by
Partner

Is Your Content Marketing Program Keeping Up with Customer Demand?

A recent study from the Content Marketing Institute reported that 46% of buyers indicated they had increased their content consumption over the past 12 months.* That fact brings into focus whether B2B and life science marketers are resourced to fulfill these needs.

While 71% of the study’s participants said content creation is rising in importance, they admitted there are still challenges in implementing these programs. Marketers said they are still fighting for:

  • Content marketing buy-in from management
  • A content marketing strategy/strategic approach to content marketing
  • More budget and additional staff
  • More access to subject matter experts (SMEs)

The top content marketing goals revealed in the study were brand awareness, credibility/trust building, and audience education. Surprisingly, demand generation was well down the list. Three-quarters of the respondents said their investment in video content will continue to rise in 2023.

When it came to content distribution, marketers cited the following sources:

  • Owned media distribution: websites, blogs, enewsletters, and email
  • Organic (non-paid) media distribution: social media, speaking/presentations, and public relations
  • Paid media distribution: social media promoted posts, search engine marketing

The study also reported the following findings:

  • The metrics that marketers relied upon to measure content effectiveness were conversion, lead quality, and website engagement.
  • Marketers struggled with creating content for the buyer’s journey and aligning content efforts across sales and marketing programs.
  • Nearly half of those surveyed think their organizations will hire or contract with third-parties for content production in 2023.
  • Marketers who are excelling by differentiating their content cite three key factors: producing with higher quality and greater customer value, covering topics/stories their competitors don’t, and actively promoting content across multiple channels.

The study summed up the findings by saying, “If one theme emerged from this year’s annual research, it was this: it’s time for organizations to finally give content marketing the investment it deserves, staff it accordingly, and reap the rewards.”

TW’s Take

This study confirmed a concerning issue that we have witnessed over the last few years: content continues to be an underfunded component of most life science and B2B marketing budgets. In reality, it has become the unsung hero of the marketing program. Content is the enabler that drives a host of marketing tactics. It’s the feedstock that fuels demand generation and lead nurturing programs that are critical for pipeline fulfillment and conversion. Content also offers multiple repurposing opportunities through website, webinar, video, public relations, social media, and sales enablement channels. The bottom line: high-value, educational content continues to offer significant leverage for its cost, and should represent at least 20% of a B2B or life science marketer’s budget.

For a copy of the study, contact rwhitmyre@tizinc.com.

* Source: 13th Annual Content Marketing Survey: Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs, July 2022.