This is the fifth year that MarketingProfs and Content Marketing Institute have put together this report on how marketers use content in their marketing mix. With changes in the industry, the report may look a little different than you remember. Dive in, and enjoy!
For three years we’ve looked at B2B content marketing trends, and this year, we are excited to bring you these compelling B2C findings.
According to our research, both B2B and B2C marketers are still struggling with the effectiveness of their content marketing. So while we are happy that more marketers are engaging in content marketing to attract and retain customers, we also realize we have a ways to go.
FAIRY TALE: CONTENT IS AN ART AND RELIES ON GUT INSTINCT FACT: SUCCESSFUL CONTENT IS DATA DRIVEN AND SEMANTIC KEYWORD RIDDEN 03
How to Get Data Driven WITH YOUR CONTENT MARKETING
KEYWORD PLANNER IS YOUR FRIEND • Enter words around your company or service • Enter words around your competitors or enemies • Don’t be afraid of two or three word phrases • Find Search Volume
FIND WORDS THAT HAVE VOLUME
TWEET OF THE DAY If no one is looking for your content, then no one will read your content.
GET KEYWORD IDEAS
USE THESE IDEAS TO CREATE BLOG TOPICS
JUST DON’T USE THE TYPOS
GOOGLE ‘HOW TO’ + ‘KEYWORD’ IN INCOGNITO
PREDICTIVE SEARCH YOUR TOPICS
SELECT A TOPIC BASED ON YOUR SEARCH • Read the top 3 most recent posts • Write 3 things that suck about each of them
SELECT A TOPIC BASED ON YOUR SEARCH • Read the top 3 most recent posts • Write 3 things that suck about each of them • Think of 3 ways to make your post better • Make it 10X better than those posts • Use the keywords and semantics from earlier • Distribute it like crazy!
TWEET OF THE DAY Google loves great content, but it ranks content it can find no matter how people search for it.
Content Marketing is Worthless if it Doesn’t Move the Needle
AGENCY
CLIENT
Grow traffic, generate leads, and increase revenue . . .
Improve Current Process and Content
BLOG
ITALIAN WAS FIRST LANGUAGE
OUR COPYWRITER FIXED THAT
Redevelop Content Strategy to Attract New Customers
CHUPAMOBILE Flappy Bird The Flappy Miley Clone “Flappy bird ruined everything.” Paolo de Santis Founder, Chupamobile
App re-skinners were ruining the site and causing havoc in the app store
APPRENEURS • Want to build a business or an app • Do not have development experience • Development shops are expensive • Freelance Mobile Devs are flaky
CONDUCT KEYWORD AND SEARCH RESEARCH
BLOG TOPICS • Hiring a mobile dev • Teach people how to launch apps • How to make money from apps • Build apps with no code
MATCH BLOG POSTS TO EBOOK DOWNLOAD CONTENT
BUILD LANDING PAGES
LOTS OF THEM
MAKE IT EASY TO BECOME A LEAD • CTA on bottom of blog posts • CTA on sidebar • Exit intent pop-up
CREATE CONTENT CALENDAR
Launch Posts and Distribute Like a Mofo
DISTRIBUTION PROCESS FOR EVERY POST
NETWORK AND LINK
BUILD AN OUTREACH LIST
LINKEDIN IS AMAZING
AGGREGATORS HELP!
TWEET OF THE DAY If content gets published on the internet with no one around to read it, does it still get found19% INCREASE IN ORGANIC IN 3 MONTHS
696 LEADS IN 3 MONTHS
44% CONVERSION RATE
Has Leads, Will Nurture 3.4
NURTURE LEADS TO CREATE CUSTOMERS • Downloaded guide • Introduction to Chupa email • How it works email • Chupa success story email
TWEET OF THE DAY Growth hacking isn’t one tactic; it is how you string tactics together and automate them. That’s how you create growth!
Welcome to the sixth annual Content Marketing in Australia: Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends report. One of the most striking findings was the increased percentage of Australian content marketers who have become more focused on building an audience (85%) compared with last year’s survey results (69%). This finding was not unique to Australia; the Content Marketing Institute team observed it among all groups of content marketers studied. Building a subscriber base is a key content marketing goal. However, what you do with that list is equally as important. The quality of content you create (does it speak to your audience’s wants and needs?) … how efficiently you produce it … whether it’s credible … how/when/where you distribute it – these are just a handful of factors that impact overall content marketing success. And let us not forget the
importance of a documented strategy and a strong commitment to the approach (see page 4 for a glimpse at commitment’s influence). We wish you success with using content marketing to provide meaningful, long-term value for your audience – and business results for your organisation. If you need educational resources, please let us know.
B2C Content Marketing: 2014 Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends—North AmericaMarketingProfs
Business-to-consumer content marketing is on the rise, with 60% of North American B2C marketers planning to increase content marketing spend over the next 12 months, according to the second annual B2C content marketing study. Get more details about the state of B2C content marketing, such as benchmarks, budgets, and trends in this downloadable PDF.
Research shows that marketers from large companies (1,000 employees) use more content marketing tactics and outsource content creation more frequently than their peers do. Learn more about how enterprise marketers approach content marketing.
Welcome to our annual Enterprise Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends report. Here we present the findings from enterprise marketers (those who work in organizations with 1,000+ employees) who replied to our 11th Annual Content Marketing Survey.
At the time of the survey, content marketers had just made it through the first half of 2020. Most reported that their organization made quick changes when the pandemic hit, most notably by changing their targeting/messaging strategy, adjusting their editorial calendar, and changing their content distribution/promotion strategy. The majority (57%) expected to spend about the same on content marketing during the second half of 2020 as they spent in the first half (17% expected a decrease).
Team size hadn’t changed drastically compared with the previous year (48% said it stayed the same); yet, another 35% reported an increase.
Overall, one-third of the enterprise respondents reported high levels of content marketing success. These top performers said the top two factors contributing to that success in the last 12 months were “the value our content provides” (79%) and “website changes” (62%).
Looking forward, 74% of respondents felt the pandemic would have a major or moderate long- term impact on their organization’s overall content marketing success. It will be interesting to see how enterprise marketers rise to the challenges in 2021.
For three years we’ve looked at B2B content marketing trends, and this year, we are excited to bring you these compelling B2C findings.
According to our research, both B2B and B2C marketers are still struggling with the effectiveness of their content marketing. So while we are happy that more marketers are engaging in content marketing to attract and retain customers, we also realize we have a ways to go.
FAIRY TALE: CONTENT IS AN ART AND RELIES ON GUT INSTINCT FACT: SUCCESSFUL CONTENT IS DATA DRIVEN AND SEMANTIC KEYWORD RIDDEN 03
How to Get Data Driven WITH YOUR CONTENT MARKETING
KEYWORD PLANNER IS YOUR FRIEND • Enter words around your company or service • Enter words around your competitors or enemies • Don’t be afraid of two or three word phrases • Find Search Volume
FIND WORDS THAT HAVE VOLUME
TWEET OF THE DAY If no one is looking for your content, then no one will read your content.
GET KEYWORD IDEAS
USE THESE IDEAS TO CREATE BLOG TOPICS
JUST DON’T USE THE TYPOS
GOOGLE ‘HOW TO’ + ‘KEYWORD’ IN INCOGNITO
PREDICTIVE SEARCH YOUR TOPICS
SELECT A TOPIC BASED ON YOUR SEARCH • Read the top 3 most recent posts • Write 3 things that suck about each of them
SELECT A TOPIC BASED ON YOUR SEARCH • Read the top 3 most recent posts • Write 3 things that suck about each of them • Think of 3 ways to make your post better • Make it 10X better than those posts • Use the keywords and semantics from earlier • Distribute it like crazy!
TWEET OF THE DAY Google loves great content, but it ranks content it can find no matter how people search for it.
Content Marketing is Worthless if it Doesn’t Move the Needle
AGENCY
CLIENT
Grow traffic, generate leads, and increase revenue . . .
Improve Current Process and Content
BLOG
ITALIAN WAS FIRST LANGUAGE
OUR COPYWRITER FIXED THAT
Redevelop Content Strategy to Attract New Customers
CHUPAMOBILE Flappy Bird The Flappy Miley Clone “Flappy bird ruined everything.” Paolo de Santis Founder, Chupamobile
App re-skinners were ruining the site and causing havoc in the app store
APPRENEURS • Want to build a business or an app • Do not have development experience • Development shops are expensive • Freelance Mobile Devs are flaky
CONDUCT KEYWORD AND SEARCH RESEARCH
BLOG TOPICS • Hiring a mobile dev • Teach people how to launch apps • How to make money from apps • Build apps with no code
MATCH BLOG POSTS TO EBOOK DOWNLOAD CONTENT
BUILD LANDING PAGES
LOTS OF THEM
MAKE IT EASY TO BECOME A LEAD • CTA on bottom of blog posts • CTA on sidebar • Exit intent pop-up
CREATE CONTENT CALENDAR
Launch Posts and Distribute Like a Mofo
DISTRIBUTION PROCESS FOR EVERY POST
NETWORK AND LINK
BUILD AN OUTREACH LIST
LINKEDIN IS AMAZING
AGGREGATORS HELP!
TWEET OF THE DAY If content gets published on the internet with no one around to read it, does it still get found19% INCREASE IN ORGANIC IN 3 MONTHS
696 LEADS IN 3 MONTHS
44% CONVERSION RATE
Has Leads, Will Nurture 3.4
NURTURE LEADS TO CREATE CUSTOMERS • Downloaded guide • Introduction to Chupa email • How it works email • Chupa success story email
TWEET OF THE DAY Growth hacking isn’t one tactic; it is how you string tactics together and automate them. That’s how you create growth!
Welcome to the sixth annual Content Marketing in Australia: Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends report. One of the most striking findings was the increased percentage of Australian content marketers who have become more focused on building an audience (85%) compared with last year’s survey results (69%). This finding was not unique to Australia; the Content Marketing Institute team observed it among all groups of content marketers studied. Building a subscriber base is a key content marketing goal. However, what you do with that list is equally as important. The quality of content you create (does it speak to your audience’s wants and needs?) … how efficiently you produce it … whether it’s credible … how/when/where you distribute it – these are just a handful of factors that impact overall content marketing success. And let us not forget the
importance of a documented strategy and a strong commitment to the approach (see page 4 for a glimpse at commitment’s influence). We wish you success with using content marketing to provide meaningful, long-term value for your audience – and business results for your organisation. If you need educational resources, please let us know.
B2C Content Marketing: 2014 Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends—North AmericaMarketingProfs
Business-to-consumer content marketing is on the rise, with 60% of North American B2C marketers planning to increase content marketing spend over the next 12 months, according to the second annual B2C content marketing study. Get more details about the state of B2C content marketing, such as benchmarks, budgets, and trends in this downloadable PDF.
Research shows that marketers from large companies (1,000 employees) use more content marketing tactics and outsource content creation more frequently than their peers do. Learn more about how enterprise marketers approach content marketing.
Welcome to our annual Enterprise Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends report. Here we present the findings from enterprise marketers (those who work in organizations with 1,000+ employees) who replied to our 11th Annual Content Marketing Survey.
At the time of the survey, content marketers had just made it through the first half of 2020. Most reported that their organization made quick changes when the pandemic hit, most notably by changing their targeting/messaging strategy, adjusting their editorial calendar, and changing their content distribution/promotion strategy. The majority (57%) expected to spend about the same on content marketing during the second half of 2020 as they spent in the first half (17% expected a decrease).
Team size hadn’t changed drastically compared with the previous year (48% said it stayed the same); yet, another 35% reported an increase.
Overall, one-third of the enterprise respondents reported high levels of content marketing success. These top performers said the top two factors contributing to that success in the last 12 months were “the value our content provides” (79%) and “website changes” (62%).
Looking forward, 74% of respondents felt the pandemic would have a major or moderate long- term impact on their organization’s overall content marketing success. It will be interesting to see how enterprise marketers rise to the challenges in 2021.
Welcome to our annual B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends—North America report. We’re excited to present you with the findings from our latest content marketing survey.
Content marketing has changed a lot since we launched this research nearly a decade ago. We marketers are still focused on content creation, but our thinking about the audiences for whom we create that content has evolved. So, too, have the ways we distribute, measure, and improve upon our content marketing. Technology has played a big role, along with the knowledge we’ve gained through our content marketing experiences.
As you’ll see in this report, some organizations are more developed than others with their content marketing. But you’ll also recognize your own practices reflected in many of the findings. Where does your company stand? What do you need to get to where you want to be? If you need help, let us know!
There is a huge opportunity for marketers to get more from the content they’re developing. That’s the conclusion the Content Marketing Institute (CMI) research team came to after
conducting its first-ever content management and strategy survey.
Our team surveyed 411 marketers from the CMI audience to learn how they manage content within their organizations. Read on to see the results.
2020 B2B Content Marketing Trends and BudgetsTheia Marketing
Here are the top content marketing trends in the B2B space for 2020. We look at organic vs. paid distribution and content marketing budgets vs. ROI on content.
Interactive content enables you to deliver engaging, educational,differentiated content experiences. Discover what other marketersare learning and start your climb.
Welcome to our ninth annual B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends—North America report. We surveyed content marketers worldwide about a range of content marketing topics including strategy, audience development, technology proficiency, and content types. This report presents the data from the B2B content marketers in North America.
Although issues such as changes in SEO and social media algorithms are top-of-mind for B2B content marketers, they are accustomed to rapid changes in technology that often enable them to do their jobs faster, with better results. When the process-related components of the content marketer’s job are efficient, time is freed up to better serve the audience, discovering and developing the types of content they truly want and need.
We hope you find this research helpful as you plan for 2019!
2016 B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends ReportMarketingProfs
For six years, MarketingProfs and Content Marketing Institute have put together this report on how marketers use content and how they develop content strategies (if at all). Dive in to learn more about the state of content marketing in B2B organizations!
In this on-demand webinar, SilverTech’s Principal Strategist, Samantha Maltais, and Content Strategist, Ian Hughes, review the results of our industry-wide State of Digital Marketing survey. They discuss the main challenges and opportunities marketers face and share what they believe will be the most effective digital strategies of 2018.
What are some of the changes content marketers are likely to encounter over the next 12 months and beyond? Find out what dozens of experts see on the horizon in Content Marketing Institute's 11th annual e-book of content marketing predictions.
Unpredictable algorithm shifts. Falling reach and lower engagement rates. Growing consumer mistrust from fake news and data breaches.
Despite woes like these, people still use social media platforms – and marketers are still drawn to their relationship-building powers. In fact, in 2019 research from Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs, 61% of B2B marketers and 69% of B2C marketers say they’ve increased their use of social media for content marketing compared with one year ago.
However, navigating the social media landscape is like entering a dark forest without a map. If you aren’t familiar with the terrain and don’t have a solid plan, you can’t expect to reach your destination, let alone make it out of the woods unscathed.
This guide is full of tools that will help you find the best path to success, from planning your social media explorations, to growing legions of brand fans, to engaging them in meaningful ways.
We’ll cover the top content marketing opportunities in the social sphere, including:
- Landmark locations like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn
- Video viewing-centric channels like YouTube and Twitch
- Streaming media sites like Snapchat Stories and Instagram Stories
- Emerging social platforms like Vero True Social and WeGather Online
Greetings Technology Marketers,
Welcome to our annual Technology Content Marketing: Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends—North America report.
I’m pleased to announce the percentage of technology marketers that reported high levels of overall content marketing
success increased from 24% last year to 31% this year—another 50% reported moderate success. Like last year, nearly 70%
said their organization is much/somewhat more successful with content marketing compared with one year ago.
For a glimpse into how the top-performing content marketers operate, see the chart on page 4. You’ll note that these
marketers report high levels of commitment; document their content marketing strategy; are focused on building audiences;
and are given ample time to produce content marketing results, among other distinguishing factors.
Technology is rapidly changing the processes around content marketing. We look forward to watching how things progress
and reporting back to you again next year.
Welcome to Technology Content Marketing 2020: Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends. This report is based on the findings from our 10th annual content marketing survey. Technology marketers continue to make progress with content marketing. Approximately one-third rate their organization’s overall content marketing as extremely or very successful, and 76% report they are much more or somewhat more successful compared with one year ago. What makes them successful? When we look at the top performers, we see they treat content marketing as a strategic business function, craft content thoughtfully, experiment with distribution, and measure their results. They use content marketing not only to create brand awareness and generate leads, but also to build loyalty and subscribed audiences.
Greetings Marketers,
Welcome to B2C Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends—North America. This is the companion report to the B2B research we released in September 2017. The data presented in both reports was generated from our eighth annual content marketing survey. One of our key observations this year is that while B2C marketers reported slightly higher levels of overall content marketing success compared with last year, there was a decrease among those who agreed their organization has realistic expectations about what content marketing can achieve. A documented content marketing strategy can help, as it sets expectations for what teams should prioritize; yet, only 38% of B2C marketers reported having one.
Our annual research has consistently shown that those who document their content marketing strategy get better results than those who don’t. Another important key to success is an efficient workflow process (page 4 shows how top-performing B2C marketers rate their project management flow and other distinguishing characteristics that set them apart from their peers). We hope these research findings will be helpful as you consider which content marketing priorities to focus on in the year ahead.
It's back! The annual Content Marketing Institute/Content Marketing research returns again to dissect content marketing benchmarks, budgets and trends for B2B marketers in North America.
B2C Content Marketing: 2013 Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends—North AmericaMarketingProfs
MarketingProfs produced B2C Content Marketing: 2013 Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends (North America) in partnership with the Content Marketing Institute. Our goal was to give you a clear view of the State of B2C Content Marketing. Among the questions this report answers: What's really happening? What are your biggest content marketing challenges? What slice of the budget will be dedicated to content next year, and what social channels are most relevant?
How to Build Your B2B Marketing Empire From the Ground UpMarketingProfs
As we celebrate and reflect on our 10th anniversary at the MarketingProfs B2B Marketing Forum, let's look to the future with hope and excitement. Let's learn from what has worked, and abandon what hasn't. Let's challenge one another to achieve epic results. Let's build to last.
Welcome to B2C Content Marketing 2019—Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends. This report presents the results from the B2C marketers who took our ninth annual content marketing survey.
Our research has consistently shown that creating brand awareness is a top goal for B2C content marketing. However, many of this year’s survey respondents also reported strong concern for using content to solidify existing relationships (see page 13).
Content that can be effective at building loyalty takes many shapes and forms today, for example:
- Videos and social media stories that entertain
- In-person events that create a sense of community and belonging
- Podcasts that inspire
- Live or virtual experiences that evoke emotion
- Articles, guides, newsletters, etc., that provide information
Obviously, the list goes on. The point is, that while driving people to content is critical, giving them reasons to keep coming back will grow long-term success!
When it's time for that conversation to get buy-in on your content marketing ideas and initiatives, how do you proceed? Do you have all of the resources you need? The research and support to justify your programs? We're here to help. Download our "Mastering the Buy-In Conversation on Content Marketing: The Essential Starter Kit" now to help you. We've done the legwork so you can focus on your content marketing. Good luck, and let us know how else we can help.
Throughout 2012, video marketing for B2B marketers undoubtedly showed an upward trend in both effectiveness and popularity, and most industry observers expect this to continue into 2013 and beyond.
While there’s a lot you could be doing, sometimes it’s hard to know which tracks to start, stop, or pause. To help you find the right mix to meet your marketing goals, we consolidated responses from the 2015 Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends research report section — “Which content marketing initiatives are you working on now, and in the next 12 months?” We broke out the results as follows:
• By priority
• By business type (B2B, B2C and nonprofit)
• By geography (North America, Australia, United Kingdom)
Part I covers two “playlists”:
Internal Processes and Content Marketing Strategy Tactics. From channels to platforms to audience segmentation, learn how you can best establish your content marketing strategy and structure your team internally for more efficient processes.
Part II: Playlist 3 (coming soon) is where you can mix things up a bit with different Execution Tactics. See how to create and deliver the best content to meet your business objectives. While some geographies and business types have similar priorities, others are finding their own unique beats — and the differences may surprise you. We hope you find the following findings insightful and inspirational as you make your plans for the year ahead.
Enjoy!
Joe Pulizzi
B2B Content Marketing Research: Focus on Documenting Your StrategyMadalina Balaban
This reserach - B2B Content Marketing 2015: Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends — North America, produced by Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs and sponsored by Brightcove, reflects the progress our industry is making in exciting new ways.
Welcome to our annual B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends—North America report. We’re excited to present you with the findings from our latest content marketing survey.
Content marketing has changed a lot since we launched this research nearly a decade ago. We marketers are still focused on content creation, but our thinking about the audiences for whom we create that content has evolved. So, too, have the ways we distribute, measure, and improve upon our content marketing. Technology has played a big role, along with the knowledge we’ve gained through our content marketing experiences.
As you’ll see in this report, some organizations are more developed than others with their content marketing. But you’ll also recognize your own practices reflected in many of the findings. Where does your company stand? What do you need to get to where you want to be? If you need help, let us know!
There is a huge opportunity for marketers to get more from the content they’re developing. That’s the conclusion the Content Marketing Institute (CMI) research team came to after
conducting its first-ever content management and strategy survey.
Our team surveyed 411 marketers from the CMI audience to learn how they manage content within their organizations. Read on to see the results.
2020 B2B Content Marketing Trends and BudgetsTheia Marketing
Here are the top content marketing trends in the B2B space for 2020. We look at organic vs. paid distribution and content marketing budgets vs. ROI on content.
Interactive content enables you to deliver engaging, educational,differentiated content experiences. Discover what other marketersare learning and start your climb.
Welcome to our ninth annual B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends—North America report. We surveyed content marketers worldwide about a range of content marketing topics including strategy, audience development, technology proficiency, and content types. This report presents the data from the B2B content marketers in North America.
Although issues such as changes in SEO and social media algorithms are top-of-mind for B2B content marketers, they are accustomed to rapid changes in technology that often enable them to do their jobs faster, with better results. When the process-related components of the content marketer’s job are efficient, time is freed up to better serve the audience, discovering and developing the types of content they truly want and need.
We hope you find this research helpful as you plan for 2019!
2016 B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends ReportMarketingProfs
For six years, MarketingProfs and Content Marketing Institute have put together this report on how marketers use content and how they develop content strategies (if at all). Dive in to learn more about the state of content marketing in B2B organizations!
In this on-demand webinar, SilverTech’s Principal Strategist, Samantha Maltais, and Content Strategist, Ian Hughes, review the results of our industry-wide State of Digital Marketing survey. They discuss the main challenges and opportunities marketers face and share what they believe will be the most effective digital strategies of 2018.
What are some of the changes content marketers are likely to encounter over the next 12 months and beyond? Find out what dozens of experts see on the horizon in Content Marketing Institute's 11th annual e-book of content marketing predictions.
Unpredictable algorithm shifts. Falling reach and lower engagement rates. Growing consumer mistrust from fake news and data breaches.
Despite woes like these, people still use social media platforms – and marketers are still drawn to their relationship-building powers. In fact, in 2019 research from Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs, 61% of B2B marketers and 69% of B2C marketers say they’ve increased their use of social media for content marketing compared with one year ago.
However, navigating the social media landscape is like entering a dark forest without a map. If you aren’t familiar with the terrain and don’t have a solid plan, you can’t expect to reach your destination, let alone make it out of the woods unscathed.
This guide is full of tools that will help you find the best path to success, from planning your social media explorations, to growing legions of brand fans, to engaging them in meaningful ways.
We’ll cover the top content marketing opportunities in the social sphere, including:
- Landmark locations like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn
- Video viewing-centric channels like YouTube and Twitch
- Streaming media sites like Snapchat Stories and Instagram Stories
- Emerging social platforms like Vero True Social and WeGather Online
Greetings Technology Marketers,
Welcome to our annual Technology Content Marketing: Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends—North America report.
I’m pleased to announce the percentage of technology marketers that reported high levels of overall content marketing
success increased from 24% last year to 31% this year—another 50% reported moderate success. Like last year, nearly 70%
said their organization is much/somewhat more successful with content marketing compared with one year ago.
For a glimpse into how the top-performing content marketers operate, see the chart on page 4. You’ll note that these
marketers report high levels of commitment; document their content marketing strategy; are focused on building audiences;
and are given ample time to produce content marketing results, among other distinguishing factors.
Technology is rapidly changing the processes around content marketing. We look forward to watching how things progress
and reporting back to you again next year.
Welcome to Technology Content Marketing 2020: Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends. This report is based on the findings from our 10th annual content marketing survey. Technology marketers continue to make progress with content marketing. Approximately one-third rate their organization’s overall content marketing as extremely or very successful, and 76% report they are much more or somewhat more successful compared with one year ago. What makes them successful? When we look at the top performers, we see they treat content marketing as a strategic business function, craft content thoughtfully, experiment with distribution, and measure their results. They use content marketing not only to create brand awareness and generate leads, but also to build loyalty and subscribed audiences.
Greetings Marketers,
Welcome to B2C Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends—North America. This is the companion report to the B2B research we released in September 2017. The data presented in both reports was generated from our eighth annual content marketing survey. One of our key observations this year is that while B2C marketers reported slightly higher levels of overall content marketing success compared with last year, there was a decrease among those who agreed their organization has realistic expectations about what content marketing can achieve. A documented content marketing strategy can help, as it sets expectations for what teams should prioritize; yet, only 38% of B2C marketers reported having one.
Our annual research has consistently shown that those who document their content marketing strategy get better results than those who don’t. Another important key to success is an efficient workflow process (page 4 shows how top-performing B2C marketers rate their project management flow and other distinguishing characteristics that set them apart from their peers). We hope these research findings will be helpful as you consider which content marketing priorities to focus on in the year ahead.
It's back! The annual Content Marketing Institute/Content Marketing research returns again to dissect content marketing benchmarks, budgets and trends for B2B marketers in North America.
B2C Content Marketing: 2013 Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends—North AmericaMarketingProfs
MarketingProfs produced B2C Content Marketing: 2013 Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends (North America) in partnership with the Content Marketing Institute. Our goal was to give you a clear view of the State of B2C Content Marketing. Among the questions this report answers: What's really happening? What are your biggest content marketing challenges? What slice of the budget will be dedicated to content next year, and what social channels are most relevant?
How to Build Your B2B Marketing Empire From the Ground UpMarketingProfs
As we celebrate and reflect on our 10th anniversary at the MarketingProfs B2B Marketing Forum, let's look to the future with hope and excitement. Let's learn from what has worked, and abandon what hasn't. Let's challenge one another to achieve epic results. Let's build to last.
Welcome to B2C Content Marketing 2019—Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends. This report presents the results from the B2C marketers who took our ninth annual content marketing survey.
Our research has consistently shown that creating brand awareness is a top goal for B2C content marketing. However, many of this year’s survey respondents also reported strong concern for using content to solidify existing relationships (see page 13).
Content that can be effective at building loyalty takes many shapes and forms today, for example:
- Videos and social media stories that entertain
- In-person events that create a sense of community and belonging
- Podcasts that inspire
- Live or virtual experiences that evoke emotion
- Articles, guides, newsletters, etc., that provide information
Obviously, the list goes on. The point is, that while driving people to content is critical, giving them reasons to keep coming back will grow long-term success!
When it's time for that conversation to get buy-in on your content marketing ideas and initiatives, how do you proceed? Do you have all of the resources you need? The research and support to justify your programs? We're here to help. Download our "Mastering the Buy-In Conversation on Content Marketing: The Essential Starter Kit" now to help you. We've done the legwork so you can focus on your content marketing. Good luck, and let us know how else we can help.
Throughout 2012, video marketing for B2B marketers undoubtedly showed an upward trend in both effectiveness and popularity, and most industry observers expect this to continue into 2013 and beyond.
While there’s a lot you could be doing, sometimes it’s hard to know which tracks to start, stop, or pause. To help you find the right mix to meet your marketing goals, we consolidated responses from the 2015 Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends research report section — “Which content marketing initiatives are you working on now, and in the next 12 months?” We broke out the results as follows:
• By priority
• By business type (B2B, B2C and nonprofit)
• By geography (North America, Australia, United Kingdom)
Part I covers two “playlists”:
Internal Processes and Content Marketing Strategy Tactics. From channels to platforms to audience segmentation, learn how you can best establish your content marketing strategy and structure your team internally for more efficient processes.
Part II: Playlist 3 (coming soon) is where you can mix things up a bit with different Execution Tactics. See how to create and deliver the best content to meet your business objectives. While some geographies and business types have similar priorities, others are finding their own unique beats — and the differences may surprise you. We hope you find the following findings insightful and inspirational as you make your plans for the year ahead.
Enjoy!
Joe Pulizzi
B2B Content Marketing Research: Focus on Documenting Your StrategyMadalina Balaban
This reserach - B2B Content Marketing 2015: Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends — North America, produced by Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs and sponsored by Brightcove, reflects the progress our industry is making in exciting new ways.
Our annual content marketing research with new insights useful for 2019 budget planning and benchmarking. This new report focuses on business-to-business (B2B) marketers and their content marketing benchmarks, budgets, and trends.
B2C Content Marketing 2018 - Benchmarks, Budgets & Trends - North America MarketingProfs
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Throughout this report, you’ll see how technology marketers have changed their content
marketing practices over the last year and how they compare with the overall sample of B2B
marketers who completed our annual content marketing survey
B2B Technology Content Marketing Benchmarks Budgets and Trends North AmericaRajkumar Seo
This report presents the findings fr om the 420
respondents who said they were B2B technology
marketers in North America.
Many of the B2B companies are using content marketing as a lead generation.
Our annual content marketing research, providing new information and insights on the state of B2C content marketing in 2020. This report focuses on business-to-consumer (B2C) marketers and their content marketing benchmarks, budgets, and trends.
MANUFACTURING CONTENT MARKETING 2019 Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends Andrew Flynn
Welcome to our Manufacturing Content Marketing 2019—
Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends report. We surveyed content marketers worldwide about a range of content marketing topics including strategy, audience development, technology proficiency, and content types. This report presents the data from the marketers who work in manufacturing organizations.
Welcome to the 12th Annual Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends: Insights for 2022 report. What a year it has been.
This edition of our report looks back on the last 12 months and includes expectations for 2022. Throughout, you will see quotes from the many rich, qualitative responses we received to the question, “What did the pandemic change most about your organization’s content marketing strategy/approach?” In all, 75% of respondents took the time to answer this question and we are ever so grateful. What amazing insights it yielded!
The key theme that emerged was this: The pandemic awoke a sleeping giant – content marketing, that is. Without in-person events and face-to-face selling, many who had previously paid little attention to content marketing suddenly became aware of its power. More content marketers got a seat at the table and helped keep many businesses on their audiences’ radar. Some discovered new audiences altogether.
The research also confirmed what many of us already knew: Content marketers are some of the fiercest business pros around. In the most difficult of times, they get the job done – and many come through more creative and stronger than before.
Congratulations, content marketers, for a job well done in the most difficult of times. Our entire team salutes you!
A strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience—and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action
When Content Marketing Institute (CMI) first reported on manufacturing in 2014, we noted that manufacturers were later to adopt content marketing than other industries we studied. They’ve certainly come a long way since then.
As you’ll see in this report—based on the results of our 10th annual content marketing survey—manufacturing marketers have become more strategic with their content marketing and are feeling less challenged with communicating complex content. Many are reporting success with their overall approach to content marketing. The ability to craft content for different audiences across various stages of the buyer’s journey—and distribute that content with precision—will be important to continued success in 2020.
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Read on to learn what the “state of the state” is in B2B marketing training.
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shoes for men’
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Search Engine Marketing - Competitor and Keyword research
2015 B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends for North America
1. B2B CONTENT
MARKETING
2015
Benchmarks,
Budgets,
and Trends—
North America
SponSored by
2. TABLE OF CONTENTS
2
Welcome................................................................................................................................................. 3
Executive Summary/Key Takeaways................................................................................................... 4
Usage & Overall Effectiveness.............................................................................................................. 8
Strategy & Organization...................................................................................................................... 10
Goals & Metrics..................................................................................................................................... 14
Content Creation & Distribution........................................................................................................ 17
Budgets & Spending............................................................................................................................ 28
Challenges & Initiatives...................................................................................................................... 30
Comparison Chart: Profile of a Best-in-Class B2B Content Marketer............................................35
Comparison Chart: Documented vs. Verbal or No Content Marketing Strategy..........................36
Comparison Chart: Differences Between B2B and B2C Content Marketers.................................37
Comparison Chart: Key Areas of Difference Between B2B and B2C Initiatives............................38
Demographics...................................................................................................................................... 39
About..................................................................................................................................................... 40
SponSored by
3. WELCOME
Hello Content Marketers,
Welcome to the fifth annual B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and
Trends—North America report. It’s hard to believe that it’s been five years since we
first surveyed marketers on how they use content as part of the marketing mix. Since
then, the survey has grown to reach marketers all across the globe. This year, we
heard from more than 5,000 marketers—in 25 industries in 109 countries—from for-profit
and nonprofit organizations. In this report, you’ll learn how the B2B marketers
from North America responded.
As you’ll notice, we made some changes to this year’s survey to better reflect how the
industry is growing. We added new questions, changed the way we asked some of
the prior ones, and even removed a few. We also asked content marketers about the
initiatives they’re working on—and the list is long, as you will see…
We’re thrilled to be with you on this journey.
Yours in content,
Joe & Ann
Joe Pulizzi
Founder
Content Marketing Institute
Ann Handley
Chief Content Officer
MarketingProfs
SponSored by
3
4. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY/KEY TAKEAWAYS
If we had to pick one key theme that has emerged from this year’s
B2B research, it would be this: If you want to be more effective at
content marketing, document your strategy.
That message might sound similar to the one we sent out last year, but here’s how it’s different. Last year,
we asked B2B marketers for the first time whether they had a documented content marketing strategy, and
not even half (44%) said “yes.” That left us wondering whether the 49% who said “no” maybe did have a
strategy but just hadn’t documented it.
Sure enough, our hunch was correct. This year:
35% say they have a documented content marketing strategy
48% say they have a content marketing strategy, but it is not documented
Having a verbal strategy is a great first step. However, as the research shows, it pays to take the time to
write it down: 60% of those who have a documented strategy rate themselves highly in terms of content
marketing effectiveness, compared with 32% of those who have a verbal strategy.
4
SponSored by
5. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY/KEY TAKEAWAYS
Here are some other key takeaways:
70% of B2B marketers are creating more content than they did one year ago, even those who say they are
least effective (58%) and those without any type of strategy (56%).
Measurement is a key area where B2B marketers are struggling: Only 21% say they are successful at
tracking ROI; however, having a documented strategy helps (35% of those with a strategy say they
are successful).
Once again, infographics was the tactic that had the greatest increase in usage (from 51% last year to
62% this year).
94% of B2B marketers use LinkedIn to distribute content, making it the social media platform used most
often (they also say it’s the most effective social media platform).
58% of B2B marketers use search engine marketing, making it the paid method used most often to
promote/distribute content (they also say it’s the most effective paid method).
More B2B marketers say they are challenged with finding trained content marketing professionals this
year (32%) than last year (10%).
5
SponSored by
6. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY/KEY TAKEAWAYS
New for this year
We asked several new questions this year. Among them:
How many different audiences do you target with separate content marketing strategies? The average is 4.
How many paid advertising methods do you use to promote/distribute content? The average is 3.
How often do you publish new content to support your content marketing program? 42% say “multiple
times per week” or “daily.”
How many content marketing initiatives are you presently working on? The average is 13.
How many content marketing initiatives do you plan to begin working on within the next 12 months?
The average is 8.
Challenges align with initiatives
This year, rather than just provide a list of challenges and ask B2B marketers to “check all that apply,” we
asked them to rate how challenged they were on a scale of 1 to 5. What we found is that “creating engaging
content” remains a persistent challenge. “Producing content consistently” and “measuring content
effectiveness” were the number two and number three challenges, respectively.
It was encouraging to see that the initiatives marketers are working on now align with the challenges: the
number one initiative is “creating engaging content.” The number one initiative marketers plan to begin
working on within the next 12 months is “measuring content effectiveness.”
6
SponSored by
7. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY/KEY TAKEAWAYS
What is the one area of content marketing that B2B marketers want to learn more about?
The answers to this open-ended question at the end of the survey confirmed that B2B marketers are hungry
for information about metrics and tracking ROI. In fact, measurement, achieving/tracking/demonstrating
ROI, and marketing automation were the three areas mostly commonly listed by B2B marketers. Although
by no means comprehensive, the following list includes other areas that were often cited:
Aligning goals with content
Content curation
Content discovery tools
Content marketing strategy
Engagement
Optimizing content
Paid promotion
Personalization
Storytelling
Video
As one respondent said, “There isn’t just one. You have to be an amoeba and continually absorb
everything from every angle.”
Here’s hoping that these survey results will be useful in that endeavor.
7
SponSored by
8. USAGE & OVERALL EFFECTIVENESS Does your organization
SponSored by
8
use content marketing?
86% say “yes”
Last year, 93% of respondents said they use
content marketing. Back then, we defined
content marketing as the “creation and
distribution of educational and/or compelling
content in multiple media formats to attract and/
or retain customers.”
This year, we defined content marketing as
“a strategic marketing approach focused on
creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and
consistent content to attract and retain a clearly
defined audience—and, ultimately, to drive
profitable customer action.”
The new definition—crafted by Content
Marketing Institute in early 2014—better reflects
how content marketing has grown from the mere
“creation and distribution” of content to a formal
business discipline.
Percentage of B2B Respondents
Using Content Marketing
86%
Yes
14%
No
2015 B2B Content Marketing Trends—North America: Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs
9. SponSored by
USAGE & OVERALL EFFECTIVENESS
9
Overall, how effective is
your organization at
content marketing?
38% say they are effective
For purposes of our annual survey, we define
effectiveness as “accomplishing your overall
objectives.” We refer to those who rate their
organizations as a 4 or 5 (on a scale of 1 to 5,
with 5 being “Very Effective” and 1 being “Not
at all Effective”) as the “most effective” or
“best-in-class” marketers. The 1s and 2s are
considered the “least effective,” while the 3s
are neutral.
Last year, 42% of B2B marketers said they were
effective.
How B2B Marketers Rate the
Effectiveness of Their Organization’s
Use of Content Marketing
Very Effective 8%
30%
42%
17%
Not At All Effective 2%
0 10 20 30 40 50
5
4
3
2
1
2015 B2B Content Marketing Trends—North America: Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs
10. SponSored by
STRATEGY & ORGANIZATION
Who Have a Content Marketing Strategy
10
Does your organization
have a content marketing
strategy?
35% say “yes, and it is
documented”
Percentage of B2B Marketers
Last year, we asked marketers for the first
Yes, and it is documented 35%
time whether they had a documented content
marketing strategy. The high percentage of
Yes, but it is not documented 48%
those who said “no” (49%) left us wondering
whether some had a strategy but had simply
No 14%
not taken the time to document it. So this year
we asked the question a bit differently, and
indeed we found that nearly half of marketers
have a strategy, but it’s not in writing. The 35%
who have documented their strategy are more
effective in all aspects of content marketing
2015 B2B Content Marketing Trends—North America: Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs
than those who have not. Unsure 3%
0 10 20 30 40 50
11. SponSored by
STRATEGY & ORGANIZATION
Very closely 42%
Somewhat 51%
We rarely use it 4%
Unsure 2%
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
11
How closely does your
content marketing strategy
guide your organization’s
content marketing efforts?
42% say “very closely”
Having a strategy is one thing—following it is
another. Although 42% say they follow it “very
closely,” the majority follow it only “somewhat.”
There are myriad reasons why a company might
not follow its strategy “very closely,” but our
research shows that 62% of the most effective
marketers do. The lesson is clear: you need to
document your strategy and follow it closely.
Percentage of B2B Marketers
Who Say Strategy Guides Efforts
2015 B2B Content Marketing Trends—North America: Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs
12. SponSored by
STRATEGY & ORGANIZATION
Have a Dedicated Content Marketing Group
Yes, and it functions independently as its own unit 12%
Yes, and it works horizontally across the organization silos 35%
No, but planning to have one 15%
No, and no plans to have one that I know of 38%
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
12
Does your organization
have a dedicated content
marketing group?
47% say “yes”
This is a new question on our annual survey.
The numbers you see here are for all content
marketers, but the most effective (69%) as well
as those who have a documented strategy
(69%) are more likely to have a structure,
regardless of what that structure is.
Percentage of B2B Marketers Who
2015 B2B Content Marketing Trends—North America: Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs
13. SponSored by
STRATEGY & ORGANIZATION
13
Which area in your
organization is accountable
for content marketing?
It often depends on
company size
Where content marketing sits on the
organizational chart has much to do with
company size. The larger an organization,
the more likely it is that content marketing
is situated under the product marketing or
demand-gen umbrella; only 3% of enterprise
marketers (1,000+ employees) report to
the owner/C-level.
Areas Accountable for
B2B Content Marketing
Owner/C-level
Product Marketing
Demand Gen Marketing
PR/Corporate Communications
Social Team/Social CRM
Other
No one, Unsure, or No Answer
23%
19%
18%
15%
2015 B2B Content Marketing Trends—North America: Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs
6%
5%
14%
14. SponSored by
GOALS & METRICS
14
How important is each
of the following content
marketing goals to your
organization?
84% say “brand awareness”
is the most important goal
In years past, we asked marketers to “check all
that apply” on a list of potential goals for content
marketing. This year, we asked them to rate how
important each goal is to their organization on a
scale of 1 to 5 (with 5 being “Very Important” and
1 being “Not at all Important”).
The percentages on this chart indicate the
proportion of marketers who rated each goal
listed here as a 4 or 5 in terms of importance.
B2B marketers have consistently cited brand
awareness as their top goal over the last five
years. New to the list of goals this year was
“customer evangelism.”
Organizational Goals for
B2B Content Marketing
Brand Awareness
Lead Generation
Engagement
Sales
Lead Nurturing
Customer Retention/Loyalty
Customer Evangelism
Upsell/Cross-sell
84%
83%
81%
75%
74%
69%
57%
52%
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
2015 B2B Content Marketing Trends—North America: Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs
15. SponSored by
15
Which metrics does your
organization use to assess
content marketing success?
63% say “website traffic”
Note: Fewer than 30% of B2B marketers said
they use the following metrics: Benchmark Lift
of Company Awareness (23%), Benchmark Lift
of Product/Service Awareness (18%), Customer
Renewal Rates (16%), and Cost Savings (6%).
B2B marketers consistently cite website
traffic year-over-year as the metric they look
to most often—regardless of company size,
effectiveness, or whether or not they have a
documented strategy. New on the list this year
is “higher conversion rates.”
GOALS & METRICS
Metrics for B2B
Content Marketing Success
Website Traffic
Sales Lead Quality
Higher Conversion Rates
Sales
Sales Lead Quantity
SEO Ranking
Time Spent on Website
Inbound Links
Qualitative Feedback from Customers
Subscriber Growth
63%
49%
48%
43%
40%
39%
39%
35%
33%
30%
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
2015 B2B Content Marketing Trends—North America: Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs
16. SponSored by
16
How successful is your
organization at tracking
the ROI of its content
marketing program?
Only 21% say they
are successful
As these percentages show, many B2B
marketers have a tough time tracking ROI.
Having a documented content marketing
strategy helps, though, as 35% of those
who possess one are successful in this area,
compared with the 21% average for the
overall sample.
GOALS & METRICS
How B2B Marketers Rate Their
Organization’s Success at
Tracking ROI
Very Successful 5%
16%
33%
21%
Not At All Successful 10%
We Do Not Track 15%
0 10 20 30 40 50
5
4
3
2
1
2015 B2B Content Marketing Trends—North America: Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs
17. SponSored by
17
Compared with one year
ago, how much content is
your organization creating?
70% are creating more
B2B marketers from companies of all sizes—and
across all levels of effectiveness—are creating
more content. These numbers haven’t changed
much over the last year.
CONTENT CREATION & DISTRIBUTION
Change in B2B Content Creation
(Over Last 12 Months)
Significantly More
More
Same Amount
Less
Unsure
27%
4%
5%
43%
21%
2015 B2B Content Marketing Trends—North America: Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs
18. SponSored by
18
How many different
audiences does your
organization target
with separate content
marketing strategies?
The average number is 4
The number of audiences that B2B marketers
target is often related to how large the B2B
marketer’s organization is. For example, smaller
companies (1-9 employees) target an average of
three audiences, whereas enterprise companies
(1,000+ employees) target an average of six.
CONTENT CREATION & DISTRIBUTION
Number of Audiences
that B2B Marketers Target
6%
7%
26%
46%
7%
8%
0 10 20 30 40 50
10+
7-10
4-6
2-3
1
Unsure
2015 B2B Content Marketing Trends—North America: Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs
19. SponSored by
19
Which content marketing
tactics does your
organization use?
The average number of
tactics used is 13
Note: Fewer than 40% of B2B marketers said they
use the following tactics: Branded Content Tools
(38%), eBooks (37%), Print Magazines (32%), Books
(30%), Mobile Apps (30%), Digital Magazines (27%),
Virtual Conferences (23%), Podcasts (22%), Print
Newsletters (21%), and Games/Gamification (12%).
These results are similar to last year’s. Once
again, infographics was the tactic with the
biggest jump in usage (from 51% last year to
62% this year). “Illustrations/photos” was a new
choice this year.
CONTENT CREATION & DISTRIBUTION
B2B Content Marketing Tactic Usage
Social Media Content – other than blogs
eNewsletters
Articles on Your Website
Blogs
In-person Events
Case Studies
Videos
Illustrations/Photos
White Papers
Online Presentations
Infographics
Webinars/Webcasts
Research Reports
Microsites
92%
83%
81%
80%
77%
77%
76%
69%
68%
65%
62%
61%
48%
47%
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
2015 B2B Content Marketing Trends—North America: Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs
20. SponSored by
Changes in B2B Content Marketing Tactic Usage
20
Trending data for the
tactics that are used
most often
Tactic usage continues
to grow
This chart takes a closer look at the tactics
that more than 75% of marketers presently
use, and how that usage has changed over the
last few years.
Out of all the tactics we asked about this year
(see page 19 for the entire list), there haven’t
been any significant declines in usage of any
one particular tactic over the last few years;
usage has either been flat or it has increased
or decreased by only a few percentage points.
CONTENT CREATION & DISTRIBUTION
100%
95%
90%
85%
75%
60%
2013 2014 2015
80%
70%
65%
Social Media Content
(other than blogs)
eNewsletters
Articles on Your Website
Blogs
In-person Events
Video
Case Studies
2015 B2B Content Marketing Trends—North America: Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs
21. SponSored by
21
How effective are the
following tactics that
you use?
For the fifth consecutive
year, “in-person events”
tops the list
Note: Percentages shown represent marketers
who rated each tactic a 4 or 5 on a 5-point scale
where 5 = “Very Effective” and 1 = “Not at all
Effective.”
Of all the tactics B2B marketers use, these are
the 10 that they say are most effective. The
percentages haven’t changed much since last
year, with one notable exception: case studies.
Last year, 65% of marketers said case studies
were effective, compared with 58% this year.
CONTENT CREATION & DISTRIBUTION
Effectiveness Ratings for B2B Tactics
In-person Events
Webinars/Webcasts
Videos
Blogs
Case Studies
White Papers
Research Reports
eNewsletters
eBooks
Microsites
69%
64%
60%
60%
58%
58%
58%
58%
55%
54%
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
2015 B2B Content Marketing Trends—North America: Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs
22. SponSored by
22
Which social media
platforms does your
organization use to
distribute content?
LinkedIn is used most often
Average Number Used: 6
Note: Fewer than 20% of B2B marketers said they
use the following social media platforms: Flickr
(14%), StumbleUpon (12%), Foursquare (11%),
Tumblr (10%), Vine (9%), and SnapChat (5%).
This year, the biggest rise in usage has been
that of Google+ (up nine percentage points
from last year).
After some fairly sizable jumps between 2013
and 2014, SlideShare, Pinterest, Instagram, and
Vimeo have leveled off. Vine, which debuted
last year at 14% usage, dropped to 9% this year.
CONTENT CREATION & DISTRIBUTION
LinkedIn
Twitter
Facebook
YouTube
Google+
SlideShare
Pinterest
Instagram
Vimeo
B2B Content Marketing
Social Media Platform Usage
94%
88%
84%
72%
64%
41%
33%
24%
20%
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
2015 B2B Content Marketing Trends—North America: Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs
23. SponSored by
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
23
Trending data for the social
media platforms that are
used most often
The numbers make clear
the rise of social media
This chart shows the platforms that B2B
marketers use most frequently.
To put the growth of social media into
perspective, B2B marketers in 2010 said they
used Twitter (55%), Facebook (54%), LinkedIn
(51%), YouTube (38%), and “other” (8%).
CONTENT CREATION & DISTRIBUTION
Changes in B2B Content Marketing
Social Media Platform Usage
LinkedIn
Twitter
Facebook
YouTube
Google+
20%
2013 2014 2015
2015 B2B Content Marketing Trends—North America: Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs
24. SponSored by
24
How effective are the
social media platforms
that you use?
LinkedIn is rated the
most effective
Note: Percentages shown represent marketers
who rated each platform a 4 or 5 on a 5-point
scale where 5 = “Very Effective” and 1 = “Not at
all Effective.”
The biggest differences compared with last
year are that confidence in Twitter has gone
up five percentage points and confidence in
SlideShare has gone down three points.
CONTENT CREATION & DISTRIBUTION
Effectiveness Ratings for
B2B Social Media Platforms
LinkedIn
Twitter
YouTube
SlideShare
Vimeo
Facebook
Pinterest
Instagram
Google+
63%
55%
48%
42%
40%
32%
25%
24%
20%
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
2015 B2B Content Marketing Trends—North America: Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs
25. SponSored by
25
How often does your
organization publish new
content that supports
its content marketing
program?
42% say daily or multiple
times per week
The most effective marketers (23%), as well
as those who have a documented content
marketing strategy (23%), are the most likely to
say they publish new content daily, although
a higher percentage of both stick to multiple
times per week (31% and 32%, respectively).
CONTENT CREATION & DISTRIBUTION
How Often B2B Marketers
Publish New Content
Daily
Multiple Times per Week
Weekly
Multiple Times per Month
Monthly
Less than Once per Month
Unsure
16%
26%
8%
17%
12%
19%
2%
2015 B2B Content Marketing Trends—North America: Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs
26. SponSored by
26
Which paid advertising
methods do you use to
promote/distribute
content?
80% use at least one
Average Number Used: 3
This year is the first time we asked this
question. The most effective marketers, as well
as those who have a documented strategy, use
all of these paid methods a bit more frequently
than the overall sample, except for print/other
offline promotion, which they use a bit less
frequently.
CONTENT CREATION & DISTRIBUTION
B2B Paid Advertising Usage
58%
52%
49%
48%
Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
Print or Other Offline Promotion
Traditional Online Banner Ads
Social Ads (e.g., LinkedIn ads)
Promoted Posts (e.g., promoted Tweets)
Native Advertising
Content Discovery Tools
42%
34%
13%
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
2015 B2B Content Marketing Trends—North America: Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs
27. SponSored by
27
How effective are the
paid advertising methods
that you use to distribute
content?
Search engine marketing is
rated the most effective
Note: Percentages shown represent marketers who
rated each method a 4 or 5 on a 5-point scale where
5 = “Very Effective” and 1 = “Not at all Effective.”
Search engine marketing (SEM) is the paid
promotion method that B2B marketers not only use
most often but also find most effective.
Although the percentage of marketers who use
“newer” paid methods such as native advertising
and content discovery tools isn’t very high yet, 36%
of those who use them say they are effective. This is
a higher confidence rating than marketers give for
the more established (and more frequently used)
methods of “print or other offline promotion” and
“traditional online banner ads.”
CONTENT CREATION & DISTRIBUTION
Effectiveness Ratings for
B2B Paid Advertising Methods
52%
Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
Promoted Posts (e.g., promoted Tweets)
Social Ads (e.g., LinkedIn ads)
Content Discovery Tools
Native Advertising
Print or Other Offline Promotion
Traditional Online Banner Ads
41%
38%
36%
36%
30%
26%
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
2015 B2B Content Marketing Trends—North America: Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs
28. SponSored by
28
Approximately what
percentage of your
organization’s total
marketing budget (not
including staff) is spent on
content marketing?
The average is 28%
There is a correlation between effectiveness
and the amount of budget allocated to content
marketing. The most effective marketers
allocate 37%, on average, whereas the least
effective allocate 16%.
BUDGETS & SPENDING
Percentage of Total Marketing Budget
Spent on B2B Content Marketing
100%
75-99%
50-74%
25-49%
10-24%
1-9%
0%
Unsure
2%
4%
10%
14%
19%
25%
3%
23%
0 10 20 30 40 50
2015 B2B Content Marketing Trends—North America: Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs
29. SponSored by
29
How do you expect your
organization’s content
marketing budget to
change in the next 12
months?
55% say they will increase
spending
More than half of all B2B marketers plan to
increase their content marketing budget
(including 54% of those who are least effective).
BUDGETS & SPENDING
B2B Content Marketing Spending
(Over Next 12 Months)
Significantly Increase 9%
Increase
Remain the Same
Decrease 2%
46%
32%
Unsure 11%
0 10 20 30 40 50
2015 B2B Content Marketing Trends—North America: Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs
30. SponSored by
30
With regard to content
marketing, how challenged
are you with each of the
following?
Producing engaging content
is a persisent challenge
Note: Percentages shown represent marketers who rated
each challenge a 4 or 5 on a 5-point scale where 5 = “Very
Challenged” and 1 = “Not at all Challenged.”
In years past, we presented a list of potential content
marketing challenges and asked marketers to “select all
that apply.” This year, we wanted to dig deeper into their
pain points, so we asked them to rate the level of challenge
on a scale of 1 to 5 (with 5 being “Very Challenged” and 1
being “Not at all Challenged”). The percentages you see here
represent the number of marketers who rated the challenge
a 4 or 5.
“Producing engaging content” has been a perennial top
challenge over the last five years. This year, we saw a big
jump in “measuring content effectiveness” (from 33% to 49%)
as well as “finding trained content marketing professionals”
(from 10% to 32%).
This year, we replaced the option of “producing enough
content” with “producing content consistently.” New to the
list this year is “technology-related challenges.”
CHALLENGES & INITIATIVES
Challenges that B2B Marketers Face
54%
50%
49%
42%
41%
Producing Engaging Content
Producing Content Consistently
Measuring Content Effectiveness
Producing a Variety of Content
Lack of Budget
Gaps in Knowledge and Skills of Internal Team
Finding Trained Content Marketing Professionals
Lack of Integration Across Marketing
Lack of Buy-in/Vision from Higher-Ups
Technology-related Challenges
34%
32%
30%
29%
20%
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
2015 B2B Content Marketing Trends—North America: Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs
31. New this year, we presented marketers with a list of 28 initiatives. We asked them to select one of
three options for each: working on now, plan to begin working on within 12 months, and not a priority.
Marketers are working on an average of 13 initiatives, and planning to begin work on an average of 8 over
the next 12 months.
SponSored by
CHALLENGES & INITIATIVES
Which content marketing initiatives are you working on?
Creating more engaging content tops the list of 28 potential choices.
The initiatives you see across these next few pages are the 10 that received the highest combined
percentages of “working on now” and “plan to begin working on within 12 months.”
31
32. SponSored by
CHALLENGES & INITIATIVES
32
Creating More
Engaging/Higher-Quality Content
Better Understanding of What
Content is Effective—and What Isn’t
Better Converting Visitors
to Website
8% 9%
69% 23% 63% 31% 55%
Now Within 12 Months Not a Priority No Answer
7%
19%
5% 6% 5%
2015 B2B Content Marketing Trends—North America: Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs
33. 10% 11%
63% 26% 60% 21% 63%
SponSored by
CHALLENGES & INITIATIVES
33
Finding More/Better Ways
to Repurpose Content Creating Visual Content Better Understanding of Audience
Now Within 12 Months Not a Priority No Answer
9%
23%
5% 4% 5%
2015 B2B Content Marketing Trends—North America: Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs
34. SponSored by
CHALLENGES & INITIATIVES
34
Optimizing Content Organizing Content on Website Measuring Content Marketing ROI
12% 13%
58% 21% 62% 46%
36%
Now Within 12 Months
Not a Priority No Answer
11%
26%
5%
Creating a Greater Variety of Content
54%
13%
28%
5%
5% 5%
2015 B2B Content Marketing Trends—North America: Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs
35. Most
Effective Profile of a Best-in-Class B2B Content Marketer Average/
Has a documented content marketing strategy.........................................................................................54%.................35%................. 11%
Has a content marketing strategy, but it’s not documented.....................................................................41%................... 48%................... 44%
Content marketing strategy very closely guides efforts.............................................................................62%................... 42%................... 16%
Content marketing strategy somewhat guides efforts...............................................................................36%................... 51%................... 64%
Has a dedicated content marketing group.................................................................................................69%................... 47%................... 20%
Places high importance on engagement as a goal.....................................................................................89%................... 81%................... 70%
Is successful at tracking ROI........................................................................................................................40%................... 21%.................... 5%
Average number of tactics used................................................................................................................... 14...................... 13.......................11
Average number of social platforms used.....................................................................................................7........................ 6.........................5
Publishes new content daily or multiple times per week ..........................................................................54%................... 42%................... 23%
Percentage of total budget allocated to content marketing......................................................................37%................... 28%................... 16%
Challenged with producing engaging content...........................................................................................38%................... 54%................... 72%
Challenged with measuring effectiveness..................................................................................................38%................... 49%................... 65%
Average number of initiatives working on now........................................................................................... 15...................... 13.......................11
Average number of initiatives planning to begin working on within 12 months.........................................6........................ 8.........................9
SponSored by
COMPARISON CHART
35
Overall
Least
Effective
Chart term definitions: A “best-in-class” content marketer (aka “most effective”) is one who rates his or her organization a 4 or 5 in effectiveness on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being
“Very Effective” and 1 being “Not at all Effective.” Those who rate themselves 1 or 2 are the “least effective.” The numbers under “average/overall” represent total respondents.
2015 B2B Content Marketing Trends—North America: Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs
36. Documented vs. Verbal or
No Content Marketing Strategy Verbal
Considers organization to be effective at content marketing....................................................................60%................... 32%.................... 7%
Content marketing strategy very closely guides efforts.............................................................................62%................... 28%....................N/A
Content marketing strategy somewhat guides efforts...............................................................................37%................... 62%....................N/A
Has a dedicated content marketing group.................................................................................................69%................... 40%................... 15%
Is successful at tracking ROI........................................................................................................................35%................... 26%.................... 5%
Average number of tactics used................................................................................................................... 14...................... 12.......................11
Average number of social platforms used.....................................................................................................7........................ 6.........................5
Publishes new content daily or multiple times per week ..........................................................................55%................... 37%................... 25%
Percentage of total budget allocated to content marketing......................................................................36%................... 25%................... 16%
Challenged with producing engaging content...........................................................................................45%................... 57%................... 70%
Challenged with measuring effectiveness..................................................................................................38%................... 51%................... 67%
Average number of initiatives working on now........................................................................................... 16...................... 13........................9
Average number of initiatives planning to begin working on within 12 months.........................................6........................ 8........................10
SponSored by
COMPARISON CHART
36
Documented
Strategy
Strategy
No
Strategy
2015 B2B Content Marketing Trends—North America: Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs
37. SponSored by
COMPARISON CHART
Differences Between B2B and B2C Content Marketers B2B B2C
Uses content marketing...............................................................................................................................86%................... 77%
Considers organization to be effective at content marketing....................................................................38%................... 37%
Has a documented content marketing strategy.........................................................................................35%................... 27%
Has a content marketing strategy, but it’s not documented.....................................................................48%................... 50%
Does not have a documented strategy.......................................................................................................14%................... 15%
Has a dedicated content marketing group.................................................................................................47%................... 45%
Is successful at tracking ROI........................................................................................................................21%................... 23%
Average number of tactics used................................................................................................................... 13...................... 11
Average number of social platforms used.....................................................................................................6........................ 7
Average number of paid advertising methods used to promote/distribute content..................................3........................ 4
Publishes new content daily or multiple times per week ..........................................................................42%................... 48%
Percentage of total budget allocated to content marketing......................................................................28%................... 25%
Challenged with producing engaging content...........................................................................................54%................... 50%
Average number of initiatives working on now........................................................................................... 13...................... 13
Average number of initiatives planning to begin working on within 12 months.........................................8........................ 9
37
2015 B2B Content Marketing Trends—North America: Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs
38. SponSored by
COMPARISON CHART
Key Areas of Difference Between B2B and B2C Content Marketing Initiatives
(Working on Now + Will be Working on Within 12 Months)
Creating a better mobile strategy...................................................................................................................58%................... 74%
Better understanding content marketing technology...................................................................................70%................... 77%
Leveraging user- or fan-generated content....................................................................................................48%................... 70%
Real-time content marketing..........................................................................................................................47%................... 58%
Content personalization..................................................................................................................................64%................... 70%
Developing a channel plan for social media...................................................................................................67%................... 75%
38
B2B
B2C
Note: B2B and B2C marketers have prioritized many of the same initiatives over the next 12 months (creating more engaging content, doing a better job
of converting website visitors, measuring content marketing ROI, etc.). This chart shows where the biggest differences are.
2015 B2B Content Marketing Trends—North America: Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs
39. B2B Content Marketing: 2015 Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends—North America was produced by Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs
and sponsored by Brightcove.
The fifth 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, the Business Marketing Association (BMA), Brightcove, Blackbaud, EnVeritas Group (EVG),
The Association for Data-driven Marketing & Advertising (ADMA), the Direct Marketing Association UK (DMA), Industry Week, New Equipment Digest,
WTWH Media, and Corporate Financial Group.
A total of 5,167 recipients from around the globe—representing a full range of industries, functional areas, and company sizes—responded throughout
July and August 2014. This report presents the findings from the 1,820 respondents who said they were B2B marketers in North America (1,572 of whom
said “yes, our organization uses content marketing”). The B2C percentages shown in this report (pp. 37-38) derive from the same research study. The full
findings for B2C North America are available in a separate report.
SponSored by
DEMOGRAPHICS
39
Size of B2B Company
(by Employees)
B2B Industry Classification B2B Job Title/Function
22%
26% 23%
40%
4% 5%
20%
7%
10%
10%
32%
23%
18%
23%
12%
3%
3%
5%
10%
4%
■ Advertising/Marketing
■ IT/Technology
■ Manufacturing
■ Consulting
■ Publishing/Media
■ Banking/Accounting/Financial
■ Healthcare/Pharmaceuticals
■ Other
■ Marketing/Advertising/
Communications/PR Management
■ Corporate Management/Owner
■ Content Creation/Management
■ Marketing Administration/Support
■ General Management
■ Sales/Business Management
■ Consultant
■ Other
■ Micro (Fewer than 10 Employees)
■ Small (10-99 Employees)
■ Midsize (100-999 Employees)
■ Large (1,000+ Employees)
40. Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs thank all the survey respondents as well as the distribution partners who made this survey possible,
with a special welcome this year to the Business Marketing Association, one of the organizations that helped launch the first survey in 2010.
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 event, 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, 2013, and 2014 Inc. 500 company. View all CMI research at www.contentmarketinginstitute.com/research. Learn how to create a
documented content marketing strategy, a key component for improving overall content marketing effectiveness.
About MarketingProfs
MarketingProfs offers real-world education for modern marketers. More than 640,000 marketing professionals worldwide 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 business. Visit MarketingProfs.com for more.
About the Business Marketing Association
For more than 90 years, the Business Marketing Association (BMA) has dedicated itself exclusively to the discipline of business-to-business
marketing. We enrich the lives of B2B marketers by providing a forum to connect them to learn about new trends and network with peers to
exchange ideas. As the largest organization in the world dedicated to B2B marketing, our chapters and 2,500 members represent corporate
professionals, agencies, small businesses, and suppliers committed to advancing the practice of B2B marketing.
To learn more, visit www.marketing.org.
About Brightcove
Brightcove Inc. (NASDAQ:BCOV) is a leading global provider of powerful cloud solutions for delivering and monetizing video across
connected devices. The company offers a full suite of products and services that reduce the cost and complexity associated with publishing,
distributing, measuring and monetizing video across devices. Brightcove has more than 5,500 customers in over 70 countries that rely on the
company’s cloud solutions to successfully publish high-quality video experiences to audiences everywhere.
To learn more, visit www.brightcove.com.
SponSored by
ABOUT
For more information about this report, contact research@contentinstitute.com.
40