How To Build Trust With Buyers In Your Content Marketing

  Ross Palley

We invited three B2B tech startups in the Venture Lane community to participate in our Content Marketing Lab. Participants worked directly with a Mentor Committee of seasoned content leaders in Boston tech to optimize their content strategy for demand generation and lead nurturing. The major theme that emerged from these conversations was the importance of building trust with prospective buyers.

On the Mentor Committee, we welcomed Michael Patrick Brady (Head of Publications @ Toptal), Jessica Levenson (Head of Digital Strategy & SEO @ NetSuite), and Jake Link (Senior Content Manager @ Constant Contact). Check out their key takeaways below!

Speak your customer's language in SEO…

• Use customer syntax in your queries. Pay attention to how customers comment on viral content in your industry. Use their phrasing when researching queries and keywords in tools like Google AdWords. If you're a category creator, you can introduce new terms to prospects farther down the funnel with nurturing content.
  
  

• Add something to the conversation. When you do find popular queries, have a look at what sorts of answers search engines are returning. Rather than rehash the same answer set, make sure your content adds something bigger and better to the conversation. 

• Account for personal preferences. Folks like to consume content in different ways. If you host videos on your website, for example, make sure to provide transcripts for those who rather read than watch. Transcription will also help with SEO.
  
  
• Tool Tip. Google AdWords isn't the only query finder out there. Check out SEMrush and keywordtool.io.

Yes, webinars are still an effective tool…

• Audience Q&A makes great micro-content. If you host webinars, jot down the questions your buyers are asking and the answers that speakers are providing. Publish those Q&A snippits across all content channels. Using your customer's voice will resonate with other prospective buyers.

• Piggy back on high performing content. Webinar recaps don't perform very well in organic search. Instead of posting recaps on their own, attach them to other content that's already driving engagement with your audience.

• Zoom fatigue is real. Yes, folks are feeling the effects of too many Zoom calls. Try co-branded webinars with other known brands in your industry to help give registration numbers a boost. Just make sure both parties agree to an explicit promotion plan ahead of time.

CTAs can build trust too…

• CTAs don't need to be a sales kickoff. Most prospects aren't ready to buy, so using calls-to-action that aren't 'talk to sales' or 'schedule a demo' will keep folks engaged with your content and your brand. CTAs like 'join a webinar' or 'check out this related blog post' do a fine job of moving prospects down your funnel.

• Keep lead capture forms short and sweet. Make sure your team has an explicit need for every field included in a lead capture form. Piling on fields is a sure way to drive down conversion. If most leads are keying in their business email, for example, you may not need to ask for 'Company Name'.

• That being said, always have a CTA. There's plenty of variation to experiment with when it comes to what your CTA is and how it's structured. That being said, always have a CTA in every piece of content you publish. Even if it's as simple as 'Check out this related blog post'.  
  
  Want to take part in one of our upcoming Labs and get 1:1 time with Boston's best operators? Sign up for our Q2 beta of Venture Lane Connect, our newest virtual offering!