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You are here:   Home Blog B2B Content Marketing in 2019: The Audience Is King

B2B Content Marketing in 2019: The Audience Is King

January 24, 2019 by Carrie Powers Leave a Comment

The new year is officially upon us, and it’s time to start thinking about how to adapt content marketing strategies in 2019.

Luckily, the Content Marketing Institute’s “B2B Content Marketing 2019: Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends” report is here, and its results — gathered from nearly 2,000 respondents — speak volumes: Successful content marketers are prioritizing their audience, investing in sponsored social media posts and upping their content marketing budget.

Here, I’ll go over the report’s findings. If you’d like to keep things short and sweet, scroll down to the bottom where I’ll highlight the top takeaways. Let’s get started!

Content Marketing Success Pays Off

More and more B2B companies are upping their content marketing game, and the results are proving to be worth their efforts.

Seventy-eight percent of respondents rate their current content marketing as either moderately, very or extremely successful, a one percent increase from last year’s report (click here to read my previous post on the 2018 report).

Additionally, 68 percent rate their content marketing as being somewhat or much more successful than it was last year, compared to only 63 percent in the previous report.

Perhaps most telling is that the most successful organizations tend to be those with the most mature content marketing: Forty-nine percent of the most successful companies report that their content marketing is mature, and 33 percent report that their content marketing is sophisticated.

The same goes for commitment to content marketing: An impressive 58 percent of the most successful companies say that they’re extremely committed to content marketing. That’s more than double the percentage of all respondents.

Strategy Is Key

Even if you’re committed to content marketing, you need a documented strategy to see results (check out Jessica’s blog post on the importance of content strategy here). According to the report, 65 percent of the most successful organizations have a documented content marketing strategy, compared to just 14 percent of the leas successful organizations.

Why bother with a documented strategy? The survey’s respondents list many benefits, with team alignment, easier decision-making and increased focus on priorities being chief among them.

In terms of how they view their content strategy, 96 percent of the most successful companies say their audience views them as a trusted and credible source, 94 percent say that they value creativity and craft and 92 percent say they executive buy-in.

Audience Comes First

Personas are a crucial aspect of any comprehensive content marketing strategy, and the most successful companies know it (read Jessica’s blog post on personas here).

A staggering 77 percent of the most successful organizations use personas, compared to 55 percent of all organizations and 36 percent of the least successful.

To research their audience, most companies use sales team feedback, website analytics and/or keyword research. Given the value of information from sales, it’s clear that cross-team alignment is important.

Keep in mind that the biggest differences occurred between the most and least successful companies in the areas of primary research, customer conversions/panels and database analysis.

To nurture and grow their audience, most companies use email/email campaigns, educational content and/or clear calls-to-action (CTAs) for next steps.

The most successful companies tend to focus on CTAs for next steps, storytelling/relating to the audience and community building/audience participation much more than the least successful companies.

Content Creation and Distribution: An Inside Look

For marketers, thinking about the audience doesn’t end with persona development or research. Rather, the audience is the most important component of content marketing throughout the entire creation process.

While creating content, 90 percent of the most successful marketers prioritize the audience’s needs over their own sales or promotional message.

This is in line with respondents’ reasoning for using paid methods to distribute content: Eighty percent of all marketers and 83 percent of the most successful marketers do so in order to attract a new audience.

Marketers are doing their best to ensure they reach the widest audience, too, with 61 percent reporting that they post more content on social media than they did one year ago.

Respondents didn’t just use organic social media, either: Seventy percent of all marketers paid for sponsored social posts (that number jumps to 74 percent for the most successful). Additionally, 64 percent of all respondents pay for search engine marketing (SEM).

Prioritizing the audience seems to be working, too: Using content marketing, 81 percent of marketers created more brand awareness, 73 percent educated their audience 68 percent increased credibility and trust in the last 12 months.

Money, Money, Money

Content marketing spending is up across the board, with 56 percent of marketers saying that they increased their content creation budget in the last 12 months.

I’m also thrilled to see that in the next year, 35 percent of the most successful marketers plan to increase their content marketing budget.

Here at bizbuzzcontent, we’ve always known that content is worth its weight in gold, so it’s fantastic to see that so many other B2B companies agree.

Essential Takeaways

This year’s report revealed that the top content marketers aren’t just creating content for its own sake: They’re focusing on connecting and building credibility with their audience, and are willing to increase their budget in order to do so successfully.

Let’s recap some more of the report’s key findings:

  • Content marketing success is on the rise.
  • Ninety percent of the most successful companies prioritize their audience’s needs over their own promotional message.
  • Seventy-seven percent of the most successful companies use personas.
  • Sixty-five percent of the most successful companies have a documented content strategy.
  • Fifty-eight percent of the most successful companies are extremely committed to content marketing.
  • Thirty-five percent of the most successful companies plan to increase their content marketing budget over the next year.

Going forward, take a cue from top players and:

  • Put your audience first.
  • Focus on creating high-quality content that resonates.
  • Create and document a comprehensive content strategy.
  • Commit to content marketing on an organizational level.

After all, content marketing can do so much more than polish your images: It has the power to transform the way your prospects and customers view your company, build genuine trust with your audience and help your brand awareness skyrocket.

To find out more about how you can connect with your audience, develop a complete content strategy and get the most out of your content marketing efforts, take a look at our content creation and strategy services.

Were you surprised by any of the report’s findings? Did you learn anything new about how your own company can refine its content marketing efforts? Let me know in the comments!

Carrie Powers
Carrie Powers is a content writer for bizbuzzcontent. She loves reading, iced coffee and scruffy dogs, and is on a neverending quest for the perfect burrito.

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Steven S., Senior Manager, Demand Generation, Rentlytics

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Steven S., Senior Manager, Demand Generation, Rentlytics

Jessica leads one of the most professional content agencies I’ve ever worked with. We target a very niche industry, and Jessica and her team were very thoughtful in their approach. From planning thoughtful pieces, to researching and interviewing SMEs, to brainstorming promotion strategies, Jessica and her team maintain a high degree of professionalism and efficiency.
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Tailor-made content strategies

Jessica dedicated her time as a pro-bono volunteer with VolunteerMatch to help us with some key content marketing needs. What impressed me most about working with Jessica was the way she tailored her approach to accommodate the needs of our nonprofit with the resource constraints of our team. Jessica developed personas, one-pagers, case studies and website content that has resulted in an increase in traffic to our site and improved our ability to communicate to our key audiences.

Bree v.F., Director of Marketing and Engagement, VolunteerMatch

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Bree v.F., Director of Marketing and Engagement, VolunteerMatch

Jessica dedicated her time as a pro-bono volunteer with VolunteerMatch to help us with some key content marketing needs. What impressed me most about working with Jessica was the way she tailored her approach to accommodate the needs of our nonprofit with the resource constraints of our team. Jessica developed personas, one-pagers, case studies and website content that has resulted in an increase in traffic to our site and improved our ability to communicate to our key audiences.
https://www.bizbuzzcontent.com/blog/testimonials/tailor-made-content-strategies/

Highly targeted and relevant content

I've worked with Jessica at her company bizbuzzcontent for years. It's my go-to provider whenever my team is looking for high-quality content. What differentiates bizbuzzcontent is that they not only have superior writing skills but a rare ability to completely understand our industry, our company positioning, brand voice and tone, and customers. This just makes the content highly targeted and relevant, and goes a long way in achieving our marketing goals.

Nag P., Sr. Manager, Product Marketing, Salesforce

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Nag P., Sr. Manager, Product Marketing, Salesforce

I've worked with Jessica at her company bizbuzzcontent for years. It's my go-to provider whenever my team is looking for high-quality content. What differentiates bizbuzzcontent is that they not only have superior writing skills but a rare ability to completely understand our industry, our company positioning, brand voice and tone, and customers. This just makes the content highly targeted and relevant, and goes a long way in achieving our marketing goals.
https://www.bizbuzzcontent.com/blog/testimonials/highly-targeted-and-relevant-content/

Compelling content that drives results

I love Jessica and the team over at bizbuzzcontent. Within just a matter of a few interactions, she was able to understand, in depth, our complex solution and business model. Since then, she's been critical to us in driving compelling, engaging content via our blogs and white papers. She's a wonderful, thoughtful person to work with, and the work she's done has been a key factor in increasing our conversion rates.

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Collin S., Angel Investor and Technology Executive

I love Jessica and the team over at bizbuzzcontent. Within just a matter of a few interactions, she was able to understand, in depth, our complex solution and business model. Since then, she's been critical to us in driving compelling, engaging content via our blogs and white papers. She's a wonderful, thoughtful person to work with, and the work she's done has been a key factor in increasing our conversion rates.
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Outstanding process

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bizbuzzcontent helps me efficiently leverage my own subject-matter expertise to create original content on timely topics. Together, we are able to distill complex topics into client-friendly articles that I can use across multiple platforms. I especially appreciate bizzbuzz’s super-efficient process because it keeps me on track for timely production of new content. Jessica Lee is a pleasure to work with, and I rely on her to bring a strategic eye to my publication efforts.
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Strong content values

Jessica is a great content creator, writer, reporter and partner to work with. Highly articulate with strong content values and work ethos, Jessica adds great value to all projects she works on. I would happily recommend Jessica to people who wish to scale their content marketing efforts.

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Andy B., C-Level Marketing and Strategy Consultant

Jessica is a great content creator, writer, reporter and partner to work with. Highly articulate with strong content values and work ethos, Jessica adds great value to all projects she works on. I would happily recommend Jessica to people who wish to scale their content marketing efforts.
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Added value

Jessica is a guest speaker of Microsoft internal training program. She made an awesome presentation of how to create marketable web ages to Microsoft Bing Ads product team and services team. Attendees found Jessica very engaging during the presentation. Microsoft Bing Ads is eager to apply the learning in our daily works, and look forward to partnering with Jessica to bring more value to digital advertising community.

Ping J., Product Manager, Microsoft Bing Ads

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Ping J., Product Manager, Microsoft Bing Ads

Jessica is a guest speaker of Microsoft internal training program. She made an awesome presentation of how to create marketable web ages to Microsoft Bing Ads product team and services team. Attendees found Jessica very engaging during the presentation. Microsoft Bing Ads is eager to apply the learning in our daily works, and look forward to partnering with Jessica to bring more value to digital advertising community.
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Critical extension of the marketing team

Jessica has been instrumental in building our content strategy from ground up, educating our stakeholders and increasing our exposure across all lines of insurance. I can say with confidence that she has been a critical extension of the marketing team, always producing timely deliverable. She has always been enthusiastic about creating new formats for us and new vehicles of information to help the marketing team raise awareness and drive internal adoption. Her most impressive feat from my perspective is how quickly and seamlessly she dived into our 12 lines of insurance. The dexterity and the level of expertise she demonstrated although she had never worked with insurance B2B client was absolutely incredible.

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Stephanie M., VP Marketing Communications, Woodruff-Sawyer & Co.

Jessica has been instrumental in building our content strategy from ground up, educating our stakeholders and increasing our exposure across all lines of insurance. I can say with confidence that she has been a critical extension of the marketing team, always producing timely deliverable. She has always been enthusiastic about creating new formats for us and new vehicles of information to help the marketing team raise awareness and drive internal adoption. Her most impressive feat from my perspective is how quickly and seamlessly she dived into our 12 lines of insurance. The dexterity and the level of expertise she demonstrated although she had never worked with insurance B2B client was absolutely incredible.
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Excellent content program

We can't imagine how we managed without bizbuzzcontent before! Working with Jessica Lee is a dream. She is very creative and understands new concepts quickly. The content creation process at bizbuzzcontent is the most efficient we have come across in our many years of working with other writers and agencies. If you want an excellent content program and a company that goes above and beyond, hire bizbuzzcontent today!

Pauline J., CEO, Group Twenty Seven

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Pauline J., CEO, Group Twenty Seven

We can't imagine how we managed without bizbuzzcontent before! Working with Jessica Lee is a dream. She is very creative and understands new concepts quickly. The content creation process at bizbuzzcontent is the most efficient we have come across in our many years of working with other writers and agencies. If you want an excellent content program and a company that goes above and beyond, hire bizbuzzcontent today!
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Trusted partner for years

Jessica and her team at bizbuzzcontent have been a trusted partner for years, and have helped us with our blog, web copy and email marketing, in addition to providing lots of guidance on other content projects. The team is able to quickly get up to speed on any content project's requirements and create quality content that's on target. Over the years, they've helped us educate, drive brand awareness and website traffic. I would definitely recommend bizbuzzcontent for content services.

Ashley G., Digital Ad Management, SearchForce

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Ashley G., Digital Ad Management, SearchForce

Jessica and her team at bizbuzzcontent have been a trusted partner for years, and have helped us with our blog, web copy and email marketing, in addition to providing lots of guidance on other content projects. The team is able to quickly get up to speed on any content project's requirements and create quality content that's on target. Over the years, they've helped us educate, drive brand awareness and website traffic. I would definitely recommend bizbuzzcontent for content services.
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