4 Effective Digital Marketing Strategies for B2B Companies
Read this article and understand the effective way of digital marketing strategies for the B2B companies and it will be an effective solution for the global leaders.
In this industrialized age, traditional marketing is not enough anymore. Businesses need an online presence to reach out to more potential clients and build a strong client base. Through digital marketing, B2B start-ups operating on a limited budget can recover their initial investments within a few months.
Digital marketing is a game changer. It has changed the business landscape, paving the way for smaller B2B businesses to come into their own. Not to mention it saves time and resources. You do not have to maintain a physical office, which is often costly and prone to red tapes.
For all its advantages, everyone must come to terms with the fact that digital marketing is a rapidly evolving field. This means every business owner who wants a piece of the pie needs to keep up with the latest trends. After identifying trends that do work, they need to devise strategies that take into consideration current digital marketing standards.
Below is a list of effective digital marketing strategies designed to leverage your growing B2B company:Produce Compelling Content
One important reminder for B2B companies doing content marketing is that your target customers are businesses too. This means your website must reflect the market you serve and content written on it must adopt the right style. What type of content do you think will appeal most to your potential clients?
There is no one-size-fits-all content. Different businesses relay different types of information to their target markets. What you consider quality content for your business may not always be the right content. It takes more than just grammar and jargon to make your content effective.
Here are key takeaways for generating the right content:
1. Technical terms may give your site a professional feel but they hardly convince prospects to do business with you. If you want to transmit your message better, focus on creating interesting and easy-to-understand content.
2. Remember that you are dealing with businesses from any industry and niche. You need to cut across this diversity by getting your message across in a concise manner. It's good to engage your customers but tries not to beat around the bush too much. Cut to the chase and present your case without sounding overly commercial.
3. You may also want to highlight the benefits of your products or services. Clients want to know what they are getting into and why partnering with your business is worth it. They need information they can use to make proper decisions.
4. When targeting high-level businesses, a professional tone may be in order. Using a third person point of view is often recommended. If you are not comfortable with this setup, you are free to use a second or first person point view. However, avoid getting too informal. Be professional and engaging at the same time.
5. Do not promise what you cannot deliver. Most businesses tend to exaggerate their capacity in a bid to increase their reputation. But customers already know how the web works. If you really want them to stay with you, be truthful with what you can and cannot do.
Content marketing is effective for both startup and established B2B companies. Studies show that consistent and quality content marketing generates three times more leads and is 62 percent cheaper than certain types of marketing.
In a digital world filled with intrusive ads, most people would rather read a sensible and informative article. Content is like a breath of fresh air for those looking for valuable information.Install a Responsive Website Design
While businesses need a good website, having one does not necessarily translate to better sales or higher online visibility. An effective website design can easily be crawled by the search engine and contributes to the growth of your customer base.
B2B companies redesign their website for a variety of reasons. The downside is some businesses look at website design and digital marketing as separate entities. When they work on one, they neglect the other.
But the real story is that web design and digital marketing go hand in hand. This goes without saying that redesigning your website should take into account your entire digital marketing strategy.
Your website is the best representation of your company. You have the leeway to promote your company as you see fit through your website. To stay relevant, however, your business has to change with the times. And your website plays a vital role in this change.
Nowadays search engines give priority to responsive websites. Gone are the days of random web building and content stuffing. Google has laid down rules for coding websites and displaying content. If you adhere to these rules, they will considerably reward you with page 1 search results.
But what is a responsive design and how can you integrate this quality into your current web redesign project? Consider the following tips:
1. Choose a web design that is compatible with any browser (Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Opera, Internet Explorer).
2. Design should adapt to different screen sizes and can be accessed on any device (desktop, mobile, and tablet).
3. Instruct your web designer to clean up your website infrastructure so that source code complies with W3C standards.
4. Make sure your website loads fast by compressing images, limiting the use of flash documents and adding light plugins.
5. The website must be easy to navigate with clear sections, categories, and subcategories.
6. Provide alt texts for images on your site (this allows Google to place images under the right search categories).
7. Make images and other navigation elements – such as headings and subheadings – clickable.
8. Add an in-site search feature so it will be easy for visitors to look for information on your site.
9. Allot a blog section on your website to facilitate content marketing, link building, and other search engine optimization activities.
10. Pay attention to current digital marketing trends and check whether your chosen design incorporates these new developments.
Though a standout website is important, responsiveness should be your guiding principle when it comes to web design. A responsive site, according to KeyCdn, requires low maintenance, converts visitors to actual customers and has a lower bounce rate. Moreover, it encourages traffic from mobile users, who have been more active than desktop users in the last few years.Use Social Media Marketing
A number of B2B companies have qualms about adding social media into their overall digital marketing strategy. Some companies downplay social media as an effective online marketing tool. They think the B2B industry is too much of a niche market with little social media following. Others feel they have no choice but to join the bandwagon because everyone uses it these days. Even if there is some awkwardness to this marketing approach.
Though you may not have the same following as celebrities and famous brands, social media can still help you leverage your business. Statistics prove just how valuable and important the use of social media is for your digital marketing campaign.
So that your B2B company can warm up to the idea of social media marketing, take note of these statistics:
1. According to research conducted by the Content Marketing Institute, 83 percent of B2B companies in North America use social media.
2. Social media is the most common and cost-efficient tactic among B2B marketers.
3. Majority of B2B businesses have LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter profiles (or at least one of them) for distributing content.
4. More than half of B2B marketers said social media has helped them generate leads.
5. On average, B2B companies maintain approximately 6 social media accounts.
6. Almost every B2B company adopts a social media strategy but less than half put it into writing.
7. Nearly 80 percent of such companies hire a dedicated team for the sole purpose of increasing their social media presence.
8. In a report published by the Social Media Examiner, 6 hours worth of social media marketing generates increased traffic.
9. Statistics from Altimeter confirm that half of the B2B companies using social media have seen increased customer experience and brand reputation.
10. About 25 percent said their sales have increased.
11. In 2017, more than a quarter of B2B companies used paid ads as part of their social media strategy.
12. Social media spending may increase to 24 percent within 5 years, according to Rebecca Lee White from Track Maven.
13. Twitter is the most preferred social media platform for launching new B2B products or services.
14. LinkedIn generates more relevant leads for the B2B industry compared to other platforms.
15. 73 percent of companies using YouTube have experienced the higher return on investments.
16. Though many companies use Facebook to raise their brand identity, less than half of B2B marketers consider it effective.
17. Twitter is the most effective marketing platform for businesses targeting mobile users.
18. LinkedIn profiles have better conversion rates than either Twitter or Facebook.
19. Each year, more and more B2B companies use YouTube to drive business growth.
20. Facebook is the fourth most preferred social network among B2B marketers.
The statistics presented above prove just how important social media is to any digital marketing campaign. Social media marketing adds force to your campaign and allows you to explore leads not covered by your other strategies. Like a missing piece, the use of social media completes the whole digital marketing puzzle.Conduct an Email Outreach
Think of email outreach as no different from sending emails except that your recipients are target prospects. As opposed to regular emails, email outreach has a clear goal in sight and a designated content format.
Most B2B marketers try to save time by using a platform that allows them to customize key areas of their email. If you have a high volume of leads, you can use email marketing providers like MailChimp and Aweber. These platforms are easy to use and allow you to send and customize bulk emails.
In consonance with your email outreach, you can also create aesthetically appealing newsletters that keep your clients in the loop about your latest offerings or activities. Email marketing providers give B2B marketers the opportunity to use graphics, which add visual appeal to their email content.Choosing the Right Digital Marketing Strategies
Digital marketing is a continually expanding field that encompasses a range of online strategies. Your B2B company must not settle with a single strategy but must also take into account different aspects of digital marketing. Remember there is no single most effective type of strategy.
Most digital marketing campaigns involve content marketing, web redesigning, social media marketing and email outreach. Others B2B marketers combine two or three of these strategies, even going so far as optimizing for search engines.
Regardless of the strategies you choose, the needs of your clients should always come first. There is no point in digital marketing if at the end of the day you cannot meet your clients' expectations. They are the reason why you promote your products and services online, to begin with.
Allocate sufficient budget to ensure you can run an effective, long-term campaign. A secure funding source will help your campaign cover as much ground as possible.
Finally, go the extra mile but know your limits. You do not have to promise anything that is beyond your business capacity. As a business owner, it is your duty to conduct your digital marketing with integrity at all times.
About Author
Lance Clemens is a content strategist and marketer for SEO Company Canberra, a premier provider of digital marketing and SEO services based in Canberra, Australia.
