Month: August 2019

Before going forward with B2B content marketing, it’s necessary to understand what is B2B marketing?

What is B2B marketing?

As the name suggests, B2B or business-to-business marketing refers to the marketing of products or services to other businesses. It is distinct from B2C on several key elements.

B2B content marketing is informational and straightforward, B2C is short and simple. Because in comparison to consumers, businesses are based on bottom-line revenue impact.

ROI is rarely considered by the everyday consumer (purchase decisions involve small monetary values), but for decision-makers (purchase decisions involve a large amount of money) it’s a primary focus.

Now, we are geared up to deep dive into B2B content marketing and in this blog we will be answering the following questions –

• What is B2B Content Marketing?
• Whom is B2B content marketing suitable for?
• What are the components of B2B content marketing?
  • How to implement B2B content marketing?

What is B2B Content Marketing?

In the B2B marketing context, content marketing acts as a critical elemental tool that leverages content as the core strategy to engage with prospects and customers.

The content surges typically in digital formats such as blogs, videos, articles, buyers’ guides, white papers, research reports or even social media posts, which is intelligently framed so as to entice its target audience with purposeful, focused content around topics of their interest.

Since the B2B purchase cycle is more complex than the B2C purchase cycle, buyers in B2B buying panel tend to do more research around the company, its products, its reputation, certifications and more. That’s why B2B marketers try to provide informative, non-promotional content that helps buyers make informed choices.

 

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Related Post – Content Strategy: Your Company needs it, Surely!

 

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Whom is B2B content marketing meant for?

Software-as-a-service (SaaS) subscriptions, retail products, security solutions, tools, accessories, bulk home supplies, office supplies and many more transactions fall under the B2B umbrella.

B2B marketing campaigns are aimed at individuals with control or influence on purchasing decisions. Hence the content is also customised to provide relevant data and facts to the individual.

What are the components of B2B content marketing?

There are essentially three parts in this which are as follows:

• B2B content creation
• B2B content distribution
• B2B content analysis

B2B Content Creation

The content-focus of B2B content marketing is to make sure that it is useful and practical for other companies.

B2B content marketing has to be engaging and compelling over a sustained period, ensuring it can keep pace with the evolution of the buyers’ journey and beyond. The following key points are pillars in B2B content marketing creation.

• The content should be relevant to the product or service.
• The content should mostly be non-promotional.
• The content should be engaging.

Note: When it comes to B2B content marketing, quality and relevance beat quantity and generalisations.

Now that we have discussed the important characteristics of B2B content creation, let’s take a look into the concrete steps to start your B2B marketing content plan:

B2B Content Marketing Implementation

1. Identify your ideal audience

It is important to have an in-depth understanding and analysis of your target audience before you kickstart your content creation that will entice and attract prospects.

2. Create buyer personas

Segment the audience as per the stage of the buyer’s funnel. This is where the reader personas become significant.

You have to identify potential buyers from the people that are visiting your website. By the use of Google Analytics, you can find out their necessary demographic details, such as name, age, gender, location, as well as recurring themes of interest. Also, with the use of SEMRush, you can find out what topics or keywords are of interest to your target audiences.

Regularly coming up with new content ideas can often be one of the most significant challenges for content marketers. Here is a crucial insight which you can implement in your overall content marketing plan.

 

3. Evergreen content always works

Create content which will always be useful to your B2B audiences. Typically, for evergreen content, the content itself should be elaborative; it should cover the entire gamut of the topic so that your readers can stay on your content page to get all the relevant information.

 

4. Use keywords for content generation

Use Google Keyword Planner to look for keywords and analyse their performance. There are three fundamental applications that this tool provides you: Keyword research, getting traffic forecasts and generating historical data for comparative analysis.

Now there are many ways in which you can position your content to rank high on Google and generate traffic to your website. Such as leveraging social media insights, testing topical themes with content snippets on social media and finding topic popularity trends with Google Trends.

Now moving on to our second component of B2B content marketing, we will discuss the distribution channels and essential steps involved in it.

 

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Related Post – What are the Goals of Content Marketing for Your Business?

 

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B2B Content Distribution

In your B2B content marketing plan, distribution, promotion and amplification of B2B marketing content is an essential step.

The online space is filled with content, and this crowding makes it harder for your audience to find your content. To stand apart amidst the widely populated content space requires strategy, which can help you create a niche space for yourself and be easily found by your readers!

There are primarily two ways to distribute, amplify and promote your B2B content to your audience. One is ‘organic promotion’, which involves distributing and promoting your content without paying for it. Second is ‘paid promotion’, which means having your content amplified on and spread across platforms for a fee.

Next and most important part of B2B content marketing is content audit or content analysis. This will set your communication right and tell you what is working is what is not.

B2B Content Audit

No one gets it right on the first try! It would be best if you keep learning, experimenting, measuring and fine-tuning all aspects of your content plan – from content creation to distribution to analysis.

Before publishing any new content, you must audit all the material that is present on your website, and all other owned earned and paid channels to see which content formats and platforms are gaining the most traction.

It will give you critical insights as to which content formats, themes and platforms to invest more purposefully in.

Let’s take an example of B2B content marketing to understand the complete process in one go.

American Express, famously known as AmEx, is a financial giant that has gone out of its way to connect with its target audience truly.

Putting out content that addresses the challenges faced by entrepreneurs or SMEs has helped them to showcase that they are a financial institution that truly cares for its readers. What has further augmented their case is their guest articles wherein financial experts, often from big media houses, contribute on their platform to also cater to this readership?

The way that this content has been organised on their online platform is another factor as to why it’s so effective. And this is how AmEx nailed it’s B2B content marketing—by providing useful, top quality content and organising it in intuitive segments, which the reader can easily find!

Conclusion

Now you have a bird’s eye view of what’s essential to keep in mind to ace your B2B content marketing.

While there’s a lot out there, you can kickstart your B2B content marketing by keeping the basics in mind—creating reader-focused content, distributing it properly and analyse it thoroughly.

So, go ahead and begin your B2B content journey, and if you are looking for expert advice, we are always here to help you grow better.

 

Ever experienced sitting in a meeting with techies or marketing guys and unable to understand the marketing terms (jargons to be specific) being thrown around the room?

Quite frankly, sometimes it might feel like you are learning a new language altogether!

With the amount of Google searches you might have done to understand these terms, you would have actually felt that you require a cheat sheet to keep them handy for future reference.

For that exact reason we’ve created this nifty list of 31 marketing terms along with their explanations.

 

It’s broken down into three categories — General, Content, and Digital marketing terms — to help you find exactly what you need, when you need it.

General Marketing Terms

1. Inbound Marketing

A form of marketing focused on creating content that attracts targeted audiences in to a company’s website by earning trust, engaging them with valuable information and delighting them in their buyer journey.

 

2. Lead Nurturing

The process of educating qualified leads through valuable, relevant content delivered via a series of touch-points before the purchase decision is made.

 

3. TOFU (Top of the Funnel)

The initial stage of the buyer journey where leads are yet to identify the problem they are facing and are researching for solutions.

 

4. MOFU (Middle of the Funnel)

The middle stage of the buyer journey where leads have identified their problem, and are looking for viable solutions to choose from before finalising one.

 

5. BOFU (Bottom of the Funnel)

The final stage of the buyer journey where leads have identified their problem, selected the solution they want to use, and are close to making a purchase decision.

 

6. KPIs (Key Performance Indicators)

A set of quantifiable metrics a company uses to evaluate its performance against its specific, strategic and timely objectives/goals.

 

7. Outbound Marketing

A form of marketing focused on pushing a message out to an intended audience. For example, attending conferences and trade shows, cold calling, and paying for TV ads, etc.

 

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Related Read – Outbound Vs Inbound Marketing – Who Wins?

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8. ROI (Return on Investment)

A common ratio that helps evaluate profitability and efficiency by measuring the benefit a company gains for the resources it put into a project or investment.

Content Marketing Terms

9. Buyer Journey

The process through which prospects go as they research product and service options and educate themselves before making a final purchase decision.

 

10. CMS (Content Management System)

The software on which a website or blog is built, developed and maintained to manage its content.

 

11. Content Marketing

A strategic approach to marketing that’s focused on consistently creating and distributing high-quality, valuable content to attract, engage, and convert a specific audience and drive profitable action.

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Related Read – Why does your company need to have a content strategy?

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12. CRM (Customer Relationship Management)

A system that manages a company’s interactions with current and potential customers by using technology to organise, automate, and integrate contacts, sales calls and emails.

 

13. Content Syndication

The process of republishing content a company has created, such as a blog post, infographic, or video, on third-party sites to maximise reach and, typically, earn a backlink to the original post.

 

14. Backlink

An incoming hyperlink from a webpage to some other website

 

15. Contributor

A person who writes and publishes an original piece of content for an external publication

 

16. Influencer

An individual who has the power to affect purchase decisions of others because of his/her authority, knowledge, position or relationship with his/her audience. An individual who has a following in a particular niche, which they actively engage with.

 

17. Earned Media

The exposure a company earns organically, often by accomplishing something truly newsworthy and viral by securing press mentions, contributing thought leadership content to publications thus achieving word of mouth.

 

18. Gated Content

High-quality original content, housed behind a form, that website visitors can only access by submitting their contact information. This fuels a company’s lead generation!

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19. Infographics

Images, such as charts or diagrams, that are used to explain information or data in a graphical and visually pleasing way. The chances of these going viral are quite high!

 

20. Knowledge Bank

A repository that stores and organises a thought leader’s expertise, audience insights, and industry knowledge to enable consistent, efficient content creation.

 

21. Thought Leader

An industry expert who shares his or her expertise with a broader, targeted audience with the purpose of educating, improving, and providing value to the industry and build trust with key audiences.

 

22. Organic Distribution

A method of distribution by which content is naturally circulated among an audience, such as through social media shares, referrals, and search engine results.

 

Digital Marketing Terms

23. Bounce Rate

The percentage of visitors who navigate away from a site after viewing only one page.

 

24. CTA (Call to Action)

An instruction located on a web page, article or infographic that’s designed to prompt a user to take a specific action that aligns with a company’s goal.

 

25. A/B Testing

The process of testing two variations of a specific element, while holding everything else constant, to determine which version creates a better long-term result. Most popularly used in email marketing.

 

26. CTR (Click-through Rate)

The percentage of people who viewed a particular link and ultimately clicked on it to get redirected to another web asset.

 

27. Conversion Rate

The percentage of users who complete an action on a company’s website, such as downloading a piece of content or submitting a contact form.

 

28. Keyword

A specific word or phrase that a user types into a search engine to find the information he or she is looking for.

 

29. Landing Page

A webpage that contains a form used for capturing visitor information and converting visitors into leads.

 

30. MQL (Marketing Qualified Lead)

A lead who is more likely to become a customer compared to other leads based on his/her activity before converting, often determined through marketing automation.

 

31. Marketing Automation

Software platforms and technology designed for marketers to more effectively manage online marketing campaigns and automate repetitive tasks. Thus reducing human effort and increasing efficiency.

 

Now that you’re a marketing jargon pro, don’t let the techies get the best of you in your next meeting 🙂

Also, if you found this post helpful, do share it with your colleagues and friends so they can learn something new.

 

For more articles please visit our advertising and marketing blog.

Every year, Google handpicks a select group of its top-performing agencies, to take part in their prestigious Elevator Program. So our team at Seagull Advertising are incredibly proud to break the news that we are one of those top 15 Agencies in India based on performance and metrics that Google thinks valid.

Getting selected for this program implies that these agencies are some of the fastest-growing agencies in India and are well-equipped with a team of domain knowledge experts.

For us, it enables our team to receive advanced training on advertising solutions and business acumen, as well as Google’s support in winning new businesses. It’s an excellent opportunity for our agency, and we are excited to share the knowledge we learn with you (our partners) over the coming months.
How does it work?

Google selects the agencies based on who have been consistently providing outstanding results to their clients and their perception about the agency’s potential for further growth. So, over the course of the next few months, the agency heads are invited for 1-to-1 group sessions & coaching session.

 

We understand that it is an outstanding opportunity, and we are so stoked to implement what we learn in everything that we do!

(Featured image Source: https://www.seoworks.co.uk)

 

For more articles please visit our advertising and marketing blog.

With the Independence day upon us, the entire country will celebrate it with joy and unity in a true Indian fashion. It is undoubtedly an emotional day for we Indians as homage is paid to those people who contributed their sweat and blood to make India an independent country.

People with diverse cultural and religious backgrounds residing in every nook and cranny of the nation come together to celebrate this important day.

So, on the occasion of 15th of August, we have come up with 15 truly amazing facts about India and Indians.

We are quite sure that you wouldn’t know almost 80% of these.

So here we go!

1. The Indian Tri-Color signifies…

• The top-most saffron strip signifies sacrifice and bravery
• The middle white strip stands for truth, peace, and purity
• The green strip means fertility, faith, and valour
• The Ashok Chakra implies righteousness

2. More than 100 million people come to India’s “Kumbh Mela” Festival, the world’s biggest gathering of humans.

(source: BBC Website)

3. The world’s biggest family lives together in India: A man with 39 wives and 94 children

(source: DailyMail Website)

4. India was the first to detect water on the Moon. India’s first Moon Satellite Chandrayaan-1 took the honour.

(source: ISRO Website)

 

 

5. A con man named Natwarlal in India repeatedly “SOLD” the Taj Mahal, the Indian parliament and various other heritage sites.

He was sentenced to 113 years but managed to escape prison 9 times. The last time, he was 84 years old.

(source: Wikipedia Website)

6. The Golden Temple in India feeds a vegetarian meal to over 100,000 people a day regardless of race, religion and class.

(source: Smithsonian Website)

7. Indian housewives hold 11% of the World’s Gold. That is more than the reserves of the U.S., IMF, Switzerland and Germany put together.

(source: Instanerd Website)

 

8. In 2009, a doctor in India removed 172,155 stones from a patient’s left kidney during a three-hour surgery.

(source: Guinness World Records Website)

9. A man named Rajendra Singh revived 5 rivers and brought water back to 1000 villages in India using native water-preservation techniques.

(source: Wikipedia)

 

10. The village of Shani Shingnapur had no doors, locks or crime for over 400 years until 2010.

(source: Indian Express)

 

11. India is the 2nd largest importer of arms but it has never invaded or attacked any country.

(source: The Hindu Website)

12. Indian Railway employs more than a 1.4 million people, making it the largest employer of India

(source: Wikipedia Website)

13. The workforces of Colombia and India enjoy a leisurely 18 days off per year, making them the two countries with the most public holidays in the world.

(source: Telegraph Website)

14. India is expected to be the world’s most populous country by 2050. With 1.6 billion people, it will almost equal the U.S. and China’s population combined.

(source: PEW Research Centre Website)

15. And finally, we Indians are no less than Amazing and our nation is the greatest example of Unity in Diversity

Seagull wishes everyone a Happy Independence Day

Before directly diving into the vast ocean of omnichannel marketing, let’s take a minute to understand what ‘omnichannel‘ means when associated with marketing.

Omnichannel is a cross-channel content strategy (Planning, development, and management of content across all channels like display ads, search engines, social media, website, e-mail and mobile and more) that organisations use to improve their user experience. (A person’s emotions and attitudes about using a particular product, system or service)

Omnichannel implies integration and orchestration of channels such that the experience of engagement across all the channels someone chooses to use is as, or even more, efficient or pleasant than using single channels in isolation.

Example of Omnichannel Marketing

The Starbucks rewards app is one of the prime examples of omnichannel marketing.

Like any other modern retail store, you will get a free rewards card which you can use whenever you make a purchase. Where Starbucks excelled is at the structure of its customer loyalty program.

Starbucks has made it possible to check and reload your card via phone, website, in-store, or on the app. Any change to the card or your profile gets updated across all channels, in real-time!

While standing in a line to get a coffee and realising, you don’t have enough on your balance? You can reload it, and the cashier will know it’s been updated by the time you swipe your card. Cool right?

Apart from Starbucks, Disney, Virgin Atlantic, Bank of America, Timberland, Sephora are a few names among many who have done wonders with their Omnichannel strategies.

Each of these companies is focussed on only one goal – create a seamless experience for the customer, whether they are shopping online from a desktop or mobile device, via phone, or in a brick-and-mortar store.

Understanding Omnichannel Marketing

‘Omnichannel marketing’ is no longer just a buzzword. It has surpassed the “trend” phase and stationed itself as a key strategy necessary to implement in this new era of technology. If it is that common, why so many companies are still lacking in the implementation of seamless user experience?

To identify the gap, the basics should be crystal clear. Noticing how a customer experiences the same channel more than once on their journey is vital. Omnichannel marketing supports a customer journey that is connected, fluid, and non-linear. While the customer’s journey may not look direct, your marketing approach still requires a strategic approach with segmentation and personalisation.

By now, you have noticed that omnichannel marketing and customer journey are intertwined. But it’s important to have a deeper level of comprehension to understand the customer journey and how it relates to omnichannel marketing.

Omnichannel marketing and the customer journey

Imagine, you’re going to another city, do you want roadblocks, construction work or diversions on your way to the airport? You want your trip to be as simple as possible; to get from point A to point B without any roadblocks, construction work or diversions.

The same truth applies to the buyer’s journey – customers want your process to be simple and easy.

Another example of how omnichannel marketing works

Rahul is scrolling through his Instagram feed and comes across a promoted post of his local electronics store. The ad tells him that there is a 40% discount on select items. From the ad, he goes to a website page that lists all of the items which have a 40% discount.

Of the items which have a 40% off, Rahul decides to buy a backpack. In the online checkout process, instead of delivery, he opts to pick up the backpack from the store that evening. When he arrives at the store, he directly goes to the clearly labelled in-store pickup kiosk. At the kiosk, he enters the details, and an associate promptly brings his backpack.

Of the channels used here (social media, the store’s website, and the brick-and-mortar store) the entire customer journey was uninterrupted. This shows the execution of an omnichannel approach in its most basic form.

Sounds easy right? But what about service industries or B2B markets or only web-based retail shops?

At Seagull Advertising, we work towards implementing an omnichannel marketing approach in its most efficient way.

Here is a sneak peek into our next blog post:

Excerpt: Customer information, birthdays, reward points, geographic data and more should be transparent at all the levels. Don’t worry; you don’t have to do it manually; there are more than 7000 marketing tech tools available to choose from like:

• Content Management System (CMS)
• Marketing Automation Platform (MAP)
• Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software
• Social Media Management tools
• Content Marketing tools
• SEO tools
• Customer Data Platform (CDP)
• Other quantitative and qualitative analytical tools

Read our next blog (How to create an omnichannel marketing strategy?) to have a better idea of these tools and more.

 

For more articles please visit our advertising and marketing blog.