Does content marketing always have to be serious? Can a company do content marketing and brand building at once? The answer is yes.
By Erik Garcia
Marketing Specialist, Screenfire
A serious audience does not always mean serious content in B2B marketing. It can be fun. It can be authentic and genuine.
Recently, while presenting a competitor analysis, I showed a client the content of one of the biggest players in their industry. A huge company, massive revenue and a very recognizable name. And yet their branding and content were painfully boring. We are talking 3 likes on their LinkedIn company page’s posts boring.
The client replied, “Well… that makes sense, right? That fits their audience.” And that is incorrect.
Somewhere along the way, “serious audience” got translated into stiff branding, 50-page whitepapers, and boring stock photos. You can be credible and still have fun. Here’s how:
1. Does your content need to be technical?
It doesn’t all have to be technical. Drop the buzzwords. If you wouldn’t say it at a family party, don’t write it. Clay does a great job of taking technical concepts and presenting them in a visually beautiful way. They know how to keep an audience’s attention.
2. Where are your stories?
Tell a customer story that really happened, not a dry case study. Mailchimp continuously publishes beautiful stories of their customers’ use of their product. A real human story. People share stories, not stats.
3. Does content marketing use visuals?
Of course! Use non-traditional visuals. Look at SemRush’s approach to acknowledging AI’s effect on digital marketing. It can be a meme, a GIF, an animated doodle. Use anything but another stock photo of a handshake.
4. Can a B2B tech blog post use pop culture references?
Yes, even in SaaS. If your app is as reliable as Amazon two-day shipping, claim it. If your onboarding is smoother than The Rock’s bald head (see above), let your audience know.
5. Can your content marketing showing behind-the-scenes info?
You know it can. Show your team’s personality. Let your marketers share a campaign fail. Wistia constantly opens the stage door to show you how they operate internally. Vulnerability is magnetic.
6. Can you prove your content was written by a human?
The power of AI is undeniable, especially in marketing. Content marketing is saturated, so original voices that also are picked up by AI engines are more valuable than ever. Check out our post about AIO strategy to learn more.
Yes, your audience is serious at work, but they are still human. And humans need something to grab their attention before they care about your message. They want to connect.
So stop treating your audience like robots, humanize them, get into their heads and understand how they actually consume content. Create content that fits real people, not some imaginary corporate version of them.
Because it is true, a serious audience also needs fun, scroll-stopping content to even notice you in the first place.
Reach out to Screenfire if you want to see how content marketing can benefit your tech company. Contact us at the form to the right or at info@screenfiremedia.com.
