How to Get B2B Buyers to Pay Attention to Your Content

You only have eight seconds to capture a customer’s attention online. Here’s how to make the most out of every second…

If I gave you eight seconds to tell me about your product or service, what would you say?
Traditional elevator pitches are an average of 56 seconds. However, the average attention span has dropped to just eight seconds.
Eight seconds isn’t long. It was just enough time for you to read the title and first line in this blog post.

Test it out yourself.

Say, “I’m with [name of your company], and we …” See if you can get your message across before the time runs out.

See if you can get your message across before the time runs out.

How did you do?

Now, what if you had to make your message even more concise? A study showed that 17% of page views last less than four seconds. Almost a fifth of your visitors aren’t even giving you the full eight seconds.
This means that your customers have shorter attention spans than your childhood goldfish. Yikes!
As attention spans get shorter, it’s no surprise that B2B marketers are struggling to make their messages stick. According to the Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs, only 38% of B2B marketers rate their content as “effective” or “very effective”.
Here are five ways to catch and keep your customers’ attention online:

1. Work from a content marketing strategy.

A content marketing strategy helps you gain a deeper understanding of your customers, so you can create content that resonates with them.

A study by the Altimeter Group found that 70% of marketers lack a consistent or integrated content strategy.
If you don’t have a content marketing strategy, you’ll randomly throw messages into the world and hope that customers read them. Creating a content marketing strategy helps you gain a deeper understanding of your customers, so you can create content that resonates with them.
The Content Marketing Institute and MarktingProfs reported that B2B marketers who have a documented content marketing strategy “are more effective in all aspects of content marketing” than those who don’t have a documented strategy.
For tips on improving your content’s results, read “10 Steps to an Effective B2B Content Marketing Strategy”.

2. Design for conversions.

Make sure that your design encourages visitors to read your content, opt in to your list and learn more about your products.

Your website’s design has a huge impact on your customers’ buying decisions. In fact, a study by Rareform New Media found that “48% of people cited a website’s design as the number one factor in deciding the credibility of a business”.
When you redesign your website, it’s easy to get pulled into the latest design trends – opting for a site that “looks cool” as opposed to increasing your conversions. However, if your site isn’t increasing your conversions, it’s not doing its job.
Make sure that your design encourages visitors to read your content, opt in to your list and learn more about your products. If you’re not sure how visitors are reacting to your site, you can use heatmap software to see where they look and what they click.

3. Get up to speed.

40% of people abandon a website that takes more than 3 seconds to load.

If you only have four seconds to capture a customer’s attention, but your site takes five seconds to load, you’re in trouble.
According to an Akamai study, “40% of people abandon a website that takes more than 3 seconds to load.” Meanwhile, a one-second delay in page-load can cause a 7% loss in customer conversions.
Look at your bounce rates and determine if your website’s speed is impacting how long visitors stay on each page. Be sure to test your site in different browsers and on different platforms to see how long it takes your pages to load. You can also use the free GTmetrix tool to test your site’s speed.

4. Make your site mobile friendly.

A mobile-friendly site is no longer an option.

A mobile-friendly site is no longer an option.
According to a study by MarginMedia, 48% of users say that if they arrive on a business site that doesn’t work well on mobile, they take it as an indication that the business doesn’t care.
Google is also giving preference to mobile-friendly sites. If your site isn’t optimized for all devices, your rankings may suffer.

5. Improve your copy.

Much B2B copy is boring and robotic. These 5 tips help you improve your copy.

Every word in your marketing has the power to engage leads and convert them into customers. However, much B2B copy is boring and robotic. Here are five ways you can improve your B2B copy:

• Capture your audience’s attention with strong headlines and intriguing introductions.
• Use stories to keep readers engaged.
• Cut the corporate jargon.
• Focus your copy on your customers – not on yourself.
• Make sure that all of your content includes a call to action that motivates readers to take the next step.

Also remember that most people don’t read online content word by word. Their eyes dart around the page. Get your key messages across in your headers, sub-headers and introduction to ensure that more customers see them.