B2B content marketing has to strike the right tone, touch and tempo to be effective.
Creators tackling B2B content marketing should bear in mind three differences compared to consumer content. Tone, touch and tempo set B2B content marketing apart. When you get these wrong, your message can miss its mark. However, the right tone, touch and tempo can educate and engage your B2B audience effectively.
B2B content marketing tone should be consultative, not casual
A business reader tunes in to your content for the same reason they hire a consultant: they have a business problem they hope you can solve. Show them you have what it takes to help with the consultative, authoritative tone of a professional. The casual, chummy tone often found in consumer content marketing simply won’t do.
Use a deft touch to respectfully engage your business reader
Let your business reader know you can help without highlighting their foibles. No one likes to be called out for their shortcomings or told they’ve been doing it wrong.
Assume your business reader is a highly intelligent individual. Give them credit for recognizing a new solution when they see one. Counsel without criticizing. While consumer content marketing can use tongue-in-cheek references to the reader’s old way of doing things, it’s best not to poke fun here.
Aim the tempo of B2B content marketing at a busy business reader
Consumers may have patience for anecdotes and tangents; the business reader does not. Keep your message brief, and use bullets instead of prose. The well-known term elevator pitch is apt. If you’re effective, you may earn more attention from your business reader.
This, in fact, is the single most important thing B2B content marketers need to understand: your business reader’s attention is something you earn by delivering value, not something they owe you.
Need help?
If you have a content marketing program or are planning one, download our eBook 100 Mistakes Businesses Make When Starting, Optimizing and Scaling Content Marketing Programs.
This eBook will walk you through the mistakes of hundreds of other companies and the challenges they faced in implementing their content marketing programs. To learn more about how Tempesta Media can help you streamline your content creation process and deliver quality content at scale, contact us today.
