How Does Your Content Marketing Compare to These B2C Companies?

In October of last year, we took a look at the Content Marketing Institute’s report on B2B content marketing.

Now that they’ve released their new report on B2C content marketing, it’s time to dive into that as well.

What B2C content marketing trends will 2018 hold? Let’s find out.

Who Are the B2Cs?

Before we dive in, let’s check out the survey’s demographics. A total of 195 respondents of for-profit B2C companies are represented in the report. From retail and e-commerce to agency and education, many industries are included in this year’s survey. Annual revenues ranged from $1 billion or more to $1 million or less.

B2C Content Marketing in Action

The vast majority of B2C companies use content marketing–86 percent, to be exact.

Of that group, the most common description of participants’ content marketing maturity level is “mature” (29 percent). This means that their content marketing efforts have proven successful, but are presenting challenges in terms of organization-wide integration.

Within companies, a small or one-person content marketing team is most likely to serve the entire organization.

Outside of companies, just shy of half (49 percent) of respondents outsource content creation activities such as writing, designing and producing content.

Success by the Numbers

Here at bizbuzzcontent, we’ve always believed that content is king. Now, we have vindication: only 3 percent of respondents saw no success from their content marketing efforts, while nearly 80 percent experienced moderate to extreme levels of success.

Additionally, the majority of respondents (66 percent) rate their organization’s content marketing success as being higher than it was one year ago.

The top three reasons for that success were strategy development or adjustment (75 percent), higher quality and more efficient content creation (72 percent) and improved content distribution (53 percent).

The Creative Process

Most respondents are happy with their project management flow during the content creation process.

When creating their content, 90 percent of B2C marketers aim to ensure that content is fact-based and credible, 79 percent consider how their content will impact customers’ overall experience and 72 percent focus on providing the right content to the right person at the right time.

When it comes to specific types of content, the most successful marketers use social media posts (59 percent), pre-produced videos (43 percent) and illustrations/photos (37 percent).

When distributing content, the most successful marketers use email (74 percent), blogs (50 percent), social media platforms (50 percent) and in-person events (35 percent). (You can learn how to create an organized blog strategy here.)

Dollars and Cents

While all respondents spend an average of 22 percent of their marketing budget on B2C content marketing, the most successful ones spent an average of 26 percent.

In the next 12 months, 37 percent of respondents expect their content marketing spending to increase, while the majority (46 percent) expect it to remain the same.

The Bottom Line

If we take a step back, we can see a few clear patterns emerge. If you’re looking to improve your B2C content marketing, pay particular attention to the habits of the most successful marketers.

Highlights of the most successful marketers include:

• Ninety-three percent are extremely/very committed to content marketing.
• Eighty-seven percent prioritize quality over quantity.
• Eighty-four percent focus on creating content for audience versus brand.

On the other hand, of the least successful marketers:

• Twenty-three percent are extremely/very committed to content marketing.
• Forty-six percent prioritize quality over quantity.
• Forty-three percent focus on creating content for audience versus brand.

When all is said and done, the smartest B2C content marketers:

• Commit themselves to content marketing, and pay attention to their content strategy accordingly.
• Recognize the importance of quality (and the pitfalls of cheap, mass-produced content).
• Focus on creating content for audience (which you can do by developing a distinctive signature voice).

To ensure that the rest of your year is chock-full of exceptional content, check out Jessica’s post on the 2018 content strategy blueprint.