A new year’s resolution for B2B marketers? Adopt an editorial mindset

While generative AI is changing how marketers produce content, it’s a mistake to think that it will make content a less valuable function within a B2B company’s marketing operation. Instead, the marketing challenges brands face will make having a sound content strategy more important. So, where does content marketing go in 2025? Let’s first look at two challenges B2B brands must overcome.

1. A crowded and distracting information ecosystem: Brands must break through in a crowded, highly distracting news and information ecosystem. In a presidential election year like 2024, the level of distraction is elevated. But even in a “normal” year, the proliferation of channels, plus the entertainment overload, the frenetic digital environment of modern work, and the pace of the news cycle, results in a highly distracted customer base. Prospective buyers bounce between channels and are bombarded by brands across those channels.
2. Creating meaningful engagement: At the same time, shifts in digital marketing are putting pressure on B2B companies to deepen relationships with their target audiences. Privacy laws and the move away from third-party cookies mean it’s increasingly difficult to track and retarget website users.  Instead, brands must find ways to secure contact information directly from prospects so that they can stay in front of them with relevant material and build awareness and engagement.

Given these challenges, I believe content will take on elevated importance in 2025. After all, content sits at the heart of the effort to build meaningful and sustainable relationships with key audiences. Having a content engine that grabs and keeps attention is crucial to a brand’s success in a crowded, high-distraction marketplace. And when brands can’t market to anonymous prospects as they move through the internet, they must offer content that is so valuable that prospects are willing to share their information to access it. The B2B companies that elevate content in the year ahead will position themselves to build and sustain relationships with their audiences. But success requires more than just devoting extra budget to content marketing. It requires a shift in mindset.

An editorial mindset over a marketing mindset

The most successful content teams will lead with an editorial mindset instead of a marketing mindset. What is an editorial mindset?

1. It’s audience-focused before brand-focused, meaning that while content strategists and writers must align their work with the company’s business priorities, they must find ways to take what starts as promotional information and turn it into something that people outside the company want to consume.
2. It recognizes the big picture. Teams with an editorial mindset treat a company’s content strategy sort of like a magazine. They develop compelling “story” ideas with catchy headlines. These “stories” span topics and formats (after all, content is video and podcasting, social media activity, and long-form white papers, to name a few) but share a common voice throughout. The content team connects these pieces to key themes that align with the company’s business priorities and reinforce its value proposition. This approach creates a content package that is cohesive and rich.
3. It challenges status-quo thinking. Without this element, it’s difficult to establish credibility, showcase expertise and stand out. Interesting content challenges conventional wisdom. It has engaging, non-promotional headlines. It raises the stakes and makes clear from the start why the information is something the consumer cannot ignore.

To implement the editorial mindset, content marketers must add editorial skills to their arsenals. The ability to interview subject-matter experts, do great research and find ways to turn arcane topics laden with jargon into compelling material is crucial if a team hopes to produce engaging content. And, of course, content marketers should embed AI tools into their workflows to increase output while maintaining quality and fidelity to brand voice.

Give content a seat at the table

Most B2B marketing discussions focus on lead generation and growth. That’s understandable. But growth is usually not a direct offshoot of a single marketing initiative. Companies need to be present for their prospective buyers in a cluttered information ecosystem. They must establish close connections with their audiences in a “cookieless” world. The best way to achieve these goals is to produce engaging and diverse content that meets prospective buyers where they are and genuinely interests them. Therefore, B2B companies need to give content marketers a seat at the table when mapping growth strategies. And to improve content creativity, quality, and diversity—and produce “must-have” content—content marketers must operate with an editorial mindset.

A good new year’s resolution for B2B brands? Elevate content in the marketing ecosystem, embrace an editorial mindset, and produce interesting content that prospects can’t wait to get their hands on. If you don’t, someone else will.