How Content Marketing Drives Sales (12 Tips & Examples To Do It Right)

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Every business wants more sales. But getting more sales isn’t easy. If you’re reading this, you probably already know this. In the world of B2B sales, where the buying process is long and complex, getting more sales is a huge challenge. But there’s good news. Content marketing can help. By creating content that addresses your buyer’s needs and guides them through the B2B Content Marketing Funnel, you can build trust, nurture leads, and ultimately drive sales. In this article, we’ll show you how to create a content marketing strategy that drives sales for your business.

A B2B Content Marketing Funnel is a framework that helps guide your audience through buying. Whether you're using notion to blog or another platform, creating content that addresses audience needs at each funnel stage can build trust, nurture leads, and drive sales. This article shows how to craft a content marketing strategy that drives sales for your business.

What is Content Marketing?

Content marketing is a strategy and business process that uses valuable and relevant digital assets to attract and retain a clearly defined audience. These assets include:

Text: Blog posts, articles, eBooks, and whitepapers.

Images: Blog posts, articles, eBooks, and whitepapers.

Videos: Tutorials, product demos, and storytelling content.

It’s an inbound marketing strategy that delivers value to a business’s audience through entertaining, educational, or informative content. Content marketing has four basic forms:

Written

Audio

Video

Image

Most businesses use several forms of content to engage with their audiences across platforms like social media, websites, and ads.

This form of marketing puts the customer at the heart of a brand’s messaging. Rather than spamming customers with advertising-laden messaging, content marketing provides valuable content and engages them throughout the customer journey.

Customer-Centric Approach

Content marketing goes beyond pushing a product to a potential customer. Instead, it puts relevant information out there and follows the customer from awareness to decision phases. Content marketing includes presenting content like how-to guides or story-based ads that benefit the consumer.

The Power of Content Marketing

The world is transitioning to a place where customers are tired of being fed advertisements. Consumers are inundated with information to the point where it all becomes noise. Content marketing helps businesses overcome the noise by subtly promoting their offerings through helpful, high-quality content.

Content marketing puts the customer at the heart of a brand’s messaging. Rather than spamming customers with advertising-laden messaging, it provides valuable content and engages them throughout the customer journey.

A Growing Trend

Content marketing isn’t new, and it’s not slowing down. The pandemic increased content usage by 207%, and that trend will likely continue to grow in 2023. Indeed, 55% of marketers plan to post content more frequently, and 53% plan to boost the quality of their content in 2023. It all comes down to choosing the right mix of content marketing media that will turn more heads.

Content Creation in Digital Marketing

Digital Marketing Content Management

SEO Content Marketing

Why Is Content Marketing Important

Content Marketing in B2B

Content Marketing for SaaS

Content Marketing Inbound

Optimized Content Marketing

SEO Content Marketing Strategy

How Content Marketing Drives Sales For Businesses

Solving Problems and Building Trust

Content marketing is a sales powerhouse because it aligns with modern consumers' buying decisions. People want to solve their problems, and they search for information to help them do so. That’s where your content comes in. Imagine a potential customer landing on your:

Blog post

Video

Case study

You’re not just solving their problem; showing them your product or service is the best solution. This builds trust and positions you as a credible resource.

Guiding Prospects Through the Sales Funnel

Think of content marketing as stepping stones leading your prospects closer to conversion. At the awareness stage, engaging blog posts or infographics capture attention. As they consider their options, they might explore in-depth whitepapers or guides.

When they’re ready to decide, testimonials and product demos are there to help. Each type of content meets the prospect where they are in their journey, nurturing them toward making a purchase.

Amplifying Your Reach with Strategic Distribution

Content distribution is key to ensuring your content reaches the right people at the right time. Email campaigns, social media, and Account-Based Marketing (ABM) strategies can help you target specific audiences.

For example, an ungated guide might attract a broad audience, while demand nurture campaigns focus on converting those leads into customers. This strategic approach ensures that your content is seen and acted upon.

Building Long-Term Brand Loyalty

The benefits of content marketing don’t stop once you make a sale. By consistently delivering high-quality, targeted content, you foster long-term brand loyalty. Your business becomes the go-to authority in your field, helping you secure repeat customers and establish lasting credibility. Content marketing doesn’t just sell; it builds meaningful connections that grow your business.

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Why Most Businesses Prioritize Content Marketing

Most businesses prioritize content marketing because it’s one of the most effective ways to:

Build relationships

Improve visibility

Drive sustainable growth in today’s digital landscape.

According to recent research by Backlinko, 72% of B2B companies have a blog on their website. There are so many reasons why content marketing is an essential aspect of any growing company, including the following ten benefits:

Building Trust and Authority

Imagine having a conversation with potential clients. Wouldn’t it be great to immediately establish that your business knows what it’s talking about? Content marketing does just that. You can show that your company is an authority by sharing helpful info like how-to guides and case studies. You’re not just selling; you’re helping. This builds trust, which is crucial in B2B relationships.

Boosting Visibility and Search Rankings

Want to be seen? Creating high-quality content on your site helps you climb search rankings. When people search for solutions, your business is right there. It’s like having a 24/7 billboard that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. By focusing on search engine optimization, you can increase organic traffic and get noticed by the right audience.

Driving Long-Term Results

Content marketing isn’t about instant gratification. It’s a long-term strategy that pays off over time. Evergreen content keeps bringing in traffic long after it’s published. You can also refresh and repurpose old content to keep it relevant. This way, you’re getting the most bang for your buck and maximizing your return on investment.

Generating High-Quality Leads

Not all leads are created equal. Content marketing helps you attract the right audience at the right time. By aligning your content with different stages of the buyer’s journey, you can guide prospects from awareness to decision-making. Great tools for effectively capturing contact details and nurturing these leads:

Lead magnets

Email marketing

Gated content

Enhancing Engagement

People have short attention spans, so you need to grab their interest quickly. Content marketing uses various formats, such as videos, infographics, and webinars, to engage audiences in entertaining and informative ways. This leaves a lasting impression and makes your business memorable.

Supporting Cross-Departmental Goals

Content isn’t just for marketing. It can benefit sales and customer support, too. Educational articles, FAQs, and case studies can help sales teams close deals faster. They also provide resources for customer service teams to address common inquiries. You can achieve broader business goals by aligning your content strategy across departments.

Staying Ahead of Competitors

Want a competitive edge? A robust content marketing strategy can give you one. Many companies still don’t fully leverage content marketing, leaving an open field for those who do. You can dominate your niche by building brand recognition and increasing customer loyalty.

Adapting to Changing Buyer Behaviors

Today’s buyers are more informed than ever. They prefer to do their research before contacting a business. By providing valuable, accessible content, you can meet them where they are and become part of their decision-making process. This way, you’re not just selling but helping them make informed choices.

Being Cost-Effective with High ROI

Traditional advertising is expensive and often yields low returns. In contrast, content marketing is relatively inexpensive and yields higher returns over time. The upfront investment in creating quality content pays off as it continues to attract traffic, leads, and conversions for years.

Strengthening Brand Loyalty

Consistent, high-quality content helps businesses establish a connection with their audience. When people feel your brand understands and meets their needs, they will likely stay engaged and recommend you to others. Content marketing helps turn one-time visitors into loyal customers, which is crucial for long-term success.

Understanding the Stages and Types of Content Marketing

Awareness Stage: Sparking Interest Without the Hard Sell

Your content is like a friendly guide in the awareness stage. Prospects realize they have a problem but aren’t ready to commit yet. They’re just starting to search for information. So, keep your content focused on your audience's needs, not what you’re selling.

Types of content that help people understand their problems and guide them to solutions:

Blog posts that answer questions

How-to videos

High-level eBooks

Consideration Stage: Nudging Prospects Toward Solutions

Your audience knows they have a problem and are looking for solutions. In the consideration stage, your content can introduce your brand and products. You want to provide value while letting them know you exist and can help. Infographics, guides, and how-to content are great here. They’re informative and can promote your brand gently.

Decision Stage: Helping Prospects Choose You

At the decision stage, prospects are ready to decide. They know what they want and are evaluating their options. This is your chance to show them why you’re the best choice. Use content like product demos, comparison lists, case studies, and testimonials. These types of content help people make informed decisions and push them toward choosing your product or service.

Blog Posts: The Workhorse of Content Marketing

Blog posts are versatile, practical, and relatively easy to produce. They’re great for SEO and can be used at every funnel stage. Use them to:

Answer questions

Provide solutions

Introduce your audience to your brand

Emails: The Direct Line to Your Audience

Email is a powerful content marketing tool. It’s direct and personal and can nurture leads at every funnel stage. Use it to share your latest blog posts, guides, and other content. Use it to educate your audience, introduce them to your brand, and guide them toward solutions.

Social media can help you reach a wider audience and amplify your content marketing efforts. Use it to share your latest blog posts, guides, and other content. Use it to engage with your audience, answer their questions, and provide value. And be sure to link your social posts to a content marketing goal.

Guides: The Comprehensive Resource for Your Audience

Guides are long-form pieces of content that cover a topic comprehensively. They’re great for SEO and can help you build authority and trust with your audience. Use them to cover your organization’s main focus areas and link related content to them.

Ebooks: The High-Value Resource for Your Audience

Ebooks are similar to guides but are often longer and more in-depth. They’re great for generating leads and building authority. Use them to provide valuable information and insights to your audience. And be sure to gate them to capture leads.

Video Content: The Engaging Resource for Your Audience

Video content is versatile and engaging and can be used at every funnel stage. In 2021, 87% of video marketers claimed that video gets a good return on investment. The positive results they've seen include everything from increasing time on the page and generating leads to reducing support calls and increasing sales.

Use it to educate your audience, demonstrate your products, and build trust. Optimize it for search engines to increase its visibility.

Webinars: The Interactive Resource for Your Audience

Webinars are a great way to engage with your audience and provide value. Use them to:

Educate your audience

Demonstrate your products

Build trust

Case Studies: The Proof of Your Success

Case studies are a great way to build trust and credibility. Use them to demonstrate your success and show your audience how you can help them. Be sure to include testimonials and other social proof to increase credibility.

White Papers: The In-Depth Resource for Your Audience

White papers are in-depth pieces of content that provide valuable information and insights. Use them to demonstrate your expertise and build authority. And be sure to promote them to your audience to increase visibility.

Press Releases: The Announcement of Your Success

Press releases are a great way to share important announcements and updates with your audience. Use them to generate buzz and increase visibility. And be sure to promote them to your audience to increase reach.

B2B Content Marketing Metrics

How Content Marketing Helps SEO

Content Strategy for Inbound Marketing

End-to-End Content Marketing

SEO Content Marketing Strategy

How To Do Content Marketing Competitor Analysis

How Do You Integrate SEO Into Your Content

Types of Content Marketing

How To Measure Content Marketing Success

Optimized Content Marketing

B2B Content Marketing Types

9 Ways on How To Create a Content Marketing Strategy (With Examples)

1. Define Your Content Marketing Goals

Without a specific goal or objective, your team will be left making haywire content, resulting in no conversions. Before creating a goal, define your objectives first. These objectives could be:

Increasing ranking on search engines and improving brand visibility

Driving more traffic to your website, blog, and social media profiles

Building trust and credibility by showing your expertise in the field

Getting backlinks from authority sites

Lead generation and nurturing

Increasing free trials and then converting them into paid customers

Engaging existing customers

Setting SMART Goals for Effective Backlinking

Once you have defined your overall objective, you can define a SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-bound) goal. For example, if your overall aim for this quarter is “getting backlinks from authority sites,” a SMART goal would be: Getting 20 backlinks from authority sites (with a DR above 70) for the keyword ‘project management’ in this quarter.

You can create goals for all your objectives and track them with relevant KPIs. These KPIs could be:

Organic traffic for blogs

Free trial registrations

Demo requests

Search engine rankings

Downloads for lead magnets

Newsletter subscribers

2. Identify Your Ideal Customer Profile

Knowing your customers’ motivations, behaviors, and requirements is essential for formulating effective content. For example, if your customers are more active on Instagram, you can create more educational reels or carousels.

To form an ideal customer profile, you can get answers to the following questions:

What kind of companies/individuals do we target?

What is the user's approximate budget?

Which other SaaS products do these users utilize? Can we help integrate those with our tool?

What problems are they looking to solve?

On what content/social platforms are they most active?

Which content formats do they ideally prefer?

Which websites/social media profiles do they regularly follow?

What are their demographics (age, gender, income, etc.) and psychographics (goals, interests, motivations, etc.)

To find these answers, here are four methods you can resort to:

Participate in online communities where your target audience is active, such as Quora, Reddit threads, LinkedIn groups, etc.

Contact the teams that interact with customers daily, such as sales, customer support, product, etc., and ask for data on existing customers.

Distribute surveys and interview existing customers to get to know them better.

Conduct competitor research and find out the kind of customers they are targeting. You can do this by looking at their published articles, the audience interacting with their content, etc.

3. Select the Right Content Types

Before finding keywords or creating content, you must determine the right content types for your audience. Here are three you can start with:

Blog Posts

While customers might need to be made aware of businesses or solutions, they might actively seek information to solve an existing problem. You attract more leads when you create in-depth guides and articles that help uniquely solve this problem. Shopify is one brand that makes blog posts that add value to the reader throughout the customer journey.

Videos

Did you know that 91% of consumers want to see more online video content from brands? With more people scrolling through shorter video formats like reels and TikToks, you can jump on this trend to get more engagement. You can even experiment by repurposing your guides to video tutorials and sharing them on YouTube.

Ebooks

Instead of giving all the information for free, many companies create ebooks and use them as

lead magnets. For example, if there’s an article on project management, you might choose to promote your ebook on “Best project management techniques from the best in the field.” In return, you might ask them for their email address.

4. Effective Keyword Research

You need to find the keywords your target audience is searching for to get your content to rank higher. While some companies start with topics and then search for keywords, some follow the other way around. Whichever route you choose, subscribe to keyword research tools like Ahrefs. You can even supplement it with a free tool like Google’s Keyword Planner.

Here are some best practices you can follow while conducting keyword research:

If you are just starting, prioritize content creation around less complicated keywords, as you can realistically rank for them.

Use the keyword in the blog title and URL. Keep your URLs short and simple so that Google can understand your content.

Include secondary long-tail keywords in your content. This will strengthen your blog posts; you can even build topic clusters with these keywords.

If you use a keyword for a specific topic, ensure that the topic matches the search intent. For example, when people search for “project management best practices,” they want to get information on managing projects efficiently. If you talk about your product exclusively in that article, you’ll see a lot of bounce rates.

It’s important to note that keywords mean nothing if your content doesn’t deliver on them. That means you also need to focus on creating SEO-optimized content.

5. Define Your Success Metrics

You don’t want to keep investing money in marketing tactics or strategies that don’t bring results. The only way to find this is by setting KPIs and metrics and tracking them regularly.

Here are some success metrics that you can implement:

What is the number of free trial registrations you’re getting? You can segregate the requests from your blog or resource guides to determine the effectiveness of your content.

What monthly traffic are you getting for your blog and use case pages, and where does it come from?

Do you see increased organic rankings because of your SaaS content marketing efforts? Has your website’s overall rank improved? Has any of your blogs reached the first few SERPs?

Is your Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) at par? How does this cost compare with the returns you’re getting from acquiring each customer?

Have you noticed an uptick in your backlinks? Are you getting backlinks from any quality sites?

One way to improve these metrics is by offering free resources such as lead magnets.

6. Map Out Your Content Calendar

While creating quality content should be your goal, you can’t expect to stop publishing content after a guide goes viral. Consistency is the key when it comes to SEO and rankings. By creating a content calendar, you can strategize on the keywords you need to rank for and how you should schedule content around these keywords. But how often should you post?

According to HubSpot, the frequency of blogging is to create 3 or 4 quality articles every week and 1-2 if you're a small website just looking to increase brand awareness. But what if you need more resources for that number of posts?

Quality Over Quantity

Using Backlinko as an example, they managed to cross 1 million unique visits to their blog and have published 52 articles over five years. While you should push the pedal on publishing more content, you can start slow, especially if you don't have the resources, but produce quality content that can get more backlinks from authority sites.

On to the more critical part. What details should you add to your content calendar?

Blog title

Content goal

Search intent and funnel stage

Target keywords

Content type and structure

Word Count

Author details

Deadline for different stages (writing, editing, and publishing)

Call to action

Promotion channels and frequency

You can create this calendar using a Google spreadsheet or tools like Trello and CoSchedule.

This calendar also helps give your team and freelancers a sense of direction and the schedule they must follow to meet those milestones.

7. Outline Your Distribution Strategy

There’s no getting around to the fact that even if you have written the best content on a particular keyword, you’ll need to promote it at the beginning to get it across to more people. After all, what’s the meaning of spending 10 hours working on an article just to have a few people read it?

Here are three ways you can distribute your content:

Owned Channels: These channels belong to your business, like your social media profiles, mailing list, podcasts, etc.

Earned or Shared Channels: These channels are owned by third parties such as review sites, forums like Reddit and ProductHunt, news websites, websites you can guest post on, etc.

Paid Channels: These platforms or people, such as ads or social media influencers, will promote your content for a fee.

You can repurpose content instead of creating new content for all your platforms, but ensure you follow the best practices for each platform so that your post does not go unnoticed.

8. Execute and Optimize

You can now put your content strategy into execution. To ensure your writers and marketers are on the same page, create a set of guidelines they can refer to. You can do this in three ways.

Provide them with benchmarks for each piece of content. This could mean sharing the links to blogs you admire or the articles already ranking for that particular keyword.

Share a content structure for each article. This results in fewer edits later on, and your writer and editor are on the same page.

Create checklists. For example, here are some things you could have in your checklist:

Add 10 examples
Add a link to one case study
Paragraphs of no more than five lines
Include statistics
Make use of images
Achieve a Grammarly score of 90
Schedule regular check-ins with your team where you discuss your existing strategy and how you can optimize it in the future.

9. Monitor Results and Iterate as You Go

To ensure that your marketing investment is giving you returns, you need to track the KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) you established while setting your goals. You can use analytics software like Google Analytics to draw these insights monthly or quarterly and have a team meeting to discuss where you went wrong or how to improve these metrics.

You can even identify the content types or topics generating the best results and see what you’re doing differently for these topics. You can create templates from these articles to replicate this success with other content.

You can opt for content refresh for articles that aren't performing well. This could mean adding new insights, removing irrelevant parts, adding visuals, etc. This helps keep your content updated and improves your rankings.

Content marketing examples:

Even though 75% of B2B buyers use social media for decisions, pushing intrusive ads on apps won’t cut it. What savvy B2B decision-makers truly crave is valuable content. As business owners dive into social media for brand research, they’re in buying mode. Interacting with them authentically and moving away from generic content brings out the best B2B content marketing campaigns for brands.

Let Slack be your north star for successful B2B content marketing examples if you need help figuring out where to begin.

B2B businesses grappling with Instagram bio challenges can learn from Slack’s approach. Keep it short and focused on their mission. Slack makes the most of Instagram Stories and Highlights to showcase its latest features.

Coming to X (Twitter). It’s an excellent channel for B2B updates and support. Slack also does a great job using cross-channel marketing to shine on Instagram. And when it’s event time, they drop a cool 30-second video and make the event hype real.

Now Slack’s Facebook marketing strategy. It is sleek and minimal, a good example of an excellent social media copy.

Slack's Strategic Content Marketing on YouTube

They draw attention with beautiful posts, especially when sharing blog content. They update users on new features and cleverly repurpose content for different platforms. Most B2B businesses on YouTube post sporadically, but not Slack. They’re active, publishing 2-3 videos weekly with a solid strategy. Thumbnails are sharp, sparking curiosity with color coordination and minimal words. Flawless visual appeal all the way!

Building a Strong LinkedIn Profile

Slack’s LinkedIn strategy highlights the value of writing a simple yet effective LinkedIn bio. The About section uses diverse, inclusive, and equal opportunity, showing their commitment to employee well-being.

Tailoring Content for Different Platforms

They tailor fun, engaging blogs for Facebook and Twitter, while on LinkedIn, it’s serious and professional, reaching a business-centric crowd. Their LinkedIn ads are intriguing, with videos, photos, carousels, excellent design, and content.

2. McKinsey & Company: Case Studies

McKinsey, the consulting maestro, presents case studies that encapsulate complex business transformations with clarity and strategic depth. How are they different? Their case studies read like captivating stories rather than dull reports.

Storytelling at the Core of McKinsey's Content Strategy

They transform business narratives into compelling journeys. It’s not just facts; it's a narrative that begins with a clear depiction of the opportunity, setting the stage for the business challenge and its resolution. The storytelling unfolds logically, providing a comprehensive view of the situation.

Client-Centric Approach

McKinsey showcases a client-centric approach, focusing on the client’s objectives and the impact of McKinsey’s intervention. Integrating quotes from critical stakeholders adds that human touch. The insights into the client’s perspective make the content more relatable.

A Blend of Narrative and Data-Driven Insights

McKinsey backs its narrative with numbers and metrics, proof that its strategies aren’t just talk. And the language? It’s professional without being boring, expert without being overly technical, and authoritative, instilling confidence in the reader about McKinsey’s capabilities.

3. Mailchimp: Holistic Podcast Content

Over 464 million podcast listeners globally, expected to reach 504.9 million by 2024! Judging by the numbers alone, it’s clear that the podcasts wield serious content marketing potential. Over half of marketers are already tapping into it to reach their audience. As this industry expands, it’s wise to include them in your B2B content marketing strategy and stay ahead of the increasing competition.

For instance, Mailchimp, the maestro of email marketing, is diving headfirst into the world of podcasts. How does Mailchimp do this?

Mailchimp goes beyond content creation; it crafts an experience that hits home with customers. Its podcasts, which dive into the ups and downs of entrepreneurship, speak to the heart of the journey. It aims for a real connection without the hard sell.

Mailchimp's Multifaceted Podcast Strategy

Variety is the spice of their podcasting life. From interviews to stories, they serve up a content buffet that caters to different tastes, addressing pain points, sharing insights, and adding a sprinkle of humor. No silos here. Mailchimp’s podcast seamlessly integrates into their broader strategy. Emails mention the latest episodes and social media buzzes with podcast updates. A standout podcast feature? They provide transcripts.

Along with aiding the hearing impaired, it’s a savvy SEO move. A transcript packs in keywords and backlinks, making their content a breeze to find. Smart, right?

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