One form of hesitation about investing in content that I often hear from tech companies and agencies is: How much of it do we really need? Most agencies charge something like a $5k monthly minimum. Larger ones might charge $10k. Do I need that much content? Is it worth the investment?

Putting the exact numbers aside, I think this concern raises a more central question: Why should B2B tech companies invest in content at all?

Content is your most powerful biz dev engine

You invest in content because consistent, helpful, expert content explaining what you do without directly selling yourself is the most powerful biz dev engine available.

Let’s say you’re an adtech company selling to DSPs and brands. There are probably dozens of companies that offer a service that, if not truly similar to yours, could at least be mistaken for yours. How are you getting to the top of the consideration set? How do you ensure that when your ideal buyer thinks, “Hey, I need to seriously find out what this contextual adtech thing is about,” they come to you or at least check out your site to see if you’re worth a conversation

Successful B2B tech companies establish a reputation for being helpful experts in their field. This is the gift that keeps on giving; it’s the asset that keeps perfect-fit clients coming to you so that you don’t need to chase them around. 

For an example of powerful adtech content, look at The Trade Desk

A long-term content strategy is what The Trade Desk, among the leading DSPs, is doing with its in-house publication staffed by adtech journalists, The Current. This is no small investment — The Trade Desk went to the trouble of hiring journalists directly, essentially starting up its own media organization. Why would a DSP spend a fat chunk of change each month to provide adtech news and insights?

Well, the day I posted a version of this blog post on LinkedIn, I was scrolling through the site when I saw a blog post with dozens of reactions by The Trade Desk. People in the industry — journalists, adtech professionals, advertisers, prospective buyers of The Trade Desk’s services — were engaging with the company’s expert content. 

Whether those readers knew it or not, The Trade Desk was ushering them down a path so that, when they think of DSPs or companies knowledgeable about the latest adtech trends, they will think of The Trade Desk. In other words, content is the engine of business development, the driver of what often appears, at the end of the funnel, to be an inbound lead driven by referrals or ‘word of mouth.’ 

I am an adtech content professional and journalist; when I think of a DSP, I first think of The Trade Desk (I’ve never done business with them). That’s not an accident; the organization is spending on content to ensure it stays that way.

How much do you need to spend on content? 

So, are you ready to invest in weekly content? I don’t know — is your business mature enough to devote $5-10k/month to becoming the go-to expert on what you do?

It’s not a rhetorical or sarcastic question! Because becoming an expert takes months, probably years. But if you’re ready to start building that engine, you may also be ready to start creating weekly content to *share the highly valuable expertise sitting untapped in your head* — whether that means blog posts, LinkedIn posts, contributed columns, or webinars.

And if you’ve made it to the end of this post, you know that when I advise spending valuable time on content, I’m giving out advice I’m willing to follow myself as the head of a business.