Gift and home brands are increasingly diving into digital commerce; investing in websites, marketing and social media, along with traditional channels, like markets and sales teams. This shift is a response to our modern age and changing buyers’ preferences. In fact, a Whereoware administered study of more than 5,000 retailers found that sales on B2B websites increased at a higher rate than all other channels last year.
Setting up a strong digital foundation is the first step, but what comes next? Many companies struggle to keep their website and marketing fresh and updated to increase buyer engagement and drive consistent traffic. Luckily, strong digital growth doesn’t have to be hard. Content marketing is an affordable way to show off your brand and products, while keeping your website and marketing timely and engaging.
Getting Started With Content Marketing
Content Marketing simply means creating and sharing content pieces, like articles, how-tos, interviews, videos, trend books, guides, checklists, photography and more, in an editorial versus promotional style.
Fortunately, you don’t need a media team or sizable budget to succeed with content marketing. Thanks to social networks, smartphone cameras and simple web content management systems or blogs, you can create share-worthy content on the go with a combination of internal resources and inexpensive technology.
A smart content strategy offers endless ways for you to keep your website and marketing relevant, while encouraging social shares and boosting search engine optimization. Leverage the experts, products and personalities unique to your brand and share them directly with your target audience.
Repurpose and stretch content across channels whenever possible. Add a “5 Top Sellers This AmericasMart” article to your website, feature it in an Instagram story or Facebook roundup, and interview your AmericasMart sales rep on video. Each of the smaller pieces links back to the full-length article to drive consistent traffic to your website.
Why Is Content Marketing Effective?
Content marketing turns traditional sales dynamics on its head. You’re giving your audience helpful or entertaining information, not promoting or pushing for a sale. In fact, 90 percent of the most successful B2B content marketers prioritize their audience’s informational needs over their own sales/promotional message (per CMI & MarketingProfs).
By tying content to your e-commerce site, you drive traffic and sales without coming across as salesy. Show your products in use and link directly to each product’s webpage, while packaging the information in a less intrusive, no-pressure way. Think “3 Ways to Elevate Your Outdoor BBQ” featuring a combination of tips for entertaining outdoors and photography showing your products in their best light.
Content Strategy Basics
Your content strategy should be clear, repeatable, on brand and align with business goals. Try a mix of longer pieces and quick, themed posts, like “Top Trends Thursday.” This method sets audience expectations, while helping your team mix quick and repeatable posts with time-sensitive pieces.
Spread the wealth and different perspectives by encouraging people across teams to contribute to your content strategy. A simple Google Doc or Calendar is a great way to manage multiple contributors, content approvals, deadlines and the overall strategic plan.
At a minimum, your content calendar should identify the piece’s objective, key owner or author, channel strategy (where will you share it?), resources and approvals needed, go-live date, and specific metrics used to measure its success.
Need Some Inspiration?
Fun and playful “inside scoop”-style pieces deepen loyalty and excitement around your brand. Once you put on your content creator hat, you’ll find ideas and inspiration jump out at you.
Here are a few ideas to get started:
- Tips on merchandising or displaying your products
- Interviews with happy customers, leadership or internal teams
- Behind-the-scenes images or video from your product shoot, event or showroom
- Gift guides, top market trends or top sellers
- How to decorate for the holidays (or other articles on putting your products to best use)
Follow other brands and retailers with content strategies you admire to generate new ideas. Then, measure how your audience interacts with each content piece to inform your ongoing strategy.
Get Started With Content
As more buyers browse and buy on your website, you want to deliver the best possible experience. Creating relevant, helpful and entertaining content is just one way to encourage buyers to engage with your brand, while driving sales, traffic, engagement and audience reach.
Alyson Hunter is the director of marketing for Whereoware, an award-winning B2B digital agency and software company helping gift and home clients use technology to grow their business for 19 years. She can be reached at [email protected].