7 Content Marketing Facts Successful B2B Marketers Need To Know
Over the last few years, content marketing has become a staple for large corporations and small businesses alike. Once a buzzword, it’s now one of the preferred sales and marketing strategies for companies across all industries. Buyers have also made it clear that they enjoy consuming original content. They follow companies on social media, watch video tutorials, view infographics, and read blogs. User engagement with content marketing continues to increase, while interaction with other forms of traditional advertising is declining.
White papers, ebooks, case studies, and research reports are some of the most popular types of written marketing collateral. Writing these content pieces is an effective way to educate readers on your product or service, create brand awareness, and aid consumers in the buying process. They’re also powerful lead generators and can help you establish yourself as an influencer in your field. Every business can benefit from producing written content, which is why we’re sharing seven key facts that B2B marketers need to know about content marketing.
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1. Ebooks, white papers, research reports, and case studies are the best hooks for driving B2B leads and user engagement. In fact, 78% of B2B buyers report using white papers to help them make a purchase decision , and 9 out of 10 B2B buyers say content influences their purchases.
2. Almost all B2B companies use content marketing. A Content Marketing Institute survey found that 93% of B2B marketers use it.
3. White papers and case studies are two of the best ways to drive leads and revenue. In an e-Strategy Trends survey of 179 companies, 53% of respondents reported that white papers generate leads and 40% agreed that white papers bring them revenue. For case studies, 44% of participants answered that case studies bring them new leads and 34% reported that case studies are revenue generators.
4. It takes more than one write-up to sell potential customers on your product or service. Studies show that 47% of buyers review 3-5 pieces of content before contacting a sales representative.
5. Sales outreach is most effective within 30 minutes of user engagement with premium content assets. A sales rep is 100 times more likely to make contact with a prospect if they call within 30 minutes of receiving the lead.
6. Video is a crucial component of content marketing. Studies find that 64% of consumers are more likely to make an online purchase after watching a video, and 90% find videos helpful in their decision-making process.
7. The majority of B2B marketers don’t understand how well their content performs. A staggering 65% don’t know which of their content pieces or mediums are most effective.
These facts suggest that:
1. A successful business gives its customers what they want, and today’s consumers want content. Create written content that educates your prospects and you’ll see a drastic increase in your sales.
2. Your business needs a content marketing strategy to survive and thrive in today’s competitive B2B market. All of your viable competitors are already using content in their marketing strategy. At this point, failing to create and market original content is a surefire way to stifle your company’s growth potential.
3. You should consider adding white papers and case studies to your content marketing repertoire to increase your leads and revenue. Industry insiders agree that they help you grow your business, expand your customer base, and do indeed yield an ROI.
4. All of your related content – white papers, ebooks, etc. – should be available in the same location so that users looking for one piece can find others as well. Storing your white papers, ebooks, and other marketing collateral in a digital repository makes it easier for prospects to learn more about your company and your products and/or services. Ultimately, it increases the likelihood that they’ll read multiple pieces, thus making them more likely to make a purchase.
5. Your sales and marketing team should receive a real-time alert every time a user downloads your content. Notifications help busy salespeople stay on top of leads and simplify the follow-up process. Sales teams are then able to respond to prospects within 30 minutes of their inquiry, increasing the likelihood of connecting with them and closing a sale.
6. You should dedicate time to producing informative video content that can be featured on your YouTube channel and website. Embed videos in your written digital content to maximize sales potential. Video testimonials, how-to’s, and product demonstrations are among some of the most popular types of marketing videos. Including them in your ebooks and white papers will make those documents more engaging and entertaining for your prospects, and will also help generate more sales.
7. It’s imperative that you understand and identify the types of content that have the most impact on your business. You need in-depth, real-time traffic reports that provide you with statistics on the number of views, shares, clicks, and downloads that your digital documents receive. Otherwise, you risk wasting precious resources creating content that underperforms instead of producing winning pieces. Think about it – with this data you could have a strategy that’s more efficient than 65% of your competitors!
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At PageTurnPro, we have everything you need to amp up your content marketing strategy. Our basic digital publishing software allows you to take your static PDF ebooks and white papers and transform them into dynamic digital publications. Built-in engagement-driving features such as video embedding and hyperlinking make your digital documents interactive to keep your readers involved and interested. Our digital library solution is the perfect online repository to store all of your marketing collateral in one convenient location. It also has real-time notifications to alert your sales team every time a user downloads one of your content pieces or submits an online inquiry. Both our basic digital publishing and digital library have traffic reporting and can be integrated with your Google Analytics account so you can easily identify your best-performing documents.
Interested in learning more about what our solutions can do for you and your marketing strategy? Contact us today.