Poorly executed content will fall flat and could damage your brand. But content marketing has the potential to build brand trust, deliver leads and improve customer loyalty. Find out the most common B2B content mistakes and tips for avoiding them.

1. 11 Common Mistakes in
B2B Content Marketing
(and what to do instead)

2. Content marketing will
build brand trust, deliver
high-quality leads and
improve customer loyalty
…but only if it’s good.

3. Poorly executed or irrelevant
content will fall flat and could
even damage your brand.

4. Here are the
eleven most
common B2B
content mistakes
and our tips for
avoiding them:

5. Three posts one week
followed by months of
radio silence will confuse
your audience, especially if
you throw a wildly varying
tone into the mix.
Winging It
Mistake 1

6. Our tip:
Write it down. Create a mission
statement, style guide and shareable
content calendar so that everyone
understands what you’re doing and
when you’re doing it.
Always have a plan


7. By focusing solely on your
products, you’re asking
your customers - those
people who use ad blockers
and skip ad buttons - to
voluntarily come and look
at an advertisement.
Making It All
About You

MEME
ME
ME
ME
Mistake 2

8. Our tip:
If you’re proud of something, shout it,
but your content should mostly focus
on what your audience wants to know.
It’s a conversation,
not a sales pitch


9. Surveys and research are
useful, but they only answer
the questions you know to ask.
Selective
Listening
Mistake 3

10. Our tip:
Use social listening to get great content
ideas. Cast the net wide enough on
social media to hear what’s important
to your audience, as well as what
they’re saying about your brand.
Be active, not selective


11. IBM estimates 2.5 quintillion
bytes of data are created
daily. The internet is not
running out of content, so
don’t publish for the sake of
it and definitely don’t do it if
it’s poorly written.
Compromising
On Quality
Mistake 4

12. Our tip:
Try to generate fresh insights that are
relevant to your audience instead of
rehashing ideas put forward by others.
Treat every piece of
content with respect


13. Save the reclusive writer
routine for when you’re
writing a novel. Content
creation becomes onerous
and repetitive when it’s
shouldered by one person
or department.
Doing It All On
Your Own
Mistake 5

14. Our tip:
Search widely throughout your organisation
for people who can contribute fresh and
diverse content ideas. You’ll get better
content and ease your load.
Build a virtual team
across the business


15. Creating great content is only
half the battle. With the entire
content of the internet as your
competition, you need to win
eyeballs as well.
Not Marketing
Your Content
Mistake 6

16. Our tip:
Use paid distribution on social media to build an
audience and earn media coverage by pitching
your stories to journalists. Always use terms your
audience is likely to search for to increase reach.
Consider your paid and
earned media options


17. You may have great
content, but if the audience
doesn’t know what to do
next, they will click away.
Letting Them
Get Away
Mistake 7
????

18. Our tip:
Invite your audience to read related
articles, follow you on social media, join
your mailing list or book a consultation.
Always include a
relevant call to action


19. It can be difficult to make B2B
content exciting but there are
no excuses for failing to be
useful. Luckily, helping your
audience is much more likely
to achieve your goals.
Focusing on
Viral Content
Mistake 8

20. Our tip:
Focus on which people see your
content before you ask how many.
Quality is more important
than overall reach


21. Sometimes more is less. The
thinner you spread yourself
the more likely you’ll have a
forgotten YouTube channel
with outdated information.
Being
Everywhere
Mistake 9

22. Our tip:
It’s better to do a few proven social
channels well than jump on every
platform that comes along.
Work out where your target
audience is, go there


23. Normal conversation rules
apply to social media - it’s
weird if you pop up uninvited
without anything useful to say.
Content Without
Context
Mistake 10

24. Our tip:
Get involved with popular topics when you
can contribute something meaningful for
your audience.
Focus on topics that matter to your
customers, not trending hashtags


25. With today’s smartphone
users and their ever-shrinking
attention spans, it’s tempting
to throw all your energy into
“snackable” content.
Everything is
Bite-Sized
Mistake 11

26. Our tip:
Done right, longform content such as how-to
guides, webinars, podcasts and videos can
educate, entertain and engage the audience
that’s most interested in what you have to say.
Create content that establishes
credibility and shares information


27. Great B2B content can sometimes
be funny or even awe-inspiring but
it’s more important to be useful.
That’s the best way to stand out
from the crowd.

28. At Spectrum Group we tell the stories
that won’t tell themselves. We help
brands cut through the noise with a full
range of integrated communications
services, including content, PR, social
media and design.
WHO WE ARE

29. Get in touch with us to talk about how
to create content that will get your
message in front of the right audience,
generate leads and deliver valuable
business results.
HOW WE CAN HELP
Email us at
content@spectrumgroup.is