6 B2B Blog Ideas You Can Use Again and Again
Why do people love Chipotle so much? Part of the appeal is that you can customize your meal but don’t have to imagine it from scratch. They give you a framework and a limited option set, and you fill in the things you love.
I’m here to tell you that you can make B2B blogging easier on yourself by using the Chipotle model: turn to a few reliable formats again and again, filling in the details with timely topics.
What formats, you ask? Why not try these six B2B blogging ideas I’ve found useful.
1. “Part of This Complete Breakfast”
Cereal commercials in the ’80s and ’90s often ended claiming that the cereal was “part of this complete breakfast.” The breakfast in question was, of course, complete without the cereal, but the cereal technically was a part of it, which made it seem nutritious.
B2B blogs can do something similar, though with less sinister health implications: Define some group your product is a part of, and write a post with a “complete” guide to that group.
For example, your title might be “The Mortgage Servicer’s Complete Guide to Digital Transformation.” In it, you’d include all the things an org needs to achieve digital transformation… and one of them would happen to be the thing you sell.
This structure works so well because it lets you position your product or service within its larger context, which shows you understand the space and helps you build authority – crucial in B2B content marketing.
2. Resource Roundups
Why wouldn’t I click on an article that promises the 10 best pieces on building company culture in a hybrid workplace? Or even better, the 10 best insights from those pieces?
Roundups are great B2B blog formats for three reasons:
- They deliver valuable information to your audience while saving them time.
- They don’t require you to do a ton of writing.
- They position you as well informed in your space.
To make these as easy as possible, keep a running doc of great industry resources you come across. Link to each with a few words about why it’s so great, and when you have a handful, turn them into a blog post.
3. Listicles
Ah, the beloved listicle (that’s “list” plus “article”). An old standby of internet publishing, nearly as old as the weblog itself.
Why do listicles work so well?
First, because we love lists.
Second, because they offer a clear framework for processing information. Your readers are busy. Promise them information that they can easily understand, and they’re more likely to click and actually get your message.
A few listicle ideas to try:
- X Signs it’s Time to Update Your Email Strategy
- X Best Practices for Cross-Selling Current Insurance Customers
- X Lessons from Our Shift to Asana
But not all ideas fit neatly into a list format. If the ones you want to share are a bit more complex, why not try…
4. Thought Leadership
Thought leadership can be a great PR and content strategy, particularly for B2B brands that have a longer buying cycle and those that sell high-consideration products or services.
In other words: if your customers can’t just swipe a credit card and spontaneously try out your product, thought leadership can probably help your brand.
The good news is that almost every startup founder (or leader) has great ideas to fuel thought leadership content (after all, they founded a startup).
The bad news is that many either don’t have the time to write those ideas down or are so familiar with these ideas they don’t realize how interesting they might be to an outside audience.
For best results, I recommend making sure whoever is in charge of your blog gets regular time with the thought leaders at your organization. That person can translate leaders’ insights into timely, useful content that’s interesting to your audience.
Some examples:
- In Digital Transformation, Process Matters as Much as Tech
- Welcome to the Golden Age of Mortgage Servicing
- From Coworking to Proworking: What’s Next in Shared Office Space
5. Q&As
Q&A blog posts are great for many reasons: They give your readers a chance to “get to know” your founder(s) or other leaders.
They provide space for leaders to go into detail about what they do and why – something that isn’t possible on product pages or a startup’s homepage.
And they’re easier to write than blog posts built on a complex argument.
Even better: In the conversations you have with a founder to fuel a Q&A post, you’ll probably hear some ideas that can be turned into future thought leadership posts.
Some examples:
- Why We Built Highnote: A Q&A with Cofounders Kin Kee and John MacIlwaine
- Price Transparency: A Q&A with HDA Founder Michael Woodrow
- Q&A with Antonio García on Design Thinking at TableXI
6. Guest Posts
A few years ago, guest posts got kind of a bad reputation in the online marketing world because too many people used them in a spammy way to drive backlinks to their websites. Blech. Don’t do that.
When used strategically, guest posts can add a lot of value for everyone involved:
- They give your readers a perspective other than your own.
- They position you as a well-connected part of a larger community.
- They position your guest as an authority on their corner of your industry.
And of course, one of the biggest benefits of guest posts is that you don’t have to write them yourself. Position them in your ed cal when you know you’ll have a busier-than-usual week.
Even More B2B Blog Ideas
Need more fuel for the bottomless pit of your B2B blog? Check out our 10 strategies to ensure you never run out of ideas for your blog and our tips for turning your bad habits into great content.
And if your problem is not ideas but time to write them, get in touch. We just might be able to help.