Content personalization is the way to go for B2B marketers. You may have heard this aphorism bandied around with statistics about short attention spans on the internet. This has caused most B2B content marketers to “personalize” their messaging with catchy headlines or slogans tacked on impressive graphics.
With B2B marketing increasingly overlapping with B2C-related parameters, marketers are dabbling with clickbait to get that all-important response. However, a point often overlooked is that a good click-through rate and the number of likes is only half the battle won in B2B marketing.
Honesty is always the best policy
A fine line exists between clickbait and a genuine insight that you wish to share with your audience.
Avoid exaggerating or sensationalizing but show that you mean business with assertions that you can back.
No cliches or outrageous claims, please.
Unlike the B2C space, personalized and high-quality content is more important than a flashy call-to-action. In fact, B2B services are among the few industry verticals that show a significantly lower average conversion rate when compared with the average click-through rate. This means your audience will quickly look for the exit if the overall value quotient is low.
Safeguard your brand’s credibility
To get back to personalization, it means much more than just addressing the reader by name. Neither does personalization mean stuffing your messages with keywords or jargon. In the B2B context, it means seeking to establish a connection with different roles among your target audience to build relationship capital.
You are not dealing with impulsive buyers. The B2B sales funnel, too, is not strictly linear. You do want your audience to subscribe and buy, but the interactions need to go beyond a one-time transaction. With multiple influencers and decision-makers in the mix, your call-to-action needs to be directed to the right person and at the right moment to resonate.
A good call-to-action will take the discussion forward, while clickbaiting will annoy your audience. The former delivers on what your hook promises and opens the door to further engagement. The latter lets your reader down and hits your brand image.
Tailor your message for a niche audience
Don’t go to the other extreme of overlooking the headline and letting your content fall into the digital netherworld. Your headline is, after all, the first thing that’s noticed. A great title should be concise and sum up what you are offering while attracting the attention of your target audience. Talk specifically to your niche. This will help you avoid the trap of going for shock value or being too vague.
You can use a thumbnail with a relevant symbol and a witty slogan.
An infographic too attracts attention, as the combination of data and an image speaks to both sides of the brain.
You can also include a snippet or abstract as a lead-in to the main content.
If your content is video-driven, you can include a clickable play button in the headline. Personalized video marketing is a great way to drive traffic to your landing page. High-quality content with photos, infographics and video covers all bases when it comes to conveying complex ideas and features.
Make it easy for your audience
Attention spans on the internet are notoriously short. So keep it brief and simple. Make the text easy to scan with action-oriented words and an easy-to-read font that highlights the main points.
You have only four seconds to make that first impression. Then, if you are able to get the click, it jumps to fifteen seconds. So how do you go through all the static and noise to make your voice heard? Here’s something reassuring. Your prospective clients and target audience are equally interested in hearing what you have to say.
But you have to be quick, to the point and innovative to rise above the clutter. Seek to communicate with your audience, one at a time. This is what’s meant by personalizing your message. We do listen when somebody is addressing us directly, as compared to someone who is making a generic presentation.
Explore AI to expand your scale and scope
The function of a personalized message is to trigger interest and engage with your audience. Analytics will inform you when your target audience is in-market or in decision-making mode. And while you are at it, do explore what artificial intelligence (AI) can do for you.
As a supporting tool for your strategy, AI can help you craft a consistent and role-oriented experience for various stakeholders. It could save you a lot of time and effort while enabling you to make your voice heard at all levels.
AI lets you sift through massive amounts of data to identify what your audience is looking for and, equally importantly, how and where they are looking for it.
You get to know your audience’s intent through their behavior. This lets you prioritize your lead nurturing activities with a focus on boosting engagement, conversions and retention.
However, AI comes with its own set of challenges centered around ethics, privacy and compliance. Do have a risk management policy for AI in tandem with incorporating the technology in your marketing strategy.
Repeat, repeat and repeat, till you are heard
Distill your message into its most interesting and core aspects. Here’s a simple technique to go about it: Write your speech and then leave it alone for at least an hour or two. Then come back to it wearing your editor’s hat and identify the must-haves while snipping off the rest.
Go through two or three iterations to zero in on your USP. A nugget of information that gives the reader or viewer the choice to go deeper is the way to go about your web content personalization strategy.
And it’s not enough to make your point once. Harp on it again and again. If your USP is quick service, don’t hesitate to make a big issue of it. The ads that you remember are not the most creative, but those that are repeated frequently in different places and in different forms. Only then will your message register with your audience.
