Content marketing is not very well known even though it is a powerful B2B marketing strategy. Ingrid Archer from spotONvision, as well as one of the organisers of the B2B Marketing Forum, specialises in content marketing.

To her a good content strategy gets rid of all the standard product brochures to really add value for the customer. “The B2B customer does not want brochures and leaflets anymore. You need to start giving your customers information that is relevant”, she says in our video interview.

To a lot of companies, having a solid content marketing strategy in place is still a challenge. “They want to do it and some even think they are doing it, but only a few are actually nailing it. The ones that think they are doing great, are often still issuing product brochures with technical specifications. You need to think from a buyer’s perspective. Offer them easy to-do-lists, give them demos, provide them with interesting whitepapers. It seems that that transition is still difficult.”

Companies need to move from offering product info to being a thought leader. “People like to buy from thought leaders. Make sure they find and see you online so people will see you as a leader. Increase your brand awareness to increase sales leads.”

To most companies this might be scary and a long way away from their comfort zone. “Use other companies for inspiration. Don’t copy, but take away the things that are within your comfort zone. Do something with LinkedIn, write short articles or get to making videos.”

A valuable tip Ingrid gives to B2B marketers is: “Throw all your brochures onto a table and immediately get rid of the ones that are not relevant to your customer. Recycle the left-over valuable content so you have a solid base to begin with.”

Ingrid will be presenting at B2B Marketing Forum on 15 March in the Westergasfabriek in Amsterdam. She will focus her presentation on content marketing, inbound marketing and pull marketing. She will offer valuable insight on how to get started.