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2013

TRENDS

CONTENT MARKETING

Silicon Valley Voices Rethinking Content Marketing Survey Report: May 2013

GREG SHERWIN: Executive Vice President Greg is the executive vice president and principal analyst serving Product Marketing Professionals. He leads Silicon Valley Voices research on how Software, IT and Internet companies develop and execute digital marketing strategies by aligning business and brand goals with sales enablement across all channels.

PRISCILLA SELWINE: Associate Director Priscillas research is focused on B2B content creation and distribution practices that enable product marketing professionals deliver targeted sales enablement material. Her research combines creative with scientific measurement that creates real digital marketing leverage.

2013 CONTENT MARKETING TRENDS

Rethinking Content Marketing; Survey Report Q2 2013
Evaluating content creation and distribution tactics in the B2B landscape By Greg Sherwin and Priscilla Selwine

Content Marketing is transforming the way marketing professionals market their products. With nearly $17 billion invested in 2012 (according to the Custom Content Council), content marketing is fast becoming the cornerstone of the B2B marketing mix. However, not all content marketing channels perform
equally well for every marketing objective.

In April 2013, Silicon Valley Voices conducted a study with B2B marketing professionals across the globe to determine the current use and perceived efficacy of content marketing tactics. We identified the five most significant pre-sales marketing objectives of the B2B CMO: creating awareness, generating leads, nurturing prospects, activating engagement and influencing purchases. We analyzed content types and distribution mechanisms through the lens of these marketing objectives. This report details our findings about which content tactics B2B marketing organizations are using, and which distribution channels are most effective based on measurements of reach, conversion and ROI. This data should help CMOs invest in the right content marketing tactics for executing their content marketing strategy.

KEY TAKEAWAYS
Videos are the most popular marketing medium for creating brand awareness. However, marketers do not rely on videos for lead generation campaigns.

With over 200 million searches daily through search engine queries, organic search is still the best way to reach a large target audience.
In-person and online events offer the highest Return on Investment (ROI) and are particularly powerful for lead generation compared with other content distribution channels.
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CONTENT MARKETING CONTINUES TO GROW

88% of B2B marketing professionals use content marketing as
an integral part of their marketing strategy. The remaining 12% not actively using content marketing so far plan to do so in the next 6 months. Surveyed marketers plan to increase investments in videos, whitepapers and articles.

CONTENT MARKETING WILL DRIVE LEADS, SAY B2B MARKETERS

68 % of B2B Marketers are Using Content Marketing to Generate Leads.
Lead generation and awareness campaigns are the most commonly cited reasons for content marketing. Fewer marketers rely on content marketing to nurture prospects and influence purchases.

VIDEO IS NO LONGER JUST COOL. ITS A NECESSITY

97% of B2B marketers rely on video to meet their marketing objectives.
Despite viewing videos as a cool novelty in 2012, B2B marketers today feel that videos are the top content choice for creating brand awareness and setting the right tone for the product in the market. The graph below illustrates the percentage of B2B marketers using each content type. White papers and websites are close behind videos as preferred content tactics for meeting marketing objectives. Email remains a popular choice as well, as 86.4% of marketers still use email to meet their goals.

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WEBINARS HELP CONVERT LEADS TO CUSTOMERS

B2B marketers prefer different content asset types for different stages of the sales cycle. Webinars top the effectiveness index by accomplishing marketing objectives across multiple stages and converting leads to customers. The table below indicates the preferred content asset for each stage of the B2B sales process. Future surveys will examine post-sales content trends.

CREATING AWARENESS: 83% of B2B marketers find video helpful for awareness-based marketing campaigns. Webinars are ranked the lowest, with only 22% of marketers investing in webinars for awareness campaigns. GENERATING LEADS: Webinars are the clear leader; 68% of B2B marketers rank webinars as the best content marketing strategy for lead generation. Only 20% of B2B marketers use articles for their lead generation campaigns.

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NURTURING PROSPECTS: When it comes to lead nurturing, marketers prefer newsletters (52%) and webinars (50%) over other content types. Videos rank the lowest for nurturing prospects. ACTIVATING ENGAGEMENT: Webinars (46%) rank the highest for effectively engaging prospects. Email and whitepapers rank the lowest on the engagement score. INFLUENCING PURCHASE: 35% of B2B marketers feel that articles are the best trigger to influence a purchase and close a sale. Websites rank the lowest on the influential content scale.

EVENTS AND SEARCH ARE KEY TO CONTENT MARKETING SUCCESS

As marketers define the optimal marketing mix, they typically use three measures of channel performance: the channels reach, its impact on driving conversions, and return on initial investment (ROI). The survey results show that channels performance varies along these different metrics.

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 REACH: Most B2B marketers rank search engines as the best medium to access a larger target audience and ensure brand reach. CONVERSIONS: Marketers see events as the best means for conversions. Websites rank a close second for converting prospects due to their ability to capture lead information and track lead status through integrations with CRM and marketing automation platforms. ROI: Events again rank the highest for efficiency and return on investment, followed closely by search and email.

SUMMARY
As content marketing is becoming a mainstream B2B marketing tactic, B2B marketers must align content channel strategies with marketing objectives. As this survey shows, different content types and channels are appropriate for objectives. The channel strengths will dictate content development investments. For example, marketing organizations that want to increase awareness and brand reach would do well to focus efforts on attracting search engines with SEO-rich content and developing video content. If instead the marketing organization is pressed for lead generation on a tight budget, online events like webinars are a proven strategy for generating leads while optimizing marketing spending.

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ABOUT SILICON VALLEY VOICES

Silicon Valley Voices is the research unit of Regalix Inc. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, we help the CMO organization leverage emerging digital practices for creating marketing leverage as they bring new products and innovation to market. Silicon Valley Voices helps marketers through research-based insights, consulting and peer-to-peer programs that guide marketing strategy development and execution. Our focus is helping Technology companies leverage innovation and best practices to create real differentiation. Our analysts are practitioners with a successful track record of delivering real marketing results for both leading Fortune 500 companies as well as venture backed firms. Regalix is an award-winning Global Innovation company that leverages technology and marketing to help companies grow. We create successful ventures with our clients through co-innovation and idea-driven frameworks that inspire companies to think different. We bring ideas to life by envisioning new companies, developing brands, engineering products, and designing technology platforms. Founded in 1998, Regalix is based in Palo Alto. Our Silicon Valley setting has enabled us to stay ahead of emerging trends in digital technology and marketing. For over a decade, we have provided complete marketing services Social, Mobile, Content, Multi-channel Campaigns, Technology Development, and Analytics to companies such as CA Technologies, Citi, Apple, eBay, Cisco, VMWare, NetApp, Cypress, LSI, Keynote, and MetricStream.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

To find out how Silicon Valley Voices can help you, please contact our office, or visit us at www.siliconvalleyvoices.com.
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