A good ad campaign will get your B2B accounts noticed. But to move a prospect through the sales funnel, your B2B clients must impress prospects with the right content. Their B2B content writing program must make material available at the right time.

Content Consumption Cycle

New research from NetLine, the 2025 State of B2B Content Consumption and Demand Report for Marketers, holds important clues. The report highlights which decision-​makers access content. It also reveals the most popular types of content and when this information is accessed. Their analysis is based on decision-​makers who gave up their contact information to access content that was behind a gated wall.

Who Accesses Content

The complex decision-​making progress at B2B organizations drives executives to research known solutions to their problems.

Around 13% of B2B content demand comes from c‑level decision-​makers. They will give up their contact information to get reports that will help in their buying process. But these employees are not the only influencers in the buying process.

B2B BuyerSCAN data, available with a subscription to AdMall, shows that for major purchases, 42% of businesses use a panel of between 2 and 5 employees. Individual contributors, senior employees and managers are also viewing content and often through a different lens.

The CFO, for example, will want to know about cost. However, a manager is likely to wonder how difficult it will be to convert employees from a legacy system to a new one.

Which Content is Most Popular

On-​demand webinars, white papers and infographics all deliver industry knowledge effectively. Work with your accounts on their B2B content writing campaigns. It’s best to summarize the key points for decision-​makers who lack the time to dive into the details.

B2B decision-​makers also show a preference for specific types of content. Increasingly, e‑books rule. Decision-​makers believe this format is “easy to digest” but also offers valuable data. More than half of registered requests for data are for e‑books.

Seasonality

Timing the release of fresh content for the B2B buying audience may increase visibility for your accounts. NetLine analysts tracked the number of registrations over the course of a year and found some variability by season. Not every B2B seller will face the same seasonal patterns.

As SageFrog points out, year-​end budget cycles play a role. Not every company shares the same fiscal year. 

Netline analysts report that January content downloads are noticeably high. Decision-​makers are returning from the holiday break and are ready to move ahead with the goals set for the new year. Content that addresses this angle may attraction more attention.

By May, decision-​makers know that the summer slowdown is coming. They also need to show progress for the first half of the year. To improve their decision-​making, they access online content, driving another spike in downloads.

Similarly, in October, decision-​makers are racing to complete projects before end of the year. They need content to help them meet their goals.

They’ll be searching for up-​to-​date content to educate themselves. Your accounts should be in position to capture their attention, and ultimately, their business.

Content Lag

In addition to the B2B content writing program, your accounts will likely track statistics to determine ROI. They’ll measure the number of downloads and when content is consumed.

Marketers are often disappointed when they see the gap between a download and the consumption of content. This gap extended to 39 hours in 2024.

Your accounts may ask why this happens. Remind them that not every download results in consumption. The decision-​maker may be called to take care of an operations problem, or the issue they wanted more information on has changed.

But, in some cases, they may have forgotten the downloaded content and need a nudge. Analysts recommend an outreach at the 48-​hour point. This outreach might be an email designed with a compelling headline and a data point from the content the prospect downloaded.

In this way, your accounts can stay visible but avoid applying pressure. If they pressure a prospect before they are ready to make a decision, 35% of decision-​makers will stop communicating.

Buying Cycle

In 2025, more marketers indicate a purchase time horizon of between 3 and 6 months. During that time, they’ll be seeking more information. The B2B content writing program for your accounts should include a range of materials to help them nurture leads through the sales funnel.

Buying Signal

If your clients are looking for a buying signal, help them track what’s happening with their webinars. Analysts report that “webinar registrants are 16% more likely to make a purchase decision within the year.”

Total Addressable Market

As marketers launch their B2B content writing schedule, they should also understand the total addressable market for their product. Overall market research suggests that only 5% of B2B operators are actively seeking new suppliers. NetLine research indicates a number that is closer to 16.5% for 2025.

Actual demand will vary broadly by vertical. And it may be impacted by innovation.

In the coming year, analysts note that decision-​makers in some industries will be ready to buy immediately:  aerospace, finance, pharmaceuticals. Manufacturing decision-​makers also appear poised to move quickly with their purchase decision. Education, government and nonprofit organizations will be less ready to make an immediate purchase. 

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