Content marketers need to perform the tasks of finding prospects, converting them into sales leads, and then retain them. The journey is a complex one and it starts with the content creation meeting. Therefore, it is essential for marketers to ask the correct questions when planning and creating content. In this article, we inform you about a few main questions that content marketers should ask while having a content planning and production session with a client. Let’s first start with the basics:
Multiple Content Marketing Types
Effective content marketing means producing and distributing relevant, consistent, and valuable content to gain and retain a targeted audience. It’s also about driving profitable customer actions. Content marketing types include videos, blogs, email, audio, infographics, social media, white papers, case studies, interviews, e-books, and more.
To put it simply, compelling content is important for B2B marketing. An integrated marketing tactic includes efficient content marketing. All B2B marketers understand the criticality of content. To get more leads and traffic, you should plan and create quality content.
This is advised because content marketing can help to generate backlinks and social shares, boost revenue, nurture relationships, attract visitors to landing pages, and increase brand awareness. The starting point is to think up good ideas for content marketing which you can do in a content planning meeting. During the session, you can ask the following questions to create compelling content and ideas for your company.
Which Expert Can I Consult?
B2B companies typically present more complex services and products compared to B2C firms. Writers know the difficulty of trying to create content on a topic that they don’t have much knowledge about. You can of course search the internet to find information on a subject and become an expert on it. While this type of research is fine, it’s better to have an expert in your enterprise from whom you can get answers and clarifications.
When you attend a content creation meeting, get the contact details of an expert in that firm. This specialist should have extensive knowledge of their industry, the benefit of the company’s services or products, industry terms and jargon as well as any government rules on what can be conveyed about the service or product. Ideally, the expert should also have marketing or editorial experience.
The main point to remember is the expert should give you the needed business-specific information so you can create relevant content. If the expert is not available to answer your queries outside the content creation meeting, you could end up spending valuable time calling or emailing them.
What are the Benefits of the Services/Goods?
This is an essential question for a fruitful content planning meeting. Your service or good solves a challenge that your target market has. As your prospects start to pinpoint this issue, your content can provide education and coaching on the topic.
An effective content planning session can help you create content that supports consumers at different stages in their buying journey. This includes prospects that are still pinpointing the problems they are facing, as well those that are using a similar solution to resolve these concerns. You can understand the specific issues faced by your target market by interviewing them. Further, you can use the following sources to identify these problems:
Queries to your sales squad (via phone or website)
Reviews written by users on third-party websites such as Capterra
Google search queries that lead visitors to your website (obtained in Search Console)
Comments and feedback on articles published on industry sites
Most engaged pages on your website by visitors (use Google Analytics)
These questions enable you to identify user pain points and problem symptoms. After learning their queries, you can create content that offers the needed answers they’re searching for.
What’s Your USP (Unique Selling Proposition)?
If you and your main competitor both sell software for supply chain management, for instance, what makes your product stand apart from those of your competitors? You may answer that customers like your excellent customer service or flexible pricing plans.
These two are elements of your business model but they’re not aspects of your core service. You need to have a differentiating USP that clearly states the benefits your product provides, how it solves your consumers’ requirements, and how it distinguishes itself from competitors’ solutions.
To go back to the example of the supply chain management platform, perhaps your solution provides more complete management and visibility of warehouse work, product costs and material flows throughout the supply chain compared to your competitors’ tools. This makes people seek you out in specific and not just the newest or cheapest provider.
Ask what makes your product different and why this assists your consumers. If consumers do not have enough knowledge about your USP, you can use pertinent content to give them the needed education to make sure they remain your customers. If prospects are looking for a solution and approach your company, you can provide them content that explains and demonstrates the USP of your product, and why it is important, to convert leads into paying customers.
What Content is being Created by Your Competitors?
This is a fast method to jumpstart your session on content planning. What type of content is being produced by your top competitors? Are they publishing blog posts that solve common misunderstandings or problems in the sector? Are they posting case studies about their products?
Analyze the best-performing aspects of your competition’s content. If they’re getting plenty of engagement on social sites, then you can understand where consumers in your sector are engaging with companies. Maybe they are good at earning media attention. Utilize this aspect for your benefit and consider how you can use expert opinions, features, or interviews.
By learning about the content created by your competitors, you can produce counter material that addresses their claims and main points and helps you to position your brand above theirs. The aim of this query is not to copy your competition’s tactics, but to learn about industry best practices that you can apply to improve your brand.
Wrap Up
Efficient content marketing needs input over the long term to develop momentum. However, if performed properly, it can serve as a strong pillar of your brand’s marketing strategy. Ask the above questions in future content planning sessions to consistently create on-target, killer content.
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