May 20, 2022
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We all know how important content is…yet so many companies fail to execute content campaigns effectively.
I had my first breakthrough with “great content” when I studied examples of companies who are creating excellent content consistently.
In this post, I’ve rounded up 10 examples of b2b content to give you a deep context of what great content marketing looks like.
We’ll dissect them one by one to show you how it’s done so you can do it too.
Let’s dive in . . .
Watch the video for additional insights
Follow along to the presentation
Anytime you create a template or tool that solves a problem for your customer is a huge win. It gives you something interactive, something tangible to give your audience.
This article, in particular, is about a tool that helps SEO agencies predict the results of a campaign with a prospect’s data before they go ahead.
What’s the content?
What makes it worth sharing?
The posts zeros in on a huge problem in the SEO industry for agencies: forecasting. It’s really hard to close a deal if you don’t know what results you can get for potential clients.
How can you get a client to invest $100k into a campaign if they don’t know what returns they’ll get?
So, we helped the client build a Google Sheets template that pulls in data from a prospect’s Google Analytics account and runs a bunch of growth forecasts. It predicts the results of an SEO campaign based on that website’s data.
The piece was a massive hit. It not only ranks well in Google, but generates a ton of leads for the business.
Key Takeaways, and how you can do the same?
This works really well for any B2B or SaaS company. As long as you’ve got a solid understanding of your customer’s pain points. You can easily hack something together in Sheets, Slides, or Google Docs.
A template also gives you something that’s flexible — give it away free, or gate it with an email or push ads to it. Decide which way to go based on how valuable the tool is to your audience.
There’s tons of search volume around keywords with tools / templates appended, but it also becomes an awesome asset that you can use to generate sales leads from ads.
One of the reasons I love data-driven case studies is you can’t argue with data. Using data removes the rebuttals from those who disagree. And everything in a piece like this should support the core argument and, ultimately, what you’re selling.
These articles also pick up a ton of organic links. Because when you’ve got original data, and people are looking for sources that support their arguments, then links will keep landing without you needing to do anything.
Data-driven articles are also great clickbait for social media, ads, and emails. People love data because it’s an irrefutable source of information to prove one point or another.
What’s the content?
What makes it worth sharing?
This example is from Ahrefs, an SEO tool, a world leader in B2B, and especially SaaS content marketing. They’ve put together an article where they talk about the percentage of content that actually gets traffic from Google.
It’s an important topic because they’re an SEO tool that helps people create content, generating visibility for the content companies are creating.
Ahrefs are saying if you create 100 pieces of content, only 10% of them will get traffic, unless you do X, Y, and Z. So they’re using original data to support the argument, and using this to sell their tool, showing people how to create content that actually gets seen.
Ahrefs commission their own studies using original data, making this content gold dust. And the amount of links and traffic this article has picked up is actually insane.
Reading this, you’re probably thinking, this won’t have a lot of search volume. You’d be right, but it picked up a ton of links and traffic that uplifts the rest of the content.
Key Takeaways, and how can you do the same?
This type of content is difficult – not only do you need an excelling writer, you have to have experience, posture, a relatable or aspirational story you can share.
It’s a great way to build rapport, be open and honest, and be a little more introspective in front of your audience. If you’re just churning out articles that are a bit dry, this gives you a chance to show your personality, insights, and opinions.
What’s the content?
What makes it worth sharing?
Opinion is so important in B2B content marketing. You need to draw a line in the sand.
If you have no opinion — for or against something — people aren’t going to pay attention. You don’t need to get all political, but you should state an opinion relevant to your content, business, and audience.
Going back to Ahref’s example, they’re saying, “You’re creating all of this content, it’s not being seen”. That’s a clear line in the sand, and they’re using data to support the argument.
Thought-leadership content should make an opinion clear, then back it up with data and experiences.
Key Takeaways, and how can you do the same?
Base these on your story, your past, your business experience. Be authentic, open, genuine, and even a little vulnerable. It’s the only way to build an audience and resonate with other people online.
Does this piece have a lot of SEO value?
Not really, this article is published on Medium. But it does have a tremendous amount of social value. When you publish enough of them, like I’m doing now, people start to resonate with them, connect with you, and you start building an audience.
It might not be the best type of piece to get customers. That’s fine, because creating great content means mixing it up a bit. Publishing articles like this on Medium, LinkedIn, your personal blog, whatever that might look like.
I love drawing lines in the sand by arguing for or against a popular topic (mainly against).
In this case, the popular stance is technical SEO is incredibly important.
If you read the article, we’re not saying technical SEO is stupid and a waste of time – we’re just saying there’s a better solution and here’s how its done.
It’s a long-form piece, referencing a lot of sources about what actually works in technical SEO. Then, we go into the audit that we’ve built and into 7 technical SEO items that actually drive results.
What’s the content?
What makes it worth sharing?
This piece has been very successful for us, we’ve got a lot of clients from it. I like to poke the bear a bit, keep people engaged and reading.
We get a lot of clients coming to us saying, “Yeah, I’m sick of paying SEO agencies to sit and run a spreadsheet for us, doing pointless busy work.”
It might seem like we’re actually selling against ourselves. We aren’t. We don’t like doing 4000 line Excel spreadsheets for clients that don’t drive business results. We want like-minded clients. People who communicate in a similar way, and share our way of doing business.
And that’s why a controversial piece works so well because it attracts clients you want to work with, while repelling those who aren’t a good fit. Use content as a filter for sales leads. You can’t please everyone, and you shouldn’t even try.
Key Takeaways, and how can you do the same?
What always comes to mind first is Brian Dean, from Backlinko, who created the widely used — in SEO — Skyscraper Technique.
Basically, you have a process — a way of solving a problem for customers — and you give it a unique name. Branding your own framework, tool, or process.
This example comes from Customer Camp and is all about “buying triggers.”
Customer Camp is arguing that the current way brands think customers buy is outdated. With it, they’re supporting the term they coined — buying triggers — with examples and arguments. Content like this makes them stand out as THE company to deliver a buying triggers solution for brands.
What’s the content?
What makes it worth sharing?
Again, the coined term piece is something I really love because it establishes yourself, your company as a thought-leader. It pulls sales leads in.
Even though I’m posting this video and publishing this article as the CEO of an SEO agency, I’m aware that a lot of these pieces don’t have SEO value. When you’re coining your own term, people aren’t going to be searching for that.
When Brian Dean created The Skyscraper Technique, he established that as something people started searching for. Now the world credits him for coming up with that method. It’s an incredibly powerful way of establishing yourself as an authority on a particular topic.
Another one that comes to mind is Boston Consulting Group. BCG created a quadrant, they coined it as their own, and they’ve made billions, literally billions of dollars off the back of it.
Key Takeaways, and how can you do the same?
At WEBRIS, we are doing the same with the Jobs to be Done (JTBD) content framework, focusing on SaaS companies.
It means doing videos, posts, and ads to promote it and get sales leads coming in. It requires a ton of marketing, work, push and promotion, but it’s worth it. This is so that people credit us as the originators of these frameworks, concepts, and models.
Establishing yourself as the go-to authority to solve problems for customers starts with something as simple as this. Coin a term. Base it on a model, process, or framework you’ve developed. Then market the hell out of it.
Siege Media is an SEO-focused content marketing for SaaS and B2B companies.
The reason I’m including this for all B2B companies, showcasing your results is incredibly important. Instead of doing the traditional case study, Siege have formatted this as a blog. Making it more interesting and actually providing something of value to the reader.
What’s the content?
What makes it worth sharing?
At the start of the article — How to increase web traffic by 250k+ per month — I love that they say, “Oh, the numbers are actually larger, but we knew you wouldn’t believe us.” Then they prove it with GA screenshots from a client.
This is an amazing case study because it’s not all about us, us, us; they’re going through their tactics and process. Really trying to teach readers how they achieve these impressive results for clients.
Key Takeaways, and how can you do the same?
Results-driven case studies are a great way to share a lot of value. As a reader, you’re coming in thinking, “I want you to do this for us!”
Here’s why this approach is so powerful . . .
Any B2B or SaaS company can do this. Simply turn a case study into a blog, show readers how you got these results for clients.
I don’t know what happened a couple of years ago, but all of a sudden, the expert roundup went crazy viral. It’s a simple format. A writer goes out and asks for a quote from anything from 50 to 100 so-called “experts.”
Naturally, it got spammed out.
Loads of articles with 100 people who weren’t really experts and questions that were beaten to death got published. So people stopped caring. But companies still published them because they ranked well, until Google noticed too many were full of BS.
However . . . getting experts — real experts — to support an argument is very valid. It’s what journalists have been doing for centuries. It’s the only real way to investigate a topic to support the argument you want to make.
The article I’ve selected here is from Brendan Hufford – he’s bolstering here is “Why Ranking for SEO ‘Trophy Keywords’ is a Colossal Waste of Time.” Instead of making the argument on his own, he goes out and brings in voices and quotes from other experts to support this.
What’s the content?
What makes it worth sharing?
It’s an article worth sharing because Brendan doesn’t just get random SEO “experts”, he gets people who are well-known and respected in the industry.
So, when you see reputable authority figures in this space, supporting this argument, it brings readers over to the author’s point of view. All of their opinions add weight to the core argument, that ranking for “Trophy Keywords” is a waste of time.
Key Takeaways, and how can you do the same?
If you want to use the same tactic, you don’t just go out and get interviews from a bunch of random people. You go out and speak to reputable, respected authorities in your sector and format a post that actually delivers value to readers.
Stop doing these nonsense “100 expert” pieces. Instead, build an argument and get quotes from real experts who support that argument and add weight to it. I’m talking 3 – 5 people whose opinions are really worth getting onboard for a piece of content.
You want this expert roundup to sway people, move them to agree with your argument, which should support what you’re selling. Because of this, Brendan has clients coming to him saying, “Show me your strategy, I need you to do this for me, you’ve convinced me.”
Rand Fishkin is one of the best content marketers, SEO’s in the business, and has been for a very long time.
Rand is also very open about his opinion. Not just on business, but on personal things, on politics, and other topics. He uses his platform to get his voice out there on topics he believes in, which I love and respect.
What’s the content?
What makes it worth sharing?
This article is current events, but it could equally be considered a controversial piece – because, ya know, politics!
But his methodical use of data and research reduces that level of argument, making it a factual argument supported by data. These are facts.
His data-backed argument is people are being moved by marketing. Not by the issues themselves, but how the public is manipulated into perceiving them. People are very susceptible to advertising and marketing, as we know.
Rand backs up his argument with data, and that makes it powerful, and worth reading, and sharing.
Key Takeaways, and how can you do the same?
Use current events in your industry as a source for articles like this.
In SEO, algorithm updates are always worth writing about. Google’s Page Speed Update is a current event. We are giving advice, opinion, and data on how companies can deal with it.
You can do the same. Turn a current event into a content piece. Support your argument and opinion with facts and data to get an audience engaged, reading, and sharing.
A Listicle to me is what BuzzFeed pioneered around 10 years ago. Like, “Top 25 hot dogs to eat at Coney Island”, and thousands of similar posts.
I love this format because it flows very well. It lends very well for mobile readers who are just skimming. It’s very engaging and consumable. Kind of like this video (and article); it’s a listicle of 10 amazing B2B content examples.
What’s the content?
What makes it worth sharing?
The video with this post did really well on YouTube, getting over 350,000 views, and the article ranked well on Google. It generated by far the lion’s share of traffic for my website.
Listicles always perform well. It’s been proven, whenever there’s a number in a title, compared to “A Complete Guide”, people always click on the “9 ways . . .”
So, naturally people who read these articles want to share them. Listicles drive more clicks, and perform very well in search and on social media.
Key Takeaways, and how can you do the same?
Listicles are my favorite type of content. They perform well in every way.
The easiest way to do this is whenever you’re writing a post talking about multiple things, turn them into a listicle. It’s that simple. I strongly recommend this format.
The final example I’ve got here is the properly formatted podcast.
This is a big one for me because podcasting is very important for B2B, lead gen, or any kind of service-based business.
The problem is, most people simply record a podcast, then let them live on podcast hosting platform, or drop an embed in an article and don’t really format them well.
I’m a little biased with this because it comes from our website. We took a podcast and formatted it into a valuable piece of content. We turned it into a listicle.
What’s the content?
What makes it worth sharing?
Within this article, we’ve included the video, the podcast embed, and a call-to-action to encourage people to subscribe to the podcast.
But then we’ve taken the content of that podcast and turned it into a long-form, chunky, meaty blog post that will eventually rank for the keyword we’re targeting.
Key Takeaways, and how can you do the same?
Instead of just posting a link or embedding a podcast, turn them into valuable long-form content pieces. Give your audience, potential customers, something they can read and engage with, while also including the podcast embed and a way they can subscribe.
And that’s a wrap!
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