Content is Key How to write for B2B Industry sites, engage an audience and generate leads
? What is an Industry Website? A Business to Business website is a place where you can find a comprehensive range of thoroughly researched information on products and services. Why is an Industry Website worth your Industry time and business? Industry websites attract an identifiable audience who seek awareness through industry news and product announcements, using tools like industry required knowledge and product comparison to assist informed buying decisions. Be an online influencer in your industry Industry sites in their simplest Lucky for you, these form, allow you to add communities already exist! An your business details and industry website identifies and feature information about makes them your audience. your products and services. While this online exposure is necessary to reach an industry based audience, the real power comes when you, the expert, produces engaging content that not only provides precise information but also influences the community. This community consumes and interprets your content in order to make informed choices to do their job better. By contributing content to them you are able to influence the audience s understanding of your product s application, features and benefits bringing them closer to a purchasing decision. The formula is quite simple, the more engaging content you distribute, the more you will influence the audience. Websites allow you to: m m m See how products are being used and hear from key industry representatives Be informed about what is happening within your industry with regular updates Gain access to an array of information, developing your industry knowledge and online profile through: Being a part of breaking industry news Posting concise product and service information Uploading your video content and product specification brochures Answering questions that users may have about your company, products and services CONTENT IS KEY How to write for B2B Industry sites 1
A world of advertising expertise at your fingertips Most Business to Business industry websites are backed by a team of qualified and experienced online advisers, designers, writers and advertisers, meaning that by engaging with such sites you gain access to these services for a fraction of the cost of enlisting an agency. This makes it easier for you to develop and distribute effective content to the right audience, getting your business as much of the right sort of exposure as possible. If you ve come this far you will now know why it s important to enlist the services of well developed Business to Business sites. However performing on these platforms is a whole other ball game which involves creating engaging, audience focussed content that will generate awareness and leads. Access and engage your audience, stay ahead of your competitors Establish relationships by tapping into an online community developed especially for your business and its potential clients. Place yourself ahead of your competitors: industry websites are a cost effective way to target and service your audience, matching their needs with your solutions How to write for industry websites, grab attention and generate leads There are a few simple yet important points to be aware of when writing for industry websites. More likely than not, when posting to these sites your key objectives are to: Build brand or product awareness Encourage user engagement; and Generate leads With this in mind, we have developed 3 easy steps to create well thought out content which drives your business towards becoming an online industry influencer, achieving your objectives and increasing your marketing ROI. CONTENT IS KEY How to write for B2B Industry sites 2
1 Content Is Key As Quintilian so aptly put: There are no dull subjects, only dull writers. When writing product specific content, audience engagement is the most important element. So how do you go about engaging your audience? There s no point throwing together a bunch of words and hoping your target audience will somehow trip over your article and love it. Sure somev of them may find it, a lot may not. So it is imperative that you map who your audience is, figure out where they hang out online, understand their language and the way they think or what they re interested in and begin to form targeted content and messages around that. Specialised industry sites, professionals and associations can assist with this process; they usually have a very good idea where to find the latest information on news, products and services, all you have to do is ask. CONTENT IS KEY How to write for B2B Industry sites 3
Creating Engaging Content Formulating winning content is an art form; however there are a few key factors to remember that will put you on the right track: Keep the piece customer focussed, it is far more interesting for a customer to read something about themselves rather than someone else, you can achieve this by focusing on the solutions your product or service provides Eliminate all unnecessary information and transparent sales spiel by embracing short, sharp, informative sentences Eradicate key word stuffing and meaningless adjectives like excellent and great instead replacing them with solid content that your readers can engage with, relate to and ultimately share Don t forget the pretty pictures and snappy captions As the old adage goes, a picture really is worth 1000 words, so it is important you include relevant and clear images to enhance user experience. And guess what?? The little captions under the image are one of the most read pieces of text on a website, so make sure they re present and relevant. The main point to remember here is to be clear and keep it simple: The audience must never be confused and should always know exactly why your message is relevant to them, good content is written by humans for humans and should read smoothly and form organically. CONTENT IS KEY How to write for B2B Industry sites 4
2 Formatting, break it up and look the part Content needs to be eye catching, simple and logically set out, having the right information on a page is just not enough. Give purpose to your content by breaking up text into subject sections This is another simple yet effective technique which is essential when writing about products as it allows you to convey unique features and benefits easily. Taking the time to format your message is just as important as the message itself and actually isn t that hard to do. Stimulate interest by always addressing your main points first, this is sometimes referred to as the reverse pyramid concept and rightly so, when conveying information digitally the first couple of seconds are vital. Studies have shown users scan information for key points online, so make the most of subheadings to convey your essential messages as users don t read. Every. Infinite. Detail. With this in mind you need to think about the structure of your content. In the opening line you need to answer Who? What? Why? Where? When? How? In other words, tell me EVERYTHING quickly and succinctly so I can look at the pretty pictures. A few other stylistic points to consider: Mix up sentences with varying lengths to make text look more interesting and less sterile Embrace the bullet point, it s your friend Make an important statement by using Bold or Italics There are thousands of ways to use formatting to entice a reader; however, the most important one is not to go overboard. CONTENT IS KEY How to write for B2B Industry sites 5
3Keep it fresh with updated content Distribute your content effectively So now your content is live on the web, you are engaging with your audience and generating leads, you are nearing the end of your content journey, or are you? As the internet has evolved so have its key players, which tend to dictate how we interact online. Search engines like Google favour fresh and unique content, meaning that regularly updating and posting original content is vital to your ongoing performance. There are some easy ways to keep on top of this: Adjust your content to keep it up to date and relevant to current developments within your company and the industry Regularly seed out press releases to industry websites and blogs for the creation of articles to help drive quality traffic and generate interest Enhance user experience by updating youtube videos, PDF s and engaging through social media regularly, remember a conversation goes both ways so a timely response is the key here When writing and refreshing online content always keep in mind what distribution channels you will be using. Industry sites usually have a wealth of metrics and reporting systems behind their site so you can gain insight about your audience, finding out where users come from, what they re searching for or what devices they are using, be it desktop computers, mobiles or tablets. All this information should assist you in developing and distributing the right types of content to the right audience, at the right time. CONTENT IS KEY How to write for B2B Industry sites 6
In Summary Online content should be engaging and relevant to your targeted audience. Business to Business industry websites like www.ferret.com.au provide the ability to efficiently search for an identified product or service, compare similar offerings and contact potential businesses that supply the solution to the identified need. They do all of this in one conveniently located place and by providing engaging and relevant content on these sites you are directly advertising to and pursing your target audience. ( 1300 659 769 A Division of Reed Business Information CONTENT IS KEY How to write for B2B Industry sites 7