Content marketing remains a significant hurdle for B2B marketers, yet those who are able to develop and employ a content marketing strategy see notable improvements in a company’s placement in search results and perception as industry thought leaders, according to the HiveFire's first annual B2B marketing research study of 100-plus B2B marketers.
More than a quarter (26 percent) of B2B marketers cite delivering new content on a regular basis to be their biggest challenge. Nearly half (44 percent) do not have any corporate or industry blog, and of those that do, only 10 percent publish new content daily. The lack of compelling information provided by these companies appears to have a direct impact on market perception, as 36 percent of those without a blog say they are not viewed as thought leaders in their industry.
The study did find that a robust content marketing strategy does benefit B2B marketers: Of those who show up in search results almost all or most of the time, more than 60 percent have some kind of blog plan, and 75 percent say visitors come to their sites for content. These findings underscore the value of content curation to help marketers easily identify, organize, and share information that will be most relevant to prospects and customers.
Other key findings include:
- 30 percent of B2B marketers publish new blog content on a less-than-monthly-basis.
- There is no clear “owner” of the process of contributing to or coordinating content for blogs. Some 33 percent rely on the VP of marketing; 32 percent on an online marketing manager; and the remainder is split among contractors, PR staff, or other internal resources.
- 70 percent of respondents have incorporated some kind of social media tools into their B2B marketing strategy; for this, LinkedIn and Twitter are more commonly used than Facebook.
- Among companies that show up “sometimes” or “rarely” in search results, almost half (44 percent) have a blog in place.
For more information, visit www.hivefire.com.
