If you're among the business bloggers who create content in a B2B context, you need to write about the topics described by keywords that characterize what your organization offers. Many bloggers start by reviewing their list of keywords and puzzling over what they might say about them.
Rule 1 for successful business-to-business (B2B) content is that it provide value: the last thing you want is potential prospects reaching your page after a web search...only to conclude you've wasted their time. Your goal is to make that click worth their while.
But it's equally important to make it interesting—if you can't attract and maintain a visitor's attention, the value your content provides will go unnoticed.
The trick is finding something new to say about a topic, especially if other people have already written extensively about it, which is the case with most business topics.
After writing hundreds of my own blog posts for a B2B blog, and editing more than a thousand of my coworkers' posts, I've definitely needed to find good ways to get inspired. Here are 5 ways that have worked well in my content marketing career:
Explain a concept in unconventional terms.
How would you explain what your business does using themes or characters from Star Wars or Doctor Who? Could you explain a business process as if the different elements were players in a tragedy, or a comedy, or a sporting event? If your products were used by a rock band, would it be by the drummer or by the lead guitarist?
The originating idea may be absurd, but this kind of explanation is more than just playful: it contextualizes the often dry world of specialized business processes in ways that can be much more accessible than textbook definitions. This in turn deepens a visitor's understanding of the concept or technique you're talking about.
Lead someone through it, step by step.
Select a big topic (like "time series analysis"), take a real-world example, and break it into steps. And don’t skimp on the details! For each step, choose 5 things to watch out for, or 5 things to understand. Don’t worry if they’re obvious—if your reader doesn’t have your expertise (which is probably why they searched for something and found your blog post), you’re doing him or her a service by stating the obvious! Write a sentence or two on each of your bullet points. When you’re done, you’ll have a complete series of blog posts, one for each step in your process.
Explain why it matters—to them, to their boss, and to their customers.
According to Copyblogger, the two most important words in any blog post are YOU and BECAUSE. Everybody wants to know “why”, so use a blog post to explain the because of something related to our keywords. For example, a post could emphasize that even though we can’t use regression to prove cause-and-effect, it’s a powerful tool because it reveals associations—and association is frequently enough to suggest quality improvements that have a big impact on the bottom line.
Get personal—or confessional.
People love a good story, so telling one is good for business. Share an anecdote regarding a your business topic. Don’t be afraid to tell readers about how you got something wrong (and how you fixed it, thus attaining a successful outcome)! Our failures can be more engaging than our successes—especially if initial failure turned out to be a necessary step to a goal.
For example, a story about a guy who collected data for a project, manipulated it with your company's software, and had a big success will have some resonance. But a story about how that guy had to collect data three times, tried several different analyses that didn’t pan out, nearly quit his job in frustration, then gave it one...last...shot and only then (after learning from those failed attempts) found the solution… that’s a tale with real drama, and one that people can easily relate to and learn from.
Recognize a day of observance or commemorative event.
Almost every day of the year has some special event, from somber to silly. Tie a blog post into something special or fun, but avoid tying blog posts to religious holy days, controversial events, or mournful anniversaries. Consider your tone and be respectful when mentioning serious subjects: You can post about the lighter side of statistics on February 4, but if you do, don’t tie the post to World Cancer Day.
I'd love to hear what you do to find new angles on familiar topics!