Business-to-Business Electronic Commerce (B2B ecommerce) is one business method that has seen a rapid evolution over the years. With growing competition, B2B ecommerce business owners and marketing managers are constantly looking for effective content marketing strategies that can get them the return they deserve.

When it comes to marketing, b2b content marketing is one of the most crucial tactics that can help ecommerce businesses significantly. It basically involves the process of creating valuable content for your target audience, via different formats, and using techniques like email marketing, paid search, search engine optimization, etc. to lure potential customers to your ecommerce platform. With over 90 percent of B2B marketers using content marketing and related strategies, it is evident that this is indeed very important for an ecommerce business, provided you make your content valuable to your users.

Here are some creative and effective content marketing ideas for your B2B ecommerce business:

1. Use Content Upgrades

Content upgrades in content marketing refers to offering a valuable and compelling piece of content in return for a user’s email address. Yes, this is an effective technique to lengthen your email list, while your users get something useful and relevant. These content upgrades can be of different types, including eBooks, tutorials, and PDFs.

With creating and using content upgrades for your B2B ecommerce site, it is vital that you first understand the type of content that your potential customers would be interested in. Of course, no one likes to get spammed and therefore people are always wary in sharing their email address just about anywhere. Hence, your content upgrade should make them enthusiastic and make them want to share their email with you.

Some useful content upgrade ideas for B2B ecommerce business are:

• Downloadable PDF version of a useful blog post
• A printable checklist, say a list of ingredients required to make a feast
• Access to an exclusive webinar
• Free access to a full eBook
• Audio or video recording
• A free email course
• Access to a free resource library
• Access to case studies

2. Start a Blog

Believe it or not, blogs still work. If you hadn’t known already, traffic from search engines is highly targeted, and one of the best ways to rank on Google and attract a huge pool of potential customers to your site is to start a blog. The key to creating a successful blog is to make sure that your blog posts provide value to your readers, who will be both existing and new customers.

Try to create content that is both informative as well as entertaining and engaging. Your content can include: industry news, industry trends, guest/expert interviews, product guides, product reviews, company announcements, and more.

Just remember, your goal with a blog is not to sell your products or services, but to provide your visitors with value, and trust us, these leads will definitely return to your blog, often over and over again, before they make a purchase.

3. Email Marketing

Another effective content marketing idea for B2B ecommerce sites is email marketing. This is typically known to be the most engaging content type because of the fact that emails directly land in the most personal space of your users. Sending an email to one of your users’ account can be related sending the person a physical mail to their house. Of course, the content has to be engaging.

Remember, if a user has shared his/her email address with you, you have developed a trust with them already. Therefore, you need to make sure that the content they receive from you via email is useful to them and pertinent to their needs, and not just spam, which can completely ruin your business’s reputation.

4. eBooks

Your customers come to you because they wish to achieve something using your products or services. Regardless of the type of product or service you sell, you can create eBooks on different topics and categories related to what you sell. From how to purchase a product on your website to how to use the product, how to store them, how the product or service can benefit the user, and so on, your chances are endless.

In addition to educating your audience about your products or services, an eBook can also be designed to tell a story or discuss a topic pertinent to the industry your business operates in.

While there are specific industries, such as internet marketing, health and fitness, etc. that can benefit from creating eBook content, typically any business that deals with customers that require and appreciate information can benefit from this content marketing idea.

5. User Generated Content

As the name suggests, this is content that will be created and shared by your customers upon your request. This is one of the best ways to have your customers engage with your brand or company and encourage them to help market the same. From posts to reviews to product demos, you can request your customers to generate any type of content they like that will be helpful for your ecommerce business.

User generated content is a great option for typically any type of business dealing with any type of product or customer service. For instance, if your ecommerce site sells sporting goods, you can invite your customers to create real-time reviews of your products or even a video content of your product in action. This is an amazing way to generate more sales, since it comes directly from your existing customers and therefore will reflect positively to potential customers.

Lego's User Generated Content Strategy

As discussed, your content is key, and will be king, only if you learn to use it the right way, delivering a fulfilling experience to your target audience. In addition to attracting new users and generating leads, you should also use your content to build a strong brand presence as well as retain your customers.