All content marketing is not created equal, as evidenced by new research from the Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs. In the company’s fourth annual content marketing benchmark report, it was revealed that strategy is essential to a campaign’s overall effectiveness and the way it impacts a company’s bottom line. Unfortunately, the report also showed that marketers have yet to grasp this fact. The data further reveals that:
- Less than half of B2B marketers have a documented content strategy in place
- 84 percent of marketers who consider their marketing ineffective have no documented strategy
- 66 percent of those with a strategy in place consider their content marketing to be effective
These numbers show that companies need to begin preparing a content marketing strategy if they have not yet done so, as the risks of a poorly crafted plan are made more than evident.
The fact that 84 percent of marketers consider themselves ineffective strictly because they have no documented strategy is a strong indicator that marketers need to get on board with a plan and stick to it with a particular aim. This may mean getting your C-suite on board or fleshing out whether your existing strategy is up to par.
Having a strong content marketing strategy is easier said than done. Many C-suite executives may not be able to see the big picture in regards to the short term or long term benefits of such a plan. Since content marketing is still an up-and-coming field, there may be a hesitancy to roll with the punches and adapt to necessary changes in the industry as they present themselves.
When you consider that 66 percent of those with a strategy in place think of their content marketing as being effective, it’s a great reminder that a plan not only leads to better results, but also allows your team to clearly see what is working and what isn’t. The initial returns may not be what you’d hoped for, but you may also see that an area you hadn’t expected to be a focal point is thriving. For example, perhaps you put all of your eggs in the basket of featured articles and blogs but then found out that infographics and videos were drawing the most interest. Having a strategy in place means that you can take stock of your progress and adjust your plans for the future.
At the end of the day, less than half of B2B marketers have a content strategy in place because it isn’t a priority for them. The more that they learn about the effects of content marketing, however, the more they’re going to want to get on board. After all, a good company-customer relationship is built on conversation. Content marketing helps to keep that conversation going. And a good strategy lets consumers and customers know that, for your company, the conversation is never going to end.
Edited by
Allison Boccamazzo
