Content marketing is a popular online marketing strategy today, and it is gaining popularity among B2B marketers. According to a report by Holger Schulze, 83.5% of B2B marketers polled said they were increasing their content marketing efforts over the next year, in contrast to the 71% of last year.
B2B Marketer Goals
B2B marketers use content marketing for a variety of purposes, but the top 3 have been found to be:
- Lead generation: 68%
- Thought leadership/market education: 50%
- Brand awareness: 39%
Most Popular Content Marketing Tactics
B2B marketers use a wide range of tactics to achieve their goals, but focus on the following top approaches:
- case studies (62%)
- whitepapers and e-books (61%)
- press releases (58%)
- newsletters (55%)
- blogs (51%)
It is interesting to note that B2B marketers were putting less emphasis on traditional advertising such as advertorials (11%), community threading (12%), and virtual events (18%).
The top tactics were also found to be among the most effective, whereas the lesser-used ones were correspondingly, and not surprisingly, less effective overall.
Graphical content is the tactic that is gaining the most popularity among B2B marketers, as 43% say that it is the most effective content tactic compared to 28% last year.
What Makes Content Great?
In terms of the features of great and engaging content, B2B marketers cited engaging and compelling storytelling, originality, and customized content, followed by well-edited copy and professional writing:
SOURCE: 2012 B2B Content Marketing Trends Survey, by Holger Schulze for Optify.
Generating great content isn’t easy, but it is effective and widespread. The secret is for a B2B company to partner itself with an agency that features professional content producers on their team, such as Blue Hat. Our graphic designers, developers and copywriters work together to create some of the most unique and compelling content on the internet, all tailored to the specific needs of your business. From blogs to infographics to social media interaction, we’ve got all the bases covered to ensure maximum return on investment out of your marketing budget.
