B2B Content

Original Post  - Mar 31, 2008

One of the enduring myths involving CDNs is that paid service providers are for suckers. Free options in online media distribution markets are making compelling, though in most respects short sighted arguments for using their services. Many free providers advanced their list of features to attract more of the business market away from paid service. YouTube, for example, is releasing in June an additional

Original Post  - Mar 04, 2008

eNewsletters can be a great way to drive traffic to your website and keep your brand in your customers’ minds. Once you have an enewsletter vendor and an audience of people who have given you permission to send them information, you need to put together content for your enewsletter. In order to be most effective, you’ll need to send out an enewsletter at least monthly, preferably more often. What types of content are valuable to your customers (and potential customers)?

Original Post  - Jan 08, 2008

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) firms will tell you that you need to have keyword-optimized pages on your website in order to appear in Google’s search results for those keywords. Customer-centric design requires that your website be designed with your customer foremost in-mind. Can these co-exist? Can you have the best of both worlds?

Yes and no. Search engines put a good deal of weight on how often content is updated on the site and for each of the keywords in question. Keeping keyword-optimized pages updated can be (and usually is) a full-time job. Have you ever been on a keywords-optimized site as a customer who is trying to find something? Often it is difficult to wade through all the content written only for the search engines.

Original Post  - Dec 11, 2007

Following the B2C world, video is now the hot content in the B2B world.  With the popularity of YouTube, iTunes and watching tv over the web, B2B audiences are ready to watch video on your website.  Take the opportunity to show how your products, services or processes can help your customers.  Post regular video updates on your website about what your company is doing instead of just written press releases.  Post these same videos on B2B industry sites with links to your own website to entice your customers (remember to use a unique landing page with a call-to-action).

Original Post  - Nov 27, 2007

B2B numbers from 2006 (latest info I could find - July, Sept, Nov):
From Knowledge Storm and Universal McCann:

• 80% read blogs
• 31% use RSS
• 63% use online video
• 23% use social networks
• 86% use wikis, only 6% contribute
• 66% use podcasts

Sources:

Original Post  - Oct 11, 2007

We’ve been talking about customer-centric websites, but what are your customers doing at home? Obviously these results apply to the consumer market instead of B2B, but B2B is usually not far behind:

Silicon Alley Insider: Almost All Consumers Now Use Web for Buying Decisions -

• 53% s...

Original Post  - Oct 09, 2007

Is Blogging on your B2B website a good idea? Blogging, especially for your business, has its pros and cons. Here are a few to consider:

Cons:

• Anything you post is available forever on the web. Search engines and other sites cache results which means that even if you delete a post, it may still be available somewhere on the web.
• Any opinions expressed in your blog can affect the image your business portrays. Keep clear of political, religious or controversial opinions unless you’re ok with those opinions being associated with your blog.

Original Post  - Sep 19, 2007

RSS, or Really Simple Syndication, is a feed which sends content from the website out to a feed reader. RSS provides an easy way to check hundreds of sites for updates in one place. Google and Bloglines both offer a web-based reader, and there are several software based readers including

Original Post  - Sep 12, 2007

Video can have powerful impact for your business. You are probably aware of video on major consumer websites such as the New York Times, MSN, CNN or video sharing sites such as

Original Post  - Sep 10, 2007

Now that we have some design ideas, what content should you put on your website? How should it be organized? Again it helps to put yourself into your visitor’s shoes. What would you be looking for if you were a customer? It probably falls into one of three categories:

1. Information about a product or service (including cost and how to buy)