Five tips to make sure your content strategy rises above a flood of sameness

Content has become a cornerstone of B2B marketing, but few do a great job at it. If you doubt me, just look at the current crop of thought leadership on AI.

Thousands of digital pages and whizzy graphics sing the same tune. There’s loads of cheerful positivity about a bright future for those of us using digital assistants, a smidge of fear provocation aimed at companies that hesitate, and a general encouragement to get out there and experiment. Few tackle tough issues like what to do about fresh digital divides or prejudice-inducing data sets. Word for word, you’ll get more value out of an Economist article on the topic. But that won’t stop the flow of undifferentiated corporate content.

This isn’t the way it’s supposed to be. Great content makes a brand stand out. It gets customers to consider buying things they didn’t know they needed. It generates meetings and closes sales.

But only if it stands above the flood of sameness.

Here are my top 5 tips on how to avoid the most typical problems in content marketing. Follow this path to get your work shared rather than binned.

1. ALIGN WITH THE MARKETING PLAN

This should be obvious, but if I could have pocketed the production fees spent on all the “content for content’s sake” I’ve seen over the years, I’d be enjoying a well-funded retirement in the Maldives by now. What is the point of your content? Why are you producing it? (Hint: if the answer is “because Marcus Muckety-Muck wants it” you are already well down the wrong path.)

Who is this content meant for and what action should it inspire? Content that helps sales close a deal will be entirely different from the stuff that establishes a leader as an expert or builds awareness in a market where you’re unknown.

Marketing objectives drive more than your topics. Your media, channels, spokespeople, design … everything … may shift depending on your role within the wider plan. Too many marketing teams are operating like media companies, churning out content to fill channels, educate and inform, but go no further. That’s not good enough.

1. DIFFERENTIATE YOURSELF FROM THE CROWD

Here’s where thinking like a journalist gets you ahead. Don’t start with the answers your company wants to give. Start with questions. What’s new? What’s everyone else writing about on this topic and, more importantly, where are the gaps? What questions and criticisms are the media bringing up? What interests your target audience, and what information will get them to take the action you want?

Only after you do your research and build your questions should you start assembling your answers. Many companies will default to research, a tried-and-tested way to both create content and get cut-through in your media relations. Just make sure that research adds to the differentiation rather than reinforcing what everyone else is saying.

1. USE CREDIBLE SPOKESPEOPLE WITH COMPELLING PROOF POINTS

Given the crowded B2B content market, you’ve done half the job once you find a differentiated space for yourself. But you’ll never connect with your audience unless they believe in your spokespeople. Do your featured voices have the track record to be believed?? Bring their credibility to life with proof points, biographies and real-life examples. And don’t forget to make sure their LinkedIn profiles reflect what they’re doing in your content, or they’ll just look like marketing fronts rather than subject matter experts.

A world of video and audio presents additional complications here. No matter how impressive your experts are, if they’re boring you’ve lost your audience. In a world beyond text you’ll need to be ruthless in your choice of spokespeople, adding charisma and communication skills to expertise. Grand titles are no substitute for a track record and dynamism. Your best spokespeople may not be highest on the corporate pyramid. Be brave. Fight for them.

1. PROMOTE, PROMOTE, PROMOTE

You can do everything right but fall at the last hurdle if your audience doesn’t consume your content. It’s not enough to send a piece out in a newsletter and hope for the best. Great content deserves its own campaign. (And, indeed, is probably part of a bigger campaign. Circles within circles…)

Think about social media video snippets. Links in advertising. Cross-overs into other corporate promotions. Work social media hard. Make sure external speaking opportunities drive back to your content. Don’t forget internal communications, which is often the most important tactic of all. Help sales people understand how to use your content. Write LinkedIn posts for senior execs to promote it. Encourage all employees to share it. Return to it over the course of a year when the news agenda does anything to boost its relevance. With regular refreshes and promotions, great content can fuel marketing for a year.

Which should remind everyone…

1. DON’T BE AFRAID TO ARGUE THAT LESS IS MORE

In my experience, a handful of really significant pieces created to last for a while do better than a constant churn of topics. Many successful brands have channelled this truth into an iconic, annual report that their market comes to anticipate. The company's content strategy is then variations on this theme, rather than constantly striving for something new.

This doesn’t mean you should go quiet for six months a year. In a world where everyone has embraced content marketing, silence is dangerous. Rather than making noise just to stay in the game, these five approaches will help you stand out.

You can spin a few strong, differentiated pieces into multiple channels and side stories, supporting diverse objectives in your plan. Your topic may still be experiencing a flood tide, but going down this route gives your work a better chance of standing out instead of blending in.