancesareendless. Inadditiontoeducatingyouraudienceaboutyourproductsorservices,an eBookcanalsobedesignedtotellastoryordiscussatopicpertinenttothe industryyourbusinessoperatesin. Whiletherearespecificindustries,suchasinternetmarketing,healthand fitness, etc. that can benefit from creating eBook content, typically any businessthatdealswithcustomersthatrequireandappreciateinformation canbenefitfromthiscontentmarketingidea. 4

7. UserGeneratedContent Asthenamesuggests,thisiscontentthatwillbecreatedandsharedby yourcustomersuponyourrequest.Thisisoneofthebestwaystohaveyour customersengagewithyourbrandorcompanyandencouragethemto helpmarketthesame.Frompoststoreviewstoproductdemos,youcan requestyourcustomerstogenerateanytypeofcontenttheylikethatwill behelpfulforyourecommercebusiness. Usergeneratedcontentisagreatoptionfortypicallyanytypeofbusiness dealingwithanytypeofproductorcustomerservice.Forinstance,ifyour ecommercesitesellssportinggoods,youcaninviteyourcustomersto createreal-timereviewsofyourproductsorevenavideocontentofyour productinaction.Thisisanamazingwaytogeneratemoresales,sinceit comes directly from your existing customers and therefore will reflect positivelytopotentialcustomers. 5

8. UserGeneratedContent Lego’sUserGeneratedContentStrategy Asdiscussed,yourcontentiskey,andwillbeking,onlyifyoulearntouseit therightway,deliveringafulfillingexperiencetoyourtargetaudience.In additiontoattractingnewusersandgeneratingleads,youshouldalsouse your content to build a strong brand presence as well as retain your customers. 5