Think about the last item you bought. What steps did you take towards making that purchase? If you’re like most consumers, you did a Google search, stumbled upon a blog post that took you to the product’s website, and from there you were led to their Instagram page. As you scrolled through posts and read comments, you started to get an idea if you were going to go through with the purchase. Sounds about right?
The customer journey starts when a business or individual is trying to solve a problem, find an answer, or meet a need. A logical first step is to look for resources and information to help them achieve their goal. In our digital world, those resources are blog posts, social media posts, and website content. So, how do you make sure that your content is optimized for your intended audience? First, you need to understand the difference between B2B and B2C content writing.
What is B2B vs. B2C?
B2B stands for business-to-business, describing businesses whose customers are other businesses and organizations. All of their marketing is dedicated to the needs, interests, and challenges of customers who are making purchases on behalf of their company – rather than themselves.
B2C stands for business-to-consumer and describes businesses whose customers are individual consumers. Therefore, all of the businesses’ marketing is dedicated to the needs, interests, and challenges of people in their everyday lives.
For example, Agency 102 falls under B2B because we offer our services to other businesses and organizations without directly serving the consumer. However, a company like Apple is considered B2C because their products are sold directly to customers, bypassing any third-party wholesalers, retailers, or middlemen.
This is why one of the most important aspects of content writing is to keep in mind who you’re writing content for. The tone in which you write, the type of content that you share, and where you share it all depends on whether your message is for a business or an individual.
Content Type
You know the saying, “It’s not what you said, it’s how you said it?” Well, that’s not just a defense for getting emotional during an argument. When writing content, it’s important to think not only about the message you’re sending to your audience but how to best deliver that message.
Here are some examples of content formats that work best for B2B and B2C audiences.
B2B:
White Papers: A white paper is a document that describes an industry-related problem and provides the reader with information (most often data and results from a research study) to help them understand the problem and take steps toward solving it.
Case Studies: Case studies are documents that explain how your company achieved success in a specific situation. It should include a description of the subject (i.e. your customer or client’s history and pain points), your subject’s goal, implementation of strategy, the results of your strategy, and your concluding findings (i.e. what has the case study taught you and how can it help other people?).
You can check out examples of our case studies here.
Blog Posts: B2B blog posts should be educational and information heavy, backed by solid research that includes data, statistics, and quotes (like this one!). You want to make sure that you include a CTA (call to action) that encourages your readers to schedule a consultation, sign up for your email newsletter, or purchase your product or service.
B2C:
Blog Posts: B2C blog posts are short and often in a listicle format that includes lots of visuals to keep readers engaged and excited to share the content with their network. The CTA for B2C blog posts may encourage users to enter their email for a discount code or to like or follow the brand for more updates.
Social Media Posts: When your customers are able to share, comment, and like your content, they are in their element. The ability to communicate with businesses by tweeting, commenting, and direct messaging is a valuable tool that consumers use frequently when making decisions to purchase.
Customer Testimonials: B2C audiences usually stumble upon your social media and blog posts because they’re doing their own research in order to make a decision to purchase. What’s most important in their decision-making process is reading testimonials from real customers. In a 2021 survey, 91% of respondents answered that they read at least one review before making a purchase decision on a product, business, or service.
Tone
Tone refers to how the author uses language to express their attitude toward the subject and the audience.
When writing for a B2B audience, you want to come across as serious and professional. It’s not necessary to write something that has a lot of fluff – just get to the facts.
Examples of B2B tones include:
- Formal
- Professional
- Informational
- Knowledgeable
- Methodical
On the other hand, a B2C audience wants to read something engaging and interesting. So, if you deliver content that pulls at the heartstrings or makes them laugh, they may be more inclined to choose your product or service.
Examples of B2C tones include:
- Friendly
- Human
- Humorous
- Playful
- Conversational
Channel
Once your content is ready to be delivered, your final step is to decide which channels you should use to best reach your audience.
B2B audiences prefer to receive their content in the form of newsletters so they are delivered directly to their email inbox, that way they don’t have to spend time looking for it. Email is the third most influential source of information for B2B audiences, behind only colleague recommendations and industry-specific thought leaders. In fact, 59% of B2B marketers say email is their most effective channel in terms of revenue generation.
When B2B audiences utilize social media, it’s LinkedIn. With LinkedIn, you’re targeting a quality audience in a professional context. You have the opportunity to market to influencers, decision makers, and executives who act on new opportunities. According to a LinkedIn Audience 360 study, 4 out of 5 LinkedIn members drive business decisions in some form. This includes individuals who are part of a buying committee or direct decision-makers themselves.
- Email Newsletter
B2C audiences spend the majority of their time on social media so, platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter are the best places to reach them. In fact, 92% of Instagram users say they’ve followed a brand, clicked on their website, or made a purchase after seeing a product or service on the platform.
Conclusion
Now that you understand the key differences between writing content for B2B and B2C audiences, it’s important to remember that within these two audience types there are endless sub audiences. For example, B2B audiences could include specific industries, different departments within an organization, and varying education or professional levels. On the other hand, B2C audiences might be parents, seniors, or people with specific health problems.
As you write and deliver content to your intended audiences, make sure to monitor your performance and keep track of data like conversions, leads, and traffic. As you analyze your copy’s performance, you might want to consider tweaking captions and titles, adjusting your tone, or adding more visual elements.
Leave It to the Experts
Here at Agency 102, we have experience working with both B2B and B2C clientele. Our experts will ensure that your content is written with your audience in mind. Contact us today for a consultation!
