How to Sell B2C Product with Content Marketing

What are B2C marketers doing? You can also use content marketing. This is not about creating content. Marketing with content and marketing through content are two different things!

The industry tends to stick to B2B content marketing. However, a buyer can be a buyer. The consumer of today is smart, sophisticated, and cares as much about the brand's story as they do about the product.

Many B2C companies are responding by launching content marketing strategies, as traditional outbound marketing techniques become less appealing. Continue reading to learn how content marketing can help you sell B2C products.

Quick Take-Aways

• Consumers today digitally research products before purchasing them. This makes the demand for content even more important.
• B2C brands have the opportunity to leverage content marketing to increase brand awareness, educate customers and foster trust.
• B2C content marketing remains challenging, specifically the development of a concrete strategy.
• B2C brands have the ability to leverage content marketing to increase revenue and grow with the right strategies

B2C Marketers Have Success With Content Marketing

You may be hesitant about content marketing if you aren't using it or are just experimenting. Content marketing is a slow game and the results won't always be immediate. According to the Content Marketing Institute's B2C Content Marketing report: Benchmarks and Budgets, Trends and Trends, B2C brands are succeeding. 84% of respondents rated their success as more than the previous year.

This study also shows how the discipline has matured.

• 10% rate it as sophisticated.
• 29% rate it mature.

B2C Brands: Opportunities and Challenges

B2C marketers face challenges and opportunities in every aspect of marketing. What are they?

Inadequacy of a Content Strategy

A content strategy is the key to B2C brands' content marketing. Only 33 percent of respondents had documented it, according to the CMI study. The CMI study found that 38% of respondents have one. However, it is not an official document.

This is a huge mistake for companies. Your blueprint for how your efforts will lead to profits is a content strategy. Many challenges can occur without a well-documented plan. It's like trying to bake a cake without a recipe. It's like baking a delicious, moist cake without a recipe. But you don't have a clear idea of how to do it. You can start by defining a strategy if you only want to take one step to sell B2C products using content marketing.

Content marketing works when you know your customer

B2C companies may have many buyers, but their customers are likely to have similar needs. Trust comes from understanding your customers' problems and needs. This is what content marketing can do for you. Content marketing is a way to leverage this knowledge.

Loyal customers are built by authentic connections. To be customer-focused in content, it is important to think in a problem-solution approach. Your product solves the problem of your customers.

This is important for "getting" customers. This is not a trend that all companies embrace. Only 60% of respondents said they place more importance on audience needs than sales or promotional messaging.

This data point shows that there is room for growth in customer needs. You don't need to sell or use tactics to get them to buy. This is a great way to differentiate your brand from other competitors who may still rely on traditional advertising methods to draw customers.

The B2C Buyers are changing

The consumer base is constantly changing. You should consider many factors, as these changes can have an impact on your content.

Generational considerations

Your buyer demographic will change as the population gets older. There are many differences between millennials and baby boomers. If your product is targeted at women under 40 years old, most buyers will be millennials. These millennials are more connected than the older generation and have different views and experiences. This is something you should keep in mind when creating content that influences buyers.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Buyer Behavior

Every type of buyer was affected by the pandemic. McKinsey's analysis of consumer sentiment in the COVID economic environment revealed some surprising results. The study found that 40% of respondents intend to continue spending online after COVID. This is in line with the "homebody economy", as 64% of U.S. customers aren't yet returning to their usual out-of-home activities.

[TAG5]

No doubt, your business has experienced an increase in eCommerce sales. You have likely made curbside pickup (or BOPIS) more convenient and accessible to meet changing buyer needs. This sentiment study confirms that buyers will continue to behave as before the pandemic.

Digital content can be delivered in a variety of ways as people increasingly use digital channels. For inspiration, let's take a look at some of the top brands that do it well.

B2C Content Marketing Examples

NerdWallet

NerdWallet, a website for consumers in the financial sector, features lots of useful content that is both informative and friendly. Consumers are often very sensitive to economic issues and have difficulty understanding the concepts. NerdWallet helps you to break down this barrier by providing sections on top picks and guides, tips and calculators. This makes it easier to talk about a difficult topic.

[TAG4][TAG6]

Dove

Many consumer products take the route of creating product-centric content. Instead of focusing on the customer, the spotlight is placed on the product. Dove started using content marketing many years ago to shift that paradigm. This is a major challenge for women in today's society. They have produced content that encourages women to love and take care of their bodies and skin.

Their own research revealed that only 2 per cent of women consider themselves beautiful. This led to the campaign's direction change. Dove wanted to change the way we think about beauty by focusing on women and their struggles. The real beauty campaign attracted many new customers and led to a rise in sales from $2.5 billion to $4 billion over ten years.

Lowe's

Video is a popular medium for content marketing in home improvement stores. Although Lowe's caters to businesses who need tools and materials, most of their customers are homeowners and DIY enthusiasts.

The channel boasts a remarkable compilation and has more than one million subscribers. This content is full of inspiration and education, from room transformations to organizational ideas to how to tiling and much more. Their videos are often accompanied by home improvement personalities or influencers, giving them more personality. Below is an example of their channel:

[TAG7]

The Best Methods to Sell B2C Products Using Content Marketing

B2C brands can create meaningful content using similar tactics to B2B brands. These best practices are applicable to all:

• Your customer should be the star of the content. Not your brand.
• Do not try to sell to everyone. Although your buyer base might be large, it is important to personalize your content.
• Don't sell, but educate your audience through your content. A better consumer will be able to appreciate learning and is more educated than a salesperson.
• To build authority and keep your brand top-of-mind, publish content regularly and frequently.
• Engage on social media as much as you can. These platforms are a great place to get help and recommendations from consumers. Make sure you have a strong presence on these channels and create a community. This is the most popular channel for B2C brands to distribute their content. It's not always easy to do this well.
• Not spam, but value. B2C content marketers use email marketing as a key channel. 74% of respondents subscribe to newsletters. Inboxes can be noisy and crowded. You must be creative and provide something valuable if you want to make this channel work for you. They'll ignore it otherwise.
• Look for user-generated content (UGC). It will be extremely impactful if your customers tell their stories about how your product has changed their lives. This can be requested from your audience via social media, email, or on your site. Your content will be more credible if they share their testimony.
• Use SEO strategies to rank high. When they are searching for a solution to a problem, most consumers begin with a search. This means that your content must rank well on Google. Optimize your content to include relevant keywords. Optimization can be done both on-page or off-page.
• You can link new content to content that is already well-received. This strategy is about keeping customers engaged. You can add recommendations at the end of a video or post (e.g., "If you like this", then go to this).

Use Content Marketing to Sell B2C Products and Get Some Help from Experts

B2C companies of all sizes are investing in content marketing. You can achieve success by creating a solid strategy, understanding your customers and navigating the challenges. You may be concerned about how to scale it. This model is favorable, as 55% of B2C companies use it, mainly for the creation aspect.

We can help! Our Content Builder Service can help you get more visitors to your website by publishing quality content consistently.

Contact me to set up a consultation and I will send you a PDF copy of my books. Get started today to generate more leads and traffic for your business.