Regardless of which subject of expertise we discuss on this blog, The Covenant Group team often refers to the common theme of differentiating your business from your competitors. You have to determine what characteristic or function of your business will be the area that you and your team devote the most time, resources and efforts to. Will it be client service that best defines your company? Perhaps the constant research and development you invest into your products is greater than any of the other businesses in your sector.
Whatever the case may be, once you have settled upon what will define your brand, you need to devise a strategy for promoting that image and setting it apart from everyone else in the field.
Making a difference online and on paper
In one form or another, every single successful business markets itself. A growing number of organizations are utilizing content marketing, as a study from the Content Marketing Institute recently showed. Among responding business-to-business marketers, the average portion of marketing budgets earmarked for content hit 33 percent, a jump from the 26 percent average last year. More than half (54 percent) said they will be increasing their content marketing spend in 2013.
With so many firms driving higher amounts of content to readers through social media, video, mobile, research reports and a host of other channels, the challenge will not be how to make content. It will be how to make content that people actually want to consume and share with others.
Not everyone is a writer. Perhaps you or your marketing team does not have the skill with words to compose thought-provoking blog posts. That does not mean you do not have valuable insights to offer. Perhaps you are great at explaining complex topics verbally. A video or podcast may be a better way for you to effectively disseminate your knowledge. Do you have a team member who has a knack for graphic design? Infographics are an extremely popular way to present a lot of data in an easy-to-digest format.
According to the Content Marketing Institute, just 9 percent of B2B firms are not using content marketing. If you would count yourself among that group, it is imperative that you start creating useful reports, infographics, articles, blog posts, podcasts – any iteration of information in whatever form of media your clients prefer – to demonstrate your company’s authority in its field.
