Effective content marketing educates, informs, and inspires without trying to sell an audience. “Content” is the key word in this idea. With strong educational content on your website, someone will be more likely to go with your product or service when they’re ready to make a purchase.
The key to building customer trust through content is putting your audience first in every article you write. This will help you produce strong, informative articles that educate instead of hype up your brand and what it does for the industry.
When was the last time you did a pulse-check on how sales-focused your content is? If it’s been a while, now would be a good time to read through your brand’s blog, because falling into a self-promotional content trap is easier than you might think.
Signs You’re Publishing Brand-Centric Content
You could be posting self-promotional content without even knowing it. To be sure, read through your three most recent articles and check for these five warning signals of brand-centric content.
- There’s no value exchange. Instead of educating and inspiring your audience, you’re asking them to share your article, repost it, or react to it in some way.
- You ignore broader industry problems. You tend to talk about how great and innovative your brand is when you should be addressing the questions and challenges of the audience you’re trying to reach.
- You’re always talking about your brand. If your posts only focus on your brand’s products and services, you’re ignoring what your audience really needs.
- You focus more on vanity metrics than quality content. Only celebrating high follower counts, awards, and media mentions keeps you from connecting with your audience and earning their trust.
- Your writing sounds like an ad. Your tone is self-promotional and salesy instead of being down-to-earth and conversational.
(Try this now, and then come back to finish the article.)
If you found one or more of these warning signs in articles you’ve recently posted, don’t fret. You can easily change your writing style to be more educational and inspirational instead of being self-serving.
How to Create Audience-Centric Content
Put yourself in your readers’ shoes: What would you want to read about as an industry professional? While it’s important to be aware of the newest technology available in your industry and its potential benefits, receiving multiple press releases in your inbox each day gets old pretty quickly.
Publishing educational content should be your primary focus as a content marketer. Here are a few ways you can craft educational articles that don’t sound overly promotional or self-serving yet still send the message you’re trying to get out there.
- Get article ideas from your sales team. Most B2B companies don’t know it, but they’re sitting on a goldmine of expertise. Your sales team works with clients every day – work with them to create articles that address the issues that your audience is trying to solve.
- Check the pronouns you use. Read through your posts and count how many times you say “I,” “we,” and “our” instead of “you” and “your” in an article. If you’re using more of the former, you’re probably just talking about your brand.
- Share stories about other people. Your brand doesn’t always have to be the hero of the story. Highlight experts, employees, and customers who are doing meaningful work in your industry.
- Stop explaining what your brand does. Don’t just publish press releases about your brand’s products and services – share articles that show the outcomes your audience aspires to achieve.
- Focus on one audience need per article. Whether you’re aiming to teach your audience a lesson or validate their challenges, lead with your purpose instead of sending a brand message.
What This Looks Like in Practice
Imagining what audience-centric content looks like is different from reading it for yourself. The difference between reading brand-focused versus audience-centered content often comes down to a subtle shift in word choice. Here are a few side-by-side examples for you to reference.
| No value exchange: Click on this link if you’re planning a water infrastructure project in 2026. | Value exchange: Keep reading for the benefits of starting a new water infrastructure project in 2026. |
| “Me” pronouns: My company streamlines wastewater operations for more than 100 companies in the U.S. | “You” pronouns: Use these tips to ease any challenges you’re facing in the wastewater industry. |
| You as the hero. My company created the most advanced wastewater technology in the country. | Others as the hero: Here’s how John Smith has used innovation to make a major impact in the wastewater industry. |
| Vanity metrics: Our newsletter reaches 100,000 wastewater professionals every week. | Quality content: You can learn about the latest wastewater trends, news, and challenges in this weekly newsletter. |
| Addressing multiple audience needs: In this article, we’ll help wastewater operators run their facility more efficiently while also helping municipalities optimize their water reuse efforts. | Addressing one audience need: Wastewater operators can run their facility more effectively with these five tips. |
You can switch from promoting your brand to educating your audience as soon as your next blog post. When you sit down at your computer to write, keep audience education at the top of your mind, because an educational article carries more weight than any sales pitch or press release ever could.
Glossary: Common Types of Marketing Content
Since marketing content takes on many forms, here’s a brief glossary to help you differentiate between the types of posts you’ll come across:
- Content marketing is value-first publishing. It’s built to educate, inform, or inspire without pitching. The goal is to earn attention, build trust, and stay top of mind—so when someone is ready to buy, they already believe in you.
- Promotional content highlights features, offers, or announcements with the goal of driving immediate action. Think of it as content that pushes, not pulls.
- Sponsored content lives on someone else’s platform, and you pay to place it there. Ideally, it looks and feels like editorial—but it’s funded and approved by you.
- Advertisements are creative units (banners, videos, images) designed to interrupt and convert. There’s no pretense of value, just offer and call to action.
- Branded content blurs the line between storytelling and marketing. It’s entertaining or emotionally resonant but sponsored by a brand.
- Thought leadership is insight-led content that shows you understand the market better than anyone. It’s not about being smart, it’s about being useful, specific, and brave enough to say what others won’t.
- User-Generated Content (UGC) is content created by your customers, users, or people in your community. It’s organic, highly trusted, and often more persuasive than polished marketing.
- Sales enablement content is content made to help sales reps close deals. It speaks directly to buyer objections, questions, or value proof, and often gets published privately.
- SEO content is designed to rank and attract organic traffic. It’s usually written to answer questions buyers type into Google—but can vary widely in quality and depth.
Some of these content types go hand in hand, but knowing the differences between all of them will help you utilize content marketing strategies more effectively for your brand.