Has it ever happened to you that you have clicked on a blog or article just because the headline of the same triggered your curiosity? Even when you were not looking specifically for that topic?
If yes, you have got the point!
A headline or title is like the very first introduction of your content, and it is the impact of the headline or title that decides whether your blog will get a click from the reader or not.
When it comes to B2B blogs, the relevance of an accurate and appealing headline becomes requisite to comprehend. This is because when a B2B buyer comes to your blog, he wants to read something that is not only informative but also holds the capability of solving his problems. And if the headline of the blog fails to convince him that ‘inside is what exactly he is looking for’; you have lost a reader, a potential buyer, or might be a long-termed customer.
To cut this chaos of ‘creating a perfect headline’, here I have summed-up the ways to create headlines that will help your B2B blog to convert better:
1. Address it right
Before you jump into the battle of creating a brilliant headline for your next B2B blog, make sure you have upgraded yourself to the essentials.
- Know and segment the niche audience for whom you want to write a blog
- One-size never fits all. So, if you think that one topic cannot target the needs of all your buyers; make it segment-specific
Once you are done with the above basics, move to the headline part.
Don’t make it clumsy or inappropriate for the target audience. When you use templates such as,
“You won’t believe what happened to the company of this CEO when he did this”
you don’t pin-point what exactly you are going to talk about. In fact, such titles appear as vague and give rise to the questions like “which company?”, “what the CEO did?” and “what the writer wants to say?”
Instead, ensure that you keep the headline to-the-point. Remember thgat if your blog’s headline addresses directly to the needs, challenges, or problems of your readers; it is more likely to get clicks and views than those that don’t convey their purpose at all.
2. Set the right expectations
Let’s take an example. While researching for your next article, you have reached a title that talks about exactly what you want and you couldn’t resist yourself clicking on it. But when the blog gets opened, you find that it doesn’t consist anything or precisely the thing about which it promised in its headline.
How would you feel?
Duped! Isn’t it?
Same happens to your B2B readers when they don’t find what the heading of your blog conveyed.
So, set the right expectations. In the haste of getting more clicks on your blog page, don’t do something that can make you lose your credibility among the readers.
3. Length of the headline
When it comes to the click-ability of the headlines of your B2B content, it’s not only the tone and purpose that matters – Length of the headline also pays an equally important role in enticing a reader.
As per the data-driven by HubSpot,
“Headlines between 8–12 words in length got the most Twitter shares on average.”
And if we talk of Facebook,
“Headlines with 12–14 words received the most Likes.”
But, we also cannot deny the fact that the goals or the purpose of the content are also important and need to be considered when defining the length of a headline. Also, where your headline will appear is another critical factor that decides whether the length has to be short or not.
4. Optimize the headline
No doubt, the chief purpose of optimizing a headline is to make it clickable. But, it will be a jewel in the crown if you get to optimize it for social and search engines as well.
Keywords can help you do that.
Pay attention to keywords while curating titles for your blogs, articles, infographics, and other forms of content. Though it is a somewhat daunting task, it can help you in maximizing your reach on the search engines when done right.
- Identify the keywords your target prospects search for
- Check the search volume for the same keywords
- Create few/many draft headlines encapsulating the searched keywords
- Make sure that final draft of the title is easily searchable for you readers.