4 Signs You Should Outsource B2B Content Marketing

4  Signs  You  Should  Outsource  B2B  Content  Marketing       Any  business  that  has  tried  to  create  and  execute  a  B2B  content  marketing  strategy  knows   how  challenging  it  can  be  to  actually  carry  it  out.  Someone  has  to  spearhead  the  plan,  money   needs  to  be  allocated,  time  needs  to  be  spent,  and  resources  need  to  be  used.  Basically,  a  lot   needs  to  happen  for  the  content  marketing  program  to  be  successful.       Unfortunately,  most  B2B  companies—large  and  small—are  ill-­‐equipped  to  handle  content   marketing  in-­‐house.  They  feel  like  they’re  constantly  playing  catch-­‐up  to  competitors  who   seem  to  have  a  well-­‐oiled  content  marketing  machine.  Sound  familiar?     Here  are  four  signs  it  may  be  time  to  outsource  your  B2B  content  marketing  program:   1. You’re  too  busy  to  dedicate  time:  From  developing  a  strategy  to  writing  articles  to   distributing  content,  many  businesses  simply  run  out  of  hours  in  the  day  to  manage   content  marketing  in-­‐house.  Time  is  an  often  overlooked  soft  cost  of  content   marketing.  When  businesses  begin  to  add  up  the  man-­‐hours  it  takes  to  see  results,   they  quickly  see  that  their  time  is  better  spent  doing  what  they  do  best.  Whether   that’s  going  to  networking  events  or  running  the  sales  department,  internal  staff   members  should  focus  on  their  own  mission-­‐critical  tasks.    

2. You  don’t  have  enough  staff:  Small  businesses  suffer  from  this  one  the  most.  They’re   simply  spread  too  thin  to  be  able  to  afford  a  dedicated  marketing  person,  let  alone   someone  to  handle  the  content  creation  and  distribution.  Bob  in  accounting—who  has   his  own  blog  and  likes  to  write—probably  isn’t  the  right  person  to  manage  the   company’s  B2B  content  marketing  program.  He  may  be  a  decent  writer,  but  does  he   have  the  skills  and  expertise  needed  to  write  the  type  of  articles  that  will  get  noticed   by  both  the  search  engines  and  their  target  audience?     3. You  don’t  have  the  right  staff:  Many  medium-­‐sized  companies  find  themselves  in  a   tough  position.  They  have  a  small  marketing  department,  but  these  employees  may  be   focused  on  other  marketing  activities  or  don’t  have  the  right  SEO  copywriting   expertise.  Outsourcing  the  writing  for  their  B2B  content  marketing  frees  up  internal   resources  to  oversee  the  strategy  without  having  to  deal  with  the  more  technical   aspects.   4. You  haven’t  seen  results  yet:  If  all  of  the  time,  money,  and  staff  spent  on  their  content   marketing  efforts  have  yet  to  pay  off,  frustration  has  probably  set  in.  It  may  be  time  to   bite  the  bullet  and  make  a  change.  Although  results  don’t  happen  overnight,  evidence   of  moving  in  the  right  direction  should  be  seen  within  a  few  months  of  implementing  a   B2B  content  marketing  strategy.       One  More  Thing  to  Consider   Many  companies  drag  their  feet  because  they’re  afraid  someone  on  the  outside  won’t  be  able   to  capture  the  voice  of  the  business.  This  is  certainly  a  valid  concern.  They  need  to  find  the   right  person  or  company  to  manage  the  program  and/or  write  the  articles.  Talented  article   writers  and  experienced  content  marketers  can  easily  adopt  a  company’s  persona  to  connect   with  its  target  audience.     What  about  your  business?  How  did  you  decide  whether  to  outsource  content  marketing  or   manage  it  in-­‐house?  What’s  the  most  sustainable  strategy?     If  your  business  is  struggling  to  find  the  time,  people,  and  resources  for  your  B2B  content   marketing  program,  head  on  over  to  www.ContentMarketingProgram.com  for  tips  on   creating  the  right  strategy.