5 reasons to mention competitors on your B2B blog

As a company venturing into content creation, you’re probably wondering the age old question –do I acknowledge the competition or not? You’re diving into content marketing in hopes to boost your organic and direct traffic –but does it make sense to directly talk about your competition without risking potentially sending prospective customers away from your site to your competition?

Of course there are many other articles you could create –from answering simple questions, to thought leadership –all that don’t have to focus on your competition. But in reality, it may not be as bad as you imagine. Below are 5 reasons why you should share names, logos and links on your blog articles. 

Five reasons you should write about your competitors 

This is a blog post many marketers utilize quite often –so don’t feel alone. Many marketers alike create similar content for multiple reasons. 

1. Become a trusted guide in the industry

No one ever wants to hear a story about someone else. When you’re thinking about your prospects, you should always think about them asking “what’s in it for me”. At the end of the day, they will seek a solution that solves their needs, and will ultimately need to rely on a company to get them there. 

The idea is to position yourself as a trusted guide regardless of the competition. You need to be perceived as a brand that is trying to solve their problem vs. selling them a solution. Transparency shows your prospects that you can be trusted, and therefore are more likely to trust in your recommendations when the time comes to close. 

We do the same with our own Kalungi blogs as well. (Try searching 'best b2b saas marketing agencies' 😉) 

2. Showcase your confidence

There is nothing that screams confidence than intentionally highlighting your competitors. It signals to prospects that your company is so confident in your offering that it doesn’t matter what others say —that you are sure you are the right solution for your customers. 

3. Control the conversation

It is very likely that your prospects have already come across the competition in their research –whether it be from a Gartner report, an independent blog, or worse –one from your competitor.

Publishing your own article allows you to control the conversation–to position your company the way that you want to. It’s your chance to showcase to prospects that the solution you provide is only something that you can do. 

4. Increase your SEO rankings

From an SEO perspective, Google loves when blogs link to internal pages and relevant external sites that provide valuable information to the reader. Google’s entire business model is about providing the right information at the right time. By providing valuable content to your readers, it will incentivize your blog to rank highly when prospects search the key terms you choose. 

To learn more about writing an SEO friendly blog, read here.

5. Share the wealth

Depending on the industry and the competitive landscape, sharing your competitors may also lead to them sharing about your company as well. This could be mutually beneficial as it is possible that a prospect who prefers one of your attributes over another from your competitor will jump ship and go to your solution. (e.g. If you win every time on being an e-commerce SaaS solution built exclusively for grocers, and your competitor offers general ecommerce instead, then grocery chains are more likely to come by your solution, regardless of where they see it).

Not convinced? Let’s put you in the shoes of the customers. Say you wanted a new car. You might be looking up “best car dealerships for X.” You just want answers, you’re not really narrowing down your options just yet.

It is now up to the dealerships to provide you with that value / answer and show up with it –to be a trusted guide, and not just sell themselves. But in turn, they actually do end up selling themselves as you are more likely to trust the perceived “neutral-party” guide that is just looking to get you the right vehicle for you.

Always deliver value.

It’s a bittersweet taste linking your competitors on your blogs, but the benefits definitely outweigh the consequences. The most important thing for any piece of content is to provide value to your readers, and sometimes that means being transparent.

According to research by Label Insight, 94% of surveyed respondents were more likely to be loyal to brands that are transparent –and an astounding 56% of respondents would stay loyal to a brand for life if it was completely transparent. And by being honest, you can be sure that your readers will come back in some way, shape or form –hopefully as a customer.