How to develop a winning account-based marketing content strategy

If you are looking to develop an account-based marketing approach to selling, you’re going to need a scalable strategy in place for content creation. Here's how to do it.

Content is a central part of any ABM proposition.  But managing the creation and personalisation of that content can take a lot of effort and resource to get right. If you’re going to end up creating beautiful, bespoke guides for individual CEOs, you need to be sure that it’s going to be worth the effort. 

In other words, it can’t be an ad-hoc or unplanned process.

Why ABM is different

ABM redefines the traditional marketing funnel. Rather than casting a wide net and then screening, scoring, and nurturing prospects from MQLs to SQLs, ABM starts with a carefully curated list of high-value accounts. ABM teams conduct thorough research to identify suitable targets and then engage them with highly tailored marketing efforts, to accelerate the buying process.

Who doesn't need ABM in B2B Marketing?

For many companies, the traditional digital marketing approach still has value - particularly when married with more focused inbound, content marketing techniques. Casting the net wide in a promising pool is enough to drive the right traffic towards you, from which you can filter the best leads. It’s a cost-effective means of filling many pipelines.

Who needs ABM?

For others in niche, high-value markets, where competition is entrenched and the right prospects swim below the reach of your content net, a much more deliberate approach is needed. Contract manufacturers often fit this category, where the sales prize is great, but the right prospects seem increasingly invisible and impossible to engage.

Why ABM content marketing is key

Content marketing is vital to focus the attention of these hard to reach prospects. Done right, it’s a way you can surprise and stop them in their tracks at vital moments in their decision making process.  It can help you deliver uniquely important information in formats they love - along with the messaging you need them to hear. 

“Account-based marketing begins with identifying your ideal clients, then targeting this small, specific group directly. So 100% of the audience is relevant. It’s automatic sales-marketing alignment. And it engages prospects earlier in their process before they go to Google.”

Andy Crestodina, Orbit Media

With this in mind, here are 10 key steps for developing a scalable and effective account based marketing content strategy.

10 Steps for a Scalable and Effective ABM Content Strategy

1. Decide What You Want from Your ABM Activity

If traditional marketing efforts aren’t delivering the financial results you need, ABM can help accelerate sales and increase deal values.  But you need sales and marketing alignment to decide where your resources are going to be best deployed.

Get your teams together and and start by defining your specific ABM objectives:

• Are you trying to win a particular target account?
• Do you want to enter a new sector?
• Or do you aim to cross-sell within existing accounts?

Once you’ve clarified your goal, build the persona document for each high-value account you have identified , focusing on key decision-makers and their likely pain points.

2. Identify Potential Obstacles

In ABM, certain challenges may block engagement. Common barriers include:

• Entrenched competitors: Some accounts have strong ties to competitors.
• Risk perceptions: New solutions may seem risky.
• Credibility issues: Lack of familiarity with your brand .
• Change resistance: Some prospects feel nervous about change

Understanding these barriers within your buyer personas lets you create more relevant content to address them directly, positioning your brand as a vital strategic partner they need to take notice of.

3. Map out your specific buyer's journeys

Build a clear picture of each account's structure, decision-makers, and likely pain points.  Understand the tastes and digital habits of the individuals you are targeting.

Map out their customer journeys - and opportunities for engagement for each of these job roles.  Build a picture of the content you need to satisfy the pain points and curiosity of your prospects at each stage of their buyer's journey.  

4. Use Existing Content

To optimise resources, customise existing content for your ABM marketing campaigns. Rather than starting from scratch, adapt materials to make them hyper-relevant to each target account. Include case studies, tailor messages to specific roles, and use varied formats—videos, webinars, white papers—to resonate with key decision-makers.

5. Set SMART Goals

Setting SMART goals (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound) enables you to track ABM campaign success. Ensure all team members understand these goals and align on what a successful outcome looks like.

6. Automate and Customise Workflows for Each Account

Platforms like HubSpot and Salesforce allow for marketing automation. They can help you build customised workflows to support personalised engagement:

• Bespoke Workflows: Tag contacts based on ABM criteria and automatically guide them through personalised ABM campaigns.
• Repurpose Content: Slice and dice existing materials. Turn webinars into short video clips, or pull out insights from white papers for social media posts.
• Triggered Touchpoints: Set triggers based on actions—like an account visiting a key page—to prompt follow-up emails or sales alerts for timely outreach.

7. Manage Unique Digital Events to Drive Engagement

As you see engagement rising with your target prospects you can design more resource-hungry activtities that could yield more specific results. 

Andy Crestodina, CEO of influential Orbit Media, outlines how you can develop webinars for manufacturing prospects to share bespoke research that you know your target audience are hungry for.

He shows how you can combine automated invitation and advertising to build an audience for your event, with more focused, one-on-one nurturing activities to target the most important individuals in your ABM set. He recommends ways of tracking engagement and following up on key individual’s attendance in the most meaningful way - so the great effort of digital event management gives you the most return.

8. Create and Optimise Ads for Target Accounts

ABM frequently includes paid ads to keep your brand top-of-mind. For example, if you connect HubSpot with LinkedIn, you can sync your target accounts list to create LinkedIn ads tailored to decision-makers at these companies.

• Customised Ads: Tailor ads for your ABM targets.
• Retargeting: Set up retargeting ads for contacts who’ve previously interacted with your brand, ensuring continued visibility.

9. Track and Monitor Account Engagement in Real-Time

Platforms like HubSpot provide tools to monitor ABM performance across channels:

• Engagement Insights: Track interactions with target accounts via emails, social media, website visits, and ads.
• Sales-Ready Signals: Look for signs indicating an account is ready for sales outreach, such as high engagement with specific pages or content downloads.

Real-time tracking enables your team to adjust strategies, ensuring that ABM content reaches the right people at the right moments.

10. Analyse Results with ABM-Specific Reporting

ABM platforms offer reporting features that provide insights into campaign effectiveness:

• Custom Dashboards: Access dashboards that track key ABM metrics like account engagement and conversion rates.
• ROI Analysis: Evaluate which accounts are moving through the cycle and calculate ROI for each campaign, helping you refine your ABM strategy.

Conclusion

An ABM strategy is a major investment, but with the right tools and approach, it can yield high-impact results. By following these steps, you'll have the research and resource in place to generate and service ABM campaigns for years to come.