For many marketing professionals, content is the same no matter which way you approach it. Unfortunately, that’s a poor approach to content marketing. That’s because there is a difference between B2B and B2C content marketing.
Defining B2B vs. B2C
Let’s first address the elephant in the room. Before you can talk about the difference between B2B and B2C content marketing, you need to understand the key difference between the two groups:
- Business-to-Business (B2B): A type of transaction between two business entities. An example includes a business transaction between a wholesaler and a retailer.
- Business to Consumer (B2C): A type of transaction between a business entity and a consumer. In this transaction, the product/service benefits only the individual consumer. An example includes a retailer selling an article of clothing to a customer.
Now, when it comes to the differences between B2B and B2C in content marketing, while they are two very different strategies, they do have a few noteworthy similarities.
Similarities between B2B and B2C Content Marketing
While it’s important to be able to tell the difference between B2B and B2C marketing, it’s also essential to understand that they do share a few similarities as well. Arguably one of the biggest similarities between the two is that both content marketing strategies should be approached with a human-to-human mindset.
The content you create needs to be written with the consumer in mind, whether they be key decision-makers for another business or your everyday consumer. If it’s written in an overly promotional way or reads unnaturally, it will not prove effective at all.
B2B and B2C content marketing helps you build trust between you and your reader. You must take on a human-to-human mindset when you are creating the content.
The end goals in both situations are also very similar and should include:
- Aligning withing the customer’s journey.
- Being relevant to your audience and their needs.
- Nurturing the relationship long after the initial sale is made.
- Sharing your content across multiple channels.
Spotting the Difference Between B2B and B2C Content Marketing: 3 Key Variances
With an understanding of B2B and B2C content marketing’s similarities, you can finally move on to the differences between the two. Here are three key differences that you’ll want to make a note of before you begin building your B2B content marketing strategy:
1. B2B Audience is Much More Specific, Requiring More Personalization
While it is imperative that you remember to maintain a human-to-human mindset when approaching your content marketing strategy, it’s also essential to make a note that your content needs to be tailored to your specific audience.
A B2B audience is much narrower than a standard B2C audience. The easiest way to think of it is like this:
- A standard B2C fitness brand’s audience comprises individuals in the 25-30 age group, is primarily made up of females, and addresses a variety of health and fitness topics.
- A standard B2B marketing brand’s audience comprises individuals who own a business and need a marketing solution to help them reach their own B2C audience more efficiently.
Now, that B2B marketing brand’s audience could get even narrower depending on what they offer their customers and whether they serve only a specific industry or niche.
What does that mean for your content marketing efforts? That you’ll need to personalize your content even further to ensure you are only covering the most relevant content for your readers.
2. B2B Requires More Thought Leadership Content
Another significant difference between B2B and B2C content marketing is that B2B content marketing requires more thought leadership content creation. Thought leadership content is much more analytical and relies heavily on research to back up claims about the industry, customer behavior changes, etc.
Thought leadership content is vital in your B2B content marketing strategy because it directly addresses decision-makers’ needs. In fact, research shows that 53% of decision-makers spend at minimum one hour a week meaningfully engaging in thought leadership content, with another 20% saying they read thought leadership content four or more hours a week.
3. B2B Audience Prioritizes Research Over Emotion
Finally, it’s important to understand that a B2B audience will prioritize logic and research when making their purchasing decisions, whereas B2C audiences will prioritize emotions. What does that mean for your content marketing?
That means you want to focus on highly educational content, such as thought leadership content, over emotional content, such as social proof. By educating your B2B audience, you’re allowing them to make their own educated choice as to which direction they should go.
Let CadenceSEO Help You with Your B2B Content Marketing
If you’re struggling with your content marketing strategy, then it may be time to overhaul it entirely. Not quite sure where to begin? Let the team of digital marketing professionals at CadenceSEO help you get started!
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