B2B Content Marketing – It Takes a Village

This year, the Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs published their 7th B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends – North America study. While there are many studies that are released each year, this is one that I really analyze and review as it is full of insights and paints a very clear picture of where B2B marketers are on their journey to maturity.

The study was a bit different this year with some new questions and sections, but overall, this year’s comparison to previous studies provides insight into how B2B marketing organizations are succeeding, and in many cases, still facing challenges with the discipline of content marketing.

It takes a town-

I was surprised to see that 55% of organizations have small teams (some just one person) that are responsible for delivering content to the entire organization. Less than 40% of respondents said they have an organization and/or dedicated people throughout the organization.

It’s not easy to create great content that engages shoppers and aligns with the shoppers’ buying journey. It takes time to understand your buyer, their pain points and challenges, and your buyers’ journey. According to CEB, in a typical B2B buying cycle there are an average of 6.8 people involved in the buyer committee, all of whom want specific content that is relevant to their role.

With this being the case, how can only a handful or just one person be expected to create compelling content? In order for content to be done correctly and produce value, there must be a team dedicated to it.

Measurement should be a priority-

When asked, “Is it clear what an effective or successful content marketing program looks like?” only 41% answered yes. The other with 59% answered with a not sure or a no. While this may be while only 28% are mature or sophisticated, the need to measure has never been more apparent.

According to the study the following is true:

• 29% of the B2B marketing budget is spent on content marketing
• 39% of organizations will increase their investment in content marketing
• 45% will spend the same amount next year as this year

That is a large investment to make without an understanding of the results. While producing relevant and engaging content is crucial, knowing the impact these investments are having on an organization is just as, if not more, important.

Metrics do not align with objectives-

Respondents in the study listed lead generation as the number one goal of their marketing efforts. However, when asked “What metrics does your organization use to determine how well your content marketing is producing results?” only 57% said they were measuring lead quality.

If the content goal is to generate demand, simply measuring web traffic (78% do so as the primary metric) will give you no indication of success or failure. If B2B marketers are going to get better at measuring value, they need to measure what aligns with their goals.

• How would you characterize the success of your organization’s current overall approach to content marketing? 22% declaring very or extremely successful and 53% declaring moderately successful (I’m not sure the goal of organizations is to be marginal)
• How does the success of your organization’s current overall approach to content marketing compare to a year ago? 62% say something more or much more successful

There are improvements, but there is still a long way to go

While 72% of organizations reported increased effectiveness with their content (web visits are the primary metric, this is questionable), eye-opening statistics that tell the real story of how organizations are doing with content marketing were the following:

• Only 37% of B2B organizations have a documented content strategy (sorry, but if you say you have one but it’s documented, YOU DON’T HAVE A STRATEGY!)
• Only 22% say their organization’s approach to content marketing is very or extremely successful
• Only 28% of those surveyed stated that their organizations are sophisticated or mature with content marketing.
• Only 34% say their organizations are extremely or very effective in meeting their content marketing goals

With all the attention paid, money invested, and time spent on content, you’d think we’d be a lot further along. What’s more disconcerting with these low numbers is that 63% of those surveyed said their organizations were extremely or very engaged in content marketing.

I think it’s time (I’ve said this many times before) that marketing leaders really look at this content engagement and instead of investing in more content production, invest in understanding buyers on a deeper level so that your content can be better informed. At the same time, invest in better enabling and equipping content marketers with the skills they need to perform their roles at the highest level.

Content marketing isn’t going anywhere anytime soon and is necessary to attract, nurture, and convert buyers and build customer relationships, but year-over-year the numbers are either flat or declining, indicating we have a problem. Let’s hope that 2017 (I said this about 2016) is the year that marketing leaders take the time to address it.