Tag Archives: b2b

Content Marketing Strategy for B2B Software Vendors: Starring the ‘New’ White Paper

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Since I have been unable to generate any new content for two weeks due to a personal situation that has taken up nearly all of my attention, I share with you another fine writeup by my friend and colleague Julie Hunt. The following post originally appeared on Highly Competitive just last month.

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For the past several years, multiple studies by different research firms have been conducted to evaluate the most sought-out and influential content for B2B technology customers during decision-making buying cycles, and every time, in every study, the #1 preferred content is the White Paper.

The white paper is the #1 most influential piece of collateral that technology purchasers consult when making or influencing a buying decision for their company, according to a recent survey by Eccolo Media

However, many B2B software vendors still are missing the boat with their use of white papers and have not employed them in ways to engage potential buyers, let alone convert them to customers.

In The Beginning…

Technology white papers find their origins in government briefs that were called white books, alluding to the plain white binding that was used. With the transformation to the technology white paper, experts, lead architects, systems designers used these documents to provide authoritative discussions of key ideas or technologies to show thought leadership and future direction. The classic white paper was very technical and dissertation-like, rich with in-depth details and research results.

Then something happened to white papers when many software companies began to generate them as “product collateral”. White papers were hijacked by many product marketing and marketing groups to directly promote products. Content became thinly veiled product brochures extolling the virtues of the software offerings, highlighting information favorable to the vendor. White papers became just another item in the checklist of collateral to generate for a product launch. Little strategic thinking or advance planning went into creating white papers, including the recruitment of a top tech professional to write the white paper. Well, guess what: software solution buyers do not like that kind of white paper.

When asked what most disappointed in a white paper, poor writing ranked number one.

One surprise in the findings – the respondents said they’re more disappointed when a white paper doesn’t contain enough technical information rather than when a paper contains too much.

What Potential Buyers Want In Effective White Papers

Quality Quality Quality

Customers continue to call out high quality writing with accurate and useful content as top values for the white papers that they want to read and use. They want plenty of details (tech / business), which means content has to be: tight, clear, compelling, authentic.

The survey also found that the quality of report writing gets noticed. Some 86% of respondents felt that high-quality writing was at least moderately influential and 51% ranked good writing as either very or extremely influential. By contrast, poor quality writing was the most frequent reason respondents gave for decreasing the influence of a white paper.

Less Time to Consume Content

A lot of great content is constantly published on the web, due largely to constant brisk evolution of business needs and corresponding software solutions. Customers would like to consume a large variety of content, so they prefer shorter lengths for white papers. Shorter white papers also allow vendors to generate a constant flow of new content that also keeps pace with business and tech changes. According to most of the studies cited in this article, the ideal length of a white paper is 4-8 pages. (Tech Marketing Best Practices Research Series on white papers states that 86% of tech buyers want white papers under 10 pages.)

Buyers are proactive in the use of white papers:

How to Maximize the Use of White Papers in Your B2B Marketing and Sales Process, released by InformationWeek in February 2009. Its survey of 542 professional buyers found that 93% of IT buyers pass along up to half of the white papers they read/download, and that 54% of those surveyed contacted a vendor for more information after reading a white paper.

No Registration Please

When marketing groups co-opted the white paper another marketing staple was added: requiring buyer registration to be able to download the white paper. There is a strong buyer sentiment that vendor websites should not require any information from the buyer for any content downloads.  After all, the sales engagement is buyer-driven, with the buyer deciding when and if next steps will be taken.

A recent survey done by Spiceworks (SMB IT management resource site) addressed the issue of having to register for white papers:

We also found a lot of people – more than 75% – DON’T sign up for papers requiring registration, which means the vendor is missing the opportunity to share and disseminate their knowledge.

How many (vendors) stopped requiring registration as the result of your survey?

A handful so far. The results are pretty staggering. When you remove the “registration wall,” downloads go way up. One white paper that was offered without registration was downloaded 500 times in three days!

White Papers and Content Marketing Strategies

Potential buyers visit B2B corporate websites with the intent of finding all kinds of information that will help with purchase decisions. Buyers also look for vendor information on other web venues. It is critical for any vendors who see web presence as a key to success to build a strategy for content marketing. A content marketing strategy for B2B software vendors should focus on providing relevant, compelling, and frequently updated information for target markets and customers/buyers. A high quality white paper is a significant business asset for content marketing: quality content holds its value for reusability, engagement, impact, and vendor credibility.

Adam Needles: Content marketing is the architecture behind information exchanged with the buyer before we can get them to ’sales ready’; it is the rationalization of what content that our prospective buyers need at various stages of the buying cycle and via what media and channels; and it is integral to the nurturing process.  Content thus has moved from tactical to strategic.

Many B2B software vendors could benefit greatly from building a content marketing strategy around white papers. Don’t just produce single white papers in a reactive fashion, as a product launch checklist item done in a hurry. Plan, create and publish excellent white papers well in advance of any product launches.  B2B software vendors should be publishing white papers with high frequency (since customers want shorter white papers): set the stage for what your company does now and will do in future. Show authentic thought leadership, clear understanding of various customer needs and real problem-solving.

Publishing sets of “companion” white papers is a good idea for vendors targeting buyers with different perspectives such as business and tech buyers, and biz-tech composites. Some white papers can be created to bridge the gap between business and tech, to encourage collaborative definition of needs and problem-solving. Series of white papers that break down a complex topic can be an interesting approach as well. These approaches will show vendor commitment to helping customers understand current technology trends as well as provide guidance for solving problems or for becoming more competitive.

Beyond publishing great white papers is the opportunity for vendors to engage customers in conversations through social media, wherever customers participate. There already is a social aspect to downloaded white papers – customers have a high rate of sharing white papers. Tap into social media for interactive conversations with potential buyers and industry writers. On download pages include links to communities and forums to encourage discussion. Schedule Tweetjams for topics covered in white papers. Comment on blogs that address the topics of vendor white papers, not to directly promote the white paper, but to add to the brainstorm and show command of the topic.

Value of white papers for B2B software vendors:

Value of white papers for B2B software vendors

The Right Industry Professional to Create White Papers for B2B Software Vendors

Keeping in mind that customers have made clear that they want high quality content with extensive tech details, it would make sense to work with a software industry professional with strong tech experience, business smarts, and who can articulate complex ideas clearly and authentically. This would be a professional who has worked with customers, understands both business and tech, has the ability to hold the interest of these readers. And of course, this professional has to be a really good writer.

White papers will benefit from a professional who has decent smarts for several software solution categories and who has good hands-on experience on the tech side of software. The business-technology professional should contribute rich insight, produce creative content and original thinking, see unexpected connections and future trends. Direct customer experience enhances an understanding of how tech will help customer competitiveness, and will enable writing from the customer POV.

Another very useful attribute of the right professional would be one who is inter-connected to individuals throughout the software industry: analysts, practitioners, consultants, writers, vendors. A professional who is in constant conversations with other industry SMEs will be up-to-date on key topics and trends, and will have resources at hand for research and confirmation. Quality white papers will result if the professional regularly writes software industry-related articles and blog posts, participates in new product briefings from various vendors and start-ups, and continually monitors several software solution spaces. A business-technology professional who is well-connected in social media can also provide guidance to vendors for content marketing strategies that target white papers and social media.

The ‘New’ White Paper:

  • Reflecting studies cited: high quality and accurate content, plenty of deep details (tech / business), 8 pages or less which engenders content that is tight, engaging, well-written, inspiring
  • Often written from the customer POV, using customer language
  • Covers trends that matter: new solution segments – transitions of solutions
  • Real takeaways that benefit customers whether they buy the vendor solution or not – vendor is associated with insight to solving problem, doing things in new way that is useful
  • Inform, educate at sophisticated level to provide real depth
  • Create companion white papers when different customer roles come into play for the topic (business, tech, hybrid/composite)
  • Passion in the treatment: blogging has shown that writing about software solutions is more engaging if the writer inserts personality into the work – apply this to white papers when appropriate
  • Provoke thought about the solution space: new thinking for addressing needs; provoke desire to find out more;  provoke a conversation that will lead back to the vendor
  • Look into employing variety of buyer scenarios to connect customers to relevance of topic
  • Infographics, tech details, guidelines, suggested reading, links to other resources (not necessarily on vendor site) – all add to value in buyer eyes
  • Format for readability, flow, quick-scanning, engagement
  • Publish on the distributed web – not just on corporate site but share on sites frequented by buyers
  • Stir the pot: encourage social media conversations through blogs, Twitter, forums, communities, Facebook; also actively contribute comments on relevant blogs
  • Not self-serving brochure-ware solely touting vendor offering – but can address issues that matter to buyers that generally could be solved with vendor’s offering

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Contact the author, Julie Hunt, on Twitter at http://twitter.com/juliebhunt

Social Media for B2B: It CAN be done

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Aaron Strout

This week, Return On Now has the privilege of sharing with you a guest post by Aaron Strout, CMO of Powered Inc. right here in Austin, TX. In addition to running marketing, he also serves as a key “social voice” for the company.  In that capacity, Aaron continues with his speaking, blogging, podcasting, and social networking activities with an eye toward creating awareness and lead generation for the company. Aaron co-hosts the Quick-n-Dirty weekly podcast with Jennifer Leggio, he maintains a social media blog titled Citizen Marketer 2.1, and he is well-known as a thought leader in online and social media marketing.

For today’s post, Aaron has agreed to give his overview on B2B and how social media can actually be used to benefit the business. With all of the discussion surrounding concerns about measuring impact to the bottom line, I felt that this would be an important topic for all to hear.

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Why is it that, when it comes to conversation about social media, business-to-business (B2B) seems to get the short end of the stick every single time? As someone who does a lot of webcasts, blog posts, and speaking gigs, the question/comment that always comes up is, “what about B2B examples.” Fortunately for me, I’m able to mention companies like BreakingPoint Systems and Hubspot that do a great job tapping into the power of social media, but I often wish there were more examples (with public results) that I could discuss.

BuildingsIn thinking about this topic, one of the main reasons that B2B has taken a little longer to adopt social media into its marketing mix is that it’s harder to do effectively. It’s also feels risky because there is less control then  in other channels. With that said, I personally believe that B2B companies stand to benefit the most from social media because they live and die based on the strength of their customer relationships. On top of that, many B2B companies actually know exactly who their prospective customers are, so seeking those folks out in a meaningful way and creating relationships with them can have a huge impact on the bottom line.

Given that I’m a prescriptive kind of guy, I’d feel remiss if I didn’t offer up some tips about how companies can start thinking about putting social media into practice. There are obviously tons of ways, but here are a few (including a diagram that provides more color commentary on item number three):

  1. Start listening. This is easier to do than you think. Set up a Google alert for your company’s name, your competitors’ names, and keywords for your industry. If you’re already doing this, consider hiring a “listening” service like Techrigy, Radian6, or Meltwater Buzz. This will help you find where all the relevant conversations in your space are happening.
  2. Create a Twitter account for your business. However, resist the urge to put up links to press releases, product specs, and links to press that are singing your business’s praises (at least out of the gate). Instead, talk about things that people in your industry care about. For instance, if you create bill payment software, talk about the needs of small-to-medium sized businesses across the financial spectrum (payroll, credit, vendor management, etc.) Link to reports and industry analysis. Point out other peoples’ blog posts and magazine articles.
  3. Set up a blog. Before you do this, though, make sure you have someone (ideally internal) who is willing to commit to posting at least 5-6 times/month. This can be someone on your marketing, product, or PR teams, or even better, one of your executives. Think about creating an editorial calendar to help guide your topics. Most importantly, spend time looking at other industry related blogs — in fact, you should spend at least a month doing this before you set up your own blog. Be sure to comment on those blogs (talk about the topic, not your company). This will help with getting to know the relevant “social” people in the space.
  4. Create an online community. Once you’ve gotten comfortable with items 1-3, start thinking about an online community. Ideally, this is for both current and prospective customers. Some businesses feel more comfortable about creating private communities where customers can talk to one another. The key in either case is to hire a great community manager and let them help you create relevant content via webinars, blog posts, and conference calls (see diagram below). A community manager will also help you draw out your customers and ensure that conversations stay relevant and productive.
  5. Measure, measure, measure. This is less difficult than you might imagine. This really should start with looking at your current goals — i.e. new customers, greater retention, larger share of wallet, referrals, etc. Then make sure you benchmark (i.e. look at your webstats and current KPI’s) before you launch your social efforts. Then, look at how you’re moving the bar over time. A key place to look is your web analytics, to see what kind of traffic and engagement your Twitter feed and/or blog efforts are driving. Also, it doesn’t hurt to survey customers and ask them if your efforts are impacting their loyalty to your company.
B2B Community Model
B2B Community Model

I won’t lie to you; everything I mentioned above takes effort. But it’s worth trying, especially when it’s done right, because it will yield results. One thing that I failed to mention is the importance of integrating the recommendations above with your existing marketing/channel activity. Social media doesn’t live in a vacuum, and if nobody can find the fruit of your efforts, you may as well not have exerted the time and resources.

Am I missing anything? You bet I am. But that’s where you come in. What types of social media have you tried? What’s worked? Please feel free to share in the comments section below.

Entrepreneurs: Top 5 Sites to Market Yourself

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With marketing having fundamentally changed over the past several years, it is becoming increasingly important to have an online presence. And this is a great thing for those of us who aspire to operate as solo entrepreneurs or very small companies. Now, your voice can be heard loudly and clearly by more people than ever before. It has become so much easier and cheaper to get in front of new customers and prospects that a physical store is now an option, rather than a must.

As a result, if you are not taking part in the following communities, it’s officially time to start thinking about it. Your upside depends on it.

NOTE: to get a better view of  the below screenshots, you can click them to see a full-screen version of each image.

Twitter

Twitter

1. Twitter - I must admit it; I’ve become a verified Twitter addict (as if you couldn’t tell by my weekly Twitter digest on here). After having been part of various social media services over the past 10+ years, I really didn’t get the power of Twitter on first glance. But boy do I now. If you can’t afford or won’t pay for PR, then you absolutely need to get on Twitter and start engaging with folks. All it takes is your time and effort.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn

2. LinkedIn – This is the premier business-to-business networking site, and it’s not just an online resume like some have accused it of being. Don’t just set up a profile on there and forget it. Connect with other professionals in your field and your locale. Join some groups and contribute to the overall discussion of the groups. [This is also a great place to promote your own blog or news.] Spend a little time answering questions when you can. You can even connect your LinkedIn account to several applications and social media sites/profiles now.  I have personally made important business and personal contacts on LinkedIn, so consider me a believer in their model.

Yelp

Yelp

3. Yelp – Holding true to the idea of word-of-mouth, this site lists local businesses and allows patrons to submit ratings and reviews of the businesses. This is particularly useful for retail, restaurant, or other similar standalone operations. Yelp is a great way to reach tourists who are visiting your city, but just be sure you are good enough to garner positive ratings on the site. The risk is that poor ratings are available to everyone as well. Go test it out as a user first to see how your competitors show up [ and to see if you've made it in there in spite of yourself]. Look for your favorite restaurant as another example. If you see it will offer value for what you do, get on it stat.

PitchEngine

PitchEngine

4. PitchEngine – A trusted colleague of mine turned me on to PitchEngine over a year ago, and I’m a bonafide fan of their model. The offer a “social media press release” service for free, which is syndicated to Google via an RSS feed after the releases go live. You can also embed images and multimedia files in the releases. I’ve used the service multiple times for various employers and clients, and have gotten better coverage than with paid releases!! But of course there is one catch: PitchEngine will only archive releases for 30 days on the free plan. You can pay a monthly fee to have them store indefinitely. Just do what you can afford and what is right for your business, and you can save hundreds of dollars vs. using a PR service. [Update as of December 2011 - Pitchengine has removed the expiration on free releases per their founder, Jason Kintzlervia Twitter: "Was just sharing your post that included PitchEngine (from January) Wanted to let you know, we've updated and pitches no longer expire! ;) "]

YouTube

YouTube

5. YouTube – Video isn’t just for media and television companies any more; everyone is doing it now. There are so many benefits to using multimedia like video to market yourself, from SEO to backlinks from YouTube to engaging a more visually-cognitive audience. Be sure you tag all videos with keywords you want to rank high in when posting to YouTube. I also recommend you post another copy of the same video on your web server, embedded into the home page or another location on your website. That way, you get the SEO benefit from backlinking from YouTube and you also get a shot at ranking highly on your own right. Video is most certainly on my to-do list for new features to add on Return On Now, and it really should be for your business as well.

What other social media services do you see as must-haves for small businesses and entrepreneurs? Catch me up on any great ones that I’m missing here!

 

The 10 Commandments of B2B Social Media

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Good morning, Merry Christmas, and Happy Holidays. As I sit here awake early with  my baby awaiting everyone else (who, by the way, are still sleeping), I decided to share a little holiday cheer by way of my 10 commandments of B2B Social Media.

B2C and P2P are the easiest forms of using social media for most, and we have plenty of materials available in the blogosphere about how to attack those areas. But what I see lacking is a breadth of content about B2B.

So let’s start simple…10 important tips for how to use social media  correctly in B2B.

  1. Respect those who have chosen to befriend you, lest they move on. Yes, the various social media are great tools for reaching more eyeballs than ever before, especially if you are a cash-strapped small business. But you can never take it for granted. Social media got “opt in” right where email did not, and “opt out” is quicker and easier than ever before. Don’t forget it.
  2. If thine must pitch your product or service, back off the hard sell. If you want to play in the social media circles, there’s nothing worse than shoving your sales pitch down the throats of those who give you a couple of seconds of their time. Of course you can talk about your product, technology, reviews, case studies, etc.; just drop the used car salesman act or you’ll find yourself posting tweets and updates to no one.
  3. Buy me a drink before you ask me back to your apartment. Okay, the biblical verbiage got tired quickly, so onto other metaphors. Never forget that, regardless of communications medium chose, you are still dealing with real people. Engage. Show interest. Identify a need…first! Keep in mind you still need to use general rules of diplomacy and courtesy, whether face-to-face, on a conference call, or exchanging ideas on Twitter or LinkedIn.
  4. What I need is a chisel, or maybe a shovel, or wait, was it a pickaxe? Don’t get enamored with the tools. How many sites and systems have we seen for “getting 100′s of followers a day”, measuring Twinfluence (whatever the heck that is), and calculating the time of day tweeps tweet? Yes, use the tools right, but I long for the day when the conversation is more about what we are accomplishing via social means rather than where we are taking part in the conversation.
  5. Go to the land of your people, and you shall be rewarded. Remember the classic rules off marketing, even if they no longer all apply. Experienced marketing professionals have already figured out how to target the right audience. If you are playing around on a new social media site, make sure you can find them or you’ll just waste valuable time and effort on the wrong prospects.
  6. Be sure you have a way to lead your sheep to water, or you will be the one with thirst. Sorry about the “sheep” metaphor, but the point is pretty clear. Just talking to someone via social media doesn’t pay the bills. How are you going to drive them to your website? How will you get people into your sales funnel? How will you prove that this is where the lead originated? How will you measure it all? Sure, you can just look for some quick exposure, but at the end of the day, you have to figure out how to turn it into revenue.
  7. Watch what you say, because your potential and current customers are listening. That’s right, even if they’re not participating and seem like they aren’t paying attention, they are. Don’t say anything that you wouldn’t stand in front of a reporter and share. Because saying it on a social media property is just as likely to make its way to the press as it is your mom or brother-in-law.
  8. Pay it forward and it will come back two fold. This is a simple rule of networking that sometimes gets completely forgotten. If you want your network to bring you value, you must first offer value to them. Think about the Emotional Bank Account idea from Stephen Covey for example.  Believe in Karma or not, business is about people first, because they buy, spend money, share good experiences with friends, and ultimately, they make or break you.
  9. When in doubt, shut up! Quite simply, if your options are to say something dumb, offensive, or otherwise highly controversial, you are safer just to abstain from commenting. Unless you buy into the belief that “no PR is bad PR” and like to take enormous risks. In the vast majority of cases, discretion is more important.
  10. Keep it real, and keep it fun. While it’s crucial to take 1-9 into account, people want to engage with a real person with whom they can relate. Be conversational. Ask questions. Even crack lighthearted jokes. You want to build a relationship, just make sure it’s a potentially productive one.

On that note, I’ll get back to my holiday and leave you to yours. I hope the holidays are all that you hoped for them to be.