7 Tips on Sourcing Internal Content to Give Your B2B Organization a Boost

5 minute read

Upland Admin

If you really want to give your B2B organization a boost, focus on developing ninja-like skills around internal content creation.

Internal stakeholders each have a unique perspective and level of experience regarding products, services, and customers, as well as a vested interest in the overall success of the company. This makes their knowledge and insight even more essential than market research, and explains why internal content creation tips should be your best ally.

An organization’s internal teams also gain a lot of great information through passive listening on social media, and via active listening through customer service. Both approaches help you tap directly into what customers really want, and match it with upcoming trends. It’s the perfect storm of value, right?

Well, only if you can gather that information in a helpful way and turn it into content that converts.

The key for all B2B organizations is to use internal content creation tips that save time and make it easier to hit marketing content deadlines and sales goals—all the while simplifying how to engage in the internal content creation process.

Create a Better Way to Find, Connect, and Leverage Internal Resources

Every B2B organization has gems of information hiding in folders, online documents, and within each employee. Just as you craft a workflow to create content for marketing campaigns, develop a system to “mine” all the gold hidden in plain site. Here are some tips to improve internal content sourcing process:

Tip #1: Create an internal workflow dedicated to information gathering that’s simple and easy for everyone to use

An efficient and inclusive workflow process that invites participation, and provides deadlines and accountability tracking, definitely earns you a few bonus points. When people see their role in the information gathering process, along with its impact, they are more likely to participate. It also becomes easier to reach out to the best internal resources for specific information, whether it’s a subject matter expert, or someone in product development.

Tip #2: Identify key resources and get clear on their strengths and preferences

Who are they? Have they ever been interviewed? Do they prefer video or written communication? Is there a database that holds a lot of the information they could quickly share? Remember, people are more willing to participate when they feel they have options for sharing knowledge within a reasonable deadline and for a clear purpose.

Tip #3: Develop an editorial board

Find a team lead from every department and build an editorial board. Meet quarterly to review consumer insights, data, company revenue goals, and sales needs. All of these details help determine relevant topics for marketing, and highlight key themes company stakeholders want to support with content. To maximize the time and knowledge in the room, prepare specific questions related to key areas of expertise. Some examples can include, “What frustrates customers or prospects?” or “What’s the top FAQ in the online forum?” With more targeted questions, it’s easier to get to the deeper knowledge of how people can help.

Tip #4: Make an asset list and match them to the marketing campaign

Once the editorial board agrees on the content themes for the quarter, marketing can come up with key content pillars, or large assets, to directly support each theme. Each piece of content produced should directly connect to a theme, while also supporting the overarching strategy for the organization as a whole. Having an active asset list also helps reduce redundancy, and provides an opportunity to refresh a content piece with new insights from an internal source.

Tip #5: Outline tone, keywords, and other necessary details to create content consistency—then encourage people to write on-brand pieces
An OK internal resource can turn into a diamond and shine when given the right tools. Develop a style guide that outlines the basics as a reference so people can use it to develop content that’s on point with a lot less hassle. They may even look forward to sharing what they know!

Tip #6: Create a schedule and stick to it by posting deadlines in a space with shared access and accountability

One of the biggest obstacles for an organization is clutter and loss of momentum. When people aren’t sure where to get approved content to educate themselves, or have a silo focus on their own workload, team energy is sucked dry. It helps to create one master editorial calendar that combines all calendars from each team. This keeps people on track, offers accountability, and serves as a touchstone for when people get busy or distracted.

Tip#7: Leverage and share templates that outline the type of content needed for each content pillar (i.e., blog, webinar, video)

Reinventing the wheel is a waste of time, so when you find something that works, turn it into a template. It can encourage more participation, and makes it easier for people to share their insights in an organized way, improving on overall turnaround time.

As your organization moves through the internal sourcing process a few times, you may discover new internal content creation tips or shortcuts. Keep in mind that through the development process you also have the opportunity to learn more about the people on each team and discover new ways you can work together towards success. Who knows, you may even stumble upon some big workflow improvements!

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