For businesses today, ramping up content production is an important part of a successful B2B content marketing strategy. But scaling content publication without prioritizing quality can compromise audience engagement and damage your business’s reputation. To be effective, content should be authoritative and well-structured. It needs to provide meaningful value to readers. But how can you meet the growing demand for volume while ensuring first-rate content?
Don’t worry – we’ve got the answers. In this guide, we’ll take a closer look at how consistent, high-quality content plays a role in B2B marketing efforts and how you can scale your content production without sacrificing value.
Why Content Quality Matters More than Ever in B2B
When it comes to competitive B2B marketing, the quality of your content matters more than ever. Unlike most B2C marketing, which targets individual consumers, B2B typically involves multiple rounds of buying decisions and the input of several stakeholders within the business. To engage potential business clients and ensure a memorable experience, you need to consistently produce high-quality content that reflects your unique brand voice.
Content quality can also affect your ranking on SERPs. Due to Google algorithm updates, search engines prioritize well-written, accurate content that directly addresses user search queries, while low-value or spam content is penalized with lower rankings.
This can be especially important if you incorporate AI-generated content into your content marketing strategy. While search engines don’t specifically penalize or target AI-generated content, the algorithm prefers content that delivers value and offers a unique perspective (something AI tools have not yet perfected). AI tools can help you efficiently streamline the content production process and scale your content creation, but you should strategically implement them in combination with human editors for the best results.
The Hidden Costs of Poor Proofreading and Editing
It’s not enough to invest in content production and distribution. To meet your long-term marketing goals, your content should be thoroughly proofread and edited, and it should undergo a rigorous quality assurance process. This may come with initial upfront costs, but investing in professional proofreading and editing will save you time and money in the long run.
Poor proofreading and editing can result in distracting errors or factual inaccuracies in content, which can be expensive and time-consuming to fix post-publication. Skipping this step ends up being inefficient due to the time your team has to spend finding and correcting errors.
Errors in content can also lead to lost business opportunities, as it drives potential clients away. Typos, grammatical mistakes, and unclear messaging can create misunderstandings and decrease trust in your brand. A bad reputation can significantly impact your bottom line, with one survey reporting that 87% of consumers will even reverse a buying decision after reading something negative about a company.
How Managed Editorial Services Help Brands Scale Content Effectively
Scaling content creation while editing every B2B piece to your specifications can be challenging for businesses of all sizes. Managed editorial services ensure both quantity and quality by allowing you to produce a high volume of content without needing to sacrifice value. Editing services typically employ large teams of freelancers globally, so editors will complete the work according to your timeline, no matter where you are in the world.
With managed editorial services, you typically work with a dedicated point person (project manager) to address issues such as turnaround times, workflows, and style guidelines. If your business doesn’t have a brand style guide, your project manager and team can work with you to create one from the ground up, including establishing consistent standards for dialect, word choice, grammar, and spelling.
Businesses That Have Improved Workflows with Editorial Solutions: Case Studies
Looking for scalable content solutions that get results? Check out the following case studies of businesses that have partnered with Proofed for B2B editorial services.
Linux Foundation
The Linux Foundation is a nonprofit organization that supports the growth and adoption of open-source technologies, including the Linux operating system. It helps advance innovation in areas such as cybersecurity and maintain the long-term sustainability of open-source projects.
Before partnering with Proofed, the foundation brought in freelance editors to support its writers. However, the freelancers struggled to meet deadlines and efficiently manage the high volume of work. They were also unable to maintain consistency due to a lack of standardized guidelines. In addition, given the technical nature of the content, Linux was initially hesitant about entrusting outsiders with proofreading its materials.
To address these issues, Proofed focused on developing a tailored set of editorial standards and documented them in a dedicated style guide. A large managed team handled Linux’s content needs and accelerated turnaround times, which allowed it to concentrate on research and streamline its editorial processes.
Blue Marble
Blue Marble creates award-winning STEM toys, including authentic specimens and engaging science kits, to promote educational content for children in the form of fun activities.
While the company was already working with an external editing service, it wasn’t satisfied with the work or price point. With a potential new deal on the horizon, Blue Marble decided to partner with Proofed to create an in-depth style guide and standardize its brand voice across the different territories it was breaking into at the time. This reduced the back-and-forth between designers and editors.
Proofed implemented a system of round-the-clock support for Blue Marble’s content team, simplifying collaboration. The result? Blue Marble’s editorial costs decreased by a significant 30%, and its average turnaround time was cut by two days. And with written content being such a large part of its business, partnering with Proofed has had a large impact on its overall growth.
Grantify
Grantify is a UK-based company that assists businesses in securing government funding, such as grants and R&D tax credits, by simplifying the application process. It handles a high volume of content within tight timeframes, implementing a step-by-step process to guide prospective grantees through complex grant applications.
Proofed put together a team of 20 expert editors with relevant experience and trained them in the Grantify application process. The team at Proofed also put together a joint style guide, incorporating client feedback from the beginning. Due to a fully managed and curated editing team and a responsive system of collaboration, Proofed was able to deliver high-quality content editing at scale.
Grantify’s overall production time was reduced by 40%, and the number of days it took to return Grantify’s client applications was cut from five to three. This was a substantial achievement for Grantify, which it credits to a partnership with Proofed and a seamless editorial process.
Best Practices for Scaling Editorial Workflows
How can you ensure high-quality content at scale as a B2B company? Below are some best practices for the industry and proven tips for scaling your editorial workflow.
Standardize Editorial Guidelines for Consistency
As you scale your business’s content, maintaining brand consistency becomes more challenging. Creating comprehensive editorial guidelines ensures that every piece aligns with your brand voice and quality standards. Each writer and editor should have easy access to style guides and formatting rules so that everyone follows the same framework.
Implement a Content Management System
Invest in a reliable content management system, such as WordPress, HubSpot, or Contentful, to schedule publications and organize content. Automation features, approval workflows, and collaboration tools can help you improve efficiency and manage high content volumes as you scale.
Utilize Project Management Tools
Tools like Trello, Asana, or Monday.com help assign tasks, track progress, and set deadlines. You should also create a detailed content calendar to share with your team to help everyone stay on track with production deadlines.
Collaborate Frequently
Effective collaboration reduces miscommunication with your team and promotes an overall smoother content production process. For any given project or campaign, be sure to hold regular team meetings, share essential documents (e.g., your brand style guide), and clear up feedback loops. Platforms like Slack or Microsoft Teams allow for real-time communication, while Google Docs and Notion offer collaborative editing in individual documents.
Track Performance and Refine Your Strategy
Scaling isn’t just about producing more content for content’s sake. It’s about expanding your reach and meeting your content marketing goals. To refine your strategy, regularly analyze key metrics such as engagement and conversions using tools like Google Analytics, SEMrush, or HubSpot. After collecting the relevant data, adjust your workflows to close gaps and target areas in need of improvement.
Outsource Editorial Services to Proofed
Take work off your plate and give time back to your team by outsourcing proofreading and editing services to Proofed. Our managed editorial services are tailored for B2B brands, and our expert team of editors will ensure your content stands out and makes an impact in a competitive eCommerce marketplace.
We’ve collaborated with a wide range of businesses, from innovative nonprofits to Fortune 500 companies, and we’ll work directly with your team to find the right editing approach for your unique business needs. Schedule a call with our team today to learn more about what we can do for your business.
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the role of managed editorial services in maintaining consistent content?
Managed editorial services allow businesses to maintain consistency across all content distribution channels while scaling content production. This ensures all published content adheres to brand guidelines and maintains a consistent voice, and editors apply professional standards for grammar and spelling.
How do you measure the success of high-quality content?
Measure content quality using success metrics such as engagement rates, lead generation, customer feedback, and conversion rates. These benchmarks indicate whether customers have a positive content experience and remain on your page for extended periods.
How can B2B companies ensure their brand voice remains consistent across all content?
Creating a style guide and working with experienced content editors can help B2B companies maintain a cohesive brand voice across multiple platforms and formats.
