B2B marketers invest heavily in content marketing. One of their biggest content marketing goals is to generate an action from their target audience. All too frequently, that isn’t happening.

Content marketing has the potential to deliver great value for businesses. But the most recent B2B Content Marketing Survey reveals that 58% of businesses find their strategy only “moderately effective.” This number needs improvement and presents opportunity for you.

The Struggle to Achieve Content Marketing Goals 

Business leaders want to change their content marketing strategy for the following reasons:

• They lack clear goals 42%
• Their content doesn’t tie to the customer journey 39%
• They don’t have data to prove they are moving in the right direction 35%

To improve the effectiveness of their content marketing campaigns, businesses should consider:

• 1. Targeting the right audience
• 2. Delivering through the right channels
• 3. Measuring and improving effectiveness

Let’s take a look at the details.

Targeting the Right Audience

The quality of the content being created is not as problematic as it’s been in the past. This year, only 27% of surveyed businesses complained of the problem, compared to 44% last year.

The far bigger issue is creating content that matches an audience’s needs. 57% of businesses struggle with this problem.

Specifically, 55% of businesses need content that will prompt action from the target audience. They want prospects to call them, visit their website, or, even better, place an order.

One of the top content marketing goals is to attract leads from a new vertical. To do that, your clients must identify the right businesses to target. You can help by sharing which business verticals are shopping for specific products and services. This information is available on the B2B BuyerSCAN profiles offered on AdMall.

Delivering Through the Right Formats and Channels

Marketers applaud the value of content for creating brand awareness (87%). Your clients’ communications should focus on top of funnel messaging as they seek to connect with new verticals. Their success will be linked to formats and channels they use.

Formats

For the second year in a row, B2B marketers have returned to familiar content formats. Their go-​to formats include short articles/​posts (92%), videos (76%) and case studies (75%).

It’s always worth considering what’s working well and what isn’t. In this survey, 58% of marketers say that videos are most effective. While 53% believe case studies deliver good results, only 43% say the same for short articles and posts.

Distribution

When it comes to distribution, 89% of marketers rely on social media and 84% on the corporate blog. This type of distribution is inexpensive. But is it effective?

Marketers indicate that the following distribution tactics work best:

• In-​person events 52%
• Webinars 51%
• Email 42%
• Social media 42%
• Corporate blog 41%

It’s worth asking your prospects how their results compare. You may find opportunities in helping them to shift their focus to better channels.

Paid Distribution

Releasing content to paid channels is another great way to attract the interest from prospects. In the last year, the most popular channels have been paid social media (73%), SEM/​PPC (64%) and digital display (62%).

Once again, the most effective channels don’t quite align with effort. The SEM/​PPC effort generates the best results for 61% of marketers.

Which paid channel is proving most effective for your prospects and accounts?

Measuring and Improving Effectiveness

B2B operators are meeting some of their content marketing goals quite well. For example, 87% have created brand awareness. And 74% are generating demand and leads.

Are these the right goals to measure? Content marketers express a desire to tie performance to business goals (44%) and establish clear marketing goals (39%).

They are also looking for ways to work more efficiently. Over 80% of surveyed B2B operators use AI tools in their content creation process. The main reason for holding back in this area is a concern about accuracy (35%). In addition, 28% of businesses claim they are under a corporate mandate not to use AI. 

Marketers that rank themselves as most successful in their content marketing efforts share the following beliefs:

• Successfully integrated generative AI use guidelines 49%
• Have a scalable model for content creation 71%
• Measure their content performance well 84%

These businesses also claim they produce high-​quality content and have high-​performing team members. If your clients are struggling with these elements of their marketing efforts, pitch them on your organization’s services. You may gain a new client.

You can also review the ways they are currently reaching out to target audiences. Change is always difficult but your B2B clients will applaud the results if their ROI improves.

Looking Ahead

Achieving content marketing goals will be top of mind for B2B marketers in the next year. They will also invest in other strategies to increase leads and sales. For example, paid advertising (40%), in-​person events (35%) and digital events (21%) will experience budget increases.

Review your strengths through the lens of what your B2B clients seek and then put together a winning proposal.

Photo by Lukas on Pexels.