Research shows how you rank your effectiveness and how your buyers rank your effectiveness as a content marketer differs significantly. This article by Randy Frisch, CMO and co-founder, Uberflip, examines how far apart you are from understanding your audience’s priorities and how you can reduce the disconnect.Â
If you are among the 70%Opens a new window of marketers actively investing in content marketing, I have a question for you: how would you rank your effectiveness in this area? Got your answer? Okay, now, I have another question: how would your buyers rank your effectiveness? Without knowing either of you personally, it is still safe to assume these scores would differ significantly.
How do I know? Well, for one, there is researchOpens a new window to back it up. But it is also evident in the fact that many organizations are investing in content marketing and failing to get the returns from it that they could. I want to change that for you. So, here is a look at how far apart you may be from understanding your audience’s priorities and how you can bridge the gap.
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The Priority Chasm
There are many disconnects between marketers and buyers but let us zero in on those related to content assets. When consumers were surveyed and asked which content assets they find most useful, user reviews were the leading response (64%). Product tours came in second place (43%), and videos were third (33%). This speaks to the fact that people are looking for third-party validation and straightforward information. They want to be educated, not sold to.
Remember a few words back when I said buyers do not want to be sold to? Keep that in mind as you check out which content assets marketers continue to prioritize. In first place are none other than sales sheets (47%), followed by whitepapers (42%) and ebooks (30%). This flies in the face of what buyers today want. Buyers are looking for very particular types of content assets, and marketers are prioritizing completely different ones. Therein lies the rub — and much of the reason behind ineffective content efforts and subpar conversion rates.
Organizational Issues
It is clear from these stats that marketers need to focus more on delivering the types of content assets that buyers actually want. But, this is not the only aspect to consider. Let me walk you through a scenario. You are scoping out vendors and trying to figure out which ones have which features so you can compare them. You go to one of the vendors’ websites, and how do you search? Do you type in “ebooks†or scour the navigation menu for a tab marked “ebooks?†Or, do you search for “features†or “product specs†and try to find a product page? Unless you are a content junkie who curls up by the fireplace with a good ebook on your days off, most people will do the latter.
So why, oh why are marketers still organizing their content assets by format? Customers want to find answers to their problems and information on specific topics. If your content is housed under “blogs,†“podcast,†“infographics,†etc., you will have much lower engagement than if you make it searchable by keyword and group content pieces together based on the shared subject matter. Also, consider the value of each asset. If you organize by date, the most recent content will always be on top, which may cause visitors to miss that really powerful video from six months ago that you would rather have them see.
Additionally, it is crucial to remember the buyer journey as you organize your assets. Generally, it goes like this: awareness, consideration, purchase, customer, advocate. Think through how these intersect and what content someone needs in each stage. Whitepapers and ebooks, two of marketers’ favorite content types, are long-form and in-depth. But they are often used as top-of-funnel content to attract site visitors and generate leads. More often than not, this does not get through to buyers.
At the top of the funnel, they need quicker content that is easier to digest, like short-form or visual content (e.g., product tours and videos). If you feel strongly that long-form content is vital for your company or for educating your buyers, you can still use it; just make sure you are mindful of where it should go in the buyer journey for it to be useful and nurture leads further along.
The Broken Experience
There is a whole lot of rocky road when it comes to content marketing, and I do not mean ice cream. Since almost all (97%) of B2B buyers engage with more than one piece of content from a vendor after they click through from an email, ad, or social media post, you have to consider how that path looks.
Your buyer may click on a link that takes them to a video on your blog that then opens on YouTube. But you ultimately want that individual to come back to your site and download an ebook. Here is where frustration and distraction creep in. First, how do you expect them to jump from one place to another and then another and not get frustrated, tired, and fussy — or give up altogether? Secondly, a link opening in YouTube is risky business (I mean, who among us has not gotten distracted and lost 30 minutes watching cats push salt shakers off countertops?). The content experience you provide should be as seamless as possible to lead your buyer where you want them to go, minus opportunities for frustration and distraction.
Learn More: What Businesses Need To Connect With Buyers in 2021: 3 Ways To Leverage User-Generated Content in B2B
Consider the marketing team at Evolent Health. They use content recommendations to keep people on their site viewing what they want them to view next.
It is pretty obvious that marketers and buyers have been on entirely different pages (maybe even in different libraries) regarding which content assets matter most. The good news is you have the power to change this and give your audience what they really want. Now is the time to update your content marketing strategy and provide a better experience, so you and your customers can enjoy better results.