A new report compiled by MarketingProfs and the Content Marketing Institute outlines the state of content marketing and the expectations for content marketing services in the coming year. Titled B2B Content Marketing 2018: Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends—North America, the report outlines the maturing of content marketing.
After surveying 870 B2B North American marketers during the summer of 2017, the analysts found almost two-thirds of participants indicated they achieved greater success with their content Marketing Program compared to the previous year. Some additional findings include:
- When asked about a formal written strategy, 62% of top performing companies documented their content marketing program.
- Almost one-quarter (24%) of participants rated their organization’s content marketing program as extremely or very successful.
- An 18% increase from the previous year’s study, the 2018 report found 80% of all B2B content marketers agree their organization’s goal is to build audiences.
- When asked about crafting content, 74% of B2B marketers indicated they value creativity in content production.
- Of top-performing B2B content marketers, 70% rated their project management flow during the content creation as excellent or very good.
Using this information, you should focus your content marketing services in 2018 on:
- Documenting your content marketing program – Enhancing performance depends on a written, formal roadmap of goals, budgets, strategies, tactics, and measurement criteria.
- Defining your audience — The right audience provides the foundation for a results-driven content marketing program.
- Recognizing content marketing as requiring both art and science — You must leverage analytics tools to measure performance, but not at the expense of creativity.
- Implementing tested processes — Impactful content marketing programs require creativity, analytics, and fine-tuned processes. Efficient processes will help your program succeed.
When it comes to content marketing services for 2018, you must emphasize quality over quantity. Creating professionally written, informative content will trump flooding the market with tons of mundane pieces. Your goal is to build an audience, not just add lots of prospects to your pipeline.
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