What's a "Grande Guide"?

Maybe you know them by now, maybe you don't. But our Grande Guide series of eBooks is all about delivering modern marketing advice in the time it takes to scarf down your breakfast.

For this edition, we turn to the often praised, but poorly understood, strategy of B2B blogging. And we brought in the expert. Mark Schaefer is the author of The Tao of Twitter and the recent Return On Influence, a faculty member at Rutgers University, and commentator who has appeared in The New York Times, CBS This Morning, INC Magazine, MSNBC, and BusinessWeek, to name a few.

He also runs the blog Grow, which has emerged as a must-read, go-to blog for all kinds of marketers – especially B2B marketers. Mark shares his secrets to B2B blogging, and how your business can use blogs to drive awareness and demand.

What's the Difference Between B2C and B2B Blogging?

Building a B2B blog is very different from blogs that are geared toward consumers. Understanding the needs of these two very different audiences will help your company build a blog that's right for your stakeholders.

Not surprisingly, the goal of a consumer-facing blog is to drive the sale of products or brand awareness. They work in much shorter sales cycles where emotions often guide the buying decision.

B2B blogs have a uniquely different set of challenges and attributes: they're relationship-driven, deal with much longer sales cycles and focus on long-term ROI.

Blogs are a top-ranked source for information in the B2B world. 39% of B2B marketers say blog posts are their most valuable content asset. And 55% of B2B professionals say they turn to blogs for business information. Your customers are hungry for information. A blog is a great way to deliver.

Also, because the sales cycle is much longer and more relationship-focused for B2B companies, a blog offers a great way to nurture prospects and lead them down the path to making a purchase.

These are the same things your sales team does each and every day. And now, you can supplement and support this activity with a blog.

Why Should My Business Care About Blogging?

Although there are a lot of benefits to blogging, it all boils down to one thing … making money for your business!

Believe it or not, blogging can play an important role in your company's sales and marketing efforts.

A well-crafted blog will help you to drive awareness of your brand and stand out among your competitors. And, once you capture the attention of your stakeholders, your blog offers an incredible opportunity for them to interact with you and your brand.

Continual interaction is a key to shortening lengthy sales cycles. The average B2B sales cycle can range from 117 to 156 days. You need to produce and share compelling content to keep buyers engaged over that time. At the same time, business leaders want content that helps them solve problems, but not in a way that overtly sells your product. 75% of business executives want solutions providers to "curb the sales messaging," according to DemandGen Report.

Blogging offers an excellent way to demonstrate your brand's leadership, building trust over time through smart content rather than slogans and product pitches.

9 Big Benefits of B2B Blogging

A blog is a powerful weapon to have in your marketing arsenal. As you decide whether a blog is right for your company, it helps to understand some of the key benefits of building a blog or how to enhance the one you already have.

The Anatomy of a Perfect Blog Post

In addition to creating relevant, timely content, you need to pay attention to some of the mechanics around building a strong blog post:

Write a powerful headline. Your title is the first thing people see in their blog readers, emails and on social media channels, and it may very well determine whether somebody reads your post. The goal is to grab attention to make people stop and read what you have to say. A good headline should be short and impactful.

Include visuals & multimedia. Pictures, graphics and other visuals help draw readers in and make the page more appealing. Spend a little money on stock photography or search through Flickr's creative commons.

Keep it short and to the point. Business people are pressed for time, so keep your articles brief – usually, less than 600 words. It also helps to use bullet points, lists and sub-headings also help the reader digest your content.

Make it shareable. If you want your content to spread, you need to make it easy for your readers to share your blog posts via email and the social networks they use most. Plus, social sharing icons offers the validation that your posts deserve to be read.

How to Place a Guest Blog Post

Guest blogging gets your brand, thought leaders and voice in front of new communities and prospects. From a B2B perspective, it's one of the most valuable outcomes of a blogging strategy. Many people are unsure how to approach an influential blogger, though. When the proper approach is taken, securing a guest post becomes a much less daunting task. Here are 6 tactics for improving guest blog article placement.

Become Known In The Community

The absolute best piece of advice is to first establish a relationship within the community. Spend at least a month reading and commenting on articles, sharing the blog's content socially, and interacting with the blog community members before ever broaching the topic of guest posting. Going in blind with no established relationship is a surefire way of getting your request ignored.

Think Thought Leadership, Not SEO

Don't pursue a guest blogging strategy simply to accumulate SEO-friendly links. This practice will backfire. Instead, learn what makes this community unique and the types of articles that perform well, and model your approach after that. An inbound link is not the reason to make your request, it's simply a secondary benefit.

Do Your Homework

Every blog or publication has a unique set of guidelines for guest contributions. It's your job to find them, understand them, and make your pitch conform to them. Be concise and thorough. Make the job of approving your request a simple one by providing a title and abstract for your article, links to other guest blog posts at reputable, known blogs, and your social profile and contact information.

Kill The Form Email

We all love saving time, but popular blogs and traditional publications get pitched daily. If your first email starts, "I found your blog this morning and it looks

to have some interesting content," it likely will be deleted before the reader gets to the next sentence. This is where point number one becomes so important. Once known within the community, a form email is not needed. You'll stand out because of your existing relationship and previous contributions.

Create Best Effort, Quality Content

This point should go without saying, but since your post is going to be living in someone else's domain, it's worth reiterating: The blog owner has final say over all editorial. Devote the appropriate amount of time to produce a quality piece and remember the intent is to create a piece that benefits the community, not your company.

Optimize Your Article For The Community

Make sure the article fits in terms of style, length, and, of course, topic. Remember, there is as much value in getting the post shared by the community as there is in getting the article published. Study the blog's most successful articles from a social sharing standpoint and work those elements into your article to mimic their success.

Jeremy Victor, the founder of Make Good Media, is well-known source of knowledge on B2B blogging as the Editor-In-Chief of B2B Bloggers.

What Do I Need to Start (or Revive) a Blog?

Although you may be convinced to plunge headfirst, you need to take a step back to determine whether a blog fits with your company's objectives, culture and resources. There are several questions you need to ask first, like:

B2B Blogging Success Stories

Caterpillar

Can't imagine somebody from a road construction crew logging in to read a blog? Think again.

Caterpillar established separate blogs based on industry (construction, electrical, marine) with sub-categories under each industry (products, safety, problem-solving). This company does a remarkable job engaging customers, using the community to solve problems, and rewarding customer ideas.

Hinda Initiatives

Hinda Initiatives is in the reward and incentive industry, and they thought their blog could raise awareness and drive traffic to their site.

It worked. In a short period of time, they reached more than 1,000 visits a month with subscribers from at least 30 different countries. Their overall website traffic also increased by 15 percent.

Their blog has also served as a critical PR tool. When a major competitor pulled out of the industry, many turned to the Hinda blog to learn their company's position on the issue. And, their blog post was also quoted by other blogs, which reinforced their position as a voice of authority in the industry.

Kinaxis

Kinaxis, a supply chain management company, has done a few things that many B2B blogs are unwilling – or too afraid – to do. For instance, they have opened up their blog to outside bloggers and now, five industry experts blog alongside the 18 Kinaxis employee bloggers.

They're also not afraid to inject humor into their blog. A number of their posts include cartoons or silly photos, proving that entertainment is important.

And, the results have paid off. Between 2008 and 2009, they experienced a 2.7 times increase in web traffic, a 3.2 times increase in conversions and a 5.3 times increase in blog traffic.

ManPower

Using traditional research methods, the temporary employment agency discovered that their customer's biggest information need was keeping up with the confusing topic of employment law.

In response, ManPower created a blog specifically on this topic. Although not directly related to selling temporary services, it has differentiated the company as they established themselves as a voice of authority on a strategic level. It also created powerful SEO benefits in the process. If you search for many employment law topics, it's likely you will be led back to the ManPower blog.

How Does Blogging Tie to Lead Generation?

Building a relevant audience for your blog and connecting with them is important, but the ultimate goal is to move customers and sales leads to the bottom line. How do we convert blog visitors to leads, and ultimately, sales?

B2B Blogging Do's and Don'ts

When you look at the most successful B2B blogs today, there are a number of common characteristics. But there are also all-too-common cases of businesses producing lame content that is little more than press releases.

Here's what to do and not to do when it comes to blogging.

Do...

… Add value. This may go without saying, but good blogs know how to add value to their readers. This means forgoing the promotional content and focusing on solving problems, answering questions, and offering useful information that helps your contacts make money, save money, or make their jobs easier.

… Entertain. With so many voices vying for our attention, providing entertainment value is an important consideration. Mix it up and add video, photos, interviews or reviews. Be surprising to keep your readers tuned in. In an information-dense world, entertaining content will help cut through the noise. This is a challenge for many companies, but increasingly important as the "noise level" continues to rise on the social web.

… Be original. Blogs that are willing to take a stand and offer a strong point of view stand out amongst the crowd. Write posts that only your company can write. Being a parrot is not a great way to get noticed.

… Be real. People like to connect with people. That's why it helps if your blog has a human face to it. Have the courage to be imperfect.

… Tell stories. Stories sell. Whether you're sharing stories about your customers, employees or advocates, it offers a great way for people to connect with you and your brand.

… Write well. People will spend more time with you if they enjoy your writing. Take the time to read your post aloud – it's a great way to ensure it has a natural, conversational tone.

… Promote your posts. You don't have to turn into a used-car salesman to promote your articles. Email it to customers or prospects that are struggling with the issue you solved in the article. Share it on social networks. Post it on a forum or group relevant to your topic. If you don't share your content, it will be hard to gain traction.

Don't...

… Oversell. Although your blog can be used as a vehicle to drive sales, non-stop promotion will send readers running in the other direction. Focus on solving your audience's problems and the sales will come.

… Use corporate speak. Your blog shouldn't sound like it came from the legal department. Talk to people like human beings and lose the cliché-laden copy.

… Ignore negative comments. It's not fun to get negative feedback, but it presents an excellent opportunity to turn a critic into an advocate. Listen to concerns and see what you can do to fix the problem or better understand their viewpoint. Because most businesses tend to ignore criticism, you'll stand out if you respond the right way. Sometimes a prompt and thoughtful response to a critic is a way to create an advocate.

… Forget to measure. You can only manage what you measure. In other words, track your efforts and tie them back to your overall goals. That's the only way you can determine if your blog is successful.

… Fail to plan. An editorial calendar helps your blog stay on track by plotting out the topics and dates you will post new articles. Without planning, your blog may quickly gather cobwebs.

… Post infrequently. If you only blog once or twice a quarter, it will be hard to sustain your readers' attention. At the very least, you should post a new article every month and, preferably, once a week. This is why planning is so important.

But What Should We Write About?

Your reader's needs should always be on your mind. If you're consistent and interesting, your audience will find you.

To stay on top, try a mix of different types of posts and content, such as customer how-tos, industry trends and events, commentary on the market, customer success stories, and company news.

If you're in need of inspiration, here are a few surprisingly easy places to look:

Existing content. Videos, whitepapers, PowerPoint presentations and company speeches are all great ways to leverage the investment you've put into other content.

Questions from your customers. Think about the questions you get through your blog comments, meetings, and customer service requests. This should give you a good idea of your customers' interests and needs.

Forums. Look at a relevant LinkedIn forum. What are people asking about? Write an answer to their question and you have a ready-made blog post!

Comments. If you leave a comment on industry journals, blogs or trade magazines, you can expand on your thoughts in a blog post. This is a great way to establish your voice of authority on an issue.

Internal communication. Is there news from internal communication activities that might be relevant to your audience? If so, include it on your blog.

B2B Blogging Resources

Podcasts

Tools