Today’s prolonged sales cycles and ever-evolving consumer needs across the B2B technology landscape make competitive marketing a tricky and highly strategic task. Developing “always-on” content has emerged as a necessity in technology sales for tapping into decision-makers and their purchase path. This strategy is loosely referred to as “content for all” and should appeal to people across an entire organization such as IT, engineering, operations and so forth – with frequent yet timely content about relevant topics and self-promotion. To achieve this new content strategy, marketers are looking to the power of LinkedIn’s features and following. Check out these five “always-on” content marketing tips to master this strategy today.
- Where should I start? Know your customer’s buyer journey.
According to Content Marketing Institute’s 2016 B2B Technology Content Marketing Report, 95% of B2B technology marketers use content marketing. The same report stated that 75% of those marketers will create more content this year than in all of 2015! To best approach a new marketing tactic such as this, it is critical to first understand your customer’s buyer journey. Forrester, a leader in market research and analysis, defines the technology purchasing path in six steps:-
- Identify Needs
- Specifications/Funding
- Vendor Selection
- Implementation
- Management
- Renewal
Along each step in the process, most importantly in steps three and six, purchasers seek information to educate themselves and drive decisions. Sourcing this information directly from your website is critical to ensuring you make their list of possible vendors.
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- What’s the best way to reach technology decision-makers with my content? Sponsored content on LinkedIn.
Sponsored content, also known as native advertising, is defined as a type of disguised advertisement that matches the form and function of the platform upon which it appears. The promoting style is revolutionizing the social media experience for both users and advertisers. It’s predicted that by 2017 $11 billion will be spent on social media advertising, of which 58% will be on native advertisements, according to Mintel.
- What’s all the hype about? Building relevant industry awareness.
Sponsored content drives your “always-on” content marketing strategy by putting your most relevant information in front of the people who are interested in your industry. Even if a business is not in the vendor selection stage of the purchasing path, decision-makers will be predisposed as an advocate of your product when they do begin to evaluate their options.
- What’s so great about LinkedIn? It’s a B2B hotspot.
72% of technology marketers claim that LinkedIn is a highly effective social media marketing tool, according to Content Marketing Institute’s 2016 B2B Technology Content Marketing Report, as the platform is preferred over Facebook and Twitter for B2B research.
- What are some other helpful LinkedIn strategies? Post, share and post some more.
Our Co-Founder, Managing Partner and Brand Strategist, Mark Schmukler, recently published 12 Ways to Get More LinkedIn Views and Connections, in which he advises to post status updates often and to share content regularly. This “always-on” content distribution style is a formal title for treating everyone in the industry as a potential customer and LinkedIn native advertising is now the leading method of maximizing your content’s views.
Did you find these tips helpful? Here are other resources you might enjoy!
- Creating the Perfect LinkedIn Company Page
- Twitter Introduces Better Targeting with New Ad Groups Tool
Are you interested in social media marketing or other B2B marketing services? Contact Sagefrog Marketing Group today.
