Moving beyond blog posts – 11 content types for B2b content marketing

Content marketing is an essential component of B2B strategies, playing a key role in building brand authority, nurturing relationships, and supporting informed decision-making. In the B2B world, where purchasing decisions involve multiple stakeholders and longer sales cycles, providing valuable and relevant content is crucial.

Yet, many B2B marketers often rely too heavily on a single format, most commonly blog posts, because of their clear impact on increasing website traffic. This approach not only restricts traffic sources to organic search but also fails to deliver contextually relevant information to decision-makers at various stages of the buying process.

1-Blog posts

Blog posts are usually the first thing to come to mind when people think about content marketing. Blog posts can be used in all phases of the buyer’s journey, though many companies choose to use these at the top of the funnel to help bring customers closer. A well-crafted blog post can serve as pillar content that can provide a reason for people to tell others about your website. Almost any content marketing strategy will involve blog posts at some point.

• Target audience: Typically deployed for pre-acquisition marketing.
• Types: How-to articles, vendor comparisons, industry news analysis, opinion pieces, and case studies.
• Objectives: Improve search engine rankings, drive organic traffic, and build topical authority. Blog posts are rarely designed to drive conversions.
• Format: HTML content built inside some CMS (e.g. WordPress)
• Distribution channel: Own website or guest posts.
• Cost profile: Well-written posts in the technology niche would typically cost between $500 to $2000 per article depending upon length, nature of the topic, and writer skills.

2-White papers

Some topics are too complex or specialized for a blog post. That is where a white paper can come in handy. A well-crafted white paper can cement your place as an authority in the minds of your audience. White papers work perfectly because they are both technical in nature and can answer some very specific problems that your audience might be having.

• Target audience: Typically intended for prospects who have already shown interest in a product or service but are yet to become a prospect.
• Types: Vendor comparisons, industry news analysis, opinion pieces, introducing technology innovations.
• Objectives: Build brand authority, and generate qualified leads.
• Format: PDFs or PowerPoint decks.
• Distribution channel: Provided as gated content on own media, or sent via email to qualified prospects.
• Cost profile: Well-researched whitepapers in technology niche, designed to professional standards and aligned to brand guidelines can easily cost upwards of $3000 per piece when done by professional content agencies.

3-Infographics

A picture is worth a thousand words, and well-designed infographics pack a lot of information in a beautiful and entertaining space. They are very easy to share across social media and are most often used at the top and middle of the sales funnel.

• Target audience: Typically intended for the pre-acquisition phase.
• Types: Data visualizations, process explanations, comparative analyses.
• Objectives: Build brand authority, and increase site traffic.
• Format: Vector Art or Images
• Distribution channel: Owned media (blog post, landing page, social media profile, etc.).
• Cost profile: Typically starts at $400 per piece including content research, imagery, and brand alignment.

4-Case studies

A case study presents a detailed account of how your product or service solved a specific problem for a client. This provides tangible evidence that your solution works in a real-world setting and shows prospective clients that you understand their specific challenges and can address them effectively.

• Target audience: Typically intended for prospects who have already shown strong purchase intent and may benefit from social validation.
• Types: Success stories, detailed project descriptions, testimonials.
• Objectives: Builds credibility, provides social proof, and aids in the sales process.
• Format: PDFs or PowerPoint Decks
• Distribution channel: Owned media (blog post, landing page, social media profile, etc.) or sent via email to mailing list members.
• Cost profile: Typically starts at $400 per piece to compile client notes, add images/data, and provide a summary of the client’s business outcomes.

5-E-books

E-books provide valuable, in-depth information that educates the audience about a specific subject, helping them make informed decisions. This is especially useful in industries where the products or services are complex or require a longer decision-making process.

• Target audience: Users who have shown preliminary purchase intent but still not turned into prospects (have not shared their contact information).
• Types: Product how-to guides, checklists, technology use cases, framework descriptions, and process methodologies.
• Objectives: Provide in-depth information about a product or service. Position the brand as a source of authority content.
• Format: PDFs
• Distribution channel: Owned media (blog post, landing page, social media profile, etc.) or sent via email to mailing list members.
• Cost profile: Typically costs upwards of $3000 per piece for a typical technology company.

6-Webinars

Webinars help provide live, interactive presentations on topics of interest to a target audience. They are not only valuable in generating new leads but can also serve as a great resource for collecting user feedback in real-time.

• Target audience: Users who have shown preliminary purchase intent but still not turned into prospects (have not shared their contact information).
• Types: Product introductions, feature walk-throughs, process guides.
• Objectives: Provide in-depth information about a product or service. Position the brand as a source of authority content.
• Format: Online webinars
• Distribution channel: Hosted platforms like Zoom, Vimeo, and Demio.
• Cost profile: Typically costs upwards of $3000 per piece including costs for content creation, hosting platform fees, marketing, and event management.

7-Videos

Videos are one of the most effective top-of-the-funnel marketing tools, allowing businesses to showcase their products, services, and expertise more engagingly. This helps build brand recognition and trust among potential clients. As one of the largest search engines, YouTube provides a platform for reaching a global audience. Well-optimized videos can appear in both YouTube and Google search results, increasing visibility.

• Target audience: Top-of-the-funnel, pre-acquisition marketing.
• Types: Product introductions, feature walk-throughs, process guides, and client interviews.
• Objectives: Provide in-depth information about a product or service. Position the brand as a source of authority content.
• Format: Video.
• Distribution channels: YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, Vimeo, Wistia, TikTok.
• Cost profile: The cost of videos ranges widely, with basic videos (e.g., Talking Head, Simple Explainer) averaging around $3000, and high-end (e.g., Corporate Branding, High-Production Value) costing more than $25000.

8-Podcasts

Podcasts are another great content type for top-of-the-funnel marketing. They are designed to serve long-form content to prospects on the go (e.g. driving, working out, on the train to work) and can convey information to the target audience at a fraction of the cost of a video.

• Target audience: Top-of-the-funnel, pre-acquisition marketing.
• Types: Peer discussions, industry trends, opinion pieces, client interviews.
• Objectives: Build brand authority by providing supplemental information about a product or service.
• Format: MP3 audio files.
• Distribution channels: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Sticher, YouTube.
• Cost profile: Podcast production costs start at $2000 for a typical B2b marketing campaign in the technology industry.

9-Email newsletters

Email newsletters can be used across all stages of the marketing funnel (post initial user sign-up) given that this is a form of push marketing and the stage of the target user within the funnel is already known. Advanced marketing automation tools can collect the behavioral data of every user and then send highly targeted content to maximize engagement or conversion.

• Target audience: Can only be used with users who have already provided their contact details and agreed to receive marketing communications.
• Types: Industry news, product/service/company updates, tips, curated content summaries, promotional offers.
• Objectives: Nurture leads, drive traffic, and keep your brand top-of-mind.
• Format: HTML newsletters.
• Distribution channels: Email.
• Cost profile: The cost can be divided into three buckets. Production/configuration of HTML template (typically 3 to 4 hrs. of consultant time), dynamically filling in the personalized data (few hours to large IT projects for setting up data connections), sending/tracking responses ($25/month with tools like Mailchimp, going up to over $5000/month with platforms like Salesforce Marketing Cloud).

10-Social media posts

Social media posts make up a highly versatile content type and can be used for generating brand awareness, driving traffic, or even for direct lead capturing.

• Target audience: All stages of the marketing funnel
• Types: Visual content (e.g. video links), podcasts, company updates, opinion pieces, thought leadership articles, and promotional offers.
• Objectives: Generate brand awareness, drive traffic, and generate leads.
• Format: Multiple.
• Distribution channels: Platforms like LinkedIn, X, Redditt, and Quora.
• Cost profile: The cost of production varies based on the content type being shared. Outsourcing social media posting is one of the most cost-effective ways and get you started for under $100 a month on 3 or more platforms. Notice, however, that this is the cost for just posting and not full social media management.

11-Landing Pages

Landing pages are a crucial component of B2B content marketing, serving as focused destinations designed to convert visitors into leads or customers.

• Target audience: Bottom-of-the-funnel users who are looking for very specific product/service details
• Types: Lead magnets for other gated content, free trials, consultation, or demo requests.
• Objectives: Lead generation.
• Format: HTML pages created with hosted tools like HubSpot, Unbounce, Instapage, LeadPages
• Distribution channels: Own website, and email marketing.
• Cost profile: Landing page tool subscriptions typically start at $100/month.

Bringing it all together – Which content type should you be using?

The content types described above offer plenty of choices to content marketers when it comes to designing editorial calendars. The content types selected should be based on specific campaign objectives, availability of budget, time, and skilled resources.

For example, a tech startup with a healthy paid media budget and who is looking to generate leads should prioritize investments in building landing pages, and videos that can then be used to receive targeted traffic via paid advertising platforms like AdWords, and YouTube. If the objective was to generate brand awareness but the budget was a constraint, the same company would invest in content types like social media posts, infographics, and long-form blog posts.

On the other hand, an established player operating in a mature market (e.g. email marketing tools), and who is looking to increase its market share in a specific audience segment (e.g. data-savvy marketers looking to build data-driven drip campaigns) is more likely to benefit from investing in content types like whitepapers, webinars, and E-Books rather than in blog posts or infographics.

Although blog posts are a widely used content format, they represent just one component of a wider portfolio of content types. Content marketers should not confine their efforts to blogs alone. Instead, they need to craft a comprehensive content marketing strategy that begins with overarching marketing objectives, prioritizes content types based on available resources, and culminates in a business-aligned editorial calendar that guides the content agenda.