The current digital space is inundated with a multitude of content, from the mundane to the relevant, all wanting to grab the attention of online audiences, whatever background or milieu they originated from. This is made even more complex with the deluge of user-generated content, adding to the din and cacophony of information digital marketers are struggling to overcome with daily. Read more about our presentation on the current B2B content marketing trends this 2020. Check out our original blog post here: https://digitalmarketingphilippines.com/b2b-content-marketing-trends-in-2020-infographic/

2. The current digital space is inundated with a
multitude of content, from the mundane to
the relevant, all wanting to grab the attention
of online audiences, whatever background or
milieu they originated from.
In the B2B marketing sphere, the clamor to
create awareness and entice targeted
companies, businesses, and organizations to
take notice has grown much more
competitive than ever.
This is made even more complex with the
deluge of user-generated content, adding
to the din and cacophony of information
digital marketers are struggling to
overcome with daily.

3. Content marketing remained at the forefront
of B2B digital marketing efforts in 2019 and
will continue to evolve as a critical marketing
element for 2020 and beyond.
Because of this, marketing goals and
mandates have shifted from merely
creating awareness, to ultimately grabbing
targeted audiences full and undivided
attention.
In line with this, various marketing trends
have emerged or changed from previous
iterations and are expected to gain better
traction in this new year.
2020

4. The following provides an overview of these
emerging B2B Content Marketing trends for
2020, all geared towards helping digital
marketers establish greater brand awareness,
showcase knowledge and expertise in their
respective fields, build connections, and win
favor that can eventually influence the B2B
decision-making process.

5. While many businesses have
allocated considerable
resources for their B2B
marketing efforts, as evident in
the continuous increase of
digital ad spending, content
marketing remains a vital lead
generation tool that delivers
results.
Content Marketing Remains Vital as a Lead Generation Tool
1

6. • Targeted content remains as an active element in an
inbound marketing arsenal, generating a higher percentage
of high-quality leads, resulting in a higher marketing ROI
received by up to 53% of digital marketers
• Lead generation through content marketing can attract
high-quality leads, influencers, and decision-makers in the
B2B buying process. This is confirmed by up to 55% of these
B2B buyers who are significantly influenced by
word-of-mouth referrals
• The most effective type of content for B2B marketers in
lead generation for 2020 is still long-form content or content
with 1000 words or more. Up to 79% of B2B buyers choose
White Papers as the most effective long-form content as it is
easily shareable among colleagues.
• Lead Generation in the B2B market has also spread out to
other forms of content, with video channels expected to
bring bigger results this 2020. This is driven by the fact that
up to 70% of B2B buyers would do extensive research on
brands and businesses by watching a video.

7. 2020 will usher in a new era of change as B2B Content Marketing
trends focus more on delivering messaging and experiences based
on what their targeted audiences want, which is not necessarily
similar to what B2B marketers prefer.
However, B2B Content Marketers tend to create certain types of
content simply because they like it or because other B2B marketers
want and use them. Furthermore, they embellish this content with
additional “techie” features that they think would make their content
appear better.
A Deeper Focus on Targeted Prospects
2
One of the main differences in B2B Content Marketing as compared
to B2C is that the latter “broadcasts” general in a bid to attract as
much consumer attention as possible, while B2B marketers focus
their content on their clients.

8. • Up to 90% of the best performing B2B Content Marketers
focus more on the specific informational and experiential
needs of their targeted audiences as their top priority.
• The B2B marketing funnel has evolved as more
decision-makers are added to the decision-making approval
line. Up to 50% of all B2B buyers are now Millennials, and
this has changed the decision-making process more
dramatically. They do more extensive research and move
away from fillers and focus only on high-quality and useful
content.
• Part of the decision-making process includes making an
average of 12 online searches about a particular brand or
business before they are considered in the buying process.
B2B buyers make the high-quality buying experience they
receive from B2C purchases as a benchmark, hoping to get
the same treatment from B2B brands and businesses.

9. The Exodus from Theme Sites
3
In the past, many B2B marketers
have gotten away with the use
of a cheap theme or templated
websites. But as more and more
B2B buyers are exposed to
advances in digital and internet
technology, making them aware
of the possibilities available in
the market, the use of these
sites would then be detrimental
to B2B Content Marketers'
campaign efforts.

10. • The ease and simplicity of using pre-built templates when
creating websites make them the most viable option by
many B2B marketers – and this is where the problem arises.
• Since a multitude of sites use the same template formats,
digitally savvy B2B buyers can spot them quickly, and this will
reflect on how they perceive your business
• A custom-designed and original website match the unique
branding attributes of a business, which is different and
unique from others. This makes the site stand out, provide a
more professional feel, increasing conversion rates.

11. Tailor-Fitted Communication through Personalization
4
B2B buyers have evolved
dramatically in recent periods.
Most would prefer or demand a
more personalized service from
their providers. The same is
what they expect from the
marketing content they
consume.

12. • Up to 72% of B2B buyers expect personalized
communication from the brands and organizations
wanting to do business with their company.
• They expect B2B Content Marketers to spend the
extra time and effort to tailor-fit their communication
to suit the characteristics and preferences of B2B
buyers. If they do not receive this type of
personalized service, they would instead switch to a
provider who does.
• B2B Content Marketers can make use of
readily-available marketing technologies such as
automated marketing programs that can help them
create personalized content at scale.

13. The preferences of B2B buyers
have shifted towards more
dynamic and more
technologically-driven content,
which maintains the same
relevance and thought-leadership
they look for. In this regard,
interactive, video, and visual
content emerged as the most
engaging and most effective in
catering to this preference
of B2B buyers.
Interactive, Video and Visual Content Maintains Dominance
5

14. • As up to 82% of all internet traffic is expected to feature
video content by the year 2021, up to 91% of B2B buyers also
have shifter towards video as a more preferred type of
content over the standard static staple.
• The 2019 B2B Content Marketing Benchmarking Report
highlighted that up to 71% of respondents made use of video
content in their marketing for this year, outranking eBooks,
Case Studies, Infographics, White Papers, and Webinars.
• As both B2B buyers and B2B marketers mature in their
perspective of video, interactive, video, and visual content
has also evolved from being a mere top-of-funnel marketing
tactic to becoming an effective content marketing strategy
throughout the buyer journey.
• While video content can come in long-form, short-form,
and live video formats, their effectiveness will rely on their
storytelling effectiveness – in how they SHOW and not tell.
Aside from the attention-grabbing visuals, B2B buyers are
attracted to video content on how it can connect with them
on a more emotional and intellectual level.

15. The sheer amount of information floating in the
digital space can overwhelm people in the business
world, even B2B buyers. They are inundated media
and news that it evolves into a level where it has
become annoying to most.
What they need is something that can connect
and engage with them at a more experiential
level. This is where experiential and interactive
content that delivers compelling experiences can
come in and make a difference.
Experiential Content is Slowly Gaining Ground
6

16. • Research from Gartner states that the new marketing arena
has evolved where marketers are expected to compete on an
experiential level.
• Customer loyalty is gained not from the satisfaction they
learned from a provider, but on how the product or service
connected with them on an emotional and experiential level.
• Content that can deliver interactive experiences has a
higher possibility of connecting and engaging with internal
stakeholders and buyers of targeted B2B audiences. Some of
these interactive content include but are not limited to:

17. • Audio-guided eBooks • Animated and
Info-Training Infographics
• Gamified Pages
and Content
• Virtual Reality content that
provides a 360-degree
experience
• … and more!
• Interactive Quizzes
• ROI and other useful online
calculators
• Augmented Reality
(Product Catalogs)
It is important to note, however, that the effectiveness of interactive content lies not only on their
interactivity elements and their entertainment value but also on how effective they are in delivering
useful data and influence thought.
A
B
C

18. Email Marketing Remains a Strong Marketing Force
7
Email marketing remains a strong and influential
marketing force used by up to 83% of B2B marketers.
Email, however, has evolved from the traditional
newsletters and text-based formats to something
more technologically enhanced, with new
functionalities and features that drive and compel
recipients to complete the desired action.
Emails newsletters are still a useful tool for B2B
Content Marketing as open rates continue to
increase since the last decade

19. • Triggered emails have up to a 50% higher chance of being
opened over non-triggered emails. Also known as
transactional or behavioral emails, triggered emails are
automatically sent based on actions or signals generated by
a user or individual.
• Emails received on smartphones have 40% higher open
rates, while emails received on desktop computers dropped
down to a mere 18% open rate.
• Emails should also be well-formatted on mobile devices as
up to 89% of consumers will delete and unsubscribe from
email newsletters that do not look good on their mobile
devices.

20. Content Marketing remains an essential
digital marketing tool in the B2B arena,
prompting businesses to continually invest
and improve on their B2B Content Marketing
efforts with the latest trends and innovations.
While it is inevitable that the form and
style of B2B Content have grown more
technologically-driven, the fact remains
that all these campaign efforts are
geared towards getting the attention of
B2B buyers.

21. Such are the features B2B Content
Marketers should focus on to gain a more
favorable outcome in their campaigns for
2020 and beyond.
To get better connection and
engagement with targeted B2B clients,
content should connect with them on a
more experiential, more personalized
and more interactive level.
2020
However, getting the attention and
maintaining that attention rely more than
impressive visuals or flashy components
upon.

22. Want one for your business? Go to:
www.digitalmarketingphilippines.com today!
Created & Designed by:
Resources:
1) https://www.emarketer.com/content/emarketer-total-media-ad-spending-worldwide-will-rise-7-4-in-2018
2) http://www.stateofinbound.com/
3) https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2018/05/22/have-you-adjusted-to-these-three-changes-in-the-b2b-buying-process/#71a6c710c445
4) https://contentmarketinginstitute.com/
5) https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2019/02/16/how-to-engage-millennial-decision-makers-as-they-redefine-b2b-ecommerce/
6) https://www.fronetics.com/10-stats-know-b2b-buyers-journey/
7) https://which-50.com/can-marketers-deliver-b2b-personalisation-at-scale/
8) https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/solutions/service-provider/visual-networking-index-vni/index.html
9) https://www.demandgenreport.com/features/industry-insights/b2b-marketers-leverage-interactive-content-for-relevant-buyer-experiences
10) https://contentmarketinginstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/2020_B2B_Research_Final.pdf
11) https://www.toprankblog.com/2019/07/video-marketing-statistics-buyer-journey/
12) https://www.gartner.com/en/doc/3874972-realizing-the-benefits-of-superior-customer-experience-a-gartner-trend-insight-report?uri=/content/gartner/en/documents/3874972.html
13) https://www.toprankblog.com/2019/06/creating-content-experiences/
14) https://www.toprankblog.com/2018/09/why-interactive-content-b2b-marketing/
15) https://turtl.co/resources/insight/forrester/#report
16) https://www.toprankblog.com/2019/04/future-b2b-content/
17) https://www.toprankblog.com/2019/10/email-marketing-not-dead/
18) http://www.stateofinbound.com/
19) https://www.superoffice.com/blog/email-open-rates/
20) https://www.campaignmonitor.com/blog/email-marketing/2018/12/70-email-marketing-stats-you-need-to-know/
21) https://neilpatel.com/blog/email-marketing-is-changing/