Learn our simple process for how B2B software and technology companies can master content marketing.

2. Table of Contents
Introduction | 1
STEP 1 Figure out where you want to go | 3
STEP 2 Decide who’s on your content marketing team | 5
STEP 3 Focus your content marketing strategy | 8
STEP 4 Build your editorial calendar | 10
STEP 5 Create awesome content | 12
STEP 6 Share your work | 14
STEP 7 Track and optimize your efforts | 17

3. |1
Content marketing is, more than ever, a crucial tactic for
B2B companies to engage with prospects: 86% of B2B
organizations now use content marketing as a key strategy
for building a pipeline of leads and engaging with their
prospects, according to a recent Content Marketing
Institute report.
EDUCATING PROSPECTS
You’ve got cutting-edge technology and an amazing team who can solve a myriad of
problems for your clients or customers. The challenge? Educating more prospects about
what you do and how you can help them.
Challenges facing B2B Marketers
54% | Producing Engaging Content
50% | Producing Content Consistently
49% | Measuring Content Effectiveness
42% | Producing a Variety of Content
But many marketers are struggling: 54% said that producing
engaging content was a challenge, and half said that it was
tough to publish content on a consistent basis.
[1] Data from: http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/wp-
content/uploads/2014/10/2015_B2B_Research.pdf

4. |2
or inclination to explain their work in clear, concise terms
that new prospects can relate to. They became software
engineers, or architects, or attorneys, or whatever they are,
because that’s what they’re best at—not writing content.
SO HOW CAN YOU GET YOUR SUBJECT MATTER
EXPERTS ON THE SAME PAGE AS YOUR CONTENT
MARKETING TEAM OR AGENCY?
This guide will help you build a collaborative process to
transform complex B2B topics into clear content marketing
assets.
Sloppy or inaccurate work could cost you valuable leads, or worse, destroy your
credibility within your industry. It’s important to have a strong team of content
marketing experts behind you.
You know content marketing is an important strategy for
developing a pipeline of new leads, and when you’re
closing deals worth tens or hundreds of thousands of
dollars, it’s important to get it right. Sloppy or inaccurate
work could cost you valuable leads, or worse, destroy
your credibility within your industry. It’s important to have
a strong team of content marketing experts behind you,
whether they’re in-house or at an outside agency.
That’s probably something you’ve found in your own
organization: Even though your team knows the technology
backwards and forwards, they don’t always have the time

5. | 3
When it comes to developing a B2B content marketing
strategy, the first step is to look at what you’ve already
got before deciding where to go next. In internal
meetings with key stakeholders, focus on finding the
answers to these questions:
WHAT ARE YOUR BRAND VALUES?
Do you have a clear sense of the value proposition you
offer and the points that you want to get across?
HOW MATURE IS YOUR CONTENT STRATEGY?
Have you mapped out detailed buyer personas who
you can target with customized content offerings? Have
you developed an editorial style guide that showcases
your brand’s voice (fun and irreverent, or strictly
serious)? If not, you’ll need to either work on building
out your strategy plan internally or with an outside
consultant before you begin developing content.
STEP ONE
Figure out where
you want to go

6. |4
Focus your messaging around the value that you can offer
your prospects, with tailored messaging for each type of
buyer persona and each stage of the marketing funnel, from
people who are just starting to explore options to those
who are ready to make a purchase.
Focus your messaging around the value that you can offer your prospects, with tailored
messaging for each type of buyer persona and each stage of the marketing funnel, from
people who are just starting to explore options to those who are ready to make a purchase.
WHAT ARE YOUR MARKETING GOALS?
Before going any further with content marketing, it’s
important to internally decide on your objectives (are we
looking to raise awareness of our solution, explain our
value more clearly to existing prospects, or focus on driving
leads?), and to ensure that you have a solid understanding
of what your solution offers that’s unique to your market.

7. | 5
EVALUATE YOUR CONTENT CAPABILITIES.
Next, look at what content marketing resources you
have, both internally and externally. Don’t overestimate
your internal capacity, or nothing will ever get done:
As CEO, you may be a good writer and have a great
understanding of the product—
but between internal meetings and VC pitches, do you
have the time to allocate to crafting blog and thought
leadership content?
The same goes for your internal subject-matter
experts: They may have incredible insights to share,
but they’re often too busy solving problems for
customers to clearly explain their process for solving
those problems.
STEP TWO
Decide who’s on
your content
marketing team

8. |6
Your subject-matter experts may have
incredible insights to share, but they’re
often too busy solving problems for
customers to clearly explain their process
for solving those problems.
PLAN YOUR BUDGET AND RESOURCES.
If you realize you don’t have the time to do this all yourself,
it’s important to allocate a budget towards content
marketing, and decide what resources you’ll need to make
everything happen. It may make sense to have an internal
stakeholder coordinate efforts and approve all content,
while leaving the writing and editing to an external agency;
if you want to make a long-term commitment, you can even
consider hiring an in-house content marketing manager to
play a leading role in the content marketing process, while
commissioning an agency or a group of freelance writers to
assist with the content development.
Percentage of Total
Marketing Budget Spent on
B2B Content Marketing
100% | 2%
75-99% | 4%
50-74% | 10%
25-49% | 14%
10-24% | 19%
1-9% | 25%
0% | 3%
Unsure | 23%
[1] Data from: http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/wp-
content/uploads/2014/10/2015_B2B_Research.pdf

9. |7
make sure you know who’ll actually be working on your
account, however: Some agencies will bring on new and
untested writers for complex projects, while others rely
only on an established group of staff and freelance writers,
so you’ll be in better hands with an agency in the latter
category.
Consider what resources you have or will need for additional services including graphic
design or video production, as well. In many cases, you can use a mix of in-house and
external resources to put together a comprehensive content marketing plan.
VET YOUR TALENT CAREFULLY.
When selecting your content creation team, it’s essential
to find a person or organization with experience focused
around B2B technology topics, but it’s not always crucial
to make sure they’ve worked within your exact space:
Typically, writers who have been able to quickly grasp
B2B terminology in the past will be able to translate these
abilities to new industries. When working with an agency,

10. |8
BUILD A GAME PLAN.
Once you’ve honed in on your messaging and goals,
and know what resources you have to work with, it’s
time to focus on developing a clear strategy. Your plan
may involve a mix of internal and external resources
for keeping things on track—it takes a village to craft a
winning content marketing strategy. Evaluate which key
performance indicators (KPIs) you’re most interested
in tracking to evaluate the success of your content
marketing efforts.
Do you want to see specific keyword phrases gain
more traction in search engines? Do you want to build
traffic to your website? Are you focusing on building
up the subscribers to your email list, or are you more
interested in offering product demos or free trials?
STEP THREE
Focus your content
marketing strategy

11. |9
include a CTA to download a white paper about evaluating
gift card vendors. It’s important to plan out sequences for
your content so that prospects can easily learn about your
company without pressure to buy, but will be prompted to
continually move deeper into your marketing funnel.
Once you’ve honed in on your messaging and goals, and know what resources
you have to work with, it’s time to focus on developing a clear strategy.
CREATE YOUR GOAL FUNNELS.
As you determine the types of content you’ll create, come
up with a clear objective for each (i.e., drive social traffic,
email signups, free trials, etc.), and incorporate CTAs into the
content to help them meet your goals.
For instance, if you develop a series of blog posts around the
topic of launching a gift card program, each article could then
What makes content effective?
58% | Audience Relevance
57% | Engaging & Compelling Storytelling
54% | Triggers a Response or Action
37% | Effectively Delivers Message
[1] Data from: http://www.slideshare.net/hschulze/b2b-
content-marketing-report-40688285/9

12. | 10
Now it’s time to work with your content marketing team
to put together an editorial calendar, which can involve
a mix of content assets including:
BLOG CONTENT
which can boost traffic through organic SEO and social
media (as well as paid promotion).
VIDEO CONTENT
such as animated films and customer videos.
CUSTOMER SUCCESS STORIES
(i.e., case studies).
EBOOKS, WHITE PAPERS, & INFOGRAPHICS
which should be “gated” behind a contact form.
SOLUTION BRIEFS
showcasing how your product or services can benefit
specific industry verticals.
STEP FOUR
Build your
editorial calendar
Make sure to tie your upcoming
editorial calendar to specific events
or important industry themes:
For instance, if you’re a point of sale solution
that targets retail businesses, you’ll want to focus
November and December’s content calendar
around topics such as seasonal shopping trends,
gift cards, and how to handle the holiday rush.
If you’re spotlighting your technology platform at
a trade show for university marketers, make sure
that you’ve developed case studies and white
papers that showcase best practices in gathering
leads from prospective students, incorporating your
solution as part of a comprehensive strategy.
TIP

13. |11
No matter what the breakdown, it’s important to include
some content geared towards new visitors, which can
provide more of an industry overview to a broad audience;
and other assets focused towards high-level executives
who are preparing to make a buying decision, with content
focused on strategic advice and examples of how your
solution can demonstrate ROI.
There’s no one formula that works: A successful editorial calendar will be based
around your content goals, your target audiences, and your promotional strategy.
If you have a heavily visual brand that’s engaged in social
media, video content and infographics should be a high
priority for your content marketing initiatives. On the other
hand, if you have a B2B brand that uses targeted ads to
reach prospects, focus on lead-generating pieces such as
white papers and solution briefs.
How Often B2B Markets
Publish New Content
26% | Multiple times per week
16% | Daily
8% | Less than once per month
2% | Unsure
Monthly | 12%
Multiple time per month | 19%
Weekly | 17%
[1] Data from: http://contentmarketinginstitute.
com/2014/10/2015-b2b-content-marketing-research/

14. |12
BRIEF YOUR CONTENT TEAM.
Once you’ve developed a rough guide on which topics
you want to touch on at each time, you’ll need to make
sure that your content creators have the subject-matter
knowledge they need to develop the content.
First, ensure that they have an in-depth tutorial on what
your company actually does, including a product demo
if possible, so that they can easily weave your value
proposition into the content organically.
APPOINT AN OWNER.
For each content topic, they may also need additional
insights from people on your team, so appoint one of
your subject-matter experts as the “owner” of each
piece of content. The content creator can coordinate
with this individual, including phone interviews or
written notes to go over key messaging and technical
information to include in each piece.
STEP FIVE
Create awesome
content

15. |13
DEFINE A CONTENT APPROVAL PROCESS.
Build a clear collaboration process to ensure that your
internal stakeholders have the opportunity to easily review
and approve each piece. At Eucalypt, we use Google
Docs as a simple way to share content with our clients and
incorporate their feedback to develop a final version that
everyone is happy with (without the hassle of keeping track
of 17 different file versions).
Nearly everything you’ve already done, so long as it’s still relevant to what you’re
doing now, can be repurposed towards your content marketing efforts.
REPURPOSE EXISTING ASSETS.
To help your content creators with research, give them
access to any existing content assets that may be helpful to
them, including slide deks, webinar recordings, VC pitches,
and presentation notes. Nearly everything you’ve already
done, so long as it’s still relevant to what you’re doing now,
can be repurposed towards your content marketing efforts.

16. |14
While readers are more inclined to share high-quality
content, you can’t expect a niche B2B post to go viral.
(Yes, semiconductor nanowires may be fascinating to
you, but to your average Facebook friend? Not
so much.)
In order to reach the right people, you’ll need to put
more effort into promoting your content after it’s been
published. Here are a few strategies:
PROMOTE YOUR CONTENT ON SOCIAL MEDIA.
Organic social media promotion on platforms including
Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn can be valuable—if
you already have a decent audience or are willing to
invest the time into creating one. While access to the
platforms is free, it can often be difficult to get attention
when so many other brands and individuals are
competing for your audience. While we recommend
investing some time into establishing an organic social
media presence in order to increase engagement with
existing customers, there are often better ways for B2B
brands to bring in new prospects.
STEP SIX
Share your work

17. |15
GUEST POST ON POPULAR SITES IN YOUR NICHE.
It’s also smart to invest some time into looking for
opportunities for content placement on niche sites that
reach people in your industry. Alongside your on-site
editorial calendar, designate several posts for exclusive
guest blog placements on sites that target people in your
industry, and involve your marketing team or agency
in outreach efforts for placement. Guest blogging can
help expose you to a larger audience, provide excellent
backlinks to boost your site’s organic SEO value, and drive
new visitors to your site.
A solid content marketing strategy doesn’t begin and end with content creation; it’s
essential to make sure that your content marketing materials are reaching the right people..
INVEST IN TARGETED SOCIAL MEDIA ADS.
In order to make sure your content reaches its target
audiences, it’s often wise to invest in targeted social ads
through platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.
(Disclosure: LinkedIn is a Eucalypt Media client.) These
ads can be highly targeted to reach specific industries,
job titles, and even companies, ensuring that your content
will be seen by people who fit your exact client wishlist
characteristics.

18. |16
SYNDICATE YOUR CONTENT ON
LARGER PLATFORMS.
Content syndication is also a good option: We recommend
that our clients syndicate many of their blog posts through
LinkedIn’s publishing platform, which can help them reach a
huge and highly targeted network of peers and influencers
in their own industry. Other large sites like Huffington Post
or Medium can also serve as great outlets to spotlight your
thought leadership.
SEND A REGULAR NEWSLETTER
TO YOUR MAILING LIST.
Your content can help you generate leads to build a mailing
list, and it can also help you keep your list engaged and
active. Use your newsletter to send your prospects links
to the topical advice that you’re sharing on your website,
and send it out on a regular schedule—whether weekly,
monthly, or somewhere in between. Make sure to assess
the performance of each mailing to see what types of
content and which subject lines get the best open and click
through rates.
To boost your chances of generating leads, it can
sometimes be wise to advertise directly to a white paper
or ebook landing page, but in order to raise awareness
and build your audience, it can also be helpful to boost
individual blog posts (ensuring that you have a clear CTA to
capture that prospect’s info if she’s inclined to learn more).
A solid content marketing strategy doesn’t begin and end
with content creation; it’s essential to make sure that your
content marketing materials are reaching the right people.
NEED NEW IMAGE

19. |17
Remember those KPIs you put together earlier? Once
you’ve spent a few months actively executing your
content marketing plan, it’s time to revisit those and
see where things are. It can take a while to build
traction, so don’t be discouraged if results aren’t as
great as you’d hoped, especially if you’ve only been
publishing a moderate amount of content and haven’t
built up a solid cadence yet.
And when it comes to leads, remember that quality is
far more important than quantity, so even a few well
qualified leads can make a content marketing program
well worth the investment.
STEP SEVEN
Track and optimize
your efforts

20. |18
through clear, compelling content. Become a trusted
resource, and prospects will turn into customers effortlessly.
Need help building or refining your content marketing plan?
Contact us for a free consultation to help you hit the ground
running.
Take the time to look at your stats with your marketing team or agency,
and regroup on strategies that could be improved or changed.
A good internal team or agency can be agile in
collaborating with you in the way that makes the most
sense for your business, and can often offer valuable
recommendations for future initiatives. Keep honing in
on who your target audience is, what content they’re
most interested in, and focus on delivering genuine value

21. Eucalypt is a small agency that specializes in developing,
executing, and optimizing successful content marketing
strategies for clients including LinkedIn, Intel, Cray, and many
other B2B technology companies. Our writing team has
extensive journalism experience, bringing clients the same
in-depth, engaging, and accurate reporting that we bring to
national publications.
We take a personal and agile approach to each client
engagement, partnering to understand their brands and to
collaborate with internal teams to help scale their businesses
sustainably.