Business Blogs - Creating an Effective B2B Blogging Strategy

 

Writing and managing impactful business blogs can be overwhelming, especially if you don’t have the right business-to-business (B2B) blogging strategy. 

However, marketers who prioritize blogging enjoy 13X higher return on investment on their marketing than those who don’t. It’s no wonder that 9 out of 10 marketers use blogs to achieve their content goals.

With the right guidance, you can also benefit from business blogging. When it comes to creating a business blog strategy, there’s a lot that needs to be  considered.

So, let’s explore how you can create an effective B2B blogging strategy for maximum success!  

     

What Are Business Blogs - B2B Blogs?

B2B blogs are a specific type of business blogs that cater to the needs and interests of other businesses that fall within your target audience. 

These blogs offer valuable insights and resources that address the pain points and questions posed by the relevant businesses that are your ideal consumers.

Business blogs meant for other businesses include:

• In-depth industry insights that cover market trends, regulatory changes, etc.
• Best practices, relevant how-tos, expert tips, advice, etc. on related business matters
• Case studies to showcase your expertise and offerings
• Research findings and expert opinions to develop thought leadership
• Guest posts from industry experts
• More educational content to build credibility

Ultimately, business blogs serve as a knowledge hub for your target readers, i.e., businesses in your industry that can be converted into paying clients. 

What Is a B2B Blogging Strategy?

A B2B blog strategy is a well-thought-out plan that outlines how you'll succeed through blogging. 

It's a strategic content marketing approach that aims to:

• Entice qualified traffic
• Deliver maximum value to target readers
• Outperform competitors
• Achieve business and marketing targets
• Measure success and gradually enhance performance 

Additionally, business blogs and B2B blog strategy support your brand strategy by communicating and reinforcing your brand's positioning, differentiation, personality, and unique value proposition.

Lastly, your B2B blog strategy acts as a guide for:

• Business blog planning (content calendar, briefs, clusters, etc.)
• Blog creation (writing, visuals, videos, editing, proofing, etc.)
• Search engine optimization of your blog (keyword research and placement, on-page SEO, internal linking, and more)
• Conversion optimization (A/B tests, static CTAs, behaviorally-triggered CTAs, etc.)
• Business blog marketing and reach expansion

Do You Need a Business Blogging Strategy?

Business blogs stand as a foundational element of any modern B2B marketing strategy.

Blogging goes beyond just increasing brand awareness; it's a powerhouse for driving conversions and generating revenue. 

Notably, 64% of thriving B2B companies operate with a content strategy. Moreover, 50% of B2B marketers anticipated an increase in their content marketing budget last year. 

This signals a readiness to invest in effective strategies for returns, particularly in lead generation and increased website traffic.

Additionally, B2B blogs offer unparalleled freedom for you to creatively share your expertise,  opinions, and thoughts, leaving a lasting impact on your readers.

With a robust business blog strategy you can update, remove, repurpose, and share pieces across relevant channels, contributing to a robust online presence. 

Consistent blogging will also help add depth to your website with fresh content and relevant keywords, reinforcing search engine visibility.

With that said, it's crucial to note that blogging isn't a quick fix. 

Unlike the instant gratification of running paid advertisements, success in blogging, and the subsequent organic traffic to your website, is a long-term play. 

Staying committed to your blogging strategy will yield results over time, fostering stronger relationships with your audience through the delivery of high-quality, engaging, and educational blog content.

How to Create an effective B2B Blogging Strategy

Consider the following steps to create an effective and robust blogging strategy as part of your broader content marketing plan:

Define the Purpose of Your Business Blogs

Before embarking on your B2B blogging journey, take the crucial first step: defining the purpose of your business blogs and outlining their impact on your business. 

Potential business blogging goals may include:

• Enhancing brand awareness
• Driving site traffic 
• Distinguishing your brand from competitors
• Establishing industry thought leadership 
• Lead generation
• Facilitating conversions
• Attracting prospective employees
• Supporting existing customers

Without clearly defined goals, you risk falling into a cycle of content creation that lacks direction and fails to deliver results.

Establishing the Right KPIs 

Once you've pinpointed your objectives, establish Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) aligned with those goals. 

These metrics serve as benchmarks, allowing you to track progress and make informed decisions to enhance content performance.

Identify Relevant KPIs: Traffic, Engagement, and Leads Generated

KPIs for a successful business blog strategy encompass site traffic, reader engagement (e.g., time spent on the page), social media shares, and the number of leads generated. 

Regular monitoring of these indicators unveils insights and patterns that guide future content creation. 

For instance, if certain topics consistently yield more leads, consider prioritizing them in upcoming blog posts.

Set Realistic Targets Based on Industry Benchmarks

Whether you're analyzing traffic, user engagement, social shares, or conversions, compare your progress and results with the industry averages and your competitors.

This way, you can establish realistic growth targets for your business blogs.

Additionally, measure your KPIs within specific time frames. 

For instance, set a goal to increase organic search traffic by 15% in the coming six months or boost monthly leads through the blog by 50% within the next year. This ensures a focused and measurable approach to your blogging strategy.

Identify & Understand Your Target Audience

Next, you must define your target audience. This step is crucial, as it empowers your business to create content that resonates with your readers at every stage of the customer journey.

Start by making audience segments. Within each segment, construct buyer personas for different types of buyers. 

Building a persona involves detailing the characteristics of an imaginary person who aligns with your target market. 

For a B2B blog, consider incorporating the industry, job title, goals, pain points, priorities, preferred educational sources, etc., into your audience personas.

Strive to view things from your audience's perspective. Ask yourself the following questions:

• What do they seek when visiting your blog? 
• What topics resonate with them? 
• What specific questions do they have? 
• How can your content assist them in achieving their goals?

For instance, if your target audience includes small business owners in the marketing sector, your content must focus on the specific pain points of small marketing business. 

Once you possess a clear understanding of your target audience, crafting valuable content becomes more straightforward, aligning closely with what they find meaningful.

Establish a Business Blogging Budget

A key component of your B2B blogging strategy is determining a budget that aligns with your goals. 33% of B2B companies achieving 'very successful' content marketing allocate 50% or more of their budget to content marketing efforts.

Your business blogs’ budget should encompass various elements, including blog writing and creating relevant branded images, infographics, and videos.

You must also consider developing social content for post promotion and potentially engaging an SEO agency for keyword research and post optimization. 

Factor in both monetary and time considerations.

Juggling blog post writing alongside other projects may pose challenges for your internal team, especially if you’re facing time constraints. 

Outsourcing to a reputable external blog writing agency will save your time and help you develop high-quality business blogs at scale.

Research the Right Industry Keywords 

An integral part of any effective B2B blogging strategy is conducting thorough keyword research. It involves analyzing the type of keywords, queries, and topics your target audience searches at different sales funnel stages.

It provides insights into the topics your prospects and customers are searching for online, allowing you to deliver valuable blog posts, increase organic traffic, and attract high-quality leads.

78% of B2B content marketers utilize tools for SEO keyword research when creating content, contributing to improved website rankings. 

You can use Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, SEMrush, and other tools for comprehensive keyword research while keeping your audience personas in mind. 

For instance, if your business revolves around sustainable gardening products, concentrate on search terms associated with eco-friendly gardening practices. 

Once you've gathered a list of terms commonly searched by your audience, customize your blog posts to address these subjects, elevating their relevance and attractiveness.

Brainstorm Relevant Topics

To cater to your audience's needs, initiate a brainstorming session to generate ideas for blog content. This session should be guided by the diverse content required at each stage of the customer journey, relevant keywords, and any identified content gaps.

Start by brainstorming potential topics for the awareness stage, followed by the consideration stage, and so forth.

If you find it challenging to develop concrete topic ideas, use AI content generation tools to get topic suggestions based on your specific prompts. 

Once you've gathered all your ideas, assess and decide which ones you'll incorporate into your content strategy.

Perform an Audit of Your Existing Content

If you’re already maintaining a business blog on your site, you must conduct a content audit. It involves inventorying and analyzing all existing content on your blog. 

The aim is to assess whether each piece aligns with your business objectives and provides value to your target audience. 

This process helps pinpoint outdated posts, content misaligned with goals, or pieces not valuable to your audience.

Upon identifying such content, you can decide to:

• Update it
• Delete it
• Consolidate multiple pieces into a sole, high-value blog post

Additionally, perform a gap analysis to spot areas where more content is necessary to meet specific customer needs, solve problems, or address questions. 

If you identify gaps, incorporate filling them into your content strategy.

Create a Posting Calendar

Creating a business blogging strategy isn't just about generating content with no clear direction or intent; it requires a well-structured content calendar to ensure consistency in your B2B blogging efforts. 

Your publishing schedule dictates how often and when you post, considering seasonal or industry trends. 

Additionally, utilizing scheduling software can streamline the process, enabling batch posting to social media platforms without manual intervention.

Publishing blogs 11 or more times a month leads to 1.75 times more leads than blogging 6 to 10 times a month. 

The optimal frequency is around 2 to 4 posts per week, resulting in the highest gains in traffic per dollar spent. Increased publishing frequency also correlates with higher lead generation for B2B companies.

After establishing your publishing schedule, consider the most effective channels for distributing your blog posts. 

For instance, promoting content on LinkedIn is an excellent approach to reach B2B audiences, with 40% of B2B marketers identifying LinkedIn as the most effective medium for generating high-quality leads.

Testing Different B2B Blogging Styles

With approximately seven million blogs published every day, the blogging landscape is fiercely competitive. To secure a prime position in the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs), your business blogs need to be easy-to-understand, creative, and unique. 

To achieve this, you can employ two powerful blogging strategies - pillar page and 10X content.

Pillar Page Technique

The Pillar Page Technique is about creating an in-depth guide on a broad topic by breaking it down into smaller, focused blog posts. 

The main page, known as the pillar page, provides a brief summary of the overall topic, while the cluster topics delve deeper into specific aspects related to the main topic. 

This approach helps B2B marketers organize information, create internal links, and improve SEO by covering various aspects of a subject in a connected structure. 

For instance, if the main topic is "lead nurturing," cluster topics could include lead scoring, email campaigns, marketing automation, and more.

10X Content Strategy

The 10X Content technique, introduced by Rand Fishkin in 2015, aims to create content that surpasses current search engine results and aligns with user intent.

It’s essentially content that is ten times better than existing offerings in terms of quality and user experience. 

To implement the 10X Content approach, you must analyze the top ten search results for your target blog topic, considering factors like content quality, mobile-friendliness, and user experience. 

Then, create a business blog that is genuinely ten times superior to existing blog posts on the first SERP.

Which Technique to Choose?

Both blogging methods are impressive, but which one suits a B2B brand better? 

The answer BOTH.

Pillar page and 10x content strategies complement each other almost perfectly. 

Pillar pages go in-depth on a topic through clusters, addressing customer pain points, while 10x content focuses on a fresh presentation and improved UX.

These approaches work well for SEO and social media purposes. With compelling writing and optimal images, you can easily repurpose the content for a brand's website and social media.

Start by concentrating on the pillar page and its clusters. 

For each cluster post, create 10x content. This dual strategy ensures a balanced and effective business blogging approach, combining the strengths of both methods for optimal results.

Engage With Your Sales Team

If you want business blogs that convert, engage in in-depth conversations with your sales team to understand what genuinely resonates with your prospects, especially at the Decision Stage.

Rather than merely seeking feedback on product features, pose questions that delve deeper into how your solutions have a broader impact on your customers. 

Use these insights to craft compelling stories in your blog posts, establishing emotional connections that go beyond surface-level information.

Create a Standard Business Blogging Process

For optimum results in your B2B blog strategy, institute a clear and well-organized process that you can follow to consistently produce high-quality blog posts.

The blogging process should encompass:

• Your chosen KPIs
• Target audience segment and persona
• Keyword and topic research
• Content calendar & brief
• Blog writing - first draft, editing, revised versions, proofreading, final copy
• Internal linking
• Visuals for the blog - images, infographics, and videos
• Publication
• Blog marketing
• Assessment

From ideation to creation to promotion, these steps should be transparent, repeatable, and scalable. 

Clearly define the roles and responsibilities of each team member throughout the process. This well-defined process eliminates guesswork and ensures smooth operations.

Generate Great Conversion Rates

Ultimately, your business blogs need to enhance your conversion rates through mailing opt-ins, downloadable lead magnets, webinar sign-ups, etc.  

You can take these steps to increase your lead and conversion numbers:

• Test and Optimize: Test different approaches for performance improvement, track progress, and continuously optimize based on the results.
• Strategically Deploy CTAs: Enhance conversion rates by strategically deploying Calls-to-Action (CTAs). Place them thoughtfully in the B2B blogs.
• Diversify CTAs: Rather than including only one CTA per blog post, experiment with multiple and varied CTAs. Initial CTAs may focus on additional content like another business blog post. Further along the post, introduce case studies or social proof. Towards the end, guide interested readers to connect with your sales team.
• Test Behaviorally-Triggered CTAs: Experiment with CTAs triggered by specific visitor actions or digital behaviors. They are more effective as they align with the needs of your readers.

Promote Your Business Blogs With the Right B2B Marketing Strategy 

If you have high-quality, value-adding blogs but no one gets to read them, it will not benefit your business. 

You must consistently promote your content to make your business blog strategy work. With an effective B2B marketing strategy, your blogs will reach the right audience.

Promoting the blog posts will also boost your brand awareness and drive traffic to your site. Follow these steps to promote the blogs:

• Share your posts on your social accounts.
• Create backlinks to the post for SEO purposes.
• Email your posts’ links to your mailing list.
• Collaborate with relevant industry influencers and ask them to share your posts.
• Syndicate your content on well-known sites for brand awareness.
• Repurpose your content; for example, make a video series based on a long-form blog post, publish it on YouTube. and share individual videos on your social accounts.

Assess & Optimize Your Blog Results

Lastly, you need to assess your results and refine your business blogging approach for better future performance. See if the insights align with your primary marketing goals and their respective metrics.

If your blog aims to generate organic search traffic, consider measuring:

• Google rankings
• Organic traffic generated
• Number of ranking keywords
• Number of referring domains and backlinks to your posts

For thought leadership pieces, track:

• Number of social shares, including shares by influencers or industry bigwigs
• Click-through rate on each social platform
• Mentions on third-party sites
• Page views per post
• Engagement metrics (comments, likes, etc.)
• Referring domains
• Total reach across all platforms

While assessing your blog posts, spot trends that can shape your optimization strategies. Identify which types of posts achieved their objectives most effectively and understand why. 

Consider factors such as:

• Topic relevance
• Actionable insights
• Content depth
• Tone of the piece
• Relevance to current events
• Visual elements 

Assessing these crucial elements will help improve your future content and optimize existing ones to resonate more deeply with your audience. 

Strategize for Your Business Blogs’ Success

To thrive in business blogging, you must develop a clear B2B blog strategy. It demands meticulous planning and execution, but the payoff is substantial. 

Follow the aforementioned steps to produce blogs that align with your B2B marketing strategy and goals. This way, your efforts will lead to better brand awareness and perception, more site traffic, and increased revenue. 

Content Development Pros - Premier Blog Writing Services

CDP is home to brilliant blog writing experts with years of industry experience. Our team will understand your distinct needs and craft high-quality business blogs that will grow your readership.

Our top-notch content is:

• Written by industry experts
• 100% original and plagiarism-free
• Edited & proofread thoroughly
• Delivered timely 

CDP also offers a hassle-free revision policy to help you receive blogs tailored to our exact requirements!