Reaching the Right Government Audience with Strategic Content
Written by Beth D’Arcy
Reaching the Right Government Audience with Strategic Content
Written by Beth D’Arcy
AFFILIATE DISCLAIMER: Some links in this post are affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
A.I. DISCLAIMER: In writing this post, I used Bard, Google’s large language model, to brainstorm ideas, explore alternative viewpoints, and assist with research. Final authorship, voice, format, insights, and opinions belong solely to me.
Reaching your government audience in B2G marketing isn’t always easy. The needs, priorities, and protocols of each agency differ. Political agendas and budgets are always in flux, and the decision-makers are never the same at each agency. Even the terminology used to discuss technology differs across agencies!
Although it seems complex, B2G marketing can be simple and straightforward. As B2G content experts, we’ve found that targeted, helpful, and relevant content reaches the right audience with the right solutions at the right time.
In this article, we’ll give you a step-by-step strategy to develop B2G content that does just that — and more.
If I had to summarize this article’s insights in three sentences, they would be:
Content filled with data and research resonates with specific B2G audiences and showcases your expertise and authority.
Conducting deep research into your audience’s pain points, priorities, and online behavior helps craft content that guides your customer through the buyer’s journey.
Strategically promoting and optimizing your content for search and generative engines can maximize your content’s reach.
What is strategic B2G content?
Strategic B2G content is:
Helpful. Your audience appreciates content that solves their unique, complex problems, and Google wants to share it with them.
Specific. Generic, top-of-funnel content doesn’t work in the B2G market. Your government customer is likely already in the consideration stage when they’re searching for solutions. Meet your customer where they are in the buyer’s journey with specific content to guide them towards your solution.
Data-driven. Discerning government audiences only trust analysis and opinions based on fact. Content that’s vague or repetitive just won’t cut it. Include the latest research or better yet – conduct your own original research.
Demonstrates first-hand experience. There’s a reason why thought leadership is trending. Content that demonstrates expertise through lived experience is trusted by government audiences and algorithms alike.
From an overall marketing perspective, strategic B2G content is:
Goal-oriented. B2G content should only be created with a specific objective in mind, whether that’s increasing brand awareness or generating leads. If you’re not sure why you’re creating content, then it’s not part of a strategy.
Predictive. Address the needs of your audience directly by providing logical next steps in your content. This is not only extremely helpful to your audience, but it shows you’re the expert (which generative AI models love).
Fits into a content ecosystem. A single piece of SEO optimized content is no longer enough to get your website ranking on the first page of Google. Now, search engines take all of the content on your website into consideration. Google doesn’t want to direct searchers to just one piece of content, rather an entire ecosystem of relevant solutions.
How to reach your government audience with strategic content
Let’s say you offer a cutting-edge SaaS solution that, in theory, any government agency could benefit from. While it might be true that any agency could use your solution, you simply can’t market to the entire government. If you did, your messaging would be too generic and wouldn’t solve a specific pain point.
You must narrow your focus by picking one vertical (ie. transportation, education, or human resources) to target your content marketing and go from there.
Step 1: Understand the government landscape
Understanding the limitations and frustrations your government customer experiences can help you empathize with them in your content.
Start by answering these questions:
What level of government does my government customer work in? (ie. local, state, or federal?)
What is its level of authority? (ie. non-government organization, local or regional authority, or federal institution?)
What’s the primary service or vertical I’m selling in? (ie. defense, transportation, education…etc).
What’s the agency size? Is it a sub-agency or office within a larger department?
What are the budget priorities for this agency?
What political priorities fall to this agency?
Who are the decision makers?
Step 2: Conduct B2G audience research
Now that you know more about the agency, it’s time to research the needs and pain points of your government customer.
At BHD Agency, we always approach this from the perspective of the government buyer’s journey. This is helpful because your government customer – and their pain points – may differ at each stage of the buyer’s journey, which helps you to create content that meets your government buyer where they are.
Awareness Stage: Can your government customer verbalize their problem? Are they even aware they need your solution? Who does your solution help – the end user, decision-makers, or both?
Consideration/Decision Stage: What is driving your government customer to seek your solution? What information do they need to make the decision? What would prevent them from considering your solution? Are there external pressures involved?
Loyalty Stage: Who uses your solution every day? What problems do they encounter? How can you make their work-life easier?
Targeting decision-makers in B2G marketing has been the go-to advice for many years. It makes sense - why target audiences who don’t have purchase power? The answer: government decision-makers aren’t the only ones searching Google for answers. Everyone from end users to CXOs can receive value from your content.
How to conduct B2G audience research
Without direct government experience or insider knowledge, B2G audience research can be challenging. Besides hiring B2G content experts, here are a few ways to conduct B2G audience research on your own:
Tip #1 - Routinely check government industry publications that are relevant to your service area.
GovExec is a great source for news and information about federal operations.
Defense One covers national security and defense issues.
Governing is a good source for information on the state and local levels.
National League of Cities is a resource for city leaders.
Tip #2 - Go to the actual government source to find recent policies, statements, and press releases.
Tip #3 - Scour online communities for interesting conversation threads. Government audiences most often spend time on LinkedIn, Facebook, and X (formerly Twitter).
Tip #4 - Listen to government-focused podcasts or attend industry-relevant webinars to hear what actual government officials are saying. ATARC is an excellent resource for up-to-date insights into Federal technology.
Tip #5 - Use advanced marketing tools to uncover audience insights:
GovTribe is a platform to help government contractors find more government work.
The Atlas MarketEdge provides insight into the state, local, and education markets.
MarketMuse is a content optimization tool that automates the research process to create content that resonates with your audience.
SparkToro is an audience research tool that uncovers everything from customer behaviors to the keywords they use the most.
Step 3: Evaluate the competition
Next, it’s important to know how your competitor’s content is performing. Doing this gives you an idea for what content resonates with your shared target audience.
Start by evaluating your competitor’s online presence. Make note of what they’re doing differently from you. Is their website updated? Do they publish a blog? What additional content resources do they offer? What about their social media presence?
You may also want to make note of your competitors’ pricing and other terms of service they offer. This could be an opportunity to revise your offer, or to create content to differentiate your solution even further.
The idea is to understand what sort of content your government audience is already consuming, so you can begin to differentiate yourself by adding value where your competitors are not.
If your competition is publishing content, here are some tools to ease your competitor research:
MarketMuse evaluates your competitor’s content and shows you what’s performing well – and why. It also uncovers content gaps for a particular keyword, which gives you the opportunity to create content to fill that gap.
SEMRush analyzes your competitor’s website traffic, social media, and advertising performance. You’ll learn what’s driving your audience to the competition.
Step 4: Craft strategic B2G content
Now the fun part begins! All of that research should help you narrow the focus of your content, so it stands out to the right audience.
As you’re crafting your content, consider these factors:
Real people are reading your content! Don’t forget to address the emotional side of your government buyer. While they might be bound by rules and regulations, government customers suffer from real challenges that you should address in your content.
Choose a content format that’s most relevant to your B2G audience. This might look like a quick blog post for a busy manager, a comprehensive research report for a technical engineer, or an engaging case study for an HR executive.
With that in mind, is it possible to get even more creative with your content? Interactive content is an increasingly popular way to engage audiences, as opposed to stagnant blog posts (think: custom quizzes and calculators to guide your audience to a solution). Platforms, like Outgrow, make it easy to incorporate interactive, personalized content into your marketing stack.
Don’t forget the data. Take the time to showcase your expertise with data-driven storytelling. Building trust with your government buyer is more important than ever, and the best way to do that is by proving your authority.
Step 5: Promote and distribute B2G content
Now that your content is written, it’s finally time to reach your government audience. But government buyers are notoriously hard to reach – many don’t have an online presence, emails are routinely blocked by servers, and they’re already flooded with content.
The solution? Post high-value, relevant content, regularly.
You’ve already done the hard work to create content intended for your ideal government customer. Follow the steps outlined above for every piece of content you create, and soon you’ll have an entire content library built for your audience.
6 Ways to Promote B2G Content
Make sure your content is optimized for search and generative engines. SEO is a well-known strategy used by marketers to ensure content is seen in search results. But generative AI is changing the way we search online.
As of this writing, there isn’t much research on generative engine optimization (GEO). Early tests indicate that by following Google’s E-E-A-T guidelines and including citations in content are effective ways to signal content authority and trustworthiness in a sea of fake AI-generated content.
2. Share relevant content ahead of industry events and conferences, especially if your content adds exceptional value, such as original research or a research report. Bonus points if you’ll be there in person to discuss your content with attendees.
3. Promote relevant snippets on your company’s social media page, and in relevant online groups. But don’t just post and ghost – stick around to engage in conversation.
4. Collaborate with industry publications and associations to syndicate your content to a wider audience. This is a good strategy for thought leadership pieces that approach a topic from a unique angle.
5. If you’ve got an email list, promote your newest content in email marketing campaigns. This could help increase traffic to your website.
6. Transform your content into a variety of different formats – from blog series, email campaigns, social media posts, infographics, and web copy. The possibilities are endless.
Step 6: Measuring and optimizing B2G content performance
Perhaps the most important step of all is to track your content’s performance. Depending on your marketing and business goals, you may want to track how your content impacts website traffic, lead generation, or engagement rates on various platforms. You’ll learn a lot about your content and whether it’s reached your intended audience.
Next steps
Even though the government landscape is complex, following a few strategic steps will empower you to create relevant and helpful content for your government customer.
Already have a content strategy, but need targeted B2G content? Check out BHD Agency’s writing packages.
Have content, but need a B2G content strategy? Let’s chat about working together.
Blog citations
“The Critical and Emerging Technologies Market Ecosystem.” Public Spend Forum, 3 Aug. 2023, www.publicspendforum.net/blogs/public-spend-forum-2-2-2/2023/04/20/the-critical-technologies-market-ecosystem/.
“Our Latest Update to the Quality Rater Guidelines: E-A-T Gets an Extra E for Experience.” Google, Google, 15 Dec. 2022, developers.google.com/search/blog/2022/12/google-raters-guidelines-e-e-a-t.
Aggarwal, Pranjal, et al. "GEO: Generative Engine Optimization." arXiv preprint arXiv:2311.09735 (2023).
About the Author
Beth D’Arcy is a B2G content expert and founder of BHD Agency. Leveraging a Masters in Public Administration and over a decade of public sector experience, Beth guides clients through the complex world of government marketing.
Ready to jumpstart your B2G marketing? Schedule a call with Beth.
BHD Agency LLC is a public sector consultancy helping businesses and organizations find success in B2G marketing and communications. Learn how BHD Agency can help your business reach its government audience by booking a discovery call today.
