B2C Content Marketing That Builds the Right Connections 

In the highly competitive world of SEO and content marketing, B2C (business-to-consumer) content marketing is more than just a strategy, it’s a compelling narrative that brands use to engage with consumers emotionally.

Why bother with this? 

Why not simply bombard your customers with images of shoes, lawnmowers, project management software, or whatever else you’re trying to sell?

Because your customers are human, so you have to engage with them on a human level.

B2C content marketing, unlike its B2B (business-to-business) counterpart, thrives on creating a personal connection and a story that resonates with a person’s daily life, aspirations, or challenges.

This gives you the tools to turn readers into loyal customers and content into conversions.

• What Is B2C Content Marketing?
• How Are B2B and B2C Content Marketing Different?
• The Benefits of B2C Content Marketing (in Numbers)
• How to Start Your B2C Content Marketing Strategy
• Successful B2C Content Marketing Out in the Wild

What Is B2C Content Marketing?

Business to consumer, from Nike straight to your feet – that’s what we mean when we say B2C.

B2C content marketing is about creating and publishing valuable, informative, entertaining, and consistent creative content via your channels of choice.

This could be a blog, YouTube channel, email newsletter, Substack, or social media.

The beauty of B2C content marketing is that it allows you to attract and build an audience interested specifically in your product or service.

If you’ve spent any time on the internet, you’ve been inundated with countless B2C marketing examples, even if you didn’t know it.

On the off chance you’ve been living in a hermit kingdom with spotty Wi-Fi, check out this beautiful example of B2C content marketing by Strava:

Strava is an app for fitness and outdoor enthusiasts who want to track their runs, cycles, gym sessions, and other wellness minutiae. If you’re not in the know, publishing content that’s not about the app itself might seem strange.

But it’s not strange at all.

People want more from content than a whitepaper explaining why this product rules. They want to be entertained, informed, and, if possible, blown away.

They seek an experience, a story, and value. And B2C content marketing provides that by offering helpful information or entertainment.

Without directly selling something.

Strava’s blog is full of articles just like this, providing readers with valuable tips, information, and inspiration.

You can see how this form of marketing transcends the transactional and delves into the emotional, leveraging storytelling, visual appeal, and relatability to forge a lasting connection between brand and consumer.

How Are B2B and B2C Content Marketing Different?

If you’ve heard of B2C, you’ve likely come across B2B as well. Aren’t they just two sides of the same coin?

Not quite.

The difference between B2B and B2C content marketing lies in their core objectives and the nature of their target audiences. 

Business-to-business (B2B) content marketing involves creating and sharing content to attract and engage other businesses. It typically aims to educate potential customers, establish expertise, and drive sales or leads. 

Think industry reports, whitepapers, company blogs, and ebooks. 

Deloitte, one of the largest professional services networks in the world, does this expertly.

Since it doesn’t deal with individual consumers, its content is geared toward the large organizations it might do business with – in this case, investment management firms.

The approach is more direct, professional, and business-y (is that a word?).

This is distinct from B2C, which is consumer-focused and aims to increase emotional engagement and brand loyalty.

The Benefits of B2C Content Marketing (in Numbers)

B2C content marketing isn’t some ethereal force shimmering in the background that makes consumers like you – real, hard data backs up its benefits.

Here are some noteworthy B2C content marketing statistics:

• Increased Sales. In its State of Marketing report, HubSpot found that blog content is among the top marketing channels that offer the highest ROI. And that most consumers read 1-4 blog posts a month and purchase something from a brand after reading the company’s blog.
• Great Audience Retention. B2C content marketing allows you to build a trusting relationship with your audience. This is important because, according to a study by Edelman, 67% of consumers said they need to trust a brand before buying its products or services.
• Higher Engagement. While most people skim blogs (73%, according to HubSpot),27% read them thoroughly. Regardless, that’s a lot of people spending time on your blog.
• Cost Efficiency. B2C brands enjoy a cost-per-lead significantly lower than traditional marketing channels, with content marketing strategies costing 62% less than traditional marketing efforts.
• Increased Lead Generation. Forbes found that 74% of companies said content marketing effectively boosted lead generation. 
• Improved Customer Loyalty. Brands can foster stronger customer loyalty through consistent, valuable content that resonates with the audience. Content marketing strategies focused on engagement and value retention see customer loyalty rates soar.

How to Start Your B2C Content Marketing Strategy

Hopefully, I’ve convinced you that B2C content marketing should be integral to your content development strategy.

But how do you implement it? And where do you start?

First, you need a plan in the form of a content marketing strategy.

Your B2C content marketing strategy should center around engaging your audience and driving results

This plan involves several key considerations:

1. Audience Research. Understanding your audience is paramount. You need to comprehensively understand their interests, challenges, and online behaviors to create content that speaks directly to them.
2. Content Diversification. Mix your content types. From well-edited articles and social media posts to videos and podcasts, different formats can help you reach and engage different audience segments.
3. SEO Integration. Seamlessly blend SEO with content creation. Use keyword research and SEO best practices to ensure your content is visible and ranks well on search engines. 
4. Engaging Storytelling. Tell stories that connect on an emotional level. Whether it’s through humor, empathy, or inspiration, make your brand memorable.
5. Performance Analysis. Rigorously measure your content’s performance. Use analytics to understand what works, refine your strategy, and optimize future content for better engagement and conversion.
6. Be Consistent. Sporadically posting articles won’t help you climb the search engine results pages (SERPs). You need to blog consistently if you want your audience to find you. 

Successful B2C Content Marketing Out in the Wild

Several brands have mastered the art of B2C content marketing, setting benchmarks for others to aspire to.

Let’s look at a few B2C marketing examples.

1. GoPro

Leveraging user-generated content, GoPro has created a vibrant community of brand advocates who share their adventures, effectively showcasing the brand’s value proposition through real-life action.

This article perfectly encapsulates this. It highlights the utility of a GoPro and weaves a story paired with beautiful imagery. In addition, it provides readers with all the information they need to capture similar photos.

2. Airbnb

Through engaging stories about destinations and hosts, Airbnb transforms accommodations into experiences, encouraging travelers to explore new and fantastic places to stay around the world.

You can see how Airbnb executes this strategy in one of its recent blog posts. Not only does it detail a unique and wonderful stay that readers would be glad to take advantage of, but it also positions its own product directly within the content. 

3. Casper

Casper is one of the biggest players in the D2C mattress space (and they also make a pretty cute dog bed as well). 

Its website has a ton of excellent content marketing, but this article about dog sleeping positions is a fantastic example of how it shines.

The beauty of this article is that it’s fun to read, informational, and extremely shareable. In fact, it was shared (and linked to) hundreds of times.

While this doesn’t directly help Casper sell any mattresses or dog beds per se, the extra backlinks bring massive amounts of traffic to their site, ultimately boosting their SEO performance. 

Unlock the Full Potential of Your B2C Brand with Expert SEO Insights

Navigating the intricate landscape of B2C content marketing requires creativity and insight. 

It’s a lot to handle by yourself, which is why you need a partner who’s adept at crafting strategies that resonate, engage, and convert. 

DCP is precisely that partner, offering tailor-made content marketing solutions that bridge the gap between your brand and its audience. 

If you want to learn more about unlocking the full potential of your B2C content marketing efforts, get in touch with us today.