In 2017, the average B2B firm devoted 29% of their marketing budget to content. The most successful businesses went even farther, earmarking 39% of their total marketing budget for content.
Given the success of inbound marketing and the necessity of using content like blogs, landing pages and articles to fuel your campaigns, there’s little reason to doubt the necessity of this spending. The questions then become: how can you best utilize your content spending and what can you hope to get for every dollar spent? In short: which solution delivers the most bang for your buck?
The Answer Lies In Content Writing Services
Partnering with a content development agency is an increasingly popular way to get the content your business needs without overtaxing internal resources or maxing out your budget to little result. In fact, data from the LinkedIn Technology Marketing Community shows that 30% of B2B marketers consider outside agencies to be a top source of content for their company.
If you’re struggling to produce the content your brand needs to stand out in a competitive industry, you’re likely ready to hire content writers. But what if your CMO is hesitant to outsource content creation? We’ve got you covered with 5 easy answers to common objections to content outsourcing.
“We can’t afford to hire content writers.”
The reality: you can’t afford not to. Just 16% of marketers say outbound marketing provides the best-quality leads for their sales department. In comparison, B2B companies that use blogging to drive inbound marketing receive 67% more leads than their competitors who don’t. That means that to attract a meaningful volume of new prospects, you need to focus on content marketing.
What that doesn’t mean is that you should hire a dedicated team member to create content. Glassdoor found that the average company spends $4,000 and 52 days to onboard a single new employee. That’s $4,000 you could spend on content itself! And, given that every dollar spent on content marketing delivers 3x more leads than outbound marketing, imagine what you can do with that money.
Choosing a content writing service gives you the best of both worlds: high-quality content delivered to your specifications on a consistent schedule without the hassle or expense of onboarding a full-time employee.
“How can outside content writers write about us and our industry?”
Did you know that writing makes up 44% of all content outsourcing? It’s true – no one likes writing blog posts any more than you do! Only about 25% of marketers don’t outsource any content at all, which means the remaining 75% know a quality copywriting agency can deliver the level of industry knowledge and consistency in brand voice that makes the difference between lackluster results and top-notch writing.
Make sure your content creation firm has a clear research process in place to support everything they write for your business. This should include general knowledge of your industry (the difference between a steel roof and a galvanized aluminum one) as well as a strong understanding of your brand (the difference between the finishes you offer that set each family of steel roofs apart from competitors). Your content creators should spend time getting to know your company. If they’re only willing to deliver generic content that’s not tailored to you, they’re simply a bad choice.
“I don’t want to outsource content creation. Why can’t someone in marketing do this?”
There are a lot of reasons you can’t just have someone already at your company take responsibility for your content marketing. First and foremost, do you have any talented writers on staff? It’s very likely that you don’t, because writing is difficult. It takes training and native skill, and if you’re working at an architectural firm, your staff is trained in building codes and principles of design, not what makes great content.
Then, consider the time constraints you’re already working under. Does the person designing flyers and running your social media profiles have time to write blog posts? In North America, 38% of bloggers spend 1-2 hours on each post, while another 29% devote 2-3 hours to the task. That’s because the most successful blog posts average 1,140-1,285 words each.
And don’t forget to figure in time for photo processing. Blog posts with images get 94% more views than their text-only counterparts. That means that your already busy staff probably can’t find the time to write blog posts that deliver the quality you’ll need to see results on your content marketing initiative.
“We don’t even have a content strategy. If we hire content writers, how will they know what to do?”
Don’t feel like you’re the only company operating without a content strategy. Content Marketing Institute’s B2B Content Marketing 2017 Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends—North America research revealed that only 37% of B2B brands used a documented strategy. However, 61% of the most successful brands did utilize a documented content strategy, which means if you aren’t now, you should be.
Part of the value your company will receive when you hire a copywriting agency is the benefit of expertise. Choosing writers with a long history of experience in the content writing industry gives you access to a wealth of knowledge about strategy, including SEO best practices, different types of blogs to diversify your campaigns and the variety of content that leads prospects through every stage of the buyer’s journey. Your content firm should be prepared to help you build a strategy based on your industry, your business and the marketing goals you’ve set for the coming year.
The bottom line is, information makes your argument much stronger. Coming to any discussion armed with facts is the best way to convince your decision maker that investing in content writing services is the right choice for your business. What other concerns do you have about presenting outsourced content to your decision maker? Let us know and we’ll see if we can provide any information to make the decision easier.
If you’re ready to outsource content, but aren’t sure how to select the right provider, download our free ebook. It covers six must-ask questions to ensure you find the best writers for your needs.
