Business-to-Business Blogging 101: Why Blog & How to Start and Grow with B2B Blogging

B2B companies often overlook their website when they think about creating an online presence. However, a well-rounded digital marketing strategy is not just about having a website but also a website with a blog. 

You can get by with just a website in the past; nowadays, though, not anymore.

Every business-to-business company needs both the website and updated blog to grow their sales funnels.

Your blog can function as the virtual gateway to your product and services pages.

While your product and services pages remain the same, the blog can be kept fresh regularly with a wide range of information including articles, video content, audio content, images, and other relevant content that helps your audience learn more about your company or product.

While your sales and service pages are where your online visitors find out what you do or sell, the blog show your customers and potential customers how your product or service can help them.

A successful business-to-business digital marketing strategy includes a blog for content marketing.

Business-to-Business Website: Its Benefits

A business-to-business website is a type of ecommerce website that sells products or services to other businesses. It differs from traditional websites because they are focused on providing information about a specific industry rather than general consumer goods.

It can be used by companies who want to promote their brand, increase sales, and improve customer service.

The benefits of having a website are endless. Here are some of the most common ones:

Sell business products and services 24/7

Whether it’s during work hours or after work hours, your B2B website will always be open for business.

Professionally done websites can bring in targeted leads that are more likely to convert into customers or clients any time, any day.

Social media platforms are great for getting attention and spreading awareness about your brand. But, unless people know about your business, they won’t buy anything from you.

Educate your business audience 24/7

Often, business-to-business organization use their websites to promote themselves as well as their products and services.

They assume that businesses already know everything they need to know about their products or services.

This assumption is wrong.

 A well-designed website also lets you educate your audience about your product or service so they can make an informed decision before buying from you.

A blog is one way to do that.

Build relationships with potential customers 24/7

Most people go online looking for information about a particular topic. If you have a website that provides useful information about your product or service, then you can easily establish yourself as a resource for your target market.

This means that you can build long-lasting relationships with your audience. This is especially important when you consider many people prefer to buy from companies they trust. 

Visibility is one of the biggest challenges facing small businesses today. With a website, you get both local and global exposure.

Local exposure is important because it helps you gain recognition within your community. This increases your chances of being found by potential customers.

Global exposure is good too because it gives your business a wider scope of opportunities.

Your website is a place where you can showcase your expertise, knowledge, and experience. 

Your website can help you create a positive image of your business and attract new customers. 

Gather customer journey data 24/7

Customer journey tracking is essential if you want to understand what makes your customers tick.

You can collect this data through various methods such as surveys, interviews, and focus groups.

But there’s another way to gather data without asking anyone directly. That’s using Google analytics software.

Analytics software allows you to track how visitors move around your site. You can see which pages they visit first, which links they click on, and even what keywords they search for.

All of these insights allow you to identify areas of improvement and provide better content to your users.

4 Business-to-Business Website Essentials

A website can be a powerful tool for business owners who want to connect with customers online. But if you don’t have the right tools or know how to make them work for you, you’ll waste time and money trying to build one.

Here are some essential tips for building a successful B2B website.

Businesss-to-business companies should carefully plan a domain name.

Domain name optimized for your business

The website name should be short, catchy, easy to spell and understand.

Ideally, it should include keywords related to your business. 

Reliable hosting company

In addition to getting a domain name squared away, you should choose a reliable hosting provider.

Hosting is the platform on which your website resides. It’s like renting a room in someone else’s house. You need to find a host that has enough bandwidth and storage capacity to accommodate your growing business.

Hosting providers offer different levels of services. The most basic package includes web space and email accounts. More advanced packages also provide additional features, such as ecommerce solutions, search engine optimization (SEO), content management systems (CMS) and analytics.

You need to plan what the type of site you want to have to save time and resources. Think of these if you are looking for a hosting company:

• If you only have a blog, you need a basic plan with low bandwidth and web space. You don’t need high requirements for hosting, which will save you money.
• If you are planning a bigger website like eCommerce and expect more people to order online, you need larger web space, bandwidth and hosting security.
• If your site is a portfolio type with a bunch of images and videos, you need bigger specs of hosting and so on.

If you’re not sure which type of hosting service will work best for your business, ask your prospective hosts about their plans. They should be able to explain each option so you can decide which one is right for you.

“Future-proof” content management system

Content management systems (CMS) are software tools used to manage web pages, blogs, and websites. They allow users to easily add, edit, and delete text, images, videos, and other media files.

A CMS allows website owners to update their site without needing to hire an expert programmer. This makes it easier for non-technical people to maintain their sites.

There are many options available when choosing a CMS. Some popular ones include WordPress, Drupal, Joomla!, Squarespace, and Wix. Each has its own set of pros and cons.

It is important to note that WordPress has two versions. It is wordpress.com and wordpress.org for most businesses we recommend the latter. 

Have a design in mind

A website design is like a blueprint of an architect and engineer before they build a house. You plan before you start any website.

Designers create visual elements that help communicate information. A well-designed website conveys your brand identity and helps visitors navigate your site quickly.

When creating a website, think about what kind of look and feel you want to achieve. Do you prefer clean, simple designs? Or do you want something more creative?

Themes are pre-made templates that designers use to make their creations look similar. There are thousands of themes out there. Some are free while others cost money.

Some themes come with a built-in SEO toolkit. These are usually called “WordPress SEO plugins” or “WooCommerce SEO plugins”. These tools optimize your website for search engines.

Some themes have a drag-and-drop builder where you can customize your website by adding new pages, widgets, and changing colors.

Before starting your website, choose between a free theme or paid themes. Free themes are easy to install but lack customization options. Paid themes give you more control over your site’s appearance and functionality.

If a project has begun and the plan needs to change in the middle of the way, everything would go back to zero, which could lead to the delay in the setup and cost you more.

When you build a house, you don’t want to change the number of concrete posts when you know that the roof is already in place, would you?

The above is one side of the business to business digital marketing strategy. Now, to the other side of the coin, the blog.

Common Business-to-Business Blogging Misconceptions

That you don’t need a business-to-business blog because you already have a website

The website is enough, right?

Noooooooo.

Your website is just a part of your overall strategy. A business blog is an important component.

A business blog helps you communicate with your customers and prospects. It gives them information about your products and services. 

Every business owner has a story to tell.

The business blog is one convenient and perfect platform to share that story.

In fact, a business blog is more than just a medium of communication.

It’s a tool to market your products or your service.

It’s the place to show off your expertise and convince potential clients to hire you.

That you don’t have to publish a blog since you are on social media

ou may be using LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, Google Business, etc., but these platforms aren’t enough to reach all your target audience.

Besides, these platforms are also only rented spaces; your website is your own domain.

Social media is great for sharing content, getting feedback from your followers, and building relationships with people who care about your industry. But it doesn’t replace a business blog.

You should not neglect your business blog in preference of social media if you’re serious about growing your business.

You’ll miss out on valuable leads and opportunities.

You won’t get as many visitors as you’d like.

And your competitors will overtake you.

Because you’re missing out on the opportunity to connect with your audience directly through a business blog.

That you publish blog when you feel like it

This is a common misconception among small businesses. They think they should write a post every day.

They believe that their audience expects this kind of regularity.

However, this isn’t true.

Writing a quality piece of content takes time. You must take time to research, brainstorm, and plan before writing.

You can’t just sit down at your computer and start typing away.

Writing a good article requires preparation.

So, how often do you prepare your articles?

I bet it’s less than once per week.

If you really want to grow your business, then you need to commit yourself to blogging regularly.

Otherwise, you’ll end up publishing random stuff, which means no consistency.

No consistency means no trust. No trust means no conversions.

No conversions means no growth.

Don’t let this happen to you.

Write a post regularly.  

Of course, Google loves it when a site has fresh contents. The more the new contents, the more often Google visits you.The more content from your site they’ll index.

That blogs are for publishing articles and updates only

People think that a business blog is only used to publish news and updates.

But this couldn’t be further from the truth.

A business blog is much more than just a simple update page.

A business blog serves multiple purposes.

• First, it helps you build authority within your niche.
• Second, it allows you to showcase your expertise.
• Third, it provides a way to generate traffic.
• Fourth, it gives you an opportunity to interact with your readers.
• Fifth, it makes you look professional.
• Sixth, it helps you establish credibility.
• Seventh, it shows your commitment to your customers.
• Eighth, it builds relationships with other bloggers.
• Ninth, it creates brand awareness.
• Tenth, it helps you gain visibility.
• Eleventh, it improves SEO.
• Twelfth, it attracts potential clients.
• Thirteenth, it increases conversion rates.
• Fourteenth, it strengthens customer loyalty.
• Fifteenth, it drives sales.
• Sixteenth, it promotes product/service reviews.
• Seventeenth, it generates leads.
• Eighteenth, it boosts revenue.
• Nineteenth, it establishes thought leadership.
• And finally, twentieth, it builds brand awareness.

What does it take to build a good business-to-business-blog?

Building a successful blog takes time, effort, and dedication. But once you’ve built it, it will last forever. And even though building a blog may seem daunting, it doesn’t have to be difficult.

There are many ways to create a great business blog.

It’s important to understand the basics of blogging first so you can make sure your blog is successful

Have a clear business purpose for a specific audience

Your blog must serve a business purpose. You need to decide why you’re writing a blog before you start. And for whom.

Is it to increase traffic to your website? Is it to provide information to your customers? Or is it to sell something?

Before deciding what kind of blog you want to write, you should know who you’re aiming at.

Who is your target market? Who are your ideal customers? What problems do they face?

What would you like them to do after reading your posts?

Once you’ve answered these questions, you’ll be able to determine what kind of blog you should write.

If you want to attract people who already know about your company or products, then you should write a blog that focuses on providing useful information.

On the other hand, if you want to attract people looking for solutions to their problems, then you should write about how to solve those problems.

You don’t necessarily need to write about both topics in one post. But you should try to cover as many topics as possible.

Set up a schedule

Now that you know what type of content you want to write, it’s time to set up a schedule.

Create a calendar where you can plan out when you’ll write each week.

This way, you won’t forget about your blog.

I highly recommend that you have an employee manage this to stay on schedule and on-topic.

This person could be the CMO, or any member of your sales or marketing team who has experience managing content marketing.

But no matter who manages your blog, make sure they understand your goals and expectations. 

• How much time each week do you have to devote to your blog? Which employee writes what content? What is your budget for tools, if needed?
• Think about how many posts per month you’d like your business company to publish. How long will those posts be? Will they be short or long? Will there be any guest bloggers?

Focus on quality over quantity

Good content requires research and planning.

It takes time to create good content that is useful, engaging, and valuable for your audience. It also takes a lot of work to keep it fresh and relevant.

But the payoff can be huge: higher engagement, more traffic, and better SEO rankings.

Create Unique Value

Once you’ve figured out who your ideal customers are, you need to think about what unique value you can offer them.

Remember, the key to creating unique, valuable content is to find out what people want and then deliver it.

Your goal is to provide solutions to the problems your business customers face.

• How can you give them more value for their money?
• How can you show them new ways to use your products or services?
• How can you solve business problems they face every day?

It’s easy to forget that your audience isn’t like you. They may have different priorities, interests, and concerns. So, when you write for them, you’ll need to consider their needs before you begin.

Use searchable keywords

Keyword research is one of the most important steps in creating valuable content.

You need to find keywords that are both popular and highly searched. These two factors will ensure that your posts show up in searches.

Use free tools like BuzzSumo, SEMRush, Google Trends, and Moz to help you find these keywords.

These tools will tell you how many times each keyword has been used in search results. 

If you’re not familiar with SEO, this is a great place to start learning.

If you don’t know where to look for keywords, there are plenty of resources online.

Just remember that you should always focus on long-tail keywords rather than broad ones. Broad keywords tend to get less attention because they are harder to rank well for.

Long-tail keywords are specific phrases that describe your target market.

For instance, if you are in mining, you might use the phrase “mining equipment” instead of just “equipment.”

The longer the keyword, the easier it is to rank for.

You can use tools such as Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush or Ahrefs to see which words your competitors are using and which ones are working for them.

You can also use these tools to identify popular keywords.

Then, you can use those keywords in your titles and body of your blog content. This will ensure that your content ranks higher in search engines.

You can also use free keyword research tools online.

Once you’ve identified the keywords you want to use, you can add them to your blog post titles and body text.

Of course, you may not have enough time or people to create this for you, so you can instead, pay for content writers to write for you that also knows to SEO content.

Broadcast blog using social media

Social profiles are a few of the B2B channels you must not neglect. Social profiles like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, etc., are all excellent places to share your content. This is a tool that you can use to broadcast your content – sales and blogs, etc.  

It is highly recommended that you apply your optimization knowledge when/if you can when broadcasting your content.

Employees as blog champions

Your employees can be your best advocates. If you have an employee who is passionate about your company, he or she could become a brand champion. Your employees have an intimate understanding of your industry and can help you spread awareness about your business.

If you’re looking for ideas, here are some suggestions:

• Ask your team members to write about topics related to their jobs. For example, if one employee specializes in accounting software, he could write about how his product helps small businesses manage finances.
• Ask your sales staff to write about their experiences selling your products. They can describe the benefits of your technology, how it has helped their customers, and how it has changed their lives.

Encouraging your employees to write blogs is a great way to get them involved in promoting your business.

If your employees have no knowledge optimizing your content for search engine, a.k.a. SEO, just hire someone to do that technical part of your content.  

Add links

Links allow users to navigate to other pages within your site.

But, they also help search engines understand the context of your page.

When you link to another page on your own site, you are telling the search engines that these two pages are related.

Including links in your blog posts lets visitors click through to other pages on your site.

So, make sure that you include links wherever appropriate throughout your content.

Include images

Images are powerful marketing tools. They can help boost engagement, increase conversions, and drive traffic.

They can also help improve your SEO rankings by adding more information to your webpages.

For example, if you have a picture of a product, including an image tag with the title “Product Name” will provide more details than just the name.

A good rule of thumb is to only use images that support your point.

You should also include captions with any images that you place on your blog. These captions will appear below each image, helping readers understand what’s being shown.

Also, don’t forget to optimize your images! Include alt tags, keywords, and descriptions.

Create a strong call-to-action (CTA)

When someone visits your business-to-business blog, they expect to see something that tells them exactly what they need to know.

The CTA is the action they take after reading your post.

It’s the button or link that encourages them to click through to your landing page.

When creating your CTA, think about the following:

• What does your audience care about?
• What actions would they like to perform?
• How can you encourage them to act now?

Don’t forget to include a clear description of what happens once they click your CTA.

Business growth with B2B blogging

You’ll notice that many successful businesses have been blogging for years.

That doesn’t mean that you should wait until you’ve built up a large audience before starting a business-to-business blogging campaign.

Instead, start slowly and build from there.

Stay at it. Blog consistently. Blog regularly, eventually your organization will begin to see positive changes in traffic and sales.

It takes time to build an engaged audience.

And, it takes even longer to develop a loyal community of followers who will share your blog with their colleagues and their own social media followers.