Discover how to revamp your B2B content marketing strategy to drive more sales-qualified leads. This is a no-frills tutorial dedicated to delivering actionable tips to grow a stronger pipeline with great content. 

1. 5 B2B CONTENT MARKETING
HACKS TO DRIVE MORE LEADS
LAUREN BLECHER SCHERBA
DemandWave, Director, Marketing
Thursday,August 18th at 1PM ET/10AM PT

2. WE OPTIMIZE LEAD
FLOW FROM
CLICK
TO
CLOSE
TO DRIVE MORE SALES-
QUALIFED LEADS FROM
DIGITAL.
DEMANDWAVE
IS THE PREMIER B2B DIGITAL
MARKETING AGENCY.
SEO
SEM
CONTENT
DESIGN
ANALYTICS

3. Founded in 2004, we are digital veterans with a passion for demand generation.
We drive revenue growth for the best in B2B.
DemandWave is a trusted Google
Partner, a two-time winner of the Inc.
500|5000 list, and a two-time member
of the San Francisco BusinessTimes’
100 Fastest Growing Private
Companies.
We’ve earned our stripes.

4. BUT, JUST 30% SAYTHEY’RE
EFFECTIVE AT CONTENT
MARKETING.
88% OF B2B
MARKETERS
USE CONTENT
MARKETING.
Source: Content Marketing Institute, “B2B Content
Marketing: 2016 Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends –
North America.”

5. Measuring content ROI is
still a major challenge.
Source: DemandWave, “2016 State of B2B Digital Marketing Report.”
In fact, marketers are actually finding it more
difficult to prove ROI now than ever before.

6. Measuring content ROI is still a major challenge.
In our 2016 State of B2B Digital Marketing Report, 29% of B2B marketers said ROI was their biggest challenge.
16%
24%
29%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
2014 2015 2016
%ofmarketersthatname“provingROI”astheir
biggestdigitalmarketingchallenge.
Source: DemandWave, “2016 State of B2B Digital Marketing Report.”

7. Content competition is steep.
Over 27 Million pieces of content are shared each day.
Source: BrightEdge, “The Three Essential Elements of Content Performance Marketing.”

8. A successful content strategy reaches and influences the leads that count.
Efficient content creation is key.

9. ONE.
DEFINE SUCCESS AND
DOCUMENTYOUR STRATEGY.

10. Deliver quality
leads
38%
Drive more leads
28%
Improve brand
awareness
14%
Increase
marketing ROI
10%
Increase website
traffic
7%
Other
3%
Source: DemandWave, “2016 State of B2B Digital Marketing Report.”
What is the #1 objective of your marketing efforts?
For 66% of B2B marketers, it’s all about
leads. 38% of marketers take it a step
further with sales-qualified leads.
1.Tackle the content ROI challenge.

11. 80%
77% 76% 76%
70% 69%
17%
1%
29%
32%
44%
61%
25%
58%
5%
16%18% 19%
32%
39%
13%
41%
5%
36%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
Videos Blogs Case studies Whitepapers Infographics Webinars Mobile apps Not sure
Which of the following content types do you produce? Which of the following content marketing tatics drive leads for you?
Which of the following content marketing tactics drive revenue for you?
Source: DemandWave, “2016 State of B2B Digital Marketing Report.”
1.Tackle the content ROI challenge.
Which content marketing efforts are most effective?

12. 52%
22% 22%
20%
19%
15%
9%
4%
26%
36%
33%
40%
33% 33%
21%
14%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Not sure Whitepapers Videos Webinars Case studies Blogs Infographics Mobile apps
Marketers without attribution Marketers with multi-channel attribution
Which content marketing efforts are most effective?
1.Tackle the content ROI challenge.

13. Marketers must measure content success in terms of conversion rate to sales-qualified leads and revenue.
Landing Page / Keyword Theme Leads Opportunities Deals Closed-Won Revenue
Marketing Automation Software 10 5 1 $100,000
Sales Enablement 50 15 2 $60,000
Analytics Solution 100 20 4 $80,000
Total 160 40 7 $240,000
1.Tackle the content ROI challenge.

14. 2. Define your content mission.
Source: Andy Crestodina, Orbit Media Studios for LinkedIn’s “The Sophisticated Marketer’s Guide to Content Marketing.”
This should be the guiding principle for every piece of content you create.
Audience X finds…
InformationY for…
Benefit Z.

15. In addition to the editing schedule and publication date, be sure to include the following:
3. Stay on track with an editorial calendar.
1 Content owner/author.
Topics by stage of the funnel, persona, and/or target account (ABM).2
Keyword mapping with monthly search volume.3
Promotion and/or distribution channel.4
KPIs for each piece..5

16. TWO.
MAKE CONTENT FOR
HUMANS AND SEARCH
ENGINES.

17. 1. Create content your buyers actually like.
Source: Kapost, “B2B Purchase Decisions: Logic Driven by Emotion.”
B2B buyers are people, too! Perceived
personal value has double the impact
as business value.

18. Is there really a formula for likeable content?
1. Create content your buyers actually like.
Solves a challenge.
Makes them laugh!
Highlights a risk.
Helps with career and/or
personal growth.
Buyers like content that: Marketers can source this data from:
Customer surveys.
Interviews with the top performers in Sales.
Organic search queries.
Social shares.

19. Run a content gap analysis. Do you have enough content to cover each stage of the buyer’s journey?
1. Create content your buyers actually like.
Awareness
Consideration
Comparison
Conversion
Retention/Upsell
Website visitor
Form fill out (MQL)
Ready to talk to sales (SQL)
Closed-won deal
Customer considers investing
more.
%
%
%
%

20. IF A TREE FALLS IN THE FOREST,
AND NO ONE IS AROUNDTO HEAR IT, DOES IT MAKE A SOUND?
THE SAME GOES FOR CONTENT.
CONTENT DISCOVERY IS EQUALLY IMPORTANT.

21. 2.Anticipate demand with organic search.
Focus on long-tail, high-converting keyword themes first and work up to competitive, high-volume terms.
SearchVolume
Keyword Length
High competition;
informational searches
Low competition;
transactional searches
Low
High
Short Long-tail

22. Win more customers by mapping keyword themes to user intent.Are these transactional or informational keyword themes?
Buyer Stage
Awareness
Evaluation
Purchase
Content Type & Topic Search Query
Educate prospects on the
value of your product &
foster thought leadership.
Build the business case for
why the prospect needs to
invest in your product or
service.
Give the prospect a reason
to choose you over your
competitors.
Product Page: “Search
Opportunity Forecasting:
Measure & Predict the Financial
Value of Content..”
BrightEdge cost
2.Anticipate demand with organic search.
Blog: “Understanding Share of
Voice in Digital Markets.”
Share of voice
advertising
Product Page:“Competitive
SEO Analysis”
Competitor
analysis SEO
report
CTA
Download our
SEO eBook.
Watch the
video
Request a Demo

23. THREE.
FACTOR IN ACCOUNT-BASED
MARKETING (ABM.)

24. ABM & Inbound are not mutually exclusive.
Just like a good cup of coffee, you need to find the right blend of both.

25. ABM & Inbound are not mutually exclusive.
It’s important to weigh the pros and cons of each.
Captures leads based on behavior.
Inbound Pros
1
Produces a steady funnel of
leads.
2
Let’s the buyer decide how and
when they’d like to engage with
your brand.
3
Inevitably produces a portion of
unqualified leads.
Inbound Cons
1
Sales sells to accounts, not
leads.
2

26. ABM & Inbound are not mutually exclusive.
It’s important to weigh the pros and cons of each.
Encourages complete alignment
between Marketing and Sales.
ABM Pros
1
Focuses on quality of leads over
quantity.
2
Increases deal-size and client
retention.
3
ABM does not capture leads
based on behavior.
ABM Cons
1
By definition,ABM is limited to
a finite number of accounts.
2

27. What level of ABM investment makes sense?
First, evaluate your go-to-market strategy.

28. Identify the purchase decision-makers and influencers for your target accounts.
Second, build your ABM target list.

29. Organize accounts by tier based on priority and team resources.
Second, build your ABM target list.
Source: Engagio,“Engagio’s Clear & Complete Guide to ABM.”
We highly recommend
reading this eBook cover
to cover!
This is an incredibly important point!

30. Build a content marketing and SEO strategy that supports both your inbound and ABM goals.
Third, use content to attract, engage, and convert targets.
Buyer Stage
Awareness
Evaluation
Purchase
Content Type & Topic Search Query
Educate prospects on the
value of your product &
foster thought leadership.
Build the business case for
why the prospect needs to
invest in your product or
service.
Give the prospect a reason
to choose you over your
competitors.
Promo Offer: Request a demo
and get a free Peer’s coffee card.
BrightEdge cost
Blog: “Understanding Share of
Voice in Digital Markets.”
Share of voice
advertising
Product Page:“Competitive
SEO Analysis”
Competitor
analysis SEO
report
Industry Specific
“Why Winning Share
of Voice is Key for
Software Marketers”
Add software
industry case
study examples
to landing page.
Sprinkle in
software industry
statistics when
describing the
solution.
Here’s where SEO
for ABM comes
into play.

31. Take ABM outreach beyond email with retargeting by account.
Third, use content to attract, engage, and convert targets.
Retarget by
email address
with Google
Customer
Match.
*Requires 1,000 matched emails.

32. FOUR.
LEARN FROMYOUR
COMPETITORS.

33. Be proactive with competitors.
Identify what’s working and what’s not working.
Source: BrightEdge Competitor Analysis

34. Be proactive with competitors.
Dig into the keyword gap analysis. Identify where they rank, where you don’t, and why.
Source: BrightEdge Competitor Analysis

35. FIVE.
MAKE IT EASY TO CONVERT.

36. When it comes to marketing, style and substance carry equal weight.
1. Content design matters.
40% of people will respond better
(and faster) to visual information than
with plain text.
Source: LinkedIn, “The Sophisticated Marketer’s Guide to Content
Marketing..”

37. Popular B2B landing page test elements include:
2.A/B test for continuous improvement.
1
2
3
4
5
6
CTA button (color, design, placement, and copy)
Hero image
Reducing form fields
Switching form fields order
Headline copy (question vs. benefit vs. risk)
Sub-headline
7
8
9
10
Trust symbols (awards, testimonials)
Live chat
Explainer video
Copy length

38. Be patient. Don’t short change your test.
2. A/B test for continuous improvement.
1
2
Tests must at least reach 95% statistical significance.
Run all tests for at least a week.

39. 1
Optimize your content marketing mix for
sales-qualified leads and revenue.
Create content for both humans and
search engines.2
Run a content gap analysis. Do you have
enough content to cover the funnel?3
Identify low-hanging fruit and map those
keyword themes to content topics/landing
pages.
4
Develop a proactive competitor
strategy based on what’s working and
what’s not.
5

40. 800.619.1570 results@demandwave.com
Talk to our team to start driving more sales-qualified leads today.
Climb out of the B2B content rut.