B2B Small Business Content Marketing: 2015 Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends - North America

SMALL BUSINESS

CONTENT MARKETING:2015 BENCHMARKS, BUDGETS,

AND TRENDS–NORTH AMERICA

SPONSORED BY

B2B SMALLBUSINESS

2

Welcome ................................................................................................................................................ 3

Usage & Overall Effectiveness ............................................................................................................. 4

Strategy & Organization ....................................................................................................................... 6

Goals & Metrics .................................................................................................................................... 10

Content Creation & Distribution ....................................................................................................... 13

Budgets & Spending ........................................................................................................................... 22

Challenges & Initiatives ...................................................................................................................... 24

Comparison Chart: Most Effective vs. Least Effective B2B Small Business Content Marketers ....... 30

Comparison Chart: Documented vs. Verbal-Only Content Marketing Strategy ......................... 31

Demographics ..................................................................................................................................... 32

About .................................................................................................................................................... 33

TABLE OF CONTENTS

SPONSORED BY

http://contentmarketinginstitute.com

http://rainmakerplatform.com

http://marketingprofs.com

Hello Content Marketers,

Welcome to 2015 B2B Small Business Content Marketing Trends, North America. In this report, we look at how the practices of small business marketers (10-99 employees) in the business-to-business space have changed over the last year. You’ll also find new insights on how content marketing is structured within organizations, how often marketers are publishing new content, initiatives they’re working on, and more.

It’s been a year of many changes for content marketing. B2B small business marketers are juggling many competing initiatives and are feeling more challenged in every area of content marketing. They’re also feeling a bit less effective with content marketing overall. The exceptions are marketers who have a documented content marketing strategy: 60% say they are effective at content marketing and they are less challenged in every area.

It’s sure to be an interesting year ahead as content marketing continues to become increasingly sophisticated. We look forward to helping you navigate the changes.

Yours in content,

Joe

Joe PulizziFounder

Content Marketing Institute

3

WELCOME

SPONSORED BY




4

SPONSORED BY

USAGE & OVERALL EFFECTIVENESS Does your organizationuse content marketing?86% say yesLast year, 94% of B2B small business respondents said they use content marketing. Back then, we defined content marketing as the “creation and distribution of educational and/or compelling content in multiple media formats to attract and/or retain customers.”

This year, we defined content marketing as “a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience—and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.”

The new definition—crafted by Content Marketing Institute in early 2014—better reflects how content marketing has grown from the mere “creation and distribution” of content to a formal business discipline.

Percentage of B2B Small Business Respondents Using Content Marketing

86%Yes

14%No

2015 B2B Small Business Content Marketing Trends--North America: Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs




5

SPONSORED BY

USAGE & OVERALL EFFECTIVENESS

Overall, how effective is your organization at content marketing?

40% say they are effective

Note: For purposes of our annual survey, we define effectiveness as “accomplishing your overall objectives.” Those who rate their organizations a 4 or 5 (on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being “Very Effective” and 1 being “Not at all Effective”) are the “most effective” or “best-in-class.” The 1s and 2s are considered the “least effective,” while the 3sare neutral.

Last year, 45% of B2B small business marketers said they were effective at content marketing. Even though there is a decrease this year, having a documented content marketing strategy helps in this regard (60% of small business marketers who have one say they are effective).

How B2B Small Business MarketersRate the Effectiveness of Their

Organization’s Use of Content Marketing

0 10 20 30 40 50

Very Effective 9%

31%

40%

17%

Not At All Effective 1%

5

4

3

2

1





6

SPONSORED BY

STRATEGY & ORGANIZATION

Does your organization have a content marketing strategy?

39% say they have a documented strategy

The 39% of B2B small business marketers who have a documented content marketing strategy are more effective in nearly all aspects of content marketing than their peers who either have a verbal-only strategy or no strategy at all.


Percentage of B2B Small Business MarketersWho Have a Content Marketing Strategy

0 10 20 30 40 50

Yes, and it is documented 39%

Yes, but it is not documented 47%

No 12%

Unsure 1%




7

SPONSORED BY


How closely does your content marketing strategy guide your organization’s content marketing efforts?

44% say very closely

Having a strategy is one thing—following it is another. The more effective the B2B small business marketer, the more likely it is that his or her organization follows the strategy very closely (64% of the most effective follow their strategy very closely).


Percentage of B2B Small Business MarketersWho Say Strategy Guides Efforts

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Very closely 44%

Somewhat 50%

We rarely use it 4%

Unsure 2%




8

SPONSORED BY


Does your organization have a dedicated content marketing group?

49% say yes

Nearly half of B2B small business marketers said their companies have a dedicated content marketing group. The percentage is even higher for the most effective small business marketers (69%), as well as for those who have a documented content marketing strategy (69%).


Percentage of B2B Small Business MarketersWho Have a Dedicated Content Marketing Group

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Yes, and it functions independently as its own unit 10%

Yes, and it works horizontally across the organization silos 39%

No, but planning to have one 14%

No, and no plans to have one that I know of 37%




9

SPONSORED BY


Which area in your organization is accountable for content marketing?

23% say demand-gen marketing

In small B2B companies, content marketing often falls under demand-gen marketing or the marketers report directly to the owner or executive team.


Areas Accountable forB2B Small Business Content Marketing

Owner/C-level

Product Marketing

Demand Gen Marketing

PR/Corporate Communications

Social Team/Social CRM

Other

No One, Unsure, or No Answer

23%

18%

16%14%

10%

4%

14%




10

SPONSORED BY

GOALS & METRICSHow important are each of the following content marketing goals to your organization?

87% say lead generation is an important goalNote: Percentages shown represent marketers who rated each goal a 4 or 5 on a 5-point scale where 5 = “Very Important” and 1 = “Not at all Important.”

Lead generation has replaced brand awareness as the top goal. Last year, 85% of B2B small business marketers cited brand awareness and 78% cited lead generation.

Customer evangelism is new to the list this year.

Organizational Goals forB2B Small Business Content Marketing

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

Lead Generation

Brand Awareness

Engagement

Lead Nurturing

Sales

Customer Retention/Loyalty

Customer Evangelism

Upsell/Cross-sell

87%83%

80%78%

75%67%

56%49%





11

SPONSORED BY

Which metrics does your organization use to assess content marketing success?

67% say website traffic

Note: Fewer than 30% cited the following metrics: Benchmark Lift of Company Awareness (22%), Benchmark Lift of Product/Service Awareness (19%), Customer Renewal Rates (19%), and Cost Savings (5%).

Website traffic and sales lead quality were the two most often cited metrics among B2B small business marketers last year as well. In 2014, 64% cited website traffic and 57% cited sales lead quality.

GOALS & METRICS

Metrics for B2B Small BusinessContent Marketing Success

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

Website Traffic

Sales Lead Quality

Higher Conversion Rates

Sales

SEO Ranking

Sales Lead Quantity

Inbound Links

Time Spent on Website

Qualitative Feedback from Customers

Subscriber Growth

67%55%

52%49%

46%46%

41%41%

37%34%





12

SPONSORED BY

How successful is your organization at tracking the ROI of its content marketing program?

25% say they are successful

This was a new question on the survey this year. As the percentages show, tracking ROI can be a challenge. Having a documented content marketing strategy helps, though, as 38% of the B2B small business marketers who possess one say they are successful in this area.

GOALS & METRICS

How B2B Small Business Marketers Rate Their Organization’s Success

at Tracking ROI

0 10 20 30 40 50

Very Successful 6%

19%

35%

22%

Not At All Successful 7%

We Do Not Track 12%

5

4

3

2

1





13

SPONSORED BY

Compared with one year ago, how much content is your organization creating?

74% are creating more

Last year, 75% said they were creating more content.

CONTENT CREATION & DISTRIBUTION


Change in B2B Small BusinessContent Creation (Over Last 12 Months)

Significantly More

More

Same Amount

Less

Unsure

32%

42%

4%

19%

2%




14

SPONSORED BY

How many different audiences does your organization target with separate content marketing strategies?

The average number is 4

There is a correlation between company size and the number of audiences targeted. Generally speaking, the larger the company, the more audiences it targets.


Number of Audiences that B2B Small Business Marketers Target

0 10 20 30 40 50

3%

3%

27%

54%

7%

6%

10+

7-10

4-6

2-3

1

Unsure





15

SPONSORED BY

Which content marketing tactics does your organization use?

The average number of tactics used is 12

Note: Fewer than 45% said they use the following tactics: eBooks (40%), Microsites (40%), Research Reports (40%), Branded Content Tools (34%), Books (29%), Print Magazines (25%), Digital Magazines (23%), Mobile Apps (22%), Virtual Conferences (21%), Podcasts (18%), Print Newsletters (16%), and Games/Gamification (9%).

The percentages shown here are fairly similar to last year’s. The biggest changes have been with the use of:

• Social media content (other than blogs)—up 5 percentage points (88% last year vs. 93% this year)

• Blogs—up 10 percentage points (77% last year vs. 87% this year)

• Infographics—up 12 percentage points (48% last year vs. 60% this year).


B2B Small BusinessContent Marketing Tactic Usage

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Social Media Content – other than blogs

Blogs

eNewsletters

Articles on Your Website

Case Studies

Videos

In-person Events

Illustrations/Photos

Online Presentations

White Papers

Infographics

Webinars/Webcasts

93%87%

83%79%

76%74%

73%68%

65%64%

60%59%





16

SPONSORED BY

How effective are the following tactics that you use?

65% say ebooks and webinars are effective

These are the 12 tactics that B2B small business marketers find most effective.

Case studies saw a big decrease this year. Last year, marketers said they were the most effective tactic (69% last year vs. 57% this year).

Other tactics that small business marketers have less confidence in this year are:• In-person events (67% last year vs. 62% this year)• Blogs (65% last year vs. 60% this year)• eNewsletters (65% last year vs. 60% this year)

Confidence in all of the other tactics decreased within a few percentage points.


eBooks

Webinars/Webcasts

In-person Events

Videos

Blogs

eNewsletters

Research Reports

Case Studies

White Papers

Microsites

Online Presentations

Infographics

Effectiveness Ratings for B2B Small Business Tactics

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

65%65%

62%61%60%60%

58%57%57%

55%55%

53%





17

SPONSORED BY

Which social media platforms does your organization use to distribute content?

97% use LinkedInAverage Number Used: 6

Note: Fewer than 20% said they use the following platforms: Flickr (14%), StumbleUpon (14%), Foursquare (13%), Tumblr (11%), Vine (10%), and SnapChat (6%).

As with last year, B2B small business marketers use an average of 6 social media platforms. Once again, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook are the platforms they use most often.

The percentage of marketers using all of the platforms shown here increased this year, except for YouTube (75% last year vs. 74% this year) and Pinterest (which stayed the same).

The biggest increase was with Google+ (61% last year vs. 71% this year).


LinkedIn

Twitter

Facebook

YouTube

Google+

SlideShare

Pinterest

Instagram

Vimeo

B2B Small Business Content MarketingSocial Media Platform Usage

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

97%91%

89%74%

71%45%

36%24%24%





18

SPONSORED BY

How effective are the social media platforms that you use?

60% say LinkedIn is effective

Both last year and this year, 60% of B2B small business marketers said LinkedIn is effective. Confidence in Twitter rose by 7 percentage points (49% last year vs. 56% this year).

The biggest decreases were with SlideShare (49% last year vs. 41% this year) and Pinterest (30% last year vs. 24% this year).



LinkedIn

Twitter

YouTube

SlideShare

Vimeo

Facebook

Pinterest

Instagram

Google+

Effectiveness Ratings for B2B Small Business

Social Media Platforms

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

60%56%

44%41%41%

28%24%23%

20%




19

SPONSORED BY

How often does your organization publish new content that supports its content marketing program?

43% say daily or multiple times per weekThe most effective B2B small business marketers publish new content even more frequently than the percentages shown here (55% of the most effective marketers publish new content daily or multiple times per week).


How Often B2B Small Business MarketersPublish New Content

Daily

Multiple Times per Week

Weekly

Multiple Times per Month

Monthly

Less than Once per Month

14%

29%

18%

17%

11%9%





20

SPONSORED BY

Which paid advertising methods do you use to promote/distribute content?

61% use search enginemarketing (SEM)

Average Number Used: 3

This was a new question on the survey this year. The most effective B2B small business marketers are more likely to use each of these paid methods, especially social ads (57% vs. 49%).



B2B Small BusinessPaid Advertising Usage

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

Search Engine Marketing (SEM)

Social Ads (e.g., LinkedIn ads)

Print or Other Offline Promotion

Traditional Online Banner Ads

Promoted Posts (e.g., promoted Tweets)

Native Advertising

Content Discovery Tools

61%49%

44%42%

41%30%

14%




21

SPONSORED BY

How effective are the paid advertising methods that you use to distribute content?

Search engine marketing (SEM) is considered to be the most effective

Note: Percentages shown represent marketers who rated each method a 4 or 5 on a 5-point scale where 5 = “Very Effective” and 1 = “Not at all Effective.”

Search engine marketing (SEM) is the paid method that B2B small business marketers use most often to promote content, and it’s also the method they say is most effective.


Effectiveness Ratings forB2B Small Business

Paid Advertising Methods

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

Search Engine Marketing (SEM)

Promoted Posts (e.g., promoted Tweets)

Social Ads (e.g., LinkedIn ads)

Native Advertising

Content Discovery Tools

Print or Other Offline Promotion

Traditional Online Banner Ads

50%42%

42%39%35%

32%27%





22

SPONSORED BY

Approximately what percentage of your organization’s total marketing budget (not including staff) is spent on content marketing?

The average is 29%

While the average percentage of budget spent on content marketing is 29% (vs. 27% last year), those who have a documented content marketing strategy spend more (39%).

BUDGETS & SPENDING

Percentage of Total Marketing BudgetSpent on B2B Small Business

Content Marketing

0 10 20 30 40 50

100%

75-99%

50-74%

25-49%

10-24%

1-9%

0%

Unsure

1%6%10%14%

19%24%

3%22%





23

SPONSORED BY

How do you expect your organization’s content marketing budget to change in the next 12 months?

55% say they will increase spending

More than half of all B2B small business marketers say they will increase their content marketing budget (including 53% of those who say they are least effective).

BUDGETS & SPENDING


B2B Small BusinessContent Marketing Spending

(Over Next 12 Months)

0 10 20 30 40 50

Significantly Increase 8%

Decrease 1%

Increase

Remain the Same

47%

31%

Unsure 12%




24

SPONSORED BY

With regard to content marketing, how challenged are you with each of the following?

58% say producing engaging content is a challenge

B2B small business marketers are more challenged this year than last in every area shown here. Technology-related challenges is new on the list this year, and producing content consistently has replaced producing enough content.

The greatest increases in terms of challenge were with:

• Finding trained content marketing professionals —up 20 percentage points (11% last year vs. 31% this year)

• Producing engaging content—up 13 percentage points (45% last year vs. 58% this year)

• Measuring content effectiveness—up 12 percentage points (28% last year vs. 40% this year).

CHALLENGES & INITIATIVES

Challenges that B2B Small Business Marketers Face

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

Producing Engaging Content

Producing Content Consistently

Producing a Variety of Content

Lack of Budget

Measuring Content Effectiveness

Finding Trained Content Marketing Professionals

Gaps in Knowledge and Skills of Internal Team

Lack of Buy-in/Vision from Higher-Ups

Lack of Integration Across Marketing

Technology-related Challenges

58%53%

45%40%

40%31%30%

27%22%

16%





25


Which content marketing initiatives are you working on?A high percentage are focused on creating more engaging content and converting website visitors.

New this year, we presented marketers with a list of 28 initiatives. We asked them to select one of three options for each: working on now, plan to begin working on within 12 months, and not a priority.

B2B small business marketers are working on an average of 14 initiatives, and plan to begin working on 7 more, on average, over the next 12 months.

The highest percentages of B2B small business marketers are presently working on: Creating more engaging /higher-quality content: 72% Doing better at converting website visitors: 66% Organizing content on website: 65% Finding more/better ways to repurpose content: 64% Optimizing content: 63%

As for which they plan to begin working on within 12 months, the highest percentages selected: Better mobile strategy: 33% Content personalization: 33% Measuring content marketing ROI: 32% Content curation strategies: 31% Developing a documented content marketing strategy: 30% Progressive profiling: 30%

The initiatives appearing on the following pages are the 12 that received the highest combined percentages of “working on now” and “plan to begin working on within 12 months.”

SPONSORED BY




26


Better at ConvertingWebsite Visitors Creating Visual Content

Creating MoreEngaging/Higher-Quality Content

Now Within 12 Months Not a Priority No Answer

66% 72%18% 61%26%

7% 9%

24%

6%4% 4% 4%


SPONSORED BY




27


Finding More/Better Waysto Repurpose Content


64%23%

9%4%

Better Understanding of What Contentis Effective—and What Isn’t

57%28%

10%5%

Optimizing Content

63%

4%

23%

9%


SPONSORED BY




28


Better Understandingof Audience

Organizing Contenton Website

Creating a Greater Varietyof Content


62% 65%19% 54%

29%

12% 13%

21%

12%4% 5% 4%


SPONSORED BY




29


Measuring ContentMarketing ROI

Developing anEmail Strategy

Tying Content toBusiness Goals


50% 62%19%

54%

25%

15% 16%

32%

13%

5% 4% 5%


SPONSORED BY




30

COMPARISON CHART

Has a documented content marketing strategy ........................................................................................58% .................. 39% .................. 12%

Has a content marketing strategy, but it’s not documented ....................................................................38% .................. 47% .................. 43%

Content marketing strategy very closely guides efforts ............................................................................64% .................. 44% .................. 18%

Content marketing strategy somewhat guides efforts ..............................................................................34% .................. 50% .................. 64%

Has a dedicated content marketing group ................................................................................................69% .................. 49% .................. 24%

Is successful at tracking ROI .......................................................................................................................45% .................. 25% ................... 7%

Average number of tactics used .................................................................................................................. 13 ..................... 12 ...................... 10

Average number of social platforms used ....................................................................................................7 ....................... 6 ........................ 5

Publishes new content daily or multiple times per week .........................................................................55% .................. 43% .................. 20%

Percentage of total budget allocated to content marketing .....................................................................39% .................. 29% .................. 15%

Average number of initiatives working on now .......................................................................................... 16 ..................... 14 ...................... 11

Average number of initiatives planning to begin working on within 12 months ........................................6 ....................... 7 ........................ 9

MostEffective

Comparison of Most Effective vs. Least Effective B2B Small Business Content Marketers Total

SampleLeast

Effective

Chart term definitions: A “best-in-class” content marketer (aka “most effective”) is one who rates his or her organization a 4 or 5 in terms of effectiveness on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being “Very Effective” and 1 being “Not at all Effective.” The 1s ands 2s are the “least effective.” The numbers under “average/overall” represent total respondents.


SPONSORED BY




31

COMPARISON CHART

Considers organization to be effective at content marketing ............................................................................................60% ................... 33%

Content marketing strategy very closely guides efforts .....................................................................................................62% ................... 29%

Has a dedicated content marketing group .........................................................................................................................69% ................... 41%

Is successful at tracking ROI ................................................................................................................................................38% ................... 18%

Average number of tactics used ............................................................................................................................................13 .......................12

Average number of social platforms used .............................................................................................................................7 .........................6

Publishes new content daily or multiple times per week .................................................................................................58% ................... 38%

Percentage of total budget allocated to content marketing .............................................................................................39% ................... 24%

Average number of initiatives working on now ....................................................................................................................16 .......................13

Average number of initiatives planning to begin working on within 12 months .................................................................6 .........................8

DocumentedStrategy

B2B Small Business MarketersDocumented vs. Verbal-Only Content Marketing Strategy Verbal

Strategy


SPONSORED BY




32

DEMOGRAPHICS

B2B Small Business Content Marketing: 2015 Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends—North America is produced by Content Marketing Institute and sponsored by Rainmaker Platform by Copyblogger Media.

The fifth annual content marketing survey, from which the results of this report were generated, was mailed electronically to a sample of marketers using lists from Content Marketing Institute, MarketingProfs, Brightcove, Blackbaud, the Business Marketing Association (BMA), EnVeritas Group (EVG), The Association for Data-driven Marketing & Advertising (ADMA), the Direct Marketing Association UK (DMA), Industry Week, New Equipment Digest, WTWH Media, and Corporate Financial Group. A total of 5,167 recipients from around the globe—representing a full range of industries, functional areas, and company sizes—responded throughout July and August 2014.

This report presents the findings from the 580 respondents who said they were B2B small business marketers (10-99 employees) in North America.

Additional reports based on the annual survey are available at www.contentmarketinginstitute.com/research. Special thanks to MarketingProfs for their assistance with the annual survey and the B2B North America and B2C North America reports.

Industry Classification,B2B Small Business(10-99 employees)

Job Title/Function,B2B Small Business(10-99 employees)

34%40%

18%11%

13%

9%

9%24%

28%8%

6%

■ Advertising/Communications/ Marketing/PR

■ Technology

■ Manufacturing

■ Consulting

■ Other

■ Marketing/Advertising/ Communications/PR Management

■ Corporate Management/Owner

■ General Management (GM/VP)

■ Content Creation/Management

■ Marketing Administration/Support

■ Other

SPONSORED BY




33

ABOUT

About Content Marketing InstituteContent Marketing Institute (CMI) is the leading global content marketing education and training organization.

CMI teaches enterprise brands how to attract and retain customers through compelling, multi-channel storytelling.

CMI’s Content Marketing World event, the largest content marketing-focused event, is held every September, and

Content Marketing World Sydney, every March. CMI also produces the quarterly magazine Chief Content Officer, and

provides strategic consulting and content marketing research for some of the best-known brands in the world. CMI is

a 2012, 2013, and 2014 Inc. 500 company. View all CMI research at www.contentmarketinginstitute.com/research.

Learn how to create a documented content marketing strategy, a key component for improving overall content

marketing effectiveness.

About Rainmaker Platform by Copyblogger MediaThe Rainmaker Platform by Copyblogger Media is the complete website solution for building your online

marketing and sales platform. Create powerful content-driven websites, start a sophisticated membership

program, sell digital goods the smarter way, and much more. Even better, never waste valuable time with

plugins, complicated code, hosting, maintenance, or upgrades. To take a risk-free 14-day trial, go to

http://rainmakerplatform.com.

SPONSORED BY


http://contentmarketingworld.com

http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/chief-content-officer/

http://www.contentmarketinginstitute.com/research

http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/the-essentials-of-a-documented-content-marketing-strategy-36-questions-to-answer/






B2B Small Business Content Marketing: 2015 Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends - North America

Marketing

Transcript of B2B Small Business Content Marketing: 2015 Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends - North America