A content strategy that featured blogging and infographics resulted in a 65% higher conversion rate for one B2B software client.

Industry: Marketing software
Content: In-depth blog posts, infographics
Highlights: Blog readers have a 65% higher-than-average conversion rate among unpaid visitors

Explaining your company’s offering can be difficult when you’re speaking with someone who doesn’t know anything about your industry. (You know this to be true if you’ve sat at a Thanksgiving dinner table and heard someone who works in digital trying to explain his career to his family.)

An even greater challenge is trying to explain to a potential buyer who does understand the industry what makes your product unique. They have to fully grasp what the product can accomplish, and also how it will benefit them.

This is the story of a client that provides retargeting and marketing software. Their customers are savvy, but it was obvious new website visitors didn’t understand the product, because traffic wasn’t converting. That’s where a content strategy came in.

Problem:

  • Their site got traffic, but this traffic did not convert
  • Marketers didn’t understand their solution
  • The website seemed to have no benefit in the (already long) sales cycle

Strategy:

  • Educate prospects on where this solution fits in the market
  • Demonstrate the benefit of business offering with proprietary stats
  • Use a hip and edgy voice to engage the targeted marketer

Content:

  • Weekly in-depth blogs of 1,000 words+ to cover industry trend and product utility)
  • Biannual infographics to visually break down features of the product and (statisic) benefits

Results:

  • Expanded market reach: Blogs and infographics increased overall site traffic, with readers accounting for 25% of unpaid unique users
  • Traffic becomes leads: Brafton blog readers have a 65% higher than average conversion rate among unpaid visitors
  • Continuous ROI gains: Cost per web lead via Brafton content continues to decrease, quarter on quarter (down 17% in Q2 2015 compared to Q1)

Writer Alex on why this blog works: It’s trendy & resourceful

Content writer Alex Vancil

Content writer Alex Vancil

High bounce rates and low conversion figures showed us this corporate blog wasn’t engaging savvy marketers who were potential buyers of the software.

With a revamped strategy, we brainstormed topic ideas that were half educational, half fun (think roundups like 5 Must-Watch Ted Talks and 12 Inspirational Quotes from Tech Innovators.) These were the types of listicles we knew young marketers would be likely to share with their professional audiences in places like LinkedIn and Twitter.

These “light reads” have deeper meaning – often they’re highlighting a new ebook or referring to a recently posted infographic.

Every post we create ties back to a bigger initiative in their marketing department, which takes more time but definitely pays off,” Writer Alex Vancil said.

Another important aspect of the “trendy appeal”? On-brand stock images. Going for sepia-toned photos, primarily of people in casual clothing, made it obvious this brand is targeting a “startup” demographic, not Wall Street businessmen.

BONUS: To better nurture casual readers who could someday turn into sales ready leads, we added subscribe button beneath blogs for a weekly newsletter.

Designer Maysoon on why these infographics work: They’re simple & educational

Graphic designer Maysoon Shafi

Graphic designer Maysoon Shafi

Infographics are an ideal educational tool for a complex topic. Because 83 percent of consumers are visual learners and prefer sources that express ideas graphically, we suggested infographics as a way to break down complicated topics into bite-sized chunks of information.

This company chose straightforward statistics – an educational but simple approach has proven successful.

“This brand appreciates minimalism, sophisticated iconography and a limited color scheme,” Designer Maysoon Shafi said. “It’s not a lot of leeway to be adventurous, but it’s a fun challenge to work within constraints. Plus, it’s rewarding when you get to the point where you’re both happy with the work.”

The bottom line: As the content strategy matures, cost per lead decreases

Calculate your ROI: Video: The formula to pinpoint ROI

Molly Buccini is Brafton's community manager. She joined the team with a background in digital journalism and social media. She's a theatre nerd, pop culture junkie and lover of summertime.