Digital Marketing Efforts and B2B Websites are Co-Dependent
Your business website is your digital storefront. Your digital marketing efforts in social media and other online environments act as your digital handshake. And they are equally important.
Start with the Website? Or Start with Digital Marketing? YES.
Does your B2B website influence your digital marketing efforts? Does your digital marketing influence your B2B website? A website is never “done.” Likewise, a digital marketing strategy continuously evolves. Similar to a symbiotic relationship in nature, B2B websites and digital marketing efforts are more effective when defined, developed, implemented, and modified side by side.
Tailor Your Website to Tell a Story Relevant to Your Target Audience
Simply put, your B2B website is useless unless it attracts and helps to convert prospects into paying customers. Attracting visitors is only a small part of the process. Once people arrive at your website you have very little time to capture their interest and compel them to act. This is accomplished by providing relevant, meaningful content that educates and informs. And the most effective content tells a story which captures emotions and inspires action, as done with the Story Brand Framework.
Let’s assume that your B2B website is built right with great branding, messaging, imagery, and design. Now what? Your website needs to act as the centerpiece or hub of your B2B digital marketing strategy. In other words, nearly everything you do online should lead back to your website.
Research indicates 89% of B2B buyers do online research before making a purchase decision. Therefore, it’s important to know the common challenges your prospects face and the potential queries they may make to find answers. So, keep track of what they ask. Then publish answers to those queries. That way you can have plenty of opportunities for prospects to find your website.
Align Your Digital Marketing Efforts Along Problem-Solving Storylines
Keep in mind that researchers may find your answers before finding your website. Instead, they may visit ratings and reviews websites. Or they may interact with like-minded people in a LinkedIn group discussion. They may even visit a popular industry website and see a guest blog post or video of a roundtable discussion. Your story has to be told in these places as well.
Whichever path taken to find an answer, your objective is to get them to ultimately land on your website. And, when they do, it’s critical that potential customers instantly see value in what you offer via a clear and concise story you tell.
As shown in the diagram above, website visitors come from a variety of origins. Some of these sources are created by your own activities. Meanwhile, others such as backlinks are the product of having subject matter authority and being recognized by others. When your domain authority is high you increase trust and garner unsolicited referrals. Although no two buyer’s journeys are identical, each starts prior to landing on your website. For this reason, it is necessary to develop a digital marketing strategy that identifies all these entry points. Only then can you out your digital marketing efforts into participating in the right places so you can maximize your website’s ROI.
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