b2b content marketing

Content Marketing

SponSored by

B2Bbenchmarks, budgets, and Trends–north America2014

http://www.contentmarketinginstitute.com/2012/10/2013-b2b-content-marketing-research/

http://www.brightcove.com

http://www.marketingprofs.com?adref=cm2013report

2SponSored by

overview: the State of B2B Content Marketing in north aMeriCa

Greetings Content Marketers,

We have good news to report! B2B content marketers in North America are making strides: 42% consider themselves effective, up from 36% last year.

Moreover, we also can begin to understand why marketers are feeling more confident: For the first time, we asked marketers whether they have a documented content strategy (44% do) and a person who oversees content marketing strategy (73% do). Our findings tell us that there are distinct differences between those who have a strategy and those who do not. Marketers who do are not only more effective but also less challenged with every aspect of content marketing.

Even though we’ve made great strides, the industry is clearly still in the early adoption phase. However, some marketers are seeing substantial success. Read on to find out what a best-in-class content marketer does differently and delve into many other findings as well.

On with the content marketing revolution!

ann handleyChief Content OfficerMarketingprofs

Joe PulizziFounderContent Marketing Institute







3SponSored by

Percentage of B2B Marketers Using Content Marketing

93%

use contentmarketing

7%

do notuse contentmarketing

2014 B2B Content Marketing Trends—North America: Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs

93% of B2B marketers use content marketing.

USAGE

Last year, 91% of b2b marketers said they used content marketing.





4SponSored by

42% of B2B marketers say they are effective at content marketing.

Last year, 36% of b2b marketers said they were effective at content marketing.

OVERALL EFFECTIVENESS

How B2B Marketers Rate the Effectiveness of Their Organization’s

Use of Content Marketing

9%33%

41%14%

2%

Very Effective

Not At All Effective

100 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

54321





5SponSored by

Profile of a best-in-class B2B content marketer.

OVERALL EFFECTIVENESS

Comparison of Most Effective B2B Content Marketers with Least Effective B2B Content Marketers

Has a documented content strategy

Has someone who oversees content marketing strategy

Average number of tactics used

Average number ofsocial media platforms used

Percent of marketing budget spent on content marketing

Challenged with producingengaging content

Most Effective Overall/Average Least Effective

66% 44% 11%

86% 73% 46%

15 13 10

7 6 4

39% 30% 16%

35% 47% 61%

• “Most Effective” = Respondents who rated their organization’s use of content marketing as 4 or 5 in terms of effectiveness (on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being “Very Effective”)• “Least Effective” = Respondents who rated their organization’s use of content marketing as 1 or 2 in terms of effectiveness (on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being “Not At All Effective”)






6SponSored by

44% of B2B marketers have a documented content strategy.

B2B marketers who have a documented content strategy are far more likely to consider themselves effective (66% vs. 11%).

48% of smaller B2B organizations (10-99 employees) have a documented content strategy, compared with 41% of large organizations (1,000+ employees).

STRATEGY

Percentage of B2B Marketers WhoHave a Documented Content Strategy

44%

Yes49%

No

6%

Unsure






7SponSored by

73% of B2B organizations have someone in place to oversee content marketing strategy.

The majority of the most effective B2B marketers (86%) have someone who oversees content marketing strategy; however, only 46% of less effective marketers do.

Small companies (10-99 employees) are more likely than large companies (1,000+ employees) to have someone who oversees content marketing strategy (78% vs. 58%).

STRATEGY

Percentage of B2B Marketerswith Someone Who OverseesContent Marketing Strategy

73%

Yes

22%

No

5%

Unsure






8SponSored by

73% of B2B content marketers are producing more content than they did one year ago.

78% of the most effective B2B marketers are creating more content than they did one year ago, compared with 57% of their least effective peers.

B2B marketers who have a documented content strategy are creating more content than they did one year ago, compared with those who do not have a documented strategy (80% vs. 66%).

CONTENT VOLUME

Change in Amount of B2B Content Creation

(Over Last 12 Months)

32%

SignificantlyMore

41%

More

20%

Same Amount

5%

Less

2%

Unsure






9SponSored by

B2B marketers use an average of 13 content marketing tactics.

Tactic usage has remained relatively consistent when compared with last year.

Infographics has seen the largest year-over- year increase in usage. Last year, 38% of b2b marketers were using infographics, compared with 51% this year.

TACTIC USAGE

B2B Content Marketing Usage (by Tactic)

0

20

40

60

80

100

Socia

l Med

ia –

Othe

r tha

n Blo

gs

Artic

les o

n You

r Web

site

eNew

slette

rs

Blog

s

Case

Stud

ies

Vide

os

Artic

les o

n Oth

er W

ebsit

es

In-p

erso

n Eve

nts

Whi

te Pa

pers

Web

inar

s/W

ebca

sts

Rese

arch

Rep

orts

Micr

osite

s

Info

grap

hics

Bran

ded C

onte

nt To

ols

Mobi

le C

onte

nt

eBoo

ks

Prin

t Mag

azin

es

Book

s

Podc

asts

Mobi

le Ap

ps

Digi

tal M

agaz

ines

Prin

t New

slette

rs

Annu

al Re

ports

Licen

sed/

Synd

icate

d Con

tent

Gam

es/G

amific

ation

87%

76% 76%

64%

Onlin

e Pre

sent

atio

ns

63%

44%

40%

51%

38%

34%35%

30%

Virtu

al C

onfe

renc

es

25%28%

22%24% 10%

73% 73%

81%80%

68%

62%

38%

27% 26% 25%






10SponSored by

B2B content marketers have increasing confidence with most tactics.

For the fourth year in a row, b2b marketers overall have rated in-person events as the most effective tactic they use.

Best-in-class B2B marketers, however, rate blogs as the most effective tactic (79%), which surpasses how they rate in-person events (76%); only 29% of their least effective peers rate blogs as effective.

TACTIC EFFECTIVENESS

Confidence GapEffectiveness Ratings of Tactics Among B2B Users

70% 30%35%

37%38%

41%41%

40%

42%43%

65%

63%62%60%59%59%58%57%

Believe It’s Effective Believe It’s Less Effective

100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

In-person Events

Case Studies

Webinars/Webcasts

37%63% Videos

Blogs

eNewsletters

Research Reports

White Papers

eBooks

Articles on Your Website






11SponSored by

B2B marketers are using social media more frequently than last year.

B2B content marketers use an average of 6 social media platforms, up from 5 last year.

B2B content marketers are using every social media platform listed here more often than they did last year.

Social media platforms that had the biggest increase in use from last year to this year are SlideShare, Google+, and Instagram.

SOCIAL MEDIA USAGE

0 20 40 60 80 100

91%85%

81%73%

55%

34%

22%

40%

16%15%14%

22%

14%

LinkedInTwitterFacebookYouTubeGoogle+

PinterestSlideShare

VimeoFlickr

StumbleUponFoursquare

Instagram

Tumblr14% Vine

B2B






12SponSored by

Although adoption rates for social media are high, B2B marketers are unsure of its effectiveness.

After LinkedIn, large companies (1,000+ employees) consider YouTube to be second most effective, whereas small companies (10-99 employees) say SlideShare and Twitter are second most effective.

49% of small companies consider SlideShare effective, compared with 38% of large companies.

SOCIAL MEDIA EFFECTIVENESS

Confidence GapEffectiveness Ratings of Social Media Platforms

Among B2B Users

62% 38%50%52%55%

70%74%

60%

77%78%79%

50%48%45%

40%30%

26%23%22%21%

Believe It’s Effective Believe It’s Less Effective

100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

LinkedIn

Twitter

YouTube

SlideShare

Vimeo

Facebook

Pinterest

Vine

Google+

Instagram






13SponSored by

Brand awareness continues to be the top organizational goal for B2B content marketing.

B2B marketers have consistently cited brand awareness as their top goal for the last four years.

80% of the most effective B2B content marketers cite lead generation as a goal, compared with 64% of their least effective peers.

ORGANIZATIONAL GOALS

Organizational Goals for B2B Content Marketing

82%74%

71%

57%

68%64%

57%47%

45%

Brand Awareness

Lead Generation

Customer Acquisition

Customer Retention/Loyalty

Thought Leadership

Engagement

Website Traffic

SalesLead Management/Nurturing

100 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100






14SponSored by

B2B marketers have cited Web traffic and sales lead quality as their top content marketing metrics for the last three years.

b2b marketers cited each of these criterion a bit more frequently than they did last year, with the exception of direct sales, qualitative feedback from customers, inbound links, and increased customer loyalty, all of which decreased slightly. Subscriber growth was a new option.

The least effective B2B marketers place more importance on direct sales, citing it as their fourth top criterion (tied with social media sharing). The most effective marketers rank direct sales as their eighth most important criterion.

Over the last four years, direct sales has consistently gone down in importance as a measurement criterion.

MEASUREMENT


Metrics for B2B Content Marketing Success

54%50%

48%

39%39%

44%40%

34%

29%

21%24%

14%6%

63%

100 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Web Traffic

Sales Lead Quality

Social Media Sharing

Sales Lead Quantity

Direct Sales

SEO Ranking

Inbound Links

32%Subscriber Growth

Cross-selling

Cost Savings

Benchmark Li� of Company Awareness

Increased Customer Loyalty

Benchmark Li� of Product/Service Awareness

Time Spent on Website

Qualitative Feedback from Customers





15SponSored by

58% of B2B marketers plan to increase their content marketing budget over the next 12 months.

More b2b marketers plan to increase their content marketing budgets this year, compared with last year (54%).

All b2b marketers plan to increase content marketing spending at similar rates, even those who rate themselves as least effective.

More small companies (10-99 employees) than large companies (1,000+ employees) plan to increase their content marketing budgets over the next 12 months (60% vs. 52%).

BUDGET

B2B Content Marketing Spending(Over Next 12 Months)

10%

SignificantlyIncrease

48%

Increase

32%

Remain theSame

8%

Unsure

1%

Decrease






16SponSored by

On average, 30% of B2B marketing budgets are allocated to content marketing.

The average amount allocated to b2b content marketing rose from 26% in 2012 to 33% in 2013, and has now settled firmly in between.

The most effective B2B marketers spend a higher percentage (39%) of their budgets on content marketing than their least effective peers do (16%).

BUDGET

Percent of Total Marketing Budget Spent on B2B Content Marketing

5%11%

15%21%

12%11%

2%20%

2%

0 10 20 30

100%

75%-99%

50%-74%

25%-49%

10%-24%

5%-9%

1%-4%

0%

Unsure

Average Spent: 30%






17SponSored by

Large B2B companies outsource content creation more frequently than small companies.

There has been no change from last year in how much content b2b marketers create in-house and how much they outsource.

There are no real differences between how much content the most effective and the least effective B2B marketers outsource.

INSOURCING VS. OUTSOURCING

Insourcing vs. Outsourcingof B2B Content Creation

In-house Only

Outsourced Only

Both

Overall/AverageLarge Companies

(1,000+ Employees)Small Companies

(10-99 Employees)

56% 28% 66%

1% 1% 1%

43% 72% 33%






18SponSored by

Writing and design are the two functions most likely tobe outsourced.

INSOURCING VS. OUTSOURCING

Functions thatB2B Marketers Outsource

64%54%

30%22%

13%8%

5%

Writing

Design

Content Distribution/Syndication

Editing

Measurement/Analytics

Content Planning & Strategy

Buyer Persona Creation

100 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100






19SponSored by

B2B marketers most often tailor content based on industry trends.

Nearly all (95%) B2B marketers segment their content in at least one way.

The most effective B2B marketers tailor content more often by every category listed here.

SEGMENTATION

How B2B Organizations Tailor Content

59%55%

43%

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

Profile of Individual Decision Makers

65%Industry Trends

Company Characteristics

4%None

Stage in the Buying Cycle

11%Competitors’ Content

21%Personalized Content Preferences






20SponSored by

Challenges have remained fairly consistent year over year.

Aside from lack of time, b2b marketers consistently cite producing enough content and producing the kind of content that engages as their top challenges.

Challenges are fairly similar to those of years past; however, B2B marketers are gaining strides in their ability to produce a variety of content.

CHALLENGES

Challenges that B2B Content Marketers Face

69%55%

47%39%

38%33%

26%25%

25%23%

10%15%

Lack of Time

Producing Enough Content

Producing the Kind of Content that Engages

Lack of Budget

Producing a Variety of Content

Inability to Measure Content Effectiveness

Lack of Integration Across Marketing

Inability to Collect Information from SMEs

Lack of Knowledge and Training

Lack of Buy-in/Vision

Lack of Integration Across HR

Finding Trained Content Marketing Professionals

100 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100






21SponSored by

Marketers at large companies face different challenges than marketers at small companies.

CHALLENGES

Biggest B2B Content Marketing Challenge(by Company Size)

Large Companies(1,000+ Employees)

Small Companies(10-99 Employees)

16%

15%

13%

11%

7%

5%

4%

4%

2%

1%

1%

8%

1%

9%

8%

13% 34%

5%

13%

6%

2%

3%

2%

2%

Producing the Kind ofContent that Engages

Lack of IntegrationAcross Marketing

Lack of Budget

Lack of Time

Lack of Buy-in/Vision

Inability to Collect Informationfrom SMEs

Producing Enough Content

Inability to MeasureContent Effectiveness

Lack of Knowledge and Training

Producing a Variety of Content

Finding Trained Content Marketing Professionals

Lack of Integration Across HR






22SponSored by

B2B Content Marketing: 2014 Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends—North America was produced by Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs and sponsored by Brightcove.

The fourth annual Content Marketing Survey, from which the results of this report were generated, was mailed electronically to a sample of marketers using lists from Content Marketing Institute, MarketingProfs, Brightcove, Blackbaud, King Content, The Association for Data-driven Marketing & Advertising (ADMA), the Direct Marketing Association UK (DMA), Industry Week, and New Equipment Digest. A total of 4,397 recipients from around the globe—representing a full range of industries, functional areas, and company sizes—responded throughout July and August 2013.

B2B Content Marketing: 2014 Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends—North America reports on the findings from 1,217 (out of the total 4,397) respondents who identified themselves as B2B marketers in North America.

B2B Industry Classification

Advertising/Marketing

27%Other

18%

Consulting

Soware

Manufacturing

Internet/OnlineServices

Publishing/Media

11%12%

10%

5%

5%

5%

4%

3%

BusinessServices (Other)

Healthcare/Medical/Pharmaceutical

Banking/Accounting/Financial

Size of B2B Company(by Employees)

Micro(Fewer than

10 Employees)

30%

Small(10-99 Employees)

31%

Midsize(100-999

Employees)

Large(1,000+ Employees)

22%

19%

B2B Job Title/Function

7%6%4%4%

Sales/BusinessManagement

Consultant

Advertising/MarketingCommunications/PR

40% Corporate Management/Owner

25%

9%

ContentCreation/

Management

Marketing Administration/

SupportGeneral

Management

Other5%





23SponSored by

About Content Marketing Institute:Content Marketing Institute (CMI) is the leading global content marketing education and training organization. CMI teaches enterprise brands how to attract and retain customers through compelling, multi-channel storytelling. CMI’s Content Marketing World, the largest content marketing-focused event, is held every September, and Content Marketing World Sydney, every March. CMI also produces the quarterly magazine Chief Content Officer, and provides strategic consulting and content marketing research for some of the best-known brands in the world. CMI is a 2012 and 2013 Inc. 500 company. View all original CMI research at www.contentmarketinginstitute.com/research.

About MarketingProfs:Marketingprofs (www.marketingprofs.com) is a marketing education and training company that offers actionable know-how designed to make you a smarter marketer. More than 600,000 MarketingProfs members rely on our free daily publications, virtual conferences, and more to stay up-to-date on the most important trends in marketing—and how to apply them to their businesses.

About Brightcove:Brightcove Inc. (NASDAQ: BCOV), a leading global provider of cloud services for video, offers a family of products used to revolutionize the way organizations deliver video experiences. The company’s products include Video Cloud, the market-leading online video platform and Zencoder, a leading cloud-based media processing service and HTML5 video player technology. Brightcove has more than 6,300 customers in over 65 countries that rely on Brightcove cloud content services to build and operate video experiences across PCs, smartphones, tablets, and connected TVs. For more information, visit http://www.brightcove.com.





http://contentmarketinginstitute.com

http://contentmarketingworld.com

http://sydney.contentmarketingworld.com

http://sydney.contentmarketingworld.com

http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/chief-content-officer/

http://www.contentmarketinginstitute.com/research


http://www.marketingprofs.com

