How to engage audiences with B2B PR content

When it comes to B2B PR, there’s an abundance of style guides, tips and tricks you can follow to write your release. However, how does this differ when you’re trying to catch the eye of trade journalists and potential b2b clients?

Conventionally, B2B PR content can carry the reputation of being somewhat dry and corporate, with B2B PR agencies often having to dig a little deeper and get creative to find an angle that will connect with people. However, it’s so important to do this. It’s easy to forget B2B audiences are still made up of people – the only real difference is they work in a B2B rather than B2C environment.  For this reason, it’s crucial that your release has a real people angle and tells a human story, so here are five steps to ensure your business’s press release packs a punch.

Be different

Journalists receive hundreds of media pitches every day and whether or not they accept a story and consider it newsworthy will come down to how it stands out against the competition. 

Every organisation has a story to tell, so presenting the news as it won’t make it newsworthy,  you need to put a spin on it. Ask yourself why people should care or  what solutions are you providing that others do not. Incorporate interesting insights that are unique to your company while ensuring you’re adding value and providing useful information at the same time is key. Not only will this get you coverage, but it will mean clients remember your business as providing a unique solution. 

Know your market

In the B2B PR space, knowing what is going on with your clients and  competitors as well as wider market developments (e.g. regulatory change) is a must. Tailoring your release to these developments will help keep it relevant. 

Consider if your release links to anything in the news you’ve seen over the last week. Timing is key with news so to ensure your release is picked up by the media keep a close eye on your markets, trends and hot topics.

Provide value 

Like any content, whether it be a blog or social post, an overload of salesy language is off-putting and unlikely to attract or engage the journalist or client. They want to know what you can offer them and why it matters to them.

While a good headline will always be important, it’ll only get you so far. The rest of your release and story need to live up to it. A few questions to consider are:

• What insight do you have that’s not been heard before? 
• How can your news story help others? 
• What examples do you have? 

In a nutshell, substance is key and this is what will make a journalist or potential client remember you. 

Entertain 

It’s also important to think about how you can keep readers engaged, and position yourself as a dynamic organisation they’d want to work with. A few good ways to achieve this can be stimulating visuals, quotes or including a personal story. 

People are overloaded by media, and have shorter attention spans than ever, so every paragraph needs to serve a purpose and add a new dimension to your release. It’s a good idea to think of your release as an onion – with each point offering a new layer and further insight into your company. 

Again, don’t fall into the trap that B2B content has to be dry and corporate. Journalists have to sieve through hundreds of releases a day and clients will skim news like anybody else so you want to add some interesting or unexpected insights that catch their attention.  

Avoid what everyone else does

One way to add an extra dimension and personality to your release is a quote. Whether it’s a past client or your CEO, many press releases include a quote such as, ‘We are so excited to…’ or ‘We are thrilled to announce…’ 

But every business is doing this. Also, if you weren’t excited about your news you unlikely had bothered with the release in the first place. Allow your audience to be excited due to the content of your release as opposed to telling them you’re excited. 

Instead, use your quotes to add another layer to the release – unique and valuable insight that only your team members can provide. A good idea is to mention how you are different from the competition, or give some confidential insight or data point that helped make the decision to develop the product to show that you are the experts. 

Overall, to get cut-through in the B2B space, it’s vital that you provide a mix of valuable information in an entertaining way, while offering interesting quotes and insights that focus on the unique benefits and solutions your business provides. If you keep these 5 steps in mind when you write your next release, you’ll maximise your chance of getting coverage and catching the attention of potential clients.

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