We’re always eager to dig into the annual B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends report from CMI and MarketingProfs. We were particularly curious to unpack the latest findings, following an extremely disruptive and challenging year for business and beyond.
The newly-released survey results portray an encouraging and optimistic future for content marketing, which has seen its value cemented during these trying times.
From budgetary trends to tactical shifts to reconfigured priorities and more, these are the insights that struck us most in the new report.
Content Marketing Budgets Are Rising
Despite the uncertainty and duress that many businesses have faced in the wake of last year’s events, it’s been invigorating to see that they haven’t broadly pulled back their investments in content marketing (once considered “discretionary” spending). Quite the contrary.
Forty-three percent of respondents familiar with their org’s spending said their content marketing budget increased in 2021 compared to 2020. Meanwhile, 66% say they expect their content marketing budget to grow in 2022. Very few saw decreases in budget this year, or expect them next year.
Where Are Content Marketers Focusing Tactically?
Short articles and posts (e.g., blogs) continue to be the most common type of content asset by far, with 90% of content marketers saying it was in their mix during the past year. This is followed by:
- Videos (66%)
- Virtual events/webinars/online courses (64%)
- Case studies (61%)
Interestingly, when asked which assets have been producing the best results, there was one answer that separated itself from the pack. Virtual events, webinars, and online courses were named by 58% of respondents as a top performer (including 66% of those categorized as “most successful”). Research reports and short articles/posts were tied for second at 48%.
Given these results, it comes as no real surprise that the top two planned areas of investment for next year are video and events (digital/in-person/hybrid). It seems clear that content marketers are actively exploring ways to engage their audiences more immersively within a fundamentally altered environment.
Which Goals Are Most Linked to Success?
Just like last year (and the year before, and the year before), “creating brand awareness” was cited as the goal most frequently achieved by B2B marketers who use content marketing successfully. But one of the more interesting charts in this year’s report compares goal achievement between the “most successful” and “least successful” practitioners. Here we see some notable gaps emerge.
There are plenty of disparities to be found, which makes sense, but two of the largest ones are “build loyalty with existing clients/customers” and “nurture subscribers/audience/leads.” In other words, the B2B content marketers who report greater success are often those who focus on strengthening relationships and loyalty through their efforts, as opposed to constantly feeding the pipeline with new leads. It’s a good insight to take away.
LinkedIn Is the Runaway Leader in Organic & Paid Social Media
As usual, LinkedIn is the top social media platform used to distribute both organic and paid B2B content. And as usual, B2B content marketers in this survey rated it as the most effective for both. When it comes to producing results with paid social media, LinkedIn was ahead of the next-highest rated platform by 25 percentage points. For organic results, the chasm is even wider:
Overall, more than three-quarters of practitioners said their paid distribution spending has either increased or remained steady. Social media advertising and promoted posts were the most common paid distribution tactic (77%), beating out search engine marketing and pay-per-click (65%). This jibes with trends seen in the recently-released B2B Advertising Forecast 2021 from eMarketer.
A “Sleeping Giant”
Beyond all of the upward trends and positive indicators found in the numbers, what made this report most enjoyable to read was the answers to open-response questions shared by CMI and MarketingProfs. There’s a real sense that B2B content marketers feel energized and activated by the challenges that emerged for brands in the past 18 months or so, and the revelations that have been sparked in their organizations.
“The pandemic reinforced the importance of our content marketing strategy,” said one respondent. “The commitment to content marketing is now companywide and there is increased collaboration between the sales and marketing team.”
“Before the pandemic, my company did not have a marketing presence at all,” said another marketer. “I was brought in to revamp the look and feel of a tired, industrial B2B company and introduce new strategies to assist in sales development. We have now completed a rebrand and are looking at expanding our marketing presence even further.”
Stories like these, along with the data trends, compelled CMI and MarketingProfs to declare this the year that a “sleeping giant awakes.” Companies across the spectrum have been forced to take a step back and recognize the essential role content marketing plays in an effective full-funnel brand to demand strategy.
It’s an exciting moment for the profession. In 2022, there is a world of opportunity lying ahead of B2B content marketers. Are you ready to seize it? Here at LinkedIn, we’ll be ready to help.
Make sure to check out the full B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends for a smorgasbord of additional insight around team structure, outsourcing, strategy, opinions, metrics, goals and more. As always, a huge thank you to our friends and Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs for all their hard work on this indispensable resource.
Related articles