Experienced content marketers have been debating this question for years: How much B2B content should I create for my content marketing strategy? It comes down to the age-old debate of quantity versus quality—and experts sit on both sides of the spectrum. It’s a tough question truly because both sides of the argument have merit.
And the most annoying answer to this question is, well, “both.”
Both the quantity of content and the quality of the content produced is the correct answer. When we begin with a new client, this is always one of the first questions they ask.
And they should! Frankly, concluding this question will undoubtedly affect the execution and the success of your B2B content marketing strategy.
How much b2b content: a delicate balance between the two
The answer to the question is “both.” Your content marketing strategy has to be a delicate balance between quality content and an efficient quantity of content to become noticed.
First, let’s prove that you’ve established a quality content engine. And that you’re creating all your content with a purpose.
This means that the blog topics (and other forms of content) topics that you’ve chosen to develop are rooted in customer intent and needs. You can name the level of the audience journey associated with your topic piece and you can identify the question that it’s answering.
Congratulations. You’re creating quality content—and because of this, you’ll have a stronger return on the time and money spent in developing content.
Now, we can talk about quantity
Quantity matters. Because you have to have a sturdy database of content to A) be picked up by Google in volumes, or B) thoroughly answer the questions of your target audience.
Customers have more than one question. And you have to provide multiple answers. And sometimes answers are even in multiple layers. Customers will start with a top-level question, but then they will dig deeper for more thorough answers.
Would you rather them dig deeper for those answers on your website or a competitor’s?
This is where pillar posts and topic clusters can be so powerful. In their structural nature, they encourage the reader to dig deeper. And if the reader continues to have their questions answered, that builds trust, authority, and your company as the go-to resource for the topic.
How much content should you create?
Yes, both matters. But that doesn’t mean that it’s easy to put a number on it. Many factors are coming into play for this special number to be determined. Its factors like “how competitive are your keywords”, “how competitive are your industry topics,” or “how quickly do you have to show ROI?”
Before I get to the magic number, I encourage all clients to start with content sooner and not later. Because organic content marketing needs time to establish a search engine footprint and to attract attention. Sometimes up to 8-months! And if you’re creating pillar posts and topic clusters, you’re even more likely to rank higher and quicker.
Even if you can’t commit to this number, it doesn’t mean to NOT produce content. Keep producing quality content and consistently. Even if that consistency is one time a month.
But let’s put a number on it. I would say that you need to be consistently producing three to four pieces of content weekly for up to eight months. It’s this mix of quality and quantity content that provided our cybersecurity client with over 10,000 page views within the first three months.
In the beginning, when no one knows you, quantity is even more important
I consult my clients on trying to produce between three and four pieces of content a week in the beginning. You have to make an organic impact. Nobody knows you. You’ll see the most return if you commit to consistent content execution with content that remains relevant and quality.
And remember that there are other very important components of an organic growth strategy that aren’t just website content. It also includes link building efforts and PR. I encourage clients to begin these types of efforts within the first six months of their content marketing strategy.
But for now, commit to three and four pieces of content weekly for the first eight months and you’ll be in a good starting place.
This article was originally published on the author’s blog and reprinted with permission.