November 1st, 2012by Steven Shattuck
According to the 2013 B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends – North America report from the Content Marketing Institute, 64% of B2B content marketers say they are challenged with producing enough content. While harnessing your internal workforce to write that content is a good place to start, many employees may not be subject-matter experts.
Operational employees, particularly those in HR, IT and Accounting, are often siloed and kept separate from the business of the business. However, there are a couple of easy blog post ideas to get them writing impactful content.
1) What have you learned about (industry) since joining (company)?
It’s natural for non-experts to naturally absorb knowledge about an industry while working within that industry. For example, an accountant at a tractor supply company is going to learn a lot about equipment and how it’s used. Not only can you give readers an inside view of your company, but you’ll also be fostering the growth of subject-matter expertise within that employee.
A particularly interesting phenomenon is when that earned knowledge translates into their day-to-day work. What productivity lessons has your IT guy learned from your company’s lean manufacturing process? What has your HR Rep learned from your logistics strategy that can help her retain talent?
Tying it all back to what they do on a daily basis – in the context of the industry you operate in – will allow them to write about something they’re interested in while supplying your sales and marketing team with a useful piece of content.
2) What experience have you had with (industry) from the point-of-view of a consumer?
Here, your operational employees can write from the perspective of the average consumer. Even if they aren’t (yet) experts in how your product is made, how your services are rendered or their individual value propositions, it’s likely that they’ve consumed it (or competitor’s versions) in the past.
Suggest that they write about their experience with the type of business you’re in. How have they interacted with similar businesses online? What tactics have driven them to make a purchase, or remain loyal to a brand? What problems could your product have solved for them in the past, if only they knew about it back then?
Through this type of blog post, you’ll provide value to your community by giving them an insight into what makes them tick as a consumer. An authentic view of your industry from a non-marketer will promote a stronger bond between the author and reader, increasing the chances of a conversion.
It may be tough to get your operational employee to write that first post, but if you can make it fun and personal, they’ll be hooked in no time. For other content ideas, check out our guide: the 5 W’s of Content Creation.
Steven Shattuck
Senior Marketing Associate / Community Manager at Slingshot SEOSteven Shattuck is Senior Marketing Associate / Community Manager at Slingshot SEO, responsible for the overall corporate online presence (website, blog, social media) with an emphasis on lead generation, digital PR and content creation.
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Latest posts by Steven Shattuck (see all)
- 2 Simple Ideas to Get Your HR, IT and Accounting Departments Blogging – November 1, 2012
- The Content Marketing Production Challenge of 2013 – October 30, 2012
- How To Pass the Inbound Marketing Certification Exam with Honors Distinction – October 26, 2012
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