Technology firms in growth mode are always seeking out new ways leverage their initial growth for long-term success. But the most effective way to generate qualified leads and close sales with a digital customer base is to use a carefully customized, data-driven B2B content marketing strategy.

But much like a company’s P&L growth, content marketing advancements won’t happen without effort and focus.

Here’s a look at the five steps you need to take to customize a B2B content marketing strategy for the Technology industry:

Build targeted customer personas and zero in on pain points.

Technology firms need to be particularly careful about developing accurate customer personas. You need all of the information you can get in order to make carefully targeted plays for your customer’s attention. You also need to unpack the logic behind your customer’s research, engagement, and purchase decisions.

Identify your customer’s unique pain points and how your technology solution meets that need. In particular, identify what it is about your unique solution that has caused so much growth in such a short span of time so that you can ride that wave into long-term success.

Use pain points and questions to guide content strategy.

Once you’ve clearly outlined everything you know about your customer in your customer persona, you need to act on that information. Bring in real-life examples of your customer’s pain points from sales calls, surveys, and website inquires to inspire useful, authentic content that resonates with your target customer.

Organize these inquiries according to how long it takes to provide a good answer. It will be obvious which questions can be answered in a short blog post or video clip, and which need the authority and background development of a white paper.

Use website design, conversions, and social media to share your content.

After developing your content assets, it’s time to get them into the right hands. Use the latest design best practices to make appealing conversion opportunities on your website. Then share your content through your blog, email newsletter, and social media networks. Schedule time to join in the action in real-time. Watch for feedback, monitor downloads, and feed these metrics to your sales team.

Use content marketing to generate leads.

As much as people write about closing with content, your blog and your whitepapers are best used to generate leads to fill your sales pipeline.

Your content marketing can help reduce the need for cold calling, because as more people take notice and fill out forms on your website, you'll have a list of people to call on.

To get more people filling out your lead forms, make sure that your content is specific to your customer's needs and their industry. For example, don't be vague and broad -- give specific examples that they may relate to.

Document your B2B content marketing strategy.

The latest research shows that technology content marketers who document their content marketing strategy are more effective than those who don’t. That means that after building your B2B content marketing strategy, it is vital that you track and compare your progress over time. Track all of the important Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and monitor your inbound marketing lead pipeline to inform your future marketing decisions.

While much is unique about the IT and Technology industries, your B2B content marketing strategy will use the same principles as another industries: look to your customer to guide your moves.

Provide answers in an authentic, authoritative brand voice, and be the helpful, informative partner that helps them solve their problem. After all, if your blog posts or a recent whitepaper informs them on a topic they want to learn about, your company will surface as a potential partner.

If you can use your B2B content marketing strategy to outline clearly how you solve their problem, you’ll be at the top of their list of solutions.

Free Guide - 5 Proven Components of a B2B Online Lead Generation Campaign