Why You Should Prioritize Content in Your B2G Marketing Strategy
If you’re in the business-to-government market, or looking to break into B2G, you know how tricky it can be.
Selling and marketing to government is a bit different than selling to businesses or directly to consumers.
When you market or sell to government, you need to take into consideration things like: complicated procurement rules, long buying cycles, political dynamics, budget constraints, and the unique needs of your government buyer
But despite these additional factors, tried and true marketing strategies can definitely still work to grab the attention and trust of government buyers. One of the best ways to do that in the B2G market is with high-value content.
High-value content is key to successful B2G marketing
Generally, content marketing helps businesses increase website traffic, improve engagement, and strengthen brand loyalty with customers.
Running effective content marketing campaigns can also help businesses grow and scale organically, which means a bigger ROI.
But content marketing means something more in the B2G market. According to paid marketing research, government buyers rely on vendor content to:
Learn about new solutions
Determine if specifications match agency needs
Stay up to date on latest industry news
Make decisions regarding agency innovation
Not only can your content improve your metrics, it’s doing a service by giving important information to the public sector. Here are a few more reasons why you should prioritize content when selling to government:
Reasons why you should prioritize content in B2G marketing
Government needs are unique and complicated.
The government is tasked with solving the world’s most complicated problems. And as technology advances, the needs are becoming more complex to solve.
Showing your government buyer exactly how you solve their problem can’t be done in a single Tweet. You need larger content formats to adequately show how you can help them.
You also need to convince your buyer that you’re qualified. Educating them on new, innovative solutions is a great way to engage your buyer and prove you’ve got the skill to help them.
2. Government buyers discover content off of social media.
If you’ve read the reports, you’ll know that marketing to government buyers on social media isn’t the best strategy (unless you’re on LinkedIn).
Here are the most effective channels to reach your public sector audience:
Events, conferences and webinars
Search engines
Email
Corporate websites
News sites
To connect with your audience on these channels, you need content that stands out and provides value.
3. Government buyers are searching for your solution online.
It’s likely your government buyer searched for and found a vendor solution before ever issuing an RFP. That means your business website needs to be optimized for search engines and chock full of relevant keywords your buyer is using.
Consistently posting content that solves your buyer’s problems is the best way for the algorithm to rank you high in the search results.
4. Government buyers are risk averse.
Since they’re working with taxpayer dollars, government buyers tend to avoid making purchases that stray too far from the status quo. If your solution requires culture change or intensive staff training to successfully adopt, your buyer may need more convincing.
That’s where content comes into play. Offering case studies shows to your buyer that your solution works for agencies just like theirs. It reduces their risk in moving forward with your solution.
5. Government buyers rely on vendors for subject matter expertise.
Depending on the department, government buyers may or may not know your solution or industry well enough to speak about it, let alone make a knowledgeable purchase.
Content like white papers, ebooks, and solution briefs give buyers foundational information about a solution or issue that can help them do their jobs more effectively.
Top 5 Most Valuable Content Types for Government Buyers
Research reports
Product demos
White papers
Articles
Webinars
Close contender: case studies.
Other pieces of content like ebooks, blogs, and emails are considered less valuable to government buyers, but that doesn’t make them less important. They have a strong role in guiding buyers to more valuable content.
Bottom line, content plays an important role in effective B2G marketing strategies because of the unique nature of government buyers and their complex problems.
BHD Agency is a content writing and copywriting agency serving businesses and organizations in the public sector, energy, technology and professional business markets. Click this link to schedule a call with a member of our team, or email info@bhdagency.com to get started.
