How do I create a B2B marketing strategy?

I work in marketing for a B2B company. Synedoche has some good tips. If your goal is to generate leads, I would: In terms of marketing channels: --Start a blog and post it regularly (about 2x a week) --Set up the blog so that you capture email addresses --Work with the product and data team to get email addresses of current subscribers. They are a great base to begin marketing to even if they already have the product --Email about 2x a month with content --Have you considered conferences? They are a great way to get a lot of leads in one spot In terms of content ideas: Easy content (quick to write up, require few resources) --Case studies or interviews with current customers. Doesn't have to have a video - but you can easily have a picture of them in a Q/A format --Repurpose content that is already out there about HR professionals --Listicles about best practices --Product features tips and tricks --Interviews with industry experts Moderate content --Decks (http://www.slideshare.net/ has some nice ones you can embed in a blog post) Hard content (longer to create, require design and $, but can generate more leads) --E-books (can be a PDF document of a deck). You can gate this by asking for names, email addresses, etc. --Infographics (http://visual.ly/ makes nice ones for 2k) Paid media ---$25 a day is NOTHING. I would not waste it on Adwords, that only shows results at scale. --I would invest in paid Linkedin posts targeted at HR professionals in certain places or relevant interests. Have this direct immediately to a free trial page and not content like a blog post yet. Maybe a few months in you can experiment with promoting an ebook. I think the key is managing expectations, setting reasonable goals, and then hitting them. B2B doesn't require as high volume - but it's more about retention and size of companies. Start with small goals - 50 leads a month for example (not sure how big your company is, but assuming it's brand new). Also, does your product have a free trial? That's a lot easier to get leads for than something that requires paying upfront.

I don't know that you need to be all "DOWNLOAD OUR EBOOK!" with content marketing. I'm very new to the area myself but most things I've read say that being pushy is bad. You're establishing relationships and starting conversations, not forcing content down people's throats. You need to be producing and/or sharing strong, interesting content that your clients will find interesting--stuff that hopefully they'll share with others who might find it interesting as well, driving engagement with your site. I wouldn't worry so much about messing around with keywords and SEO too much; I'd prioritize strong, compelling content first. Trying to beat the search engines can be tough as they are moving targets. Figure out topics your target clients care about and what keeps them up at night (as it relates to your product) and write posts about that. Since you're a one-person team, start basic--probably with a blog--and keep things manageable to start. But before you do anything, sit down and figure out what your goals are, who your audience is, and plan plan plan.

You might find http://thekazushi.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Mint_Marketing_Plan-2.pdf helpful. It's not B2B, but is heavy on content marketing which it sounds like might be part of your plan.

nthing the recommendation to start in on making content. The great thing about interviews and case studies is that you've got a company full of experts and stories to tell - all the resources you need to get started are in-house, and people naturally like to talk shop! Definitely take the time to find out about your B2B reputation and the tenor of your sales and bizdev operations, and make sure that your marketing materials complement that experience in tone. You're not alone! And yeah! Make a modest plan with a KPI or two, stick to your schedule, and manage expectations with your superiors as to how much you can accomplish with your budget, time, and manpower. Building authority takes time!

Media production is all about making products for others.Really, you need to be using adwords while also publishing articles and getting earned media coverage by calling journalists and bloggers and offering to start writing the story for them by inviting them to come see your startup and test the product (if it's ready). Tough sell, but hopefully they already have a salesperson you can work with.

Besides linkedin ads you could also try the DIY sponsored posts feature on Facebook and Twitter. Depending on the type of business you're targeting that could be more successful in generating leads. Before anything else though I would answer the following questions (or if someone at the company already knows, find out from them): who are your target customers? What firmographic info defines them (eg how many employees do they have? How much revenue do they generate monthly? Etc) How big is the market? What segments do your customers fall in to? Who can your sales team NOT sell to? Where do they hang out? What are the biggest challenges they face that your product can solve? Etc. This will shape every other strategy you put in place. Once you know your segment, find out what other companies are out there that are both competitors or peers (those that cover the same segment but don't really do what you do). Target the former's customers in any way you can--buy or scrape lists of their users and reach out to them--and partner with the latter by swapping blog posts or trading email blasts or working together on Webinars and White Papers or cocktail parties. This takes FOREVER so start reaching out ASAP.

If you have a chapter of the http://www.marketing.org/ in your area, definitely look into joining or at least attending meetings. Our local chapter is very active and hosts great, practical speakers. I've learned a ton.

$25/ day for Adwords is a decent budget uf it's spebt strategically. If your busines is a M-F business, don't run on weekends which increases your daily budget. Consider also Google display ads. Im one of those Adwords wonks mentioned up-thread.