For B2B technology firms, application vendors, and hardware manufacturers, publishing thought leadership content is vital. Data has been declared the world’s most valuable resource — even more precious than oil. In order to convince decision-makers and influencers that your company can be trusted to manage their most valuable asset, it needs to be crystal clear that you have significant domain expertise.
Consider hiring a freelance B2B technology writer or contracting a content development agency. That should free your marketing team up to focus on strategy development and campaign execution. If you hire a writing generalist, your marketing team could find themselves spending more time training the writer and rewriting their work.
B2B Technology Firms: Business Value AND Technical Expertise
The most effective digital content for the IT industry tells the story of how technology delivers business value. In this era of cloud, e-commerce, mobile, and Software as a Service, IT departments are playing a more strategic role in business than just operations. Further, many technology decisions like business application selection are made by the Line of Business Management, with limited influence from IT.
Suppose your business provides managed technology services or develops business applications. In that case, your goal is to convince clients that your company can eliminate technical complexity and help them focus on their core business. An experienced technology writer has helped translate the strategic benefits your business offers, such as:
- Security against cyber attacks
- Increased efficiencies in processes like project management
- Real-time visibility across their business operations
- Enhanced customer experiences, both in-store and online
- Integrated business processes, such as sales, inventory, and billing
Creating compelling content to convince your audience that you can help them achieve these goals requires a high level of technical understanding. At each stage of the Buyer’s Journey, B2B technology firms need to nurture leads by convincing prospects that your business:
- Has been down this road before – you understand their challenges
- Can help the customer navigate past potholes and forks in the road which lead to dead ends
- Will be there for the customer when they need you most
The best technology marketing content:
- Inspires existing customers about new ways to leverage your products and services
- Convinces prospects that your services, applications, and devices will deliver measurable value for their unique business needs
- Builds credibility with technology experts and confidence in business decision-makers
- Compels those with influence to share your content and those with business needs to start a conversation with your sales team.
A content writer with technology experience will convey these messages in a way that resonates with decision-makers in business and technical roles. He or she will understand how to weave stories of technology potential with business benefits. They can write content that is original, conversational, and minimizes “marketing fluff.” A competent writer will focus on technology business or industry context, not on “speeds and feeds” or “features and functions.” These writers often have lots of followers, which lends credibility to your content.
A Day in the Life of a User or Administrator
Many content writers try to build a practice around technology device manufacturers, service providers, and software developers because there is lots of demand for content generation in the space. The rapid pace of innovation and change drives the need for more content.
Applications and technology services like consulting are intangible, and many devices and services are seen as commodities. Technology vendors must prove otherwise and demonstrate their understanding of user and administrator needs. Writers with technology experience understand how to convey a message with minimal lingo, buzzwords, and acronyms, while still speaking the language of their target personas. They can be an advocate for business users by explaining how your product can help an employee be more productive, improve collaboration and serve customers more effectively. They can also help you with content ideation.
Advanced technology writers can craft long-form content such as whitepapers, ebooks, and guides you can offer as gated content. This content can take deep dives into topics that speak to technology pros like architects, developers, integrators, administrators, and security specialists. These experts can generally see through attempts at content writing that “fakes it ‘til it makes it” or is written more for SEO value than human readers looking to partner with a technology solution provider.
Freelance writers with expertise in information management and communications technology may charge more for their services, yet the content they produce will produce better results. It will require fewer revisions and will articulate the benefits of your products and services which matter most to your audience. Many companies say their services are secure, reliable, scalable, and fast. You need to back up those claims with insightful content which convinces readers that you can deliver on these promises.
Final Thoughts on B2B Technology Firms Hiring Freelance Writers
Hiring B2B writer with technology experience is just as important as contracting them based on the mechanics of their writing. Once you decide to contract a freelancer to write short or long-form content for your business, select one that can create content as close as possible to how you would write it if you weren’t responsible for your company’s strategic marketing direction.
Need to hire a writer with technology experience? Browse our community of IT writers now.
Editor’s Note: This post was written by Mark Burdon, an nDash freelance writer specializing in B2B tech. To learn more about Mark, check out his nDash profile.