If you’re looking for 2021’s best examples of B2B content, look no further.
Our annual quest to find the Best B2B Content is always a source of inspiration – and this year’s contenders are just a scroll away. But this time, we’re running things a little differently.
Our 2021 shortlist has been hand-picked with help from two leading content marketers in the field of B2B tech, and sorted into three semi-final groups. The best example from each category will then contest the final.
11 content examples, hand-picked by experts
As ever, we’re indebted to everyone who made a nomination. But we’re even more grateful to Atlassian‘s Content Strategy Lead for Software Teams, Ashley Faus, and Nadya Khoja, Head of Content Strategy at Boast.AI, who sifted through the resulting mountain to help us find eleven great content examples worthy of the shortlist.
The nominees first played off across three semi-final groups:
- Best short-form standalone content
- Best long-form white paper or report
- Best B2B content programme or hub
After two rounds of voting, we revealed the winner on B2BQ&A episode 103. But the shortlist remains an excellent source of B2B content ideas…
Semi-final 1: Best short-form standalone content
A) The Chicken McNuggets’ secret ingredient is not what you think…
Blog post by Barry McCarthy, Assure Hedge
Nominated by FinTech writer André Spiteri, this unexpected story of fast food, farming, and finance has a lot to love. Nadya especially enjoyed it, commenting on its “strong copywriting”.
B) Postmark Express: Journey to the Inbox
Online comic by Postmark
At Radix, we’ve long been advocates of comic book formats (in fact, here’s a blog post about it from 2014) so we’re delighted to see this fun comic among the contenders. “Super original and engaging,” says Nadya.
C) Faites le test: quel type d’entrepreneur êtes-vous en matière de wifi?
Interactive quiz and tailored content by Telenet
You don’t need to speak French to get the point of this one: the “business personality assessment” asks engaging questions, then you get an asset that’s tailored to your answers. It’s powered by Turtl, whose CEO Nick Mason reveals: “This got five times as many leads as they normally see with a landing page.”
D) 8 Graphic Design Trends that Will Define 2022
Infographic by Ronita Mohan, Venngage
We like the way this clear, simple infographic shows as well as tells, with each panel illustrating the trend it covers; always an effective approach. “It’s well designed, with good information,” says Ashley.
Congratulations to the winner of semi-final 1: Assure Hedge.
Semi-final 2: Best long-form white paper or report
E) Polarised perceptions of corporate health and wellness
Survey report by Aetna International
Original research content is always valuable – and often gets results to match. For anyone whose role involves workplace wellbeing, this mega-stack of survey results is bound to be full of juicy morsels to support your business case. “I really liked this,” comments Ashley.
F) The Electric Opportunity
Survey report by Kalibrate
This in-depth report unpacks a survey into attitudes towards electric vehicle charging across ten countries, before using this information to construct a case for retailers to offer charging on site. This is another favourite of Ashley’s: “I thought some of the strongest submissions were the research reports,” she adds.
G) Customer data breaches: when will you find out?
White paper by Skurio
The last few years have changed everything in cybersecurity, and this informative white paper explains why companies need a more realistic approach. Full disclosure: this one’s a Radix client. So we’re delighted that Nadya thinks: “This could be a boring, technical topic, but the copy is written very accessibly.”
Congratulations to the winner of semi-final 2: Kalibrate.
Semi-final 3: Best B2B content programme or hub
H) Animalz Blog
Content marketing blog by Animalz
Content about content always runs the risk of navel gazing, but this blog by Animalz achieves the rarest of things: thought leadership that actually contains some leading thoughts. Nadya agrees: “It’s engaging, thoughtful and well articulated while focusing on B2B audiences.”
I) Team Playbook
Workshop resources by Atlassian
The best B2B content provides tangible value to a clearly defined audience and this collection of team workshop resources does exactly that – with templates, step-by-step instructions, and lists of what you’ll need. Yes, one of the panel works at Atlassian, but we all love this; Nadya says it’s “strong on format and easy to read”.
J) What will you design?
Interactive website by Canva
Right from the homepage, Canva’s web content gets you hands on with the product, to design whatever you’re looking for. Ashley comments: “Canva are killing it. Right from the SEO there’s a path into the product that’ll educate you, with a mix of free and pro subscriptions. It’s not just smart; it’s delightful.”
K) Realise Your Vision
Content hub by Sohonet
Sohonet know exactly who their audience is, and this collection of interviews with visionaries across film production are precision-tooled to compel that core market: filmmakers who want to get creative. Nadya says it’s “well planned and executed”.
Congratulations to the winner of semi-final 3: Animalz.
Highly commended: more great content from 2021
There were plenty more excellent nominees which didn’t make the shortlist this time. In particular, we’d like to draw your attention to:
- Gong’s LinkedIn feed. John Espirian says Gong are a “must follow” for their consistent standout content. Nadya agrees, adding “It’s simple, fun, and punchy”.
- PwC’s “Take on Tomorrow” content hub. Ashley enjoyed this interesting mix of thought leadership content focused on tackling global challenges.
- Sage’s “Bossing It” campaign. Nadya loves its “great positioning and clear customer target”.
- Time for Timber’s content hub. Ashley says: “I really like this. It’s connected to a variety of bigger issues, speaks in clear language, and is easy to engage with.”
So, which one inspires you the most?
Voting has now concluded, both in the semi-finals and grand overall final… and we revealed the winner on B2BQ&A episode 103. Have a listen, and see how your favourite fared!
