Aclid’s Content Marketing Playbook: Building Authority in a Technical B2B Space
Technical founders often view content marketing as a distraction from building product. But in regulated markets where trust is paramount, the right content strategy can be a powerful differentiator. In a recent episode of Category Visionaries, Aclid founder Kevin Flyangolts shared their approach to building authority through technical content.
Learning from Cybersecurity Content
Rather than following conventional B2B marketing playbooks, Aclid drew inspiration from an adjacent technical field. “I personally really like what the cybersecurity space has done in marketing, where they offer you technical resources on SoC two compliance, ISO compliance, on x vulnerability or y exploit, and those technical resource end up helping you build trust with that company,” Kevin explains.
This focus on deeply technical content serves multiple purposes. It demonstrates expertise, provides genuine value to potential customers, and creates natural paths to sales conversations.
Building Trust Through Domain Authority
With biosecurity becoming increasingly regulated, Aclid has positioned themselves as experts in both policy and implementation. “We’re working with both policymakers and industry, academia as well as politicians directly to make sure that our voice is heard and the right technical implementation is made,” Kevin notes.
This active engagement in policy discussions provides unique insights that feed their content strategy. By sharing their perspective on emerging regulations and implementation challenges, they help manufacturers navigate an increasingly complex landscape.
Content as Market Education
A significant portion of Aclid’s content focuses on educating the market about synthetic biology’s broader implications. Kevin’s explanation of the field illustrates their approach: “Over the last ten years or so, we figured out not just how to read DNA…but you’re now also able to write. So you can take DNA sequences, create new ones, and put them into organisms and have them do something totally new and different.”
This educational content helps contextualize the need for biosecurity while positioning Aclid as thought leaders in the space.
Converting Content into Trust
The goal isn’t just to provide information, but to build lasting relationships. As Kevin explains, “You end up going to them time and time again just to figure things out internally, that at some point it starts to make sense for you to just go directly to them for the service that they’re providing.”
This approach creates a natural progression from content consumption to customer conversion, particularly valuable in a field where sales cycles can be long and trust is essential.
Technical Content for Complex Sales
Aclid’s content strategy aligns with their enterprise sales motion. “A lot of my day today is talking to customers, working with our engineers on the product and building up our sales infrastructure, building up content, getting people to know us,” Kevin shares. “The visibility of our brand is really important as the regulatory starts to pick up.”
Their content aims to answer a crucial question: “We want to be in a place where if you think biosecurity, if you think about compliance for gene synthesis, we’re the first company you turn to. And that takes a lot of content.”
Building for the Long Term
Rather than chasing quick wins, Aclid’s content strategy focuses on establishing long-term authority. “It takes a lot of time to build the right relationship,” Kevin notes. Their technical resources serve as the foundation for these relationships, helping position Aclid as trusted advisors rather than just vendors.
Key Elements of Their Content Strategy
- Focus on technical depth over broad appeal
- Create resources that help with immediate challenges
- Share insights from policy engagement
- Educate the market about broader industry trends
- Build content that supports enterprise sales cycles
For B2B founders building in technical markets, Aclid’s approach offers valuable lessons. Instead of diluting their expertise for broader appeal, they’ve doubled down on technical credibility. By creating genuinely useful resources that demonstrate deep domain knowledge, they’re building trust that translates into sales opportunities.