Does content marketing to businesses have to be dry and dull?

You might think so after seeing what many businesses write and publish. After all, so much of it is boring, long-winded, or a chore to read.

That doesn’t have to be the case.

You see, in business-to-business copywriting, you're targeting a business.

• Still, it’s not too far off from targeting the consumer.
• You may need a different mindset and more detailed research, but the endgame is still the same.
• You're providing helpful knowledge about your company and how it solves a problem.

Let’s go over some of the most effective ways to improve your B2B copy. These high-converting B2B copywriting strategies will help you win over clients and get more conversions if you use them the right way.

High-Converting B2B Copywriting Strategy You Might Have Not Tried Yet (But Definitely Should) #1: Know Your Audience

B2B copywriting is usually industry-specific.

There are jargon words and vocabulary pitfalls you must avoid. Don't over-explain things to a niche audience, but don't try to sound like an industry insider. That is, unless you are one. Finding the right balance is crucial.

Focus on the readers, not yourself. Think about what your product or service can do for them.

Let's imagine you're a company that sells special storage units for banana harvesters. You could start by talking about your company's history — if you want them to fall asleep.

What does your audience want? A storage solution for bananas that keeps them from ripening too soon.

They may not even know they want it until you bring it up. Better storage means you can ship bananas farther and save on cost for less urgent orders. Sounds pretty convenient, doesn't it?

Be sure to use the correct style and tone for your audience. Try reading other copy written for the industry. You'd want to be more serious for, say, a funeral home than you would for a company that sells joy buzzers.

You need to get inside the head of your business customer. Create a buyer persona to identify their needs and wishes.

Ask yourself, where do they spend their time? What social media do they use? LinkedIn appeals to businesses, but don't forget about Facebook.

Business to Business marketing requires creating a long-term relationship with your business customers. You must nurture that relationship each step of the way.

How do you help their business grow? What specific benefits do you have to offer?

Learn how to do proper audience research to increase conversions here.

High-Converting B2B Copywriting Strategy You Might Have Not Tried Yet (But Definitely Should) #2: Know Your Competition

Before you start your campaign, you need to check out the competition. Competitive analysis helps you identify rivals and strategies and gauge the industry.

You must differentiate yourself from others in your field by offering something unique. Imagine you're a car company, and you need to find a way to stand out. There are a lot of cars out there — this could be difficult. Identify a need to develop a feature that fulfills that need.

Every car has cup holders, right? But sometimes, they aren't big enough to hold your big gulp. Or you need a spot for snacks, or you need space for more than two cups. Your cars might have larger cup holders that can hold more stuff. 

Who is your competition? There are two types of competition — direct and indirect. Direct competition offers a product that'd provide an adequate substitution for your own. Indirect competition offers different products that could fulfill the same need. Focus on the direct competition when you're comparing yourself to other companies.

Say you're marketing a new banana protein powder for bodybuilders. A Google search shows that the top ingredients for protein powder are whey, eggs, and brown rice. Whey and eggs both have plenty of protein — but they aren't vegan. Many people who care about their health prefer to cut out animal products from their diet.

Let's say your direct competition is brown rice. What other plant proteins are there? Peas, hemp, flaxseeds, and a mixture of many others. 

What price point does your competition address? Are they higher-end, or are they targeted towards a more accessible audience? Do they sell in bulk or single servings? If you're selling to another business, the answer will almost always be in bulk.

Do they sell their products in brick-and-mortar stores or through the Internet? How much do they charge for shipping? Amazon bought Whole Foods in an attempt to gain a more physical presence on the market. Due to many circumstances, in-person stores have been a liability, not a benefit. That's why they created Amazon Fresh instead.

When evaluating your competition, ask yourself:

• What are their sales tactics, and what results do they get?
• • Sales process
  • Location
  • Expanding or downsizing
  • Whose business are they losing and why?
• Pricing and Perks — Do they have a customer rewards program? Do they sell or give away products with their brand on them? 
• Shipping costs — Amazon has spoiled us all with free shipping. What would be your strategy for working around this? Flat rate shipping, regardless of cost? A flash sale every week with twelve hours to get free shipping? Or coupons for free shipping for loyal customers?
• How do they market their products?
• What is their content strategy?
• What is their level of engagement?
• How do they promote themselves?
• What is their social media strategy?

SWOT analysis is a great way to pinpoint your company's position in the market. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. Once you've evaluated your competition, you can see how your company measures up.

Start by dividing a page into four boxes, and label each category. You can do this alone or with a group of people brainstorming ideas. It makes a fun visual for a presentation.

• Strengths — What advantages does your company have? What makes it stand out and offer something unique? Whole Foods has been in business since 1980. They created the market for organic and natural foods. Brand recognition goes a long way, and they have a formidable physical presence.
• Weaknesses — What could your company improve? What are the weakest points of your strategy for generating new business? Whole Foods produced a new, elite status for organic foods. But what about your typical Amazon customer? 

They'd be searching for a bargain, not the highest quality. How does a business pivot its market position to accommodate this new customer base? Do these audiences even overlap? 

• Opportunities — What kinds of opportunities are there in the grocery industry? Meal kits have become popular in recent years. People want to cook, but they don't want to buy more of an ingredient than they need. The correct portions in meal kits let people try more dishes without wasting food.
• Threats — Standards change. Customer's wishes and desires change. Technology evolves at an almost alarming rate. Keep on top of market trends and any direct competition you'd experience. Sometimes they pivot into new niches and create a new, more immediate threat than they do before. That's why you must keep on top of everything.

High-Converting B2B Copywriting Strategy You Might Have Not Tried Yet (But Definitely Should) #3: Write A Compelling Headline

There are many tried-and-true headline-making formulas out there. Everyone knows they need to grab the audience's attention and make them keep reading? But are you throwing out something outlandish that has nothing to do with your article? Or can you back it up with appropriate content?

Some common templates for headlines: 

• Who else wants (blank)? — Employs the bandwagon argument and even a bit of social proof. If you show that it's been helpful to other people, it'll engage their interest.
• The secret of (blank). — People love secrets. They like to think that they are getting the inside scoop. People are nosy by nature. If you promise to tell them a secret, they might click to find out what it is.
• Little known ways to (blank). — Little known ways to (blank). This also implies a secret. Few people are familiar with (blank), but here's how to enter the exclusive group of people who do.
• Get rid of (problem) once and for all. — This approach has a sense of finality and closure that people appreciate. You're not only offering a solution, you're providing peace of mind.
• Here’s a quick way to (solve a problem). — Time is money, especially when you're a business. They don't have a lot of time to read everything they click. If you can promise to be quick and get straight to the point, you'll have their attention.
• Now you can have (desirable) (circumstance). — Have your cake and eat it too. People think of life as an either/or proposition. They don't always see the middle ground, the compromise that allows everyone to get what they want. If you can offer a more straightforward way to reach this compromise, they'll keep reading to find out how.
• What everybody ought to know about (blank). — Pretty self-explanatory. "What everyone should know about pesticides in foods." "What everyone should know about dairy." 
• Give me (time period) and I’ll give you “blank.” — "Give me an eager student, and I'll give you a world-class bodybuilder." "Give me your time and attention, and I'll teach you to be a better salesperson."
• If you don’t (blank) now, you’ll hate yourself later. — In this era of social media, many people suffer from FOMO (fear of missing out.) This isn't restricted to people — businesses can feel this way about opportunities, too.
• How-tos, numbers, listicles, and recipes.  — One of the most straightforward and intuitive ways to name an article. You can't go wrong with this one. "Top 10 Banana Recipes that Help You Lose Weight." "How to Flambe a Banana."
• Compelling headlines make an irresistible promise. — “Banana bread so good, you’ll think your grandmother made it.”
• Start with one of the “W” words. — If all else fails, try to be simple and direct. Who, What, When, Where, and Why. But don’t forget How. 

Here's an article to help you write powerful headlines.

High-Converting B2B Copywriting Strategy You Might Have Not Tried Yet (But Definitely Should) #4: Learn The Types Of B2B Marketing

When creating B2B content, consider what format will best reach your business audience.

• Native ads — These blend in with regular content and offer information to businesses. Sponsored content, when done right, is a powerful tool for reaching your audience.
• Lead generation — The most common benchmark for the effectiveness of your copy. Building email lists and finding new customers are important goals of any campaign.
• Retargeting ads — These ads use cookies to keep track of what customers were looking for when they go to other sites. Say, for instance, a business customer has been looking for prom dresses.

They leave the site, look for celebrity gossip, and their browser "remembers" last page. Then, ads show up on the next page. This is particularly effective with Facebook, where users can't block targeted ads.

• Dynamic ads — Customized based on browser history, affiliations, and other cookie information. Cookies store information about the user and can pull it up at any time. 
• Blogs — Very common in copywriting. You know they're suitable for customers, but did you know they also attract businesses? Any copywriting technique can work in a business environment. Follow the popular PAS (problem, action, solution), and you can sell anything.
• Search engine optimization — There's a lot of information out there about good SEO. The important part is to generate links and build domain authority. Great, shareable content exposes your company to a broader audience.
• Social media — You could write a master's thesis about how to use social media. There's a lot of information out there, and it's always changing. Stay on top of your social media marketing strategy.
• White papers — Long-form content backed by research and statistics you've found. They establish authority and gain trust from other businesses in your market. You could explain a product or service, or you could tell a story about a problem in their industry. Then, you could walk them through how your company solves it for them. Effective White Pages will generate leads.
• Email marketing — Old-fashioned, but here to stay. Establish a presence in a company's inbox. Even if they don't click through to your website (or open the email) you've still put yourself in their minds. 

Learn more about creating a stronger B2B content marketing strategy here.

High-Converting B2B Copywriting Strategy You Might Have Not Tried Yet (But Definitely Should) #5: Test Your Copy

Believe it or not, many companies skip this step. They see their writing as a static, immovable entity. But thanks to the Internet, it's possible to get a lot of feedback in a short time if you know where to look.

Automated copy testing targets people who interact with your site and content. You can also take a more direct approach to gathering data. Surveys and usability tests work well for this purpose. 

Be sure you're asking the right people when you do this. The demographics and psychographics of the audience you're trying to read. Being too generic will make it harder to pinpoint what needs to change. 

Ask your respondents questions that'll help you improve your copy.

• What about the ad grabbed your attention? Was it the headline? The flowchart demonstrating how your product works? The video demonstration? Find out which parts work, and cut or fix the rest of it.
• Was the ad memorable? Can they remember the name of your brand? Do they understand what you're selling and why?
• Did you like the ad? How did it make you feel? Could you relate to the stories and situations? The testimonials?
• Would you buy the product after watching this ad? Can you picture yourself using it? Would it be helpful and meet a problem or need you've been having?
• Does this product apply to you? There's no reason to sell beer to teetotallers or yachts to customers living far from the coast. 
• Was the ad credible? Why or why not? Were you able to make your case compelling and convincing? Do you trust the company after reading and seeing their argument?

You can carry out A/B testing before launching or going live. Give one version to half of group A and the other half to group B. There is software to help you set it up. Take note of the difference in traffic, clicks, and conversions. Don't forget to check the bounce rate, too. Getting their attention doesn't mean a lot if you can't keep it long enough to say what you have to say.

The two versions you're testing would fall into one of three categories. The champion is the version you think will work best. The challenger is the one you want to test against it — in case you're wrong about the first one. The winning copy gets tested against a new variation until you've found the best balance.

A/B testing focuses on one variable to take the scientific approach to find out which ad works better. Other companies prefer Multivariate testing, which tests many versions with many variables. 

Split testing involves comparing two different landing pages. Instead of having only one or two variables, the two test copies will be very different from each other. 

Responsive Google ads combine your headlines and descriptions to test effective variations. You should test these ads in their specific context. It could be search results or a text ad on the top of their email page.

Landing pages promote a call to action. Instead of linking to your main site, create a page with less clutter and more focus on what you want readers to do. A landing page can encourage readers to sign up for an email list, order an item, or select an option.

The best part about all this feedback is that you can tweak your copy and make it reach more eyes and ears. It's like polishing a diamond. Do your best, little by little, to make it shine.

How You Can Get More Conversions From Your B2B Copy

B2B copywriting may seem intimidating at first. You're writing to a more knowledgeable, experienced audience than your typical consumers. You may not know as much about their industry as they do, but the principles are the same. Research, know your audience, and test whenever necessary.

Competitive analysis matters because you need to find your angle and niche in the market. Also, knowing industry trends better prepares you for your sales campaign.

Attention-grabbing headlines are essential. Still, you should always follow up on your promise of valuable content. Don't bait and switch. Give readers the information they're looking for, and you'll gain their trust.

Soon enough, they'll be treating you like an old friend with the best advice, products, and services to suit their needs. Once you've sold them on the benefits, provide content to create loyal customers.

So go ahead, build your copy, look at it from different angles, and polish that diamond until it sparkles. The gem of a productive partnership awaits.

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