B2G marketing is profoundly different from B2B or B2C marketing as it involves longer buying cycles, more decision makers, stringent procurement rules, and greater lead times.
Because of this, it’s important to reevaluate the way you use different media to reach government buyers and decision makers. For instance, social media traditionally has not been a strong channel as many government employees could not access sites while working in an office. However, that is shifting as more government employees work from home.
Knowing the differences between how each channel performs, and which are best to use to reach government employees, can be the key component in any B2G marketing strategy.
Here are some tips and techniques for your B2G strategy.
Build a Strong Presence
The B2G sector is one in which face time can still make a massive impact on the sales cycle. One of the most important things you can do to support your B2G marketing efforts is to host events and be present at events to meet potential clients.
Hosting your own events to promote your products, increase awareness, educate your audiences, and reach new customers can be immensely beneficial. There are many different types of events you can host, including conferences, seminars, workshops, and guest speaker sessions. Webinars and other online events can be a great way to get started, too.
Attending public sector conferences and trade shows that target your organization’s audience is also a good strategy. This will allow you to interact with decision makers and demo your products face-to-face.
Draft Authoritative Content Specific to the Government
Whatever you sell–security software, IT solutions, or consultation services–in B2G marketing, your business must be seen as an authority.
Two of the best ways to craft a brand image of authority are with official recognition and with high-quality content.
Any applicable accreditation or certifications your organization can obtain to ensure compliance with government standards and legal regulations will help convey a sense of competence and professionalism during outreach efforts in the government and military space.
Detailed, comprehensive research studies and white papers focused on trends impacting the government market are a necessary component to cultivate this sense of authority within the public sector community.
Promote Your Content
For most organizations, syndicating content can be a great way to generate traffic.
Promoting through a partner saves some of the trouble of building your own domain’s authority and can increase brand exposure and visibility, especially if that partner already has a large and relevant audience.
Becoming a GovWhitePapers member helps further advance the reach of your content. All registered members can promote government-related content for free. For more information on marketing to the government and what our website offers, claim your free membership here or get in touch with any questions.
Focus on SEO
It is also becoming increasingly important, regardless of your target audience (government or otherwise) to have an authoritative organic presence, which makes SEO vital for B2G marketing.
Even if you don’t sell directly through your website, SEO can be an invaluable tool for capturing leads. The more visible you are organically, the more authority you’ll convey to government buyers. The better your website ranks organically, the more trust and credibility it will carry and the more effective your pay-per-click campaigns will be, should you choose to run any.
To get this visibility use your website as a resource where you promote content like case studies, reports, and government white papers.
When running a B2G SEO campaign it is critical to capture visits and stay in touch with those individuals. The government buying cycle is long and a visit today may not result in a sale for months.
Create a lead-capturing form, and pair it with a newsletter or use it in your email marketing efforts going forward. This is one of the best techniques for crafting an SEO lead generation strategy, especially for B2G marketing.
Consider Pay-Per-Click
Since SEO is a long-term strategy, another prong of B2G marketing you should consider is pay-per-click.
But, unlike in direct-to-consumer marketing, you shouldn’t focus on the financial return of the campaign directly.
Instead, PPC marketing devoted to B2G campaigns should have a focus on capturing leads. Sign-ups, government white paper downloads, requests for proposals, and form submissions should be some of the metrics you are tracking.
Nurture those leads through email marketing, social media marketing, or one-on-one outreach by your sales team to build the long-term relationships that are necessary to support a B2G model.
Just keep in mind that you should be conscientious about how much you spend to gather leads with PPC marketing, as you likely won’t be directly reaping returns through your website (depending on your model).
Boost Your Public Sector and B2G Marketing Knowledge
There are many ways to improve your B2G marketing efforts, and the ideas in this article are only some of them. Sign up for free today for full access to our collection of white papers and official reports so you can sharpen your public sector knowledge.
