#ContentWritingChat Recap: B2B vs. B2C Content Writing: Best Practices & Strategies with Sparxoo | Express Writers
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#ContentWritingChat Recap: B2B vs. B2C Content Writing: Best Practices & Strategies with Sparxoo

by | Sep 2, 2016 | ContentWritingChat

Did you miss #ContentWritingChat this week? You can catch up with all of the amazing tips shared during the chat with our recap. Keep reading to learn about content writing for B2B and B2C!

#ContentWritingChat Recap: B2B vs. B2C Content Writing: Best Practices & Strategies with Sparxoo


Our guest host this week was Emily Culclasure from Sparxoo. Emily is their Content Marketing Specialist and had tons of knowledge to share with us!

Q1: What are the main differences between creating content for B2B and B2C?

If you aren’t already aware, let’s first talk about what B2B and B2C stands for. B2B means Business to Business. B2C means Business to Consumer. There are a few differences for creating content for each of these that you want to be aware of! Here are some tips from Tuesday’s chat:

As Emily said, B2B content often has a heavier focus on thought leadership to help establish both authority and trust. She said B2C content emphasizes benefits to the consumer.

The main difference is the audience B2B and B2C are targeting. As Annaliese said, you have to start with knowing your audience.

Lexie agrees that one of the main differences is the audience you’re creating for. It can change the tone in which you write, the type of content you share, and more.

When it comes to B2B, the content is usually focused on education content and industry knowledge. When creating content for B2C, it’s often more focused on emotion to draw in your audience.

Keystone Click knows you need to understand the needs of your audience and adapt your content accordingly. You should always focus on providing value, no matter who your audience is.

Our CEO, Julia, said the tone is often different when creating content for each. You want to make sure you’re speaking to your audience in a language that resonates with them.

Q2: How does user into factor in B2B and B2C content? What are the differences?

What are the differences between the two? Find out what some of the participants in this week’s chat had to say:

Emily said B2B buyers often seek data or statistics to prove a brand’s authority. Because a B2C buyer can be at any stage in the journey, brand awareness and relationship building is essential.

Sarah said B2B users often do thorough research when choosing a credible business. B2C often rely on their emotions.

Lexie knows that both are looking for information, but they’re often looking for different kinds of information. B2B wants more in-depth information while B2C is more about awareness.

Cheryl feels B2B needs to be more direct. She said a reader will often land on your website looking for a solution for an existing problem. You need to be able to provide that solution for them.

As Cheryl said, content for a B2B doesn’t have to be boring. You can still inform and educate your audience without being dull.

Pamela said that everyone benefits from education. Don’t assume your audience knows everything you know. Make sure you’re informing them.

You also want to keep in mind that the sales cycle for B2B is often longer. Make sure you’ve created content for your customer at every step of their journey.

Q3: What are some tips for creating an effective editorial calendar for your content?

We all know an editorial calendar is important. To help you create one that’s effective, keep these tips in mind:

Emily said to make sure you account for seasonality and timeliness. Consider what’s coming up and adapt your content accordingly. She also recommends balancing creation with curation and keeping your audience in mind.

As Sarah said, knowing your audience is essential. You have to know what they want from you, plus how often they’d like to see content from you.

Know the problems your audience is facing and plan out content that will help them.

Jenn feels it’s helpful to get together with your sales team to create content that’s appropriate for your audience.

Pratik said to include multiple people on your team including your SEO person and your copywriter.

Annaliese’s advice is to plan for the upcoming month. Don’t leave your editorial calendar until the last minute. When you have your content planned in advance, it makes content creation so much easier.

Kristen also recommends planning at least one month in advance. She said to keep in mind any important dates for your customers.

Planning ahead of time makes things so much easier. Figure out your best days and times to post. Get to know your audience and how they respond.

Lexie knows consistency is key! You want to stick to a schedule that works for you so your audience knows when to expect new content. It gives them something to look forward to.

Testing is a must! As Tracy said, you need to test to see which kinds of content resonate with your audience. It’ll let you know what you should create more of and less of.

The Jobs2Careers team finds Trello very helpful in organizing their editorial calendar.

For Justine, she relies on good ol’ pen and paper to create her editorial calendar. Do what works best for you!

Q4: What are some tips for succeeding at content marketing for a B2B? A B2C?

How can you succeed at content marketing for a B2B or B2C? Check out these tips from the chat:

With B2B content, Emily said to demonstrate your industry expertise and use industry jargon. She also said to make sure your USP is direct and clear to your audience.
For B2C content, she said to focus on building a relationship with your audience. She recommends focusing on aspirations, positive emotions, and storytelling.

Whether you’re writing for a B2B or a B2C, you still need to know the pain points of your audience. Create content that solves their problems.

Listen to your audience! They’ll tell you what they want to see. Great advice, Tracy!

Annaliese said to make sure you know what content you’re going to create for each stage of the customer’s journey when it comes to a B2B. You want to make sure they don’t get lost or abandon you.

Jacob’s advice is to write what you want to read. If it’s something you’d enjoy, your audience might enjoy it as well. If you don’t enjoy it, they won’t either.

Pratik said that once you know your audience, you can create content that is relevant, persuasive, and sticky.

As Amanda said, you should be consistent and timely in your content. She recommends looking for ways to engage and be available to your audience.

Q5: What kind of goals would a B2B or B2C company set for their content marketing?

What kind of goals would they set? Here’s what we found out during Tuesday’s chat:

Emily said goals for a B2B include increasing lead generation, lead nurturing, brand awareness, and engagement. Goals for a B2B include increasing sales, audience engagement, brand awareness, and customer retention.

No matter which audience you’re writing for, conversions are key!

Lexie said your goals will vary based on your industry. However, she believes the overall goal is to create a relationship with your audience that ultimately turns into a conversion.

As Julia said, you should tailor your end goals to your content and audience expectations. You should be sure to add relevant CTAs and track your ROI/conversions from the clicks you receive.

Justine said your goal might be to get more sign-ups to your email list, more business inquiries, sales, etc. Make sure you just tailor your content to help you achieve those goals.

Whatever your goals may be, keep them in mind and make sure you measure them to see if you’ve been successful or need to tweak your approach.

Q6: How can you ensure you’re always producing quality content online, no matter what kind of business you run?

How can you make sure your content is top-notch? Read these tips from the chat:

Emily recommends using industry trends to fuel your content. You should also focus on providing value, no matter what kind of content you’re creating.

Julia’s advice is to take the time to make sure it’s your best work. You don’t need to rush. It’s more important to take your time to create something that’s valuable and high quality. Before you hit publish on anything, ask yourself if you are happy with your work. Would you want to read it? If the answer to those questions is yes, then you’re good to go.

Annaliese said to test in the background. Measure results from your CTA and more to see how well it’s performing. You can even ask your audience for their input.

As Kristen said, your content should prompt your audience to take action.

Don’t be afraid to run content by your team. Get their thoughts and implement any feedback you receive.

Don’t forget that proper grammar always makes a huge difference. Take the time to edit your content.

Q7: Which content formats are great for a B2B to share? Which ones are great for a B2C to share?

Which content formats should you be sharing for a B2B or B2C? Take a look at the tips our chat participants shared:

Emily’s advice is to share case studies, webinars, white papers, and blog posts for B2B. For a B2C, she said to go for branded and user-generated social media content. She also said photos, videos, and infographics work well.

For B2B, white papers, infographics, and webinars are great. When it comes to B2C, go for fun blog and social media posts.

Annaliese recommends white papers, webinars, and demos for B2B. For B2C, she suggests eBooks and blog posts.

Lexie suggests creating case studies and infographics for B2B. She said they prove you’re capable of doing your job.

Try creating podcasts and webinars for a B2B audience. Share infographics, videos, and interviews for B2C.

Michael also feels case studies are beneficial for a B2B to share. He also said video content works for both.

Julia knows the power of long-form content. She said it can work well for both a B2B and a B2C.

As Megan said, you should consider your audience and also the industry you’re in. This will help you choose the right kind of content to share.

Q8: What are some B2B brands that do a great job online? What about B2C brands?

Which brands do a great job at creating and sharing content online? Check out some of these:

When it comes to B2B, Emily said HubSpot does a great job. She said they offering certifications, best practices, and more that add value to their audience. For B2C, she said Taco Bell’s humor and bold branding are effective in attracting their younger audience.

It looks like Annaliese agrees! HubSpot does a fantastic job at providing value to their audience.

All of these brands do a great job online!

Cheryl shared an amazing list of brands that are all worth checking out!
We look forward to seeing you at the next #ContentWritingChat! Mark your calendars weekly for Tuesday at 10 AM CDT for great chats centered around content writing and marketing. Follow @ExpWriters to stay updated on our new topics and guests!

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Tags: B2B | B2C | content writing
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