Why PR and quality content marketing is a good investment!
Well it’s coming to the time of year when b2b marketing managers start reviewing their budgets for the year ahead. The inevitable question will be how much budget should be allocated to each of the marketing disciplines, PR, digital marketing, social media, SEO and which will deliver the best ‘bang for your buck’.
In this blog, we look at why content marketing is becoming increasingly important and why b2b PR companies like Dragonfly PR are best placed to generate high quality authentic content.
Research by DemandGen revealed that 51% of b2b buyers rely more on online content to enable them to make purchasing decisions than they did in 2015. Of particular interest to us is the type of content that they are engaging with. The DemandGen report showed that 82 per cent of professional buyers and specifiers base their purchasing decision on White Papers, 78% based on webinars and 73% on case studies.
As thought leadership articles and case studies are a major part of our PR campaigns, it is fantastic to see that they are so highly valued in the decision making process. Our clients also recognise their importance, whether we are writing expert opinion articles about asset management for steam methane reformers or how to ensure workers at height are safe on roofs.
So why are white papers and thought leadership articles so well received?
The main reason is that they are impartial and contain detailed research, statistics, technical information, diagrams and relevant sources. This makes them ideal for sharing with colleagues and contacts. For example, we recently wrote a white paper on why it’s important to use BS EN 54 compliant wireless fire safety systems on construction sites, from a safety point of view. That article resulted in a three-fold increase in hits to the client’s website that month!
We know the value of these thought leadership articles and so do our clients, so it really is satisfying to see that the DemandGen peport also found in its in-depth research of companies that the top content that b2b buyers are most likely to share is as follows:
- White papers (79%)
- Webinars (68%)
- Infographics (67%)
The research also found that 88% of b2b marketers are currently investing in content marketing and 75% of marketers are looking to increase their investment in content marketing over the next 12 months.
As well as writing White Papers, our experienced team can also help publicise and increase engagement in webinars. These work really well in the b2b sector as they normally involve showing a captive, international audience how to do something or they explain a complex subject.
For example, our client, an international designer and manufacturer of industrial temperature measurement equipment, holds at least a couple of webinars per month. We have helped to generate traffic to these webinars, which usually have a large number of online attendees, through social media campaigns and online articles and blogs. The result is it helps to position the client as the experts in the industry, raises their brand awareness with a potential customer and often leads to a sale afterwards. As well as promoting the webinars, we also keep in touch with attendees and prospects, by sending them emailshots about future webinars on similar subjects which may also be of interest to them. Again, this helps to increase engagement and builds relationships with interested parties, who may be potential customers.
Infographics
It is little surprise that infographics are shared so widely. These are fantastic for engagement online as they can easily be shared and are very visual. We regularly produce infographics for our clients in the manufacturing and construction sectors. For example, we created infographics for a client on the impact of poor indoor air quality in homes and commercial buildings. This was picked up as coverage in the Daily Mail and Daily Telegraph. The infographics were also shared extensively online.
So, if you need help with writing thought-provoking, engaging white papers or expert opinion articles for the construction, manufacturing and other b2b markets, get in touch. Please call our PR team on 01709 300130 or email marina@dragonflypr.co.uk.