Manufacturing Content Marketing 101: Quality Over Quantity

Digital marketers, and manufacturers who are already using content marketing in their digital marketing strategy, already know that 93% of B2B buyers are using online search to source products and services (via Marketo). What does this mean to you, as the VP of Sales for a manufacturing company that isn’t using content marketing as a lead generation strategy? It means that of all those decision makers, 93% are looking for purchasable solutions via search engines and your company will most likely never come up as a result.

So, if you’re one of those manufacturing companies that isn’t sharing thought leadership solutions on your website, does that mean you should hurry and throw together a bunch of blog posts on the internet to start playing the game? Not quite.

With the rising popularity of content marketing as a piece of an overall digital marketing strategy, we’ve all seen a ton of junk pushed in our faces. 10 Reasons To Stop Doing X! shouted from the rooftops of every Facebook page, retweet and LinkedIn update. Just because you publish something, doesn’t mean people will read it. Another interesting statistic, this time from TrackMaven:

The amount of content produced by brands increased by 78% in 2014, but engagement with each piece decreased by 60%.

So, while we have more people starting conversations and sharing advice online, what we’ve found is that the content isn’t as valuable. Publishers, marketing departments, and agencies are using the amount of content generated to benchmark success instead of truly valuable KPIs like readership, comments, and of course – the holy grail of KPIs measured, marketing qualified leads. Requests from people who are interested in doing business with you as a result of a piece of content that led them to your doorstep (or inbox) are another important KPI that has the tendency to be overlooked.

Below are some questions to consider when writing a blog post to help determine if the content will be valuable to your audience:

• Am I sharing information that helps my target buyer solve a problem?
• Am I staying away from sharing too much about why my company or my specific solution is the best without proven reasons?
• If I was my buyer – would I find this valuable? Would I take the time to read it? Would it make me want to reach out for next steps?
• What other published content received the most engagement? What content received the least? React accordingly.

For more information on writing the best blog post for your buyers, download our Guide to a Perfect Blog Post.