There’s no such thing as a ‘boring’ industry… only generic content
“Our industry is just... boring.”
Usually, they're talking about things like logistics, cybersecurity, manufacturing, payroll software, insurance or industrial equipment.
And I get it. Compared with consumer brands, these sectors rarely have celebrity endorsements, viral campaigns, or huge advertising budgets.
It's therefore easy to assume there's simply less to write about that’s interesting or engaging.
I don’t buy that, though.
Having written for a number of ‘unsexy’ industries over the past 20 years, I'm yet to find an industry that's genuinely boring.
Sure, I've found plenty of boring content… but that's a writing problem, not an industry problem.
The companies that consistently create interesting content all have one thing in common: they stop writing about their products and start writing about the people buying them.
What is a ‘boring industry’?
A ‘boring industry’ is usually shorthand for an industry that:
Sells technical or complex products
Operates behind the scenes
Has long buying cycles
Lacks obvious ‘consumer appeal’
Deals heavily with regulation, compliance, operations, or infrastructure
Relies on specialist knowledge and expertise.
In other words, industries that many marketers assume are difficult to make interesting.
In fact, technical industries often contain richer and more commercially meaningful stories than consumer brands, because the stakes are higher.
A delayed supply chain affects revenue
Poor product data impacts discoverability
Disconnected systems slow time-to-market
Weak governance creates compliance risk.
These are operational problems with real business consequences, and that creates tension, which is what good content needs.
Reduced risk. Increased efficiency. Faster launches. Fewer bottlenecks. Greater competitiveness in difficult markets. None of this is boring to the people dealing with it every day. And your content should reflect that reality too.
Unfortunately, that's not what a lot of B2B content does.
Think about it this way: Nobody wakes up hoping to read about industrial valves, payroll systems, or digital asset management. They wake up trying to solve a problem.
The more your content helps them solve that problem, the less that the industry you're in really matters.
The problem with a lot of B2B content today
Long before ChatGPT arrived, a huge amount of B2B content had already become interchangeable; AI has just amplified that problem.
From generic advice and surface-level thought leadership to recycled trends and empty buzzwords, this kind of content could belong to almost any company in almost any sector. The content may sound polished, but it lacks value and is easily forgettable.
Industry research confirms this. For example, a study by the LinkedIn B2B Institute found that 81% of B2B ads fail to gain adequate attention or drive recall.
It matters because most B2B buyers are not ready to purchase immediately, which means most B2B marketing is not simply trying to generate instant conversions. Instead, it’s trying to build brand recognition and future preference before buying intent exists.
More technical industries are often hit hardest because marketers can become nervous about sounding ‘too technical’, so they oversimplify the very details that make the subject commercially relevant in the first place.
Ironically, that usually makes the content less engaging, not more.
Your audience does not need to be entertained
One of the biggest misconceptions in B2B marketing is that all content needs to feel entertaining to succeed — it really doesn’t. But that does not mean B2B marketing should become bland or purely functional.
A procurement lead researching manufacturing systems late at night is not looking for a brand to become their new favourite social media account. They’re looking for clarity, confidence, expertise, reassurance, and a practical understanding of their challenges.
Research (‘The B2B Renaissance’) from LinkedIn and MAGNA Media Trials found that business decision-makers are 40% more likely to consider purchasing from brands whose ads are perceived as ‘creative’. Nearly half of respondents also said more creative B2B advertising would increase their interest and action.
The key difference is that effective B2B creativity is usually rooted in relevance, emotional resonance, and commercial understanding — not gimmicks.
The most effective technical content usually succeeds because readers think, “Finally! Someone who actually understands this problem!”
That's a very different reaction from, "I've read this same article five times already."
John Deere is a good example of a brand that does this. On paper, tractors aren't exactly the stuff of viral social media campaigns. Yet for decades, the company has produced magazines, videos, podcasts, and practical advice aimed at helping farmers run more productive businesses.
Much of that content isn't about tractors at all; it's about soil health, crop management, precision agriculture, and the day-to-day challenges farmers are facing today.
That's the point. The product isn't always the most interesting part of the story; the customer is.
Interesting B2B content comes from tension
The strongest content in technical industries rarely comes from trying to make the topic “fun”. It comes from uncovering tension.
That tension might be:
growing operational complexity
rising compliance pressure
disconnected systems
shrinking margins
internal bottlenecks
changing customer expectations
AI disruption
outdated workflows
content chaos
product launch delays
governance failures
These are the issues your audience deals with every day. That's also why the best content often starts with a conversation with your sales team, rather than looking to a keyword tool.
It’s intel like this that creates stories with stakes, consequences, and urgency. For example:
A retailer struggling to syndicate accurate product data across hundreds of channels…
A manufacturing brand trying to reduce compliance risk while scaling globally…
A content team overwhelmed by asset duplication and localisation requests…
A telecoms provider managing fragmented customer information across multiple systems…
These are not “boring” problems.
They are operational and commercial pressures that directly affect performance.
That is where compelling B2B content lives.
Specificity is what makes technical content engaging
If there is one thing that separates strong B2B content from forgettable content, it is specificity. By this, I mean that audiences trust detail, examples, and real operational understanding.
One of the biggest mistakes I see is companies replacing specifics with safe, generic language because they're worried readers won't understand the detail. In reality, the opposite is usually true.
Relevant detail is what convinces readers you understand their world.
Which sounds more credible?
“Businesses need better workflows.”
Or:
“Retail content teams are often managing thousands of SKU variations, localisation requests, retailer specifications, and approval workflows simultaneously — while trying to reduce time-to-market.”
The second example feels more believable because it reflects the reality of the work. Even if a reader doesn't manage retail content operations themselves, they will immediately recognise that the writer has a deep knowledge, perhaps even some direct experience, of the topic.
Specificity creates confidence and signals expertise. And in technical industries, expertise is often what earns attention in the first place…
This idea aligns with broader B2B buying behaviour research. The 2024 Edelman-LinkedIn Thought Leadership Impact Report found that buyers increasingly prefer self-directed digital research and value thought leadership that offers genuine insight, strong perspective, and practical understanding of industry challenges.
Generic content may fill publishing calendars, but it rarely builds authority.
I've seen that play out across content and web projects for recruitment companies, IT providers, financial services firms, manufacturers, enterprise software vendors, and public sector organisations. Not once has a subject become interesting because we found a clever headline or tried to make it sound more exciting.
It became interesting because we managed to uncover the commercial pressures, customer frustrations, difficult decisions, and operational challenges that mattered to the people the content was aimed at.
Distinctiveness matters more than ever
AI is brilliant at producing average content quickly… but it’s far less capable of producing genuinely distinctive content without someone bringing original experience, judgement and perspective to the table.
They can’t replace original thinking, conduct meaningful SME interviews, or uncover operational nuances on their own.
And AI can’t develop a strong point of view unless someone gives it one.
As more brands publish AI-assisted content at scale, genuinely useful expertise becomes more valuable — not less.
The brands that stand out won't necessarily be the ones producing the most content. They'll be the ones saying something worth remembering. They're the ones who have taken the time to interview the right people, uncover the right stories, and develop a genuine point of view.
This also reflects a broader shift in B2B marketing effectiveness research.
According to the LinkedIn B2B Institute’s “5 Principles of Growth” research, emotional messaging and stronger brand-building are often more effective for long-term B2B growth than purely rational sales messaging alone.
In technical industries, the challenge is rarely that there is “nothing to say.”
The challenge is creating content distinctive enough to be remembered.
How to create stronger content for technical or ‘boring’ industries
1. Interview subject matter experts properly
The most interesting material is often hidden inside operational detail.
Ask:
What frustrates customers most?
What slows teams down?
What mistakes happen repeatedly?
What is changing in the industry?
What pressures are increasing?
That is where the real stories are.
2. Stop writing about your product
One mistake I see repeatedly is companies putting themselves at the centre of every piece of content they produce.
For example, every blog becomes ‘our software’, ‘our latest feature’, ‘our news’… but your audience cares much more about:
the mistakes they should avoid making
how to make the most of what they’ve bought from you
industry changes
how to make difficult decisions
common misconceptions
lessons that can be learned from other businesses
Ironically, the less you talk about yourself, the more valuable your content becomes.
3. Focus on consequences, not just features
Features rarely create urgency on their own.
But consequences do.
Instead of:
“Our platform improves governance.”
Explain:
“Without stronger governance, outdated or non-compliant content can continue circulating across digital channels long after campaigns change.”
That creates stakes.
4. Use the language your audience actually uses
Strong B2B content sounds like it understands the industry — not like it was written using a generic marketing template.
That does not mean overwhelming readers with jargon. But it does mean using terminology naturally and accurately where relevant.
5. Stop trying to oversimplify everything
Technical audiences are often more knowledgeable than marketers assume.
Clarity matters.
But removing all nuance can make content feel shallow and unconvincing.
Sometimes specificity is what keeps readers engaged.
6. Lead with insight, not volume
Publishing more content does not automatically improve authority.
Especially now.
In many industries, audiences are already overwhelmed by repetitive AI-generated articles and generic LinkedIn posts.
Fewer, stronger pieces with genuine expertise will usually outperform high-volume content that lacks depth or perspective.
Final thoughts
IMHO, there is no such thing as a boring industry.
There are only industries that are poorly understood, oversimplified, or hidden beneath generic marketing language.
Because behind every technical process, operational challenge, or complex system is someone trying to solve a problem, reduce a risk, or make a better decision.
That’s what your readers really care about. And that’s where great B2B content starts.
I've never worked in an industry where there wasn't a genuinely interesting story to tell.
I've only worked with businesses that needed help finding it
FAQs: B2B and technical content
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The strongest technical content focuses on real customer problems, operational friction, industry change, and business outcomes. Subject matter expert insight, specificity, examples, and clear explanations are usually more effective than trying to make technical topics overly entertaining.
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Many brands rely on generic thought leadership, overused marketing language, and AI-generated content that lacks original insight or commercial understanding. This creates large volumes of interchangeable content.
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Not necessarily. Good technical content uses industry terminology where it adds clarity, but explains concepts clearly enough for the intended audience.
The goal isn't to remove technical language altogether; it's to use it naturally and only where it's helpful.
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AI can support research, summarisation, and production workflows. But effective B2B content still relies heavily on human expertise, strategic thinking, industry knowledge, and original perspective.
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Many B2B companies fall into the trap of publishing safe, interchangeable content because they're trying to appeal to everyone. In technical industries, this often means removing the detail, opinion and operational context that make content genuinely useful. Ironically, trying to sound more accessible can make content less memorable.
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