Simplicity is the current and ongoing trend in B2B marketing. Messages and value propositions are becoming less technical, less corporate, and more audience-focused. Simple, relatable, and to-the-point messaging yields better engagement rates and helps capture the attention of a professional audience. In other words, “human content” is trending. How does this require you to adapt your messaging as a B2B marketer? And based on Contentim’s experience, what adjustments do we suggest in how you craft your messages?
“Humanization” in B2B messaging
The perception of B2B marketing in technical and science-based industries is detailed and technical. Intended for a professional audience, compliance requirements and the necessity for science-based value propositions in B2B messaging overrode other, less tangible requirements. More often than not, that resulted in copy that may have been effective in conveying facts – but wasn’t necessarily enjoyable to digest.
Today, that’s changing. We’re seeing the industry shift towards “humanized” content across marketing, sales, and branding, with B2B marketers around the globe rediscovering simplicity in their messaging. Even when communicating with a professional audience, you’ll have actual people interacting with your content – people with headaches, casual Fridays, and a range of emotions both at the work desk and elsewhere. Taking a storytelling approach and writing more relatable messages drives better engagement and more attention, yielding measurably better results across the board. It can also help you reach new audiences.
Embracing simple messaging
In the saturated digital delivery funnels our brains have to contend with, we only have so much capacity for new information. As a B2B marketer, that means limited time to capture your audience’s attention. Try to cram too much information in your messages, and you risk losing your audience’s attention altogether.
With the management discipline professionalizing, it’s also increasingly likely that the decision-makers picking up your content aren’t the science-oriented tech experts described in your target persona documents. Content using too much jargon and lacking a human touch can get drowned out in the flurry of information coming at your audience from all directions. Effective B2B communication is increasingly about crafting short and engaging messages that the audience can really connect with on a personal level.
A case for “humanizing” content
Our experience at Contentim backs that up. As a content marketing agency, we’ve noticed that simpler value propositions for technical and science-based industries have been getting better engagement and attention rates. One of our clients, a large specialty chemicals company, has started toning down the complexity of its messaging in its email campaigns with our help.
The result? With Contentim’s support in simplifying their value proposition, they achieved opted-in email well above typical benchmark rates for B2B and relative industries. But more importantly, the simplified approach to messaging enabled them to connect with new audiences.
How to simplify your B2B messaging?
Whether you’re working as a B2B marketer with an in-house team or a trusted pool of agencies or freelancers, embracing simplicity can take you outside your comfort zone. If you’re used to tried-and-tested methods of crafting B2B content, finding new ways to interact with your audience and making the switch to telling compelling stories can be challenging.
Our team at Contentim has deep and wide-ranging experience in helping companies gear their messaging toward simplicity for measurably better results. Cutting straight to the point, scaling back technical language and buzzwords, and understanding your target audience to offer digestible and relatable messages can help realize value with this new approach.
Are you looking for professional help in crafting effective B2B marketing messages? Get in touch with us to discuss how Contentim can help your organization!
