What Is B2B Writing?
B2B writing, also known as business-to-business writing, is when one business writes content (like blog posts or case studies) for a target audience of other businesses.
The content should provide actionable advice to help an audience understand and solve their challenges.
For example, this blog post may be considered B2B content—Semrush is a business, and our readers are often other businesses.
The Purpose of B2B Writing
The goal of B2B writing is to provide valuable resources for potential buyers and current customers.
For example, a business searching for new software might find case studies helpful.
Why?
Because it will show them how the software can benefit their business.
On the other hand, current customers might find help guides useful so they can troubleshoot issues.
Beyond helping an audience, B2B content also helps businesses build brand awareness, increase conversions, and establish themselves as an authority.
B2B vs. B2C Writing
B2C (business-to-consumer) writing is where a business writes content for consumers.
B2C writing is often more casual and conversational. It tries to appeal to people’s emotions, dreams, and desires. Like how a travel company might tug at their target audience’s desire for adventure.
In contrast, B2B writing typically focuses on how a product helps with business challenges, like scalability and efficiency. And it tends to be more formal.
However, some brands may have both B2B and B2C audiences and will need to create tailored content for each.
Apple is an example of a company that is both B2B and B2C. Let’s see how they tailor their writing to B2C and B2B readers.
To address their B2C audience, Apple discusses what it feels like to play mobile games on their latest phone:
Apple uses conversational language like “And with industry-leading speed and efficiency, A17 Pro takes fast and runs with it” to connect with consumers and get them excited about the product.
Now, let’s look at the writing on Apple’s B2B page that focuses on benefits and features. The page features case studies and calls out the goals of businesses: to collaborate, scale, and simplify.
Why B2B Writing Matters
Writing B2B content has many benefits, from more authority to conversions.
Here’s a look at the biggest advantages:
- Cost-effective: Forms of B2B writing, like blog posts, help businesses drive organic (unpaid) website traffic. Compared to paid ads, this can be a long-term cost-effective approach for getting traffic to your site.
- Builds relationships: Consistent, value-driven communication is key to nurturing customer relationships. Quality forms of B2B content can build trust and improve your relationship with your audience.
- Solves pain points: Each piece you write will help your audience with their biggest struggles. As you help them overcome their challenges, they may view your business as an authority within your industry.
- Increases reach: Businesses can reach a global market and increase their reach with published content, like blogs and case studies. And the increase in website traffic can turn into leads and, ultimately, sales.
- Tools for sales teams: Sales teams rely on documents like product guides and case studies to help potential customers make informed decisions. By crafting these documents, your sales team will have the resources to do their jobs effectively.
The Economic Impact of Effective B2B Writing
The economic impact of B2B content varies among content types (like emails and blog posts) and within each industry.
For example, emails drive $36 for every $1 spent, according to email marketing company Litmus. And blogs have the highest return on investment (ROI) of any marketing channel (along with social media shopping tools and influencer marketing), according to research conducted by HubSpot.
But B2B writing also provides intangible results. This can include improving brand reputation and customer satisfaction, which can lead to higher sales.
Later, we’ll give you tips to calculate the impact B2B content has on your business. This way, you’ll know which forms work best—and which to keep investing time and money toward.
10 B2B Writing Types (and Examples)
Here are 10 different types of business-to-business writing, along with examples:
1. Blog Posts
Blog posts are online articles published on a website. They usually cover topics related to the business’s niche and customer pain points.
B2B blog writing tends to be long-form. This ensures the blog post covers the topic in-depth, so readers don’t walk away with additional questions.
Another great thing about B2B blogs is that they can be created to satisfy any stage of the marketing funnel, depending on their topic and format.
For example:
- Top of the funnel (ToFu): Blog posts should focus on providing valuable educational content, using attention-grabbing headlines, visuals, and infographics to attract a broad audience
- Middle of the funnel (MoFu): Content should address specific pain points, offer in-depth guides, and present actionable solutions, incorporating case studies and testimonials to build trust and credibility
- Bottom of the funnel (BoFu): Blog posts should emphasize product/service benefits, offer demos or free trials, include strong calls-to-action, and highlight discounts or promotions to encourage conversions
If you optimize blog posts for search engines, you can improve your chances of ranking in search results and driving traffic back to your site.
The Semrush Keyword Magic Tool will help you find relevant keywords to target in each blog post you write.
Why is this important?
When your audience searches for topics related to your industry and uses the keyword you targeted or a variation, you’ll have a chance of appearing in search results.
For example, searching for “app components” yields search results with this blog post from project management software Asana:
Ensure your B2B content is high-quality, meets search intent, and thoroughly covers the topic to improve your **** of ranking well for each keyword.
2. Guides
Guides are similar to blog posts with a key difference:
They’re often broken down into chapters. Each chapter covers a different subtopic for the overall topic of the guide.
Because guides are so comprehensive, one guide (with all its chapters) can often cover the entire marketing funnel.
Take the following guide on UX research from user interview software company User Interviews, for example. The various chapters cover different stages of the funnel to engage, inform, and persuade readers.
Readers can click on chapters they want to read (and skip ones they don’t).
Like blog posts, guides can also rank in the search results. And drive targeted traffic to your site.
3. Case Studies
Case studies showcase how your customers overcome challenges using your product. This information is often backed up by persuasive internal data.
Case studies aim to help readers see what they could achieve if they choose to become a customer of yours.
This B2B content type typically falls within the “consideration” stage of the marketing funnel. The funnel follows this order: awareness, consideration, conversion, loyalty.
Case studies often include statistics, customer quotes, infographics, and customer photos. These elements make them engaging and help tell a compelling story.
Take this case study from comparison page builder Stack Against, for example:
Stack Against used compelling statistics from a customer that showed how their product helped the company grow, including how many signups the company got and the ROI.
It’s these details that help potential customers see your product’s value.
4. White Papers
White papers are comprehensive reports that give readers in-depth information on a specific topic.
But they shouldn’t be overly promotional. The main purpose of a white paper is to highlight a problem the audience faces and provide facts and evidence that point to a solution.
White papers are often—but not always—gated. Meaning people need to enter information (like an email address, where they work, and their job title) to access the report.
Like this one, from document signing software DocuSign:
Gated white papers let you grow your email list with qualified leads in the “consideration” stage of the marketing funnel.
5. Emails
Emails are a form of direct marketing where businesses send content (like newsletters and promotional emails) to people who’ve opted to be on their email list.
Emails are typically shorter than other types of B2B writing, like white papers or guides. In fact, emails that are less than 200 words tend to get the highest click-through rate, according to Constant Contact.
That’s why it’s best to get straight to the point with concise B2B emails that direct the reader back to your main site, blog, or landing page where they can read more.
For example, authentication platform Stytch uses links to direct readers to more in-depth information in their email marketing efforts:
Emails can satisfy each marketing funnel stage depending on what you send.
For example, sending information about a free trial could lead to a conversion. However, sending a white paper will help people in the “consideration” stage.
6. Use Cases
Use cases highlight situations when your product is useful.
Why is this important?
This B2B asset helps potential customers in the “consideration” stage see how versatile your product is.
Use cases also help current customers get maximum use out of your product—which can build loyalty.
Use cases are a staple in B2B SaaS content writing but can be applied to many other industries. Like this example from cleaning product supplier SuperSteam, which details product features and where to use their steamer for the best results.
Use cases should be simple, containing a few ideas on the most effective ways to use your company’s products.
7. Press Releases
Press releases are documents that announce key developments for a business. They can shape public perception and help a business gain media attention.
You can use press releases to announce:
- A new product
- Mergers and acquisitions
- Events
- Rebranding or corporate structure changes
- Measures to manage a crisis
- Awards and recognitions
At a minimum, B2B press releases should include these elements:
- Your logo
- A headline that summarizes what the press release is about
- A release **** to indicate when you published the press release
- An intro to hook readers
- Body content to dive into the who, what, where, when, why, and how
- A boilerplate that contains an overview of your company
- Company contact information for those who wish to follow up with your press release
Food supplier McCormick & Company often publishes press releases to their website under their “News Release” page, like this one:
You can see that McCormick & Company’s press release is straightforward and follows the recommended format above.
When writing content for press releases, remember that it’s about facts—not fluff.
8. Product Landing Pages and Descriptions
Product landing pages and product descriptions are important types of B2B content used to convert readers in the marketing funnel.
Let’s dig into each one individually.
Product Landing Pages
Product landing pages range from short-form to long-form pages highlighting your product’s features and benefits.
The length depends on your customers and how much copy you need to explain your product succinctly.
To write product landing pages, you need to understand what customers want/need from your product. This way, you can highlight those wants and needs throughout the copy.
For example, video creation software SundaySky’s landing page dives into its video creation platform by highlighting features and benefits throughout:
In many cases, you can benefit from optimizing your product landing pages for search using keywords. Find the right keywords and rank in search engines for them, and your product landing pages get relevant traffic.
The Keyword Magic Tool can help you find keywords for each landing page.
Product Descriptions
A product description is a brief and informative statement describing a product’s features, benefits, and specifications.
They aim to provide potential customers with a clear understanding of what the product entails and why it’s valuable.
For example, packaging supplier EcoEnclose highlights various benefits and features of their bulk twine in the below product description:
It’s important to optimize product descriptions for search engines to drive traffic from search to your site.
9. Technical Documents
Technical documents explain your product in depth.
These documents help potential customers learn more about your product to make an informed purchasing decision, leading them toward conversion.
Technical documents also give current customers an easy way to troubleshoot issues and learn how to use your product better. This fosters loyalty.
Technical documents can include:
- User guides
- Technical manuals
- Installation instructions
- Help guides and knowledge bases
Computer hardware manufacturer NetAlly compiles user guides in one central hub on its website:
With NetAlly’s user guides, their target audience can search for a product and download a corresponding PDF guide:
Image Source: netAlly
10. Social Media Content
Writing content for social media platforms like LinkedIn, X (formerly Twitter), and Instagram can help build awareness with your audience.
To write effective social media content, identify which social platforms your audience spends time on.
Then, write social media posts that will engage your audience. End your post with a strong call to action (CTA)—the action you want your audience to do after reading.
For example, CTAs for social media can include asking people to “like” or “share” your post, leave a comment, or visit a link.
In a social media post by Semrush, we asked followers to leave a comment.
The length of your social media copy will vary from platform to platform.
For example, posts on X can only be 280 characters (unless you’re verified, in which case you can post 25,000 characters).
Check length restrictions before writing social media posts to ensure your entire message fits.
B2B Writing Best Practices and Techniques
These six best practices will set you in the right direction as you create various B2B content.
1. Understand the Marketing Funnel
When you understand how people find your business—and turn into loyal customers—you’ll know which types of content to write.
First, review your marketing funnel to determine how people become loyal customers.
Then, map different types of content to the different stages of the funnel.
For example, you can create case studies for the consideration stage.
Why?
Because buyers at this stage want evidence of your product’s usefulness.
Keep in mind that stages in the funnel can include multiple types of content. You might have blog posts, social media posts, and guides in the awareness stage.
Even more, certain types of content can appear in multiple stages of the marketing funnel.
For example, you can write a problem-solving blog post to build awareness. But you can also write a blog post that discusses in-depth features of your product to build loyalty.
There’s no one-size-fits-all approach. The type of content you write will be unique to your goals and audience’s needs.
2. Follow a Logical Structure
Although each form of B2B writing is distinct, most forms follow this structure:
- Hook: The hook is usually the first sentence, meant to intrigue the audience
- Intro: The intro summarizes what you’ll cover in your content
- Body: The body fleshes out the topic at hand
- Conclusion/CTA: The conclusion ties any loose ends and tells the reader what they should do next through the CTA
The types of content that don’t typically follow this structure are:
- Press releases, which have their own structure (your logo, headline, release ****, introduction, body content, boilerplate, and contact information)
- Technical documents usually state the problem immediately and then list the solution in a step-by-step manner
- Product pages/descriptions, which usually start with a headline followed by the features and benefits of the product
3. Use Clear and Concise Language
To be an impactful B2B content writer, be direct with your words so readers stay engaged.
You can do this by writing the way your audience speaks. And by reducing jargon and industry terms your audience might not know.
4. Weave Stories into the Narrative
Incorporating stories throughout your writing can be a powerful, persuasive technique.
Stories like customer testimonials and summaries of case studies can help readers relate to your brand. And keep them engaged with your content.
For example, behavioral analytic software company Hotjar adds customer stories to blog posts to highlight how businesses use their product:
5. Edit and Proofread
Writing that contains errors decreases trust with your readers. So, make sure anything you publish is polished and error-free.
Use software like Grammarly to help you find and fix errors before publication.
6. Test Your Strategy
Testing your B2B writing strategy helps you find what your audience wants. And which types of writing convert best.
You might think that short posts on Instagram are the way to go, but after collecting feedback, you realize your audience prefers in-depth research.
So, you test out guides and white papers. And find that white papers actually drive more engagement.
Maintain a testing mindset. And don’t hesitate to change your approach and try new ideas.
How to Write Optimized B2B Content
When your writing is optimized, you have a better chance of ranking highly in search results—and driving traffic back to your site.
In most cases, you should optimize B2B writing you publish on your website.
This includes:
- Blog posts
- Guides
- Case studies
- White papers (if published publicly)
- Use cases
- Press releases
- Product pages and descriptions
- Technical documents
But before writing any piece of content, you need to find keywords.
So, let’s first learn how to find keywords.
Research Keywords
To find keywords for your B2B content, use the Keyword Magic Tool.
To start, navigate to Semrush and open the tool. Enter a general topic, change the country to where your audience is, and click “Search.”
The report will show various keywords related to the topic you enter (pictured below).
Review the keywords and look at the “Volume” column (the estimated average number of monthly searches).
Next, look at the “KD %” column. This stands for Keyword Difficulty. It estimates the difficulty to rank on page one of Google for each keyword from zero (easy) to 100 (very difficult).
Go through the list and pick keywords you’d like to rank for.
Use a Content Optimization Tool
After picking a keyword, it’s time to write optimized content.
For help with this task, use the SEO Writing Assistant.
The SEO Writing Assistant is a helpful tool that grades your writing based on readability, SEO, tone of voice, and originality.
The tool provides suggestions so you know how to improve your writing to rank higher.
After opening the SEO Writing Assistant, click “+ Analyze new text.”
Enter your keyword(s) in the “Keyword” input area, adjust the target audience in the drop-down menu, and click “Get recommendations.”
You can write your text in the text editor directly or copy and paste existing text.
The SEO Writing Assistant will grade your text and suggest improvements.
For example, it gives you recommended keywords to add to your text.
SEO Writing Assistant also gauges your text’s tone of voice. This tells you if you’ve maintained a consistent voice throughout.
If you get stuck, use the built-in “Smart Writer” AI to help you write and rewrite sections.
After writing, optimizing, and editing your content, it’s almost ready to publish on your site.
Before you hit publish, write a click-worthy title tag and meta description (a summary of the webpage often displayed in the search results).
We recommend optimizing to mobile best practices to avoid metadata getting cut off.
The title tag should be around 600 pixels (50 to 60 characters). For meta descriptions, aim for around 105 characters (680 pixels).
To The Web lets you preview your title and description to ensure it’s not too long for the search results. Otherwise, search engines may truncate your title and description.
Enticing titles and meta descriptions can help you attract more traffic from the search results to your website.
B2B Writing Metrics to Measure
Tracking different metrics provides insight into your B2B content so you can measure its impact. It’ll also help you identify what’s working and what’s not.
Use the Organic Traffic Insights report to keep track of specific metrics (like conversion rate, return on investment, average engagement time, and bounce rate).
This report combines data from Google Analytics, Google Search Console, and Semrush into one consolidated dashboard.
Conversion Rate
Your conversion rate is the percentage of people who took a desired action while on your website.
For product pages, this likely means buying a product. For blog posts, this could be signing up for your email list.
You must set up conversion rates in Google Analytics 4 (GA4) to view conversion rates.
Then, they’ll be listed in your Organic Traffic Insights report:
Look at high-converting pages and identify why they convert so well. You’ll also want to look at low-converting pages to see which improvements you can make to increase their conversion rates.
Improvements include using stronger CTAs so readers know what they should do after reading your content and using bullet lists to improve readability.
Return on Investment
Calculating the ROI of your writing is straightforward when you know what to track.
First, keep track of any investments, like tools, hired help (like freelance writers), and in-house resources.
Then, adjust your analytics software to track your conversions (as mentioned above).
Finally, use this formula to calculate your ROI:
ROI = (value of conversions – cost of investment) / cost of investment
Average Engagement Time
In Google Analytics 4, average engagement time is the length of time users are focused on your site on average.
For example, if someone visits your site and switches tabs to another site after 30 seconds, their engagement time is 30 seconds.
Higher engagement times might mean users enjoy your site. It also suggests they’re having a good experience.
Look for pages with low or declining average engagement times within Organic Traffic Insights.
Then, review your content and try to understand why people aren’t sticking around.
For example, poor content structure might be turning people away. Or your content might be too hard to read.
After spotting poor-performing pages, use the SEO Writing Assistant to grade your content and make improvements.
Bounce Rate
Bounce rate is the percentage of people who leave your site before viewing another page or completing a specified action. You can find this metric in your analytic software.
A high bounce rate—usually over 60%—could mean your content doesn’t meet your audiences’ expectations.
Again, review your content to understand why people are leaving.
You might need more internal links (links pointing to other site pages) to encourage people to visit multiple pages.
Or you might need to better address your audience’s pain points within your content. This way, readers will know they’re in the right place. And they might not click the “back” button to find another resource.
Engagement on Social Media
There are various social media metrics to track, depending on which platform(s) you use.
But three metrics relevant to the copy you write may be reactions (such as likes), comments, and the click-through rate.
When reviewing metrics for social posts, check your CTA.
For example, if you asked people to click a link, you’ll want to review the click-through rate for that post. In this post from the Semrush Instagram account, we asked people to click the link in our bio to watch a video:
On the other hand, if you asked people to leave a comment, you should review how many comments the post generated.
Tracking how people interact with your content on social media helps you pinpoint what your audience likes and dislikes. And what content to post more frequently.
Boost Your B2B Writing with Semrush
With the right tools, you can become an effective B2B marketing writer. And get real results.
Content that engages and educates readers can lead to more social media followers, email subscribers, brand awareness, conversions, and revenue.
Ready to improve the B2B content you publish?
Try Semrush’s SEO Writing Assistant to improve your B2B content writing today.
Source link : Semrush.com
