Reaching customers with a B2B approach takes a little more finesse and complexity--especially in your content. As you build your content plan through content ideas, cient briefs and drafts, it becomes a larger process that operates better when you have a plan. That's the purpose of a B2B content workflow. It keeps you focused and productive, and all of that leads to stronger, more engaging content.
In this guide, we'll walk you through the steps of an effective B2B content workflow. From setting goals to measuring performance, it covers the end to end process for setting an effective content creation cycle.
A B2B content workflow is the series of steps your team follows to plan, create, publish, and analyze content. A good workflow fully supports your content marketing strategy, ensuring consistency, quality, and efficiency in your output.
It’s interesting when we explain B2B marketing separately from B2C marketing. We are still reaching individuals. That tends to get lost, as though a business in an entity that we can target. Remember that the B2B audience is made of people, but in a B2B capacity, they have different thresholds of risk and criteria.
B2B often involves multiple stakeholders and a more rigorous approval process. That’s why B2C content can aim for quick emotional responses, but B2B content can be under more scrutiny.
Develop workflows that focus on:
Key components of a B2B content workflow include strategy development, content creation, approval processes, distribution, and performance analysis.
First, identify your broader business goals. Are you aiming to increase brand awareness, generate leads, or establish thought leadership? Once you do, then you can set specific content goals that support your larger ones.
Ensure that each piece of content serves a specific business objective. For example, if your goal is to grow qualified leads by 20%, your content should be designed to capture leads through gated content or calls-to-action.
KPIs are measurable values that demonstrate how effectively your content is achieving its objectives. Common KPIs include website traffic, engagement rates, lead conversion rates, and social media shares.
Now that you've set your goals, it's time to roll up your sleeves and do some homework.
Understanding your audience is key to creating content that resonates. Conduct surveys, analyze customer data, and interview your customers. What challenges do they face? What information do they need to make decisions?
Your competitors' content can provide valuable insights and help you identify gaps in your own strategy. Look at what types of content are performing well for your them and how you can differentiate your own. Analyze their top performing pages, identify gaps in their approach, and find opportunities to differentiate your brand.
A content strategy outlines your approach to content creation and distribution. An editorial calendar helps you plan and schedule your content, ensuring consistency and alignment with your marketing goals.They should help you keep track of:
Cue the clichés: “Here's where the rubber meets the road. This is where the magic happens…” But then you stop, because you are a content-creating powerhouse, and clichés have no place in your repertoire. Let’s try again. With this step, it’s time to inject your unique point of view into material that your audience will connect with. What you create should be a well-thought-out blend of creativity and strategy.
If you enlist your team to help review your content, set expectations about what you want them to weigh in on. Build a rubric if necessary to define the criteria that the pieces should be held to. A robust review and approval process ensures your content is on-point and on-brand.
Set up a clear chain of review, including subject matter experts, legal teams (if necessary), and final approvers. That will help you maintain quality and consistency.
Encourage constructive criticism and be open to revisions.
Take advantage of tools like Google Docs, Asana, or Trello to streamline the review process and keep everyone on the same page.
You've created amazing content, now it's time to get it in front of your audience.
The first step to improving your performance is knowing where you stand. Establish a baseline, and you can challenge yourself to grow from there. Use analytics tools to track your content's performance against the KPIs you established earlier.
Use analytics tools like Google Analytics, HubSpot, or SEMrush to track your content's performance. These tools can provide insights into metrics like page views, bounce rates, and conversion rates.
Regularly review your performance data to understand what's working and what's not. Look for patterns. Which types of content perform best? What topics resonate with your audience?
Use the insights to refine your content workflow. Maybe those 3000-word technical guides aren't getting the engagement you hoped for, but your video tutorials are killing it.
The work doesn't stop once you've established your workflow. The most successful B2B content marketers are always looking to improve.
By following these steps and continually refining your process, you'll develop a B2B content workflow that not only produces great content but also drives real business results. Remember, the perfect workflow doesn't happen overnight. It's a journey of constant learning and improvement. So, keep at it, and watch your content marketing efforts pay off.
