Jon Franko
To be an expert at something, you need to have done it for 10,000 hours. But here at Media Shower, it can only take 10 minutes… by reading one of our expert interviews!
Today we’re focusing on B2B content. Writing effective B2B content that’s engaging, interesting, and hits the right mark, and doesn’t just sound like a rehashed public relations piece, is quite tricky.
So we decided to get hold of Jon Franko from Gorilla 76, a B2B web-marketing agency which does its magic for industrial clients. One immediately asks: “How do they do that?” Well, that’s what we asked as well.
Tell us more about Gorilla 76.
We’re a B2B web-marketing agency that works exclusively with industrial clients– “Places where the guys wear hard hats to work.”
We work exclusively with one client, per vertical. Currently, we have a pipe supplier, an industrial painter, a Design-Builder, a job-site documentation iPad app, a B2B metal scrapper and a rail scrapper as retainer clients. All of which are some of the largest, if not the largest, in their industry in the US.
We’ve been in business for five years. There’s six of us in the office now.
How does Gorilla 76 use its own blog to reach its clients– industrial companies? What’s your strategy here, basically?
Our strategy is simple. Quality content that answers questions being asked daily by CMOs, marketing managers, interns, “marketing guys,” VPs of Sales, CEOs, etc. Basically, if they work at an industrial company, and they have a marketing or sales question, we aim to have an answer.
What is your SEO philosophy?
It’s all about exceptional content and a relevant use of the right keywords. If the content is good, the traffic will come. If the site is then well-designed for conversions, the traffic will then convert. And really, that’s what it’s all about; building a strong lead stream and nurturing current prospects.
What’s the most successful piece of content you’ve published on one of your blogs?
There are a few. For the scrap yard we do work with, we wrote a piece comparing ferrous metal to non-ferrous metal. The traffic to this particular post has gone through the roof.
For ourselves, it’d probably be a piece we wrote about why we won’t answer a website design RFP.
What is the key to a successful online strategy for an industrial company?
Same as any other company. Creating strong content that the audience craves. The trick is tapping the brains of the people that walk the halls of the company. Once they’re committed, it’s easy, as there’s a library of information in each employee’s brain.
How is B2B blogging somewhat different to how people might ordinarily think of blogging?
Great question. I think the biggest difference is that in B2B blogging, you’re trying to answer a question that a potential customer is actively seeking the answer to. In stereotypical blogging, people are writing about vacation updates, the day’s fashion choices, best restaurants in town, and craft projects that are a must-do for the upcoming season. No wonder so many B2B marketers fight the idea of blogging.
Can you provide a short success story of one of your clients?
Certainly. We have lots of them actually. You can check them out on our case studies page. One instance would be for our industrial painting quality control app. In February of 2013, we built and launched a case study downloadable. In less than nine months, we’ve already seen well over 100 downloads. Of those downloaders, we’ll say 50 percent are relevant leads. Well, that’s 50+ solid leads for their sales team that they wouldn’t have gotten otherwise. To us, that’s really exciting stuff.
Where is content marketing going?
I really believe that it’s getting more and more about very high quality content, as well as context. The days of short, cheap blog posts are over. People are bombarded with messaging. If they’re going to “fit you into their day,” we as marketers better make sure it’s well worth their time.
It’s brilliant how Jon and the Gorilla 76 team have managed to find exciting and creative ways to do effective content strategy for industrial companies. Thanks for the insight Jon!
Check out Gorilla 76 on LinkedIn and circle Gorilla 76 on Google+. For more info, check out Gorilla76.com.