Digital PR is big business at the moment, however, within the B2B market it can often be overlooked. Here we’ve taken a look at how different digital PR techniques can be implemented to boost online B2B campaigns.
Over the past 18 months companies have been vying for consumer attention online with increasingly inventive PR campaigns.
Burger King went viral by asking customers to “order from McDonalds” and Uber caused a storm by thanking people for not using their service. Whilst B2C campaigns such as these often push creative boundaries, B2B campaigns are still considered boring, corporate and restrictive.
B2B sales cycles tend to be long and complex processes. Due to this, B2B PR campaigns often feature excessive jargon and statistics in a bid to build buyer trust. The need for creativity and innovation is repeatedly overlooked.
What businesses must remember is that B2B buyers are people first, so emotion and sentiment will always play a part in their sales decisions. A study conducted by WHM shows that 81% of B2B buyers believe they’d make better buying decisions if B2B marketing was more engaging.
So, here are a few PR tactics that will help to create more exciting B2B PR campaigns:
1. Jump on current trends
TrustRadius research shows that B2B buyers are getting younger. 60% of all B2B tech buyers are millennials, so they’ll no doubt know what the latest Netflix and TikTok crazes are. Tapping into these trends and aligning them with your brand will help to catch and keep their attention.
For example, Salesforce created a blog post entitled “Sales vs. Marketing: The Original Game of Thrones”. The post features information on how lessons from Game of Thrones can be utilised to create synergy between marketing and sales departments. Originally posted in 2013, the blog post still continues to generate social shares and backlinks today.
2. Influencer marketing
The same TrustRadius research shows that user reviews are one of the most trusted and influential information sources for B2B buyers. Following this, introducing influencer marketing into your B2B PR strategy makes logical sense.
Typically thought of as a B2C marketing tactic, influencer marketing can be highly beneficial for B2B businesses too. A leading business figure reviewing or speaking about your product will help to generate buyer trust and allows for creative collaborations too.
3. Create emotion
The vast majority of buying decisions are led by emotion; something that’s often overlooked in B2B PR. Many campaigns simply focus on product features and services. However, inciting humour, joy, or even shock through a campaign will instantly make it more memorable.
For example, Hectare Agritech created Tudder (Tinder for cows) as a humorous way of promoting their SellMyLivestock trading platform. The campaign worked, with over 42,000 UK farms signing up to the platform. The campaign also gained a lot of online coverage on mainstream media outlets and massively boosted brand awareness for Hectare Agritech.
4. Newsjacking
Newsjacking involves leveraging a trending news story to elevate a brand’s message. By commenting on live news, a brand then positions themselves as a leading authority on the subject. B2B newsjacking tends to be easier for finance and tech companies as these markets are constantly changing, so there’s always a story to comment on.
Being creative and looking at the news from a different angle can also bring about opportunities for other industries. For example, bad weather can lead to dangerous roads, which would be a perfect opportunity for commentary from a haulage company. As long as there’s some correlation between the news story and a brand, newsjacking in any industry is possible. Newsjacking can be a quick way to spread brand awareness and generate backlinks.
The bottom line is that B2B PR can be boring, but it doesn’t have to be. Corporate press releases do help to spread brand awareness and generate backlinks, but creative B2B campaigns will generally have a longer lasting effect on buyers. They will generate intriguing stories that position brands as leaders within their fields.
This article also features on PRmoment: https://www.prmoment.com/blog/four-ways-to-ensure-your-b2b-pr-campaign-isnt-boring