So you’re a content marketer in a B2B industry and you feel like the content you’re generating isn’t fun or creative. Sound accurate? The good news is that you’re not alone. The better news is that there are simple ways to bring sexy back into your seemingly mundane content.
Keeping in mind that you’re not competing with the BuzzFeeds of the world, take a giant step back. Think about your audience. To them, sexy isn’t necessarily a top-ten list about the best brunch to be had in Manhattan’s Lower East Side. They’re turning to you to be informed, educated, in the know, and—but only partially—to be entertained.
Here are three ways to get creative and deliver on their expectations.
1. Storytelling
Everyone enjoys a good story—especially one that will help their bottom line. Think of an industry-specific archetype that other like-minded professionals will understand and appreciate.
Taking the insurance industry as an example, consider the panoply of experiences that insurance agents have each day. Now take the top storytellers preaching at the water cooler or contributing to your company’s internal blog and interview them. Consider them your subject-matter experts (SMEs) on the topic of good storytelling.
Next, determine the most effective medium for publishing and promoting the tales. Is your audience looking for a lengthy case study, an easily digestible blog post, or will the story require video to capture their attention? You should know your audience’s consumption habits best, so act accordingly.
Most importantly, try to have fun as you retell the story. If creating video doesn’t jive with your budget or timeline, explore simpler methods. The process shouldn’t be painful.
Creative content tip: Take the top storytellers preaching at the water cooler and interview them.
2. Imagery
Another way to let your creative juices flow is by utilizing imagery. The juxtaposition of a simple photo with interesting text goes a long way. After all, you’ve seen the way the web consumes the almighty meme. This isn’t to say that an image alone will suffice, but the key is to catch your reader’s attention with visual artistry and then keep them engaged with worthy content.
If you don’t have a graphic designer at your fingertips, there are a few tools that can help. One I’ve had success with is PicMonkey. It lets you edit photos, add effects, create graphic overlays and so much more, all for free. Upgrade to a paid account and unlock other powerful features. This is a great tool for creating images to support everything from long-form content to daily social media posts.
Creative content tip: The juxtaposition of a simple photo with interesting text goes a long way.
3. Infographics
The granddaddy of them all, infographics are the perfect combination of storytelling and imagery that will certainly spice up your B2B content. They’re digestible, shareable, and, when executed properly, can be highly effective at conveying a powerful message. Not to mention that the best infographics employ one of the sexiest words in marketing today: data. And since nerdy is the new sexy, let your nerd flag fly high while getting excited by data. Here are a few inspiring infographics found by our fellow Marketeer, Anne Murphy.
Admittedly, infographics are more difficult to execute than the first two items on this list. They’ll most likely require heavy lifting from a designer and will take longer to produce. Due to the additional resources required to create an infographic, you’ll want to have a marketing strategy in place for taking full advantage of your company’s new creative asset. Pitching the graphic to an industry publication before you release it to your own channels is an effective way to spread the word, er…graphic.
Creative content tip: Infographics are the perfect combination of storytelling and imagery.
Now that you’ve got the tools to add a little flare to your content marketing strategy it’s time to roll up your sleeves and get to work!
If what you’re creating feels dry and mundane, it probably is. And while this exercise may require your organization to step outside its comfort zone, your audience will appreciate it.