A lot of marketers are baffled when it comes to creating a content calendar that will allow them to achieve both their short term and long term objectives. Not too long ago, the social media giant Twitter explored what factors set the foundation for a successful B2B marketing strategy. Through this, it was able to find out the types of pots a content calendar must-have.
Types of Content for a B2B Content Calendar
Short Form
Short-form content is any post that has 100 to 300 words. Such posts can be short updates about your brand or company, press releases, product launches, and other information that can be turned into bite-size social media content related to your business.
Moreover, short-form content is sometimes referred to as “snackable.” This is because they do not require any time investment from your target audience.
Long Form
Long-form content can be anywhere from 500 to 1,500 words. This number of words is already considered as long-form when it comes to content that is created for digital consumption, such as on a B2B website. The reason is that it takes 10 to 20 minutes for the audience to read.
This type of content is applicable to most industries. However, it does not include things such as product manuals or thesis papers for industries related to science. While difficult, investing in quality content will buy you more Twitter followers.
Guides and E-Books
This type of content is achievable depending on the resources that you have available. With enough resources, your content calendar can have a downloadable guide or e-book every month, every quarter, or every year. These resources are great if you want to attract prospects who are early on in the process of deciding.
White Papers
Most of the time, this type of content takes a deeper dive in comparison to guides or e-books. White papers may rely on research or be more clinical. In addition, it may often take more resources to make such content. Oftentimes, white papers provide more in-depth data about prospective customers who are already closer to making a decision.
News Articles and Press Releases
It is not easy to find a partner or a client willing to promote your brand or your products. For this reason, it is important for you to plan how you are going to advertise yourself. Press releases are a great way to do just that.
News articles and press releases on your PR wire or B2B website are an excellent way to make content that highlights your achievements, successes, as well as your breakthroughs. However, make sure not to overdo this strategy as no one likes a person who talks too much about themselves.
Videos
Video content is also an important element that should not be an afterthought or something that lives outside your content calendar. There is no doubt that you want all of your visual and written content to be cohesive. However, you should also ensure that your video content would be consistent with your overall message. Investing in high-quality video content will buy you a rush of new Twitch followers as well, due to the nature of the platform.
If you do not have the skills when it comes to creating good videos, you can always hire a video editor for you.
Infographics
According to Twitter, one thing that they found out missing from content calendars is graphic elements. This is particularly because infographics are typically seen as content in e-books and guides, as well as white papers. Most of the time, excellently created infographics come as stand-alone pieces.
Sales Focused
Creating sales-focused material must never be the core focus of your B2B content strategy. Yet, it can still be helpful to create content that the sales team could use during their selling process.
Sales-focused materials include things such as customer case studies, client testimonials, and statistics from your clients. However, the crucial thing about sales-focused content is that you need to approach it from your prospect’s point of view and not yours.
Educational
This type of content is what your prospects and clients need to know. If your brand or the products you sell are not easily understood by your target audience, you can create content that would explain them more about you.
Needless to say, it is important for you to include strict educational content in your content calendar. While they will not be promotional or sales focused, they can serve more like training.
Promotional
This type of content also serves a purpose. However, it is recommended for you to minimize the amount of promotional content that you include in your content calendar.
Moreover, promotional content allows you to highlight why your services or products are different from your competitors. Those who are already professionals in creating content calendars can create promotional content that genuinely resonates with their clients or prospects while not appearing as promotional.
Trendy and Timely
You are knowledgeable about your industry; thus, you can be considered an expert. You also have a deeper understanding of your industry. On the other hand, your clients only have primary and institutional knowledge. For this reason, make sure that you include openings or spots in your content calendar where you can craft timely content that tackles what is happening in your industry. You can also discuss the trends that you see emerging. Do this in a way that your audience can relate to.
Evergreen
Twitter said that one of their clients noted that content with basic and entry-level knowledge is perfect. This is because the buyers that the client had dealt with were recent college graduates who are new to purchasing their products. On the other hand, some buyers are already experienced purchasers but are still new to their industry. In both of these cases, foundational or fundamental content was important to build up the trust of their prospective customers.
Conclusion
Indeed, social media platforms like Twitter are beneficial for brands and businesses. For this reason, it is important to craft content that would no doubt do well within those platforms.