#95: Building Your Content Marketing Bridge
The MessageUp Newsletter | Vol. 2, Edition 43
Hi there! It’s Matt with MessageUp.
At a recent networking event, I was chit-chatting with the CEO of an early-stage fintech company. Her business had recently secured Series A investment and she was busy hiring for key positions and preparing to launch the next version of their software.
When I explained how MessageUp helps leaders to design and implement effective content marketing strategies, she nodded enthusiastically. As an accountant by training, she could immediately tell when a company had its financial affairs in order but, as she put it, “I’m not so sure about marketing.”
Based on our brief conversation, her company was doing a lot of things right. They were investing more—and more smartly—in marketing than similar businesses at the same stage, and it sounded like they were approaching content marketing in a structured way.
Then she asked, “Can you give me a quick list of things to check for?”
I gave her my 2-minute spiel on the MessageUp Content Marketing Framework, but after listening patiently, she shook her head. “I agree with all of that, but I meant a checklist on whether we’re publishing the right things. Do we have the basics covered?”
This was a different—and very astute—question.
The CEO understood that a minimum set of content is needed to attract and engage a prospect and then hold their attention throughout the purchasing and implementation process.
In this week’s post on the Framework blog, 3 Questions B2B Content Should Answer at Each Stage of the Buyer's Journey, I explain the underlying challenge, using a bridge across a river as a metaphor for what your content marketing team needs to construct.
The bridge must support your target buyer as they make their way from one bank (initial awareness) to the other (loyal, repeat buyer and advocacy). If there are gaps in the bridge, the buyer will either turn around and give up or fall through a gap into the jaws of waiting competitors.
This isn’t a foolproof list, but I think it should serve as either a solid starting point (for those early in their content marketing implementation) or a sensible checklist when reviewing a more established company’s content.
If your content fails to cover any of the key topics I’ve listed, there’s a chance prospects and customers are falling through the gap and finding their answers elsewhere. Wherever they find the most helpful answers is where they will assign authority and place their trust—key factors in determining which solution provider is most likely to win their business.
The B2B Builders Community
A quick reminder that we’re currently accepting priority waitlist applications for the B2B Builders community, which will be a place where leaders at small/mid-sized B2B companies meet, exchange ideas and experiences, learn from one another, and gain actionable insights to help grow their business.
Those who join the community from that list will receive Founder Member status conferring discounts and VIP status throughout the life of their membership.
To learn more, please read this prospectus, and, if it sounds like something for you, click on one of the embedded links and complete a quick online application to help us weed out bots and timewasters.
We’re also running a private beta, where a small group will test the online experience and collaborate on a content roadmap. If you’d like to join the beta, sight-unseen, drop me a line at b2bbuilders@messageup.com and I’ll share the details.
Reading and Taking Action
This week, our What We’ve Been Reading collection includes articles on:
Effective LinkedIn advertising.
Ethical marketing practices.
The value of independent, third-party content.
The case for retention marketing.
In an election year, we’d be remiss not to highlight an article that emphasizes the importance of ethical practices. Surrounded by examples that blatantly cross the line, it’s easy to let our standards erode—even in the often prudish world of B2B marketing. If you take one thing away from this week’s missive, let it be a reminder to stick to the moral high ground and steer clear of anything that raises an ethical eyebrow.
To round out this edition, my One Step actionable tip returns to the core concept of this week’s blog post: Does your company’s content cover your target buyer’s journey from end to end, or are there gaps a prospect or customer might slip through?
Have a great week and I’ll see you back here next Wednesday.
Cheers!
~ Matt
Our Latest Posts on The Framework Blog
Mar 13, 2024 - 3 Questions B2B Content Should Answer at Each Stage of the Buyer's Journey
Mar 06, 2024 - A B2B Marketer's Guide to Selecting the Right Format for Your Content
What We’ve Been Reading
Here are some articles we’ve been reading this week that we hope you will enjoy and find valuable:
Harnessing LinkedIn Ad Campaigns for B2B Marketing Success
Advertising on LinkedIn has become so ubiquitous among B2B companies that we tend to take its role in a B2B content marketing strategy for granted. To help alleviate that complacency, we recommend reading Ashlee Piga's excellent overview and tip sheet, compiled for Forbes Agency Council.
Ethical Marketing Practices for Businesses of All Sizes
MessageUp was founded to help B2B leaders deliver more effective content marketing, and part of our definition of effective is that the marketing must be ethical. Ethical marketing prioritizes responsibility, transparency, and trust in marketing collateral and campaigns, characteristics that show the business is willing to prioritize fairness and value over profits. Jessica True at Marketing Profs provides an excellent overview and some helpful tips.
The Value of Independent Third-Party Content
This research-based article by Kurtis Kendall at TechTarget highlights how B2B tech buyers strongly prefer authoritative 3rd-party content over vendor-generated information. Interestingly, it is perceived as more trustworthy and less likely to be AI-generated. It seems likely that this trend will extend to other B2B sectors and solution types (although we haven't yet seen data to confirm that assumption).
The B2B Case for Retention Marketing—7 Key Tactics
We don't see much written about the loyalty stage of the buyer's journey, which is a pity because it's where a great deal of ROI can be generated for relatively little investment. In this piece for MarTech, Ruth Stevens explains why retention marketing is having its moment in the sun, and shares seven tactics for tackling it effectively.
Books on B2B Content Marketing
Secure yourself a copy of Content Marketing: Mission Critical, a guide for B2B CEOs, and Content Marketing: Making the Magic Happen, a guide for B2B marketing leaders, in paperback, e-book, or audiobook format, by visiting www.messageup.com/books. There you’ll find discount codes as well as details on limited edition boxed sets that include copies signed by the author.
One Step…
This week’s One Step actionable tip zooms in on the core concept of this week’s blog post: providing your target buyer with content that supports them throughout their journey from awareness to loyalty.
Gaps in your content represent opportunities for prospects and customers to get stuck, give up, or turn to your competition for answers.
As basic as it might sound:
Open the blog post.
Print a copy if you need to.
Review whether your company’s content covers the three items listed under each stage of the buyer’s journey.
Make urgent plans to fill any gaps.
You might be surprised to discover that one or more of these seemingly obvious topics has been overlooked.
In my experience, that’s true for a majority of B2B businesses—even ones that have been prioritizing content marketing for a while—so don’t worry if you find yourself in the same situation. Worry about plugging the holes!
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