What Does it Take to be Successful with B2B Content Marketing in 2024?

Content marketing has changed drastically over the past year or two.

Generative AI’s ability to supplement skills like writing, graphic design, and video editing has created a few trends that are proving problematic for some businesses:

?? A shift of emphasis from quality to quantity with content production

?? A new wave of freelancers without much experience positioning themselves as experts on LinkedIn (and doing a pretty good job of passing)

?? People who previously had no interest in producing content – everyone from sales leaders to CISOs – are now dabbling in content creation by themselves.

What do these trends mean for businesses?

It’s getting harder and harder to gain traction with content marketing.

You now have a greater need than ever before for strategic expertise, critical thinking, and original ideas if you hope to capture and retain your audience’s attention amidst all the noise.

Make no mistake – content marketing is still very much a specialist discipline.

In most businesses, it requires its own dedicated function to be effective.

And it absolutely requires a strategic, holistic approach to achieve the best possible results.

Just because tonnes more people are posting their own content on LinkedIn these days, doesn’t mean anyone can be successful with content marketing in a business

You need experience, expertise, and certain key competencies.

So, for B2B companies looking to drive sustainable content-led growth in 2024 and beyond (or for anyone looking to have a successful career in content marketing)...

Here are the essential skills and traits you need:

1?? – Strong commercial acumen?

This may sound strange to some of you initially, but bear with me.

Over my 11 years in content marketing, I've worked with plenty of marketers who don't fully understand how they're supposed to be supporting the sales team, or even how the business really makes money.

A lot of people get into content marketing because it's a creative line of work, without realising their role is a commercial one.

Content marketing's primary purpose in a business is to help generate revenue.?

Granted, it involves using creative skills, but you can't just produce content for the sake of it.

Everything in content marketing should be designed to serve the wider business goals and contribute to growth in some way, whether directly or indirectly.?

2?? – Empathy

In order to serve that purpose of generating revenue, you have to connect with real people and influence them to take action.

Content marketers must be able to put themselves in their position of the target audience, consider how those people think and feel, and speak their language.?

Empathy is so important because it helps relate to the audience, which then allows your content to be targeted specifically for them.?

If you can't do that, you’ll struggle to resonate with your audience and achieve your desired outcomes.?

3?? – Relationship building and collaboration

Your business is full of expert knowledge. The content marketer's role is to find and extract that knowledge, then use it to make your content as high-value and original as possible.

Content marketers need to build healthy relationships with the founder/CEO, other relevant executives, sales leaders, product managers, and even your partners and clients.

The more you're able to leverage these people's insights to strengthen the quality and credibility of your content, the better.

And now that people all throughout your business are posting their own content, these relationships will help ensure everyone is aligned with the business's content strategy and messaging.

4?? – Great storytelling ability??

This is not to be confused with writing. Everyone in a business should be able to write competently, especially now with the aforementioned support of Chat GPT.

Storytelling is an entirely different skill altogether.

As all the content online becomes increasingly similar, the ability to craft engaging, relatable, relevant stories that capture your audience's attention is more valuable than ever.

This skill must be used to enhance the overall brand story and messaging, as well as each individual piece of content.

For example, looking back to the previous point, a CEO may provide hihg

5?? – Being perceptive and observant?

With such an enormous volume of content to consume online every day, we have endless examples of both good and bad.

The best content marketers analyse every piece of content they see, identify what works well and what doesn’t, and apply the best bits in their own strategy.

This isn't limited to just the social media posts, blog articles, and newsletters within your own market, either.

This should include spotting great ideas everywhere – techniques from brands and industries that are completely unrelated to your business, as well as inspiration from books, podcasts, films, and anywhere else you can find it.

Most importantly, content marketers should be especially perceptive to the language their prospects and customers use when in meetings, when they comment on social media posts, and when they post their own content online.

These sources of valuable intel will help you refine your content production and build stronger connections with your target audience.

6?? – Data-driven thinking and decision making

Pretty much all content marketing is done online these days.

That means almost everything a content marketer does has some data attached to it, which allows you to understand whether it performed well or not.

Content marketing success is dependent on perceptive analysis of data. This is how you optimise your efforts based on the trends you find.

As mentioned earlier, a lot of people get into content marketing to use their creative skills, then shy away from the analytical side of the job.

An effective content marketer has to be comfortable with data.

7?? – Being highly adaptable??

This final point has two aspects to it.

Firstly, a great content marketer must be able to adapt to ever-changing online trends, like search engine and social media algorithms, or even your target audience’s preferences for content.

Things change so fast online these days. If you’re unable to change with them, you'll inevitably fall behind your competitors.

Secondly, great content marketers must also be able to adapt their ideas and plans quickly if they’re not delivering the desired results.

This links back to the previous point about data. It's critical to constantly measure, analyse, and optimise.

You shouldn't be afraid to take risks, experiment, and test new ideas. But if the data tells you something isn't working, stop doing it.

Remember, an effective content marketing strategy is one that’s always evolving.

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I'd love to know which parts of this list you agree and disagree with.

In your experience, what are the most important skills for a content marketing specialist to have?

Let me know your thoughts.

And, if you’re a business owner or marketing leader looking for help driving organic growth with strategic content marketing in 2024, please don’t hesitate to drop me a message.

Thanks!