How Much Content is Enough?

How much content should you generate as a B2B software marketer to boost sales? How many eBooks should you produce? What's the ideal number of videos? Should you prioritize quality or quantity?

The ideal formula for content production might seem elusive.

In this article, we share insights from our nearly ten years of experience crafting content for high-growth B2B software companies. We hope this serves as a guide to help you determine the appropriate volume of content to produce.

1. Quality vs. Quantity

When it comes to content production, quality should always take precedence over quantity. High-quality content is well-researched, informative, and provides real value to your audience. This helps engage your audience, build trust, and establish your brand as an authority in your industry. However, maintaining a consistent posting schedule is also important. Regular updates keep your audience engaged and signal to search engines that your site is active, which can improve your SEO rankings.

A steady stream of content also allows you to cover a range of topics and formats (blogs, videos, whitepapers), catering to different audience preferences and stages of the buyer’s journey.

2. General Frequency Guidelines

Here are some rough estimates for the frequency and length of commonly used content types, along with the reasons why they are effective:

Blog Posts:

• Frequency: Aim to publish at least 1-2 high-quality blog posts per week.
• Length: Posts should typically range from 1,000 to 2,000 words, providing in-depth insights and actionable advice.
• Why: Regular blog posts help drive organic traffic, improve SEO rankings, and establish your brand as a thought leader in your industry.

Whitepapers and eBooks:

• Frequency: Consider releasing a new whitepaper or eBook every quarter.
• Length: Whitepapers and eBooks often range from 10 to 30 pages, depending on the topic's complexity.
• Why: These resources can be effective lead magnets, providing detailed, valuable information that attracts and converts potential customers. They allow you to go in-depth into a topic, offering comprehensive insights and practical advice that are highly valuable to your audience.

Case Studies:

• Frequency: Aim to publish a new case study every 1-2 months.
• Length: Keep case studies concise but detailed, typically around 2-4 pages.
• Why: Case studies demonstrate your solutions' effectiveness with real-world examples, building credibility and trust with potential clients.

Webinars and Videos:

• Frequency: Host webinars or publish videos at least once a month.
• Length: Webinars usually last between 30-60 minutes, while videos can vary from short 2-minute clips to longer 10-15 minute tutorials.
• Why: These formats are engaging and facilitate interactive learning, allowing you to connect directly with your audience and showcase your expertise in a dynamic way.

3. Creating a Content Calendar

Planning is essential to maintain a high-quality and consistent content production schedule. Here's how we create content calendars for clients:

Step 1: Identify Key Quarterly Themes and Topics

• Align with Goals: Ensure your content themes align with your overall marketing and business goals.
• Audience Needs: Focus on topics that address your audience’s needs, questions, and interests.

Step 2: Plan Content Types and Formats

• Diversify: Include a mix of blog posts, videos, infographics, whitepapers, and case studies.
• Balance: Combine longer, in-depth pieces with shorter, more frequent updates. Consider extracting smaller pieces of content from larger cornerstone pieces. This approach can streamline content production and optimize the use of high-production pieces.

Step 3: Assign Responsibilities

• Team Collaboration: Delegate specific tasks to team members, your creative agency, or freelancers. See article about who should do your content here.
• Deadlines: Establish clear deadlines for each content piece to maintain the production process. Consult your production team (writers, designers, animators) before setting deadlines to allow for creative thinking and QA.

Step 4: Set a Publishing Schedule

• Consistency: Determine a publishing frequency for each content type and stick to it.
• Flexibility: Allocate space in your schedule for timely topics or industry updates that may arise, as well as for commonly asked questions that your sales reps might often receive.

4. Leveraging Keywords and Long-Tail Keywords

Effective content isn’t just about quality and quantity; it’s also about visibility. Here’s how you can leverage keywords to enhance your content’s reach:

Keyword Research:

• Tools: Use tools like Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, or Ahrefs to identify relevant keywords and long-tail keywords. You can even leverage ChatGPT for keyword ideas.
• Relevance: Focus on keywords that are relevant to your industry, product, and audience interests.

Incorporating Keywords:

• Titles and Headers: Include primary keywords in your titles and headers to improve SEO.
• Natural Integration: Integrate keywords naturally within the content to maintain readability and engagement.

Long-Tail Keywords:

• Specific Phrases: Long-tail keywords are longer, more specific phrases that visitors are more likely to use when they’re closer to making a purchase.
• Example: Instead of “B2B software,” use “best B2B software for small businesses” to target a specific audience.

5. Measuring Content Effectiveness

Producing the right amount of content is just one piece of the puzzle. It's equally important to measure its effectiveness to ensure you're achieving desired results.

Here at GDS, we maintain a Google Sheets dashboard for our content marketing initiatives, tracking key KPIs on a weekly and monthly basis.

Key Metrics:

• Traffic: Monitor your website traffic to see how many visitors your content is attracting.
• Engagement: Track metrics such as time spent on the page, bounce rate, and social shares to measure engagement.
• Leads: Determine the number of leads generated by your content efforts.
• Conversions: Keep track of how many of these leads turn into paying customers.

Tools you can leverage:

• Google Analytics: Utilize Google Analytics to track traffic, engagement, and conversion metrics.
• CRM Systems: Integrate with CRM systems like Salesforce or Hubspot to monitor leads and sales.
• Content Performance Tools: Employ tools like HubSpot or Marketo to monitor and analyze content performance.

See this article about how to measure the ROI of content marketing.

Conclusion

Determining the right amount of content for your B2B software marketing strategy involves balancing quality and quantity, planning with a content calendar, leveraging keywords, and measuring effectiveness.

If you are looking for a content partner that strikes the right balance of quality and quantity—and actually gets content done—check out our content membership GDS Monthly™ specifically designed for marketers at high-growth B2B software companies.