Why Create Content?
A recent survey from The Content Marketing Institute identified the top three goals for creating content. At C.E.K. & Partners, an Atlanta-based B2B branding agency with deep expertise with content creation services we agree with them.
Here are the three goals for B2B brands content creation:
1. Brand Awareness
2. Lead Generation
2. Lead Nurturing
“Someone is sitting in the shade today because they planted a tree a long time ago.” –Warren Buffet
Content maybe king, but thought leadership is more than content creation. B2B thought leadership topics should reflect the current macro level trends within your industry, with a twist or new perspective. Thought leadership provides a bold, forward-thinking statement about the industry that may or may not come to fruition. It entails taking a stand for what your company, brand or product believes in. It marries expertise with vision to bring forward compelling content .
86% of B2B Marketers Use Create Content to leverage Content Marketing in a Strategic Manner
It’s important to remember thought leadership is not about creating content just for the sake of doing so. It is about showcasing an expertise or thinking. It is not aggressive sales material, it is informative and thought-provoking. An example of a call-to-action might entail offering contact information for downloading valuable content such as an e-book.
Establishing Thought Leadership: Create Content That's Both Valuable and Visionary to Establish Thought Leadership
Compelling content should be shareable and interactive, which means your brand needs to create content such as videos, interactive infographics, quizzes or online tools and assessments. These elements can easily be integrated into social media, blog posts or white papers in order to enhance the value of them.
So, what does it take to create content that supports building thought leadership? As the Warren Buffet quote above says, it takes planning!
While not a comprehensive list, here are just a few of the actions the team at C.E.K. & Partners, an Atlanta-based B2B branding firm that offers content creation services, suggests you take to set your B2B brand up for success with establishing thought leadership:
1. Build personas reflecting your ideal customer segments
2. Identify key messages across the B2B customer buying journey
3. Create a content strategy to identify topics and distribution channels
4. Establish metrics for assessing your content’s performance
4. Create content that is longer since it can be repurposed into snackable bites good for sharing across various platforms – social, email, webinar, web, infographics and video
Lastly, you must identify the metrics for evaluating your content creation efforts. These can include measuring consumption, retention, sharing, engagement or lead generation.
About Us
B2B category leaders – TSYS, Fleetcor, Mastercard, Interface, CSM Bakery Solutions – depend on C.E.K. & Partners for market research, brand strategy, content creation, content marketing and creative design services. If you'd like to discuss content creation and thought leadership and how it can be leveraged to shift your brand’s perception in the marketplace, we’d love to talk.
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Want to learn more about your content creation process and content creation services? Call us at +1.404.345.6447 or email us today carolyn@cekpartners.com.