Be a signal in the noise: How to create content that cuts through

When every brand has a story to tell and something to sell, how do you make yours stand out? And once you’ve got people listening, how do you ensure your message is the one that sticks? Getting noticed is only the beginning. To make content marketing work, you need to focus on what truly matters to your audience.

Let’s lay some groundwork 

Great content doesn’t just communicate what you want to say—it taps into the motivations and pain points of the people it’s trying to reach. Before creating any piece of content, we dive into what drives our target audience, making sure every message aligns with both their needs and our client’s objectives. For more on adopting an audience-first approach, read this Insights article from my colleague Emily Donnelly. 

Another principle to remember: your messages will have a bigger impact if your teams work cross-functionally. Marketing and communications teams need to look beyond their own KPIs and align around a shared vision. In our experience, B2B campaigns deliver the most value when marketing and comms work in sync— not silos—with each function contributing to a unified strategy.

With these fundamentals in place—an audience-first approach and cross-departmental collaboration—here are five content strategies we applied with ABB to make sure their message cut through. 

1. Make thought leadership a core strategy

Effective thought leadership is about picking a lane and owning it. For ABB, that meant leading the way in sustainability and circular economy principles. By consistently publishing insights, analyses, and perspectives from ABB executives, we established them as go-to voices in the sustainability space.

This approach did more than boost brand visibility—it made ABB the first port of call on circular economy topics, positioning them as credible and innovative leaders. And it’s a strategy more companies are embracing;  67% of B2B marketers report increasing their brand-building budgets, recognising the long-term value of thought leadership in establishing relevance and trust in emerging fields.

2. Turn hero content into multi-channel stories

A strong piece of hero content can anchor an entire campaign when repurposed thoughtfully across platforms—extending its value and longevity. 

For ABB’s Circularity campaign, we repurposed the core message across webinars, podcasts, social posts, and blog articles, tailoring each format to fit how audiences engage on different platforms. This multi-channel strategy created a consistent message and maximised reach—generating 50 million impressions globally.

3. Localise content for regional needs

One-size-fits-all doesn’t work in a global market. For ABB’s Everyday Heroes campaign, we adapted messaging to suit regional nuances, translating and tailoring assets to connect with local audiences. This localisation strategy delivered a 200% increase in engagement across key regions.

For the Circularity campaign, we went a step further by creating industry- and market-specific assets. As a result, ABB’s core priority market became the campaign’s top performer, demonstrating the value of optimising content for specific audiences.

4. Use video to make an impact

Video is unmatched in its ability to humanise complex topics and build emotional connections in B2B marketing. 59% of B2B marketers say their use of video is on the rise, and 90% of marketers report that it has helped them generate leads. 

In ABB’s Everyday Heroes campaign, we used video to tell the human stories behind ABB’s electrification and automation initiatives. This content format brought an otherwise highly technical subject into engaging narratives that were optimised for a range of touchpoints, from social media snippets to in-depth event presentations. The video content created a strong emotional resonance with ABB’s global audience, making complex ideas accessible and relatable.

5. Test, learn and optimise

A campaign doesn’t reach its full potential without constant iteration. According to LinkedIn research, there’s a 40% improvement in click-through rates when campaigns are tested and optimised. 

With ABB, we used a testing-first approach, monitoring performance in real time to refine our strategy based on what was working best. We tracked data on formats, headlines, and channels, making adjustments to maximise engagement and ROI. For example, if one version of a social post or landing page outperformed another, we adjusted the remaining assets to follow suit. This approach boosted engagement by 400% and reduced costs by 63%. 

These strategies helped us position ABB as a trusted leader by crafting content that didn’t just reach people but resonated deeply across diverse markets.

An audience-first, insights-driven approach—combined with localisation, emotional storytelling, and continuous optimisation—turns core messages into impactful, memorable experiences. In a crowded landscape, finding your white space and amplifying what matters is how you become the signal, not the noise.