# 20 Common Mistakes Organizations Make in Their B2B Content Marketing
*Originally published on Copywriters.com on May 28, 2023. Written by Deborah E. Landry. Republished on Introvert Marketers with updates for today’s digital marketing landscape.*
Are you making costly mistakes in your B2B content marketing campaigns? Eliminating the following missteps could be the difference between outright success and utter failure. The difference between attracting eager prospects who are ready to buy right now, or no one at all.
According to Neil Patel, one of the leading experts in the field, B2B content marketing has been around since 1732. Benjamin Franklin’s *Poor Richard’s Almanack* is often cited as an early example of content marketing. Who would have thought?
As you can imagine, content marketing has come a long way since then. Businesses publish an enormous amount of content every day, and for good reason.
But publishing content simply for the sake of publishing doesn’t accomplish much. If you’re writing 500-word articles that nobody reads, you’re wasting valuable time and resources.
It’s important to recognize the common mistakes that keep articles from being noticed. Content marketing can be extremely effective when done the right way. But mistakes can be costly and should be avoided if you want your articles to produce results.
## Mistake #1: No B2B Content Marketing Strategy or Planning
A common mistake that can be avoided is not planning an effective content marketing strategy in advance. The reason? Because you never know what could happen that keeps you from getting your content out on time.
One way to build an effective content marketing presence is by publishing useful, relevant content consistently.
If you have content ready in advance, this takes a lot of pressure off and makes the process much easier. All you need to do is schedule that content ahead of time using a marketing platform or content calendar.
Ideally, you should be working on content that won’t be published for another three or four weeks.
One obvious drawback to this method is when something totally unexpected happens. This can make your content seem irrelevant unless you adapt it to changing circumstances.
For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses had to revise their marketing messages to reflect what customers were experiencing. Content that ignored those circumstances could easily sound awkward or out of touch.
Sometimes you need to adapt to the world around you and use common sense.
But under most normal circumstances, it’s best to plan your B2B content marketing strategy in advance. This practice will help your business run more smoothly.
## Mistake #2: Not Knowing Your Target Audience
Secondly, it’s important to know your audience and how to best speak to them.
For example, do they have their own jargon and expressions? Do you understand their concerns and what they are most interested in?
Your ideal buyer is often referred to as a “buyer persona” or an “avatar.”
One of the best ways to get to know them is to go where they spend their time.
If your audience is hanging out on LinkedIn, and you publish all your content on a platform they rarely use, chances are they may never see it.
But that’s not the only thing that matters.
You also want to find out what they’re talking about. This is especially important in B2B content marketing.
Understanding their thoughts makes it possible to put content in front of them that happens to be exactly what’s on their minds.
When you can speak to them in a way that “gets inside their heads,” so to speak, they’ll take notice and listen.
You want them to say to themselves, “How did they know what I’ve been thinking about?”
## Mistake #3: Not Understanding the Value of Content Marketing
Companies also make the mistake of ignoring content marketing altogether.
A lot of companies believe that paid advertising is all they need and that content marketing is a waste of time.
Granted, they may be profitable with paid advertising alone. But incorporating content marketing into their strategy can create additional opportunities to attract prospects, educate buyers, and strengthen relationships.
Remember this: B2B content marketing doesn’t happen overnight.
But what it can do is gain momentum over time when done the right way.
Think of it like compound interest.
You may begin with a small audience and limited results. But as your collection of useful content grows, you create more opportunities for potential customers to discover your business.
A lot of businesses think they need to choose between content marketing and paid advertising.
But once that momentum gets going, paid ads can help boost content marketing, and vice versa.
Successful businesses understand the importance of both and how they can support each other.
## Mistake #4: Ignoring the Business Owner’s Voice
It’s not uncommon for content managers and inexperienced copywriters to ignore the business owner’s voice.
When you write content, who are you writing for?
You’re often speaking for someone besides yourself.
Do you understand that person’s expressions, beliefs, and values? Do you understand their jargon and the way they communicate?
If the business owner speaks in a calm, thoughtful manner, you don’t want their writing to sound aggressive and overly excited.
An experienced copywriter understands the unique voice of the business owner.
They’ll make sure the content sounds like something the business owner would say if they wrote the piece themselves.
This is especially crucial when the brand name is the same as the business owner’s name.
For example, if you were to visit Oprah’s blog, you wouldn’t want the content to sound completely disconnected from her personality.
That’s one well-known illustration, but the same idea holds true for any B2B content marketing.
## Mistake #5: Not Understanding the Topic Well Enough
If you’re writing for a company that’s selling a 60-hour course, have you watched that course?
This may sound like a time-consuming and daunting task, but how else could you speak intelligently about it?
What topic does the company represent? Do you understand that topic well enough?
Let’s say you’re writing for a science blog. Can you speak intelligently about scientific topics?
If not, you need to do the necessary research or find an experienced copywriter who understands that particular niche.
Otherwise, you run the risk of sounding like you know less about the topic than the reader does.
And you certainly don’t want to give that impression!
That’s one of the fastest ways to damage the credibility of both the business owner and the company.
Make sure you understand the topic!
## Mistake #6: Lack of Understanding of Headlines and Subheadlines
Headlines and subheadlines are imperative when writing content for articles.
This holds true for at least three main reasons.
The first reason is that you want to capture the attention of the reader.
If the reader isn’t interested in the headline, chances are they won’t read the article at all.
The second important factor is that headlines and subheadlines should accurately describe the content. When appropriate, they can also incorporate relevant keywords that help readers and search engines understand the topic.
And the third factor is that your subheadlines should make sense on their own.
The reason is simple.
Some readers skim the page and read nothing but the subheadlines.
If one catches their attention, they may start reading from there.
You want your subheadlines to make sense to someone who glances over your article.
In other words, each one needs to be relevant and support the main point of the article.
Never put subheadlines in there that seem out of place.
You also want to make sure your headings are organized properly.
Generally, the main article title uses an H1 heading, while major sections use H2 headings. Additional subsections can use H3 headings.
This helps organize your content for readers and makes its structure easier for search engines to interpret.
## Mistake #7: Too Much Branding Promotion and Not Enough Value
Another common B2B content marketing mistake is putting too much focus on branding and not enough focus on value.
Think about it from a prospect’s point of view.
They don’t necessarily care about your brand when they first discover you.
What they care about is what you can do for them.
Always make sure you give readers something of value in your articles.
How can you help them? What useful information can you share? What questions can you answer?
Do they have problems that you can help them solve?
Consider all of this when writing articles and make sure your readers find the content helpful.
Branding should support the message rather than overwhelm it.
Let readers get to know your business naturally while keeping the main focus on the value you’re providing.
## Mistake #8: Not Enough Relevance to Pain Points and Challenges
What are your prospects’ pain points today?
Do you know what keeps them awake at night?
What do they worry about? What challenges are they facing?
But more importantly, how does this relate to your business, and how can your company help them solve those problems?
For example, imagine a small business that’s struggling to generate enough leads.
Could your company help them improve their website, create better content, or establish a more effective follow-up system?
Or perhaps another business is having trouble retaining customers.
Could you provide useful information about customer service, relationship building, or email marketing?
Here are a few B2B examples:
1. A healthcare company might provide businesses with information about workplace safety and employee wellness.
2. An e-commerce service provider could help retailers improve inventory management and online ordering.
3. A marketing company could help businesses strengthen their online presence and generate qualified leads.
Is there some way your company can help other businesses solve important problems?
Content marketing is a perfect way to reach out to them with useful information and support.
## Mistake #9: Not Doing Keyword Research or Focusing on SEO
As mentioned earlier, your articles need to be discoverable if you want people to read them.
Do you have the proper tools to do keyword research?
Do you understand which keywords your audience is searching for?
This is commonly referred to as SEO, or Search Engine Optimization.
You’re optimizing your article to help search engines understand its subject and improve its chances of appearing in relevant search results.
One way to do this in B2B content marketing is by using what’s called long-tail keywords.
For example, a phrase like “email marketing automation for small accounting firms” is more specific than simply “email marketing.”
Specific phrases can help you attract readers who are looking for the exact type of information you provide.
Make sure you optimize your articles with keywords that match your audience’s questions and interests.
But don’t overdo it.
Your content still needs to sound natural and provide genuine value.
## Mistake #10: Lack of Internal and External Linking
Do you link to other articles inside your blog?
This is one of the best ways to offer additional value to your readers.
Equally important is linking to outside articles or helpful information when those sources add context or support your claims.
You may worry that you’re leading visitors away from your website.
But sometimes the most helpful thing you can do is direct them to a reliable source that answers their questions.
Internal links also help visitors discover more of your content and help search engines understand how your pages relate to one another.
External links should be chosen for their relevance, credibility, and usefulness.
Simply linking to a popular website doesn’t automatically improve your search rankings.
What matters is creating a helpful experience for your readers.
In other words, you want more people to discover your website, but you also want to give them good reasons to stay, explore, and return.
## Mistake #11: Too Much Focus on Quantity and Not Enough on Quality
Some companies think the best thing to do is throw a lot of content out there and see what sticks.
This is a bad idea.
The reason you don’t want to implement this strategy is that you could end up with a lot of low-quality articles floating around that don’t help your audience or your business.
Instead, it’s better to publish fewer, high-quality articles.
The more useful information you provide, the better.
You don’t want to fill your articles with common knowledge that readers can find anywhere.
You want to go deeper and provide helpful content that answers real questions.
This gives readers more reasons to trust your business and return for additional information.
## Mistake #12: Not Diversifying Content Enough
Once you write articles, are you sharing them?
You want to give people opportunities to discover your content in different places.
Many marketers share their articles through social media, email newsletters, videos, and other marketing channels.
Often in B2B content marketing, you’re writing to one particular niche.
But make sure you approach that niche from different angles.
For example, if your audience is interested in social media marketing, share tips about content creation, audience building, analytics, and automation.
Also, ask yourself what other niches might be interested in what you have to offer.
This is an approach commonly used by software companies.
Software is often useful to a wide variety of businesses.
That means the same product may appeal to several different industries.
If that’s the case, be sure to speak to each audience in a way that addresses its specific needs.
## Mistake #13: Not Being Authentic and Trustworthy Enough
Now, this is a biggie.
It’s essential that your audience knows, likes, and trusts you.
You need to come across as sincerely trying to help them and doing what’s in their best interest.
Surely, you do want to help them!
This is all based on authenticity, integrity, and ethics.
Do you mean what you say?
Are you keeping in mind how you can help your prospects rather than focusing only on how they can help you?
You MUST come at it from this angle and mean it.
The idea here is to establish a relationship with your prospective buyers.
Find ways to connect with them authentically.
You want to create a relationship, but you also want to nurture that relationship as time goes on.
Another way to strengthen your relationship with readers is by incorporating video.
And here’s something important: you don’t necessarily have to appear on camera to create useful videos.
Educational presentations, screen recordings, narrated demonstrations, and faceless videos can all help you communicate valuable information.
The important thing is to make your content helpful, trustworthy, and relevant to your audience.
## Mistake #14: Being Too Salesy in Your B2B Content Marketing
Nobody likes a pushy salesperson.
Nobody!
Whatever you do, don’t push your ideas on people or sound overly anxious to make a sale.
This can make you sound desperate, but it can also make prospects feel as though you don’t care what’s best for them.
And that’s a disastrous mistake.
Always remember to ask yourself how you can sincerely help your potential buyer.
Is what you have to offer something that can truly improve their lives or businesses?
Is it worth the price they pay?
If not, perhaps you need to reconsider what you’re promoting.
Pushing sales down someone’s throat is one of the fastest ways to get them to click off your article and RUN the other way.
Today’s buyers have access to an enormous amount of information.
They can compare products, read reviews, and research alternatives before ever speaking to a salesperson.
That’s one more reason to focus on helping people make informed decisions instead of pressuring them.
## Mistake #15: Not Repurposing Content Enough
What is “repurposing?”
This means taking one piece of content and adapting it for other platforms.
For example, let’s say you wrote an article.
You could turn that article into an audio presentation or podcast.
Then, you could break it down into slides and create an educational video.
You could also take the main points and turn them into an infographic.
You want to think about repurposing content when you first write an article.
But you’ll also want to repurpose it for years to come.
Ask yourself whether you have an older article that received a lot of traffic or positive feedback.
Can you bring that old article back to life?
Sometimes your existing content is one of your most valuable marketing resources.
## Mistake #16: Not Gathering Enough Data
Not tracking your results is one of the biggest mistakes you could make in B2B content marketing.
Let’s say you wrote an article and shared it on Facebook and LinkedIn.
Then you created a video, uploaded it to YouTube, and linked to your article from there.
Next, you start getting inquiries and sales.
Wouldn’t you want to know where that traffic came from?
Did it come from LinkedIn or YouTube?
Or did it come from Facebook?
This is essential information because you want to know how to best spend your advertising dollars and where to focus your marketing efforts.
It wouldn’t make much sense to spend most of your money on Facebook if the majority of your qualified leads were coming from YouTube, would it?
Think about ways you can track your traffic.
You can use campaign tracking links, website analytics, and tools such as Google Analytics and Google Search Console.
The important thing is to understand which activities are helping you reach your goals.
## Mistake #17: Not Publishing and Maintaining Content Consistently
One way to let your blog become a graveyard is to stop publishing and maintaining your content.
It’s important to keep your website useful and relevant.
That doesn’t necessarily mean publishing something new every single day.
In fact, regularly updating valuable older articles can be just as worthwhile as creating new ones.
Search engines don’t automatically reward a website simply because it publishes more frequently.
What matters is providing useful, reliable content that satisfies readers’ needs.
Older content can continue attracting visitors for years when it remains accurate and relevant.
But if you never review your articles, outdated information and broken links can eventually hurt the experience you provide.
So create a publishing schedule you can realistically maintain, and remember to revisit your existing content.
## Mistake #18: Not Including a Call to Action (CTA)
This is probably the biggest “no-brainer” mistake in this article.
If your article leads your reader to a dead end, you’re missing an opportunity.
You need to give them a logical next step after reading your content.
That’s called your “call to action.”
What are you trying to achieve?
Where do you want them to go?
Do you want them to join your email list?
Would you prefer that they read another article, watch a video, or learn about a product?
Do you want them to contact your business?
Always ask yourself what the goal of your article is before you begin writing.
Then give readers a clear, relevant call to action.
And remember, your CTA should make sense in relation to the content they’ve just read.
## Mistake #19: Ignoring Email Marketing
Speaking of destinations, where do you want your readers to go?
Do you want them to visit a landing page or subscribe to your email list?
One common mistake businesses make is ignoring email marketing altogether.
Email marketing can be an important part of a successful marketing strategy.
Why?
Because it gives you a way to maintain communication with people who have expressed an interest in your business.
A good copywriter understands how to create emails that educate readers, strengthen relationships, and encourage appropriate action.
An email campaign has a couple of important functions.
1. First, it helps you build and strengthen relationships with prospective buyers.
2. Second, it helps keep your business top of mind.
They may not be ready to purchase today.
But when they are ready, who do you think they’ll remember?
Often, it’s a business that has consistently provided useful information and earned their trust.
Let that be you and your company!
## Mistake #20: Not Segmenting Audiences
Do you think one email sequence is enough?
Most of the time, the answer to that question is no.
Even if you have only one product to offer, you still have buyers and non-buyers, and you’ll often speak to each of them differently.
But imagine if you have more than one product or service.
Take a car dealership, for example.
They have a sales department, a service department, a body shop, and a parts department.
Do you think it makes sense to speak to a customer who just had a repair done the same way you would speak to someone who purchased a new vehicle?
Of course not!
That would be absurd.
They’re two different buyers with different questions, problems, wants, and needs.
It’s important to understand these differences and communicate with customers in a way that matches their interests and circumstances.
Creating separate groups within your email audience is called “segmenting.”
In other words, “separating.”
You want to organize your subscribers so you can share information that’s relevant to their particular needs.
Of course, you should also respect their privacy and honor their communication preferences.
Good email marketing isn’t about sending more messages to everyone.
It’s about sending more relevant messages to the right people.
## In Summary
How is your B2B content marketing strategy going?
Are you making any of these common mistakes?
Content marketing requires planning, research, consistency, and an understanding of the people you’re trying to reach.
But perhaps the most important lesson is that successful marketing isn’t simply about producing more content.
It’s about producing content that matters.
You want to understand your audience, answer their questions, solve their problems, and build relationships based on genuine trust.
You don’t have to be everywhere.
You don’t have to publish constantly.
And you certainly don’t have to resort to aggressive sales tactics to get someone’s attention.
Instead, focus on creating valuable content, using effective systems, and communicating with integrity.
That’s how you build a marketing strategy that can continue serving your business over time.
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*Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on Copywriters.com in 2023 and has been lightly updated for clarity, accuracy, and relevance. The original 20-point structure and core marketing principles have been preserved.*
