“70% of marketers are investing in content marketing.” (HubSpot, 2020)
In fact, the content marketing agency Contently found that 79% of Executive B2B Buyers typically consume 17 pieces of content before they choose to purchase.
This behavior means they’ve likely browsed the website, maybe watched a video or webinar, read an e-book. Each of those content pieces has led them to another one or answered a specific question. And out of that average, five pieces of content are consumed before they ever speak to a sales rep.
This kind of opportunity is exciting for those focused on the B2B copywriting world.
And you’re probably familiar with some of those opportunities, like blogging and e-books. Yet, there are other, not so obvious opportunities.
I call these the “hidden” opportunities. They’re ones you might not have considered because you don’t necessarily know about them, but they could be a great way to get new work.
3 Types of “Hidden” Content Marketing Opportunities
These types of opportunities are hiding in plain sight IF you know what to look for. They’re in heavy use in many marketing departments and can be terrific ways to pitch your services to new or existing clients.
There are probably others I haven’t thought about too but here are three to start with:
- Offer to Update Existing Content — Every marketer knows that Google loves “fresh content.” Yet, it can be a challenge to write high-quality content on the same topic continually.
Besides, older blog posts are subject to “decay,” which means, over time, they attract less traffic than they once did.
However, in many cases, older posts can be refreshed with an update. Updating a post involves seeing where you can add new examples or, in some cases, making it more comprehensive. I’m doing this now for a client where I’m expanding on older posts.
You could offer to do the same for your clients. If they have older (two years or more) evergreen type of posts on their blog, then you can ask if they’d be interested in updating those so they can capture organic SEO traffic.
According to SEMrush, a search engine software company, 51% of marketers have found updating old content to be efficient and useful.
- Repurpose Content — There’s a lot of work that goes into creating a piece of content so you may as well get the most out of it. Take blog posts, for example. You can write accompanying social media content or even create bullet points for an infographic. This gives your posts more value and makes your clients’ lives easier.
For one of my clients, I repurpose their videos into blog posts and create a few accompanying social media posts. You could also repurpose webinars or podcasts into blog posts and/or social media posts.
By turning one piece of content into three or more pieces of content, that’s a great way to get more mileage out of something. In some cases, you can add this into your initial proposal as a way to set you apart.
- “Sponsored” Content — This is content that is a subtle advertisement. It’s so subtle that you may not realize it’s an ad. For example, if you’ve ever seen an ad for an e-book or white paper with the words “Sponsored by” below or above, that’s what this is.
It could be an e-book sponsored by a tech company and advertised on an industry website.
For example, one of my monthly blogging clients recently garnered space in an industry trade publication. They asked me to write the post, which I was happy to do. The topic was industry relevant, yet the post ended with a call-to-action to find out more about their product.
Some organizations also publish sponsored content offline. One example you may be familiar with is the AAA magazine that’s published by the American Automotive Association. It’s full of road-trip worthy travel pieces with ads and “sponsored content” articles on elements of road safety and safe driving.
If you’re interested in writing sponsored content, pay attention to the websites you visit and industry newsletters you receive. Which companies do you see over and over advertising white papers, e-books, and webinars? Follow them via online channels. Connect with their editors and marketing people. Pay attention to what they publish and if you can, share topic ideas. Yes, this takes a bit of work. But finding long-term repeat clients is worth it.
There are plenty of “hidden” content marketing opportunities out there. Have you tried any of these? Do you have any to add?
