When speaking to B2B companies, sometimes, I feel like a broken record, stuck in the same groove. At C.E.K. & Partners, our Atlanta-based marketing research and strategic communications company we offer content creation, I lead a team of passionate brand builders. We continually counsel B2B and B2C brands on cutting through the noise with clear and easy-to-understand writing.
The leaders at the business-to-business companies we work with across a variety of industries, such as fintech, payments, technology and healthcare, are smart! And naturally they want to create content using industry- or company-specific language (aka jargon!), too many technical references that aren’t defined, and acronyms that only they understand. Back to broken- record mode: We’re here to say, please stop!
This style of communication is not effective. In fact, it is probably hurting your B2C or B2B company as it leaves readers of your marketing materials confused or overwhelmed.
Here are five rules to help your team create effective B2C or B2B content marketing pieces:
Understand your buyer.
With whom is your B2C or B2B brand communicating?
Are you a technology company creating content to reach a market leader looking for your guidance with their digital transformation? If so, will that person know what “benchmarks like TOS, OR and CTR” or “techniques, such as contextual-inquiry” mean? I am betting no. Are you a healthcare focused organization aiming to put people first? If so, will talking about an “integrated care delivery system” resonate with patients and encourage people or employers to enroll?
Be concise with your company's content.
Short and sweet content supports clearer communication and more effective B2C and B2B content marketing. Yet, ask anyone, creating content with concise sentences can often be more time consuming than writing at length. Social media depends on writing snappy statements in 150 or characters or less. Writing more concise copy will allow your team to pull compelling snippets to use in social media.
Keep your content approachable by making it simple.
We all know them. The people, friends or colleagues, who love to pepper their conversations with big words. I mean really big words. Yes, we get it, you’re super smart. But, if someone has to look up the words you use, chances are they aren’t following you. Create B2C and B2B content marketing using plain English. Use simple words with your copywriting and marketing.
Avoid industry jargon and technical terms.
Along those lines, both B2C and B2B companies should avoid jargon and technical terms—unless you know that everyone reading your marketing materials will understand. Instead of visualization or roadmaps, why not directly state, “We need to create a plan.” Or instead of asking someone to provide the variables for a market research project, ask more simply to review the questions and potential responses.
Revise + refine.
Our Atlanta-based content marketing agency firms' writing lab builds schedules based on sharing an original version and two revisions. We do this because even the smartest people need to revisit and wordsmith their work. It is often easier to start from scratch working with a professional writing team than editing created content that doesn’t adhere to the above rules.
If you prefer to have professionals from a content marketing agency with content creation expertise guide your marketing communication, what are you waiting for? We're ready to create B2C and B2B content marketing for your company with best practices ensuring your digital marketing communication resonates!
About C.E.K. & Partners
C.E.K. & Partners a certified woman-owned small business designing custom marketing research and strategic communications. Our content creation team has experience developing different types of content: white papers, case studies, websites, marketing collateral/solution sheets, infographics, articles, blogs, ebooks and more. We serve a range of organizations across retail, healthcare, energy, technology, financial services, government agencies and purposed driven brands. Need insights to support your thought leadership initiatives? Our market research team designs custom quantitative and qualitative market research studies.
Ready to elevate your company’s communication with a partner that provides you with expert content creation services?
Contact us today to start planning.
Related content you will find useful!