2016_B2B行业内容营销报告（英文版）-14mb

State of B2B Content Marketing 2016 Summary

Core Content

Content marketing is increasingly recognized as the core of marketing strategy in B2B organizations. It is seen as a vital component for engaging customers and driving business outcomes. However, while most organizations are investing in content marketing, a notable portion still lacks a structured approach.

Key Findings

1. Investment in Content Marketing

• 81% of organizations in the survey stated they invested in content marketing.
• 20% still do not, but 76% of these plan to invest in the next 12 months.
• Content marketing is viewed as central to marketing strategy by 96% of those currently investing in it.

2. Effectiveness of Content Marketing

• 27% of marketers rated their organizations' content marketing efforts as very effective, a 9% increase from the previous year.
• The somewhat effective category dropped from 80% to 71%.
• This suggests that while content marketing is becoming more effective, many organizations are still not achieving optimal results.

3. Content Marketing Objectives

• Marketers continue to prioritize pre-sale objectives such as lead generation (87%), creating awareness (76%), and nurturing prospects & influencing purchase (69%).
• Customer engagement and loyalty are increasingly undervalued, with engaging customers to build loyalty & advocacy dropping from 56% to 50%.

4. Content Distribution Channels

• Email (34%) was the most effective channel in 2015, followed by website (28%) and social media (21%).
• In 2016, social media moved to second place at 27%, while email remained the top at 28%.
• Website traffic dropped to third place at 26%.

5. Content Formats

• Emailers (21%) were the most effective content format in 2015.
• Blogs emerged as the most indispensable format in 2016, with 20% of marketers selecting it.
• Videos gained popularity, increasing from 9% to 16% in the same period.

6. Metrics for Success

• Website traffic (64%) and conversion rate (63%) are the most commonly used metrics for evaluating content marketing success.
• Engagement metrics such as level of engagement (43%) and time spent on website (31%) are less frequently used.

7. Challenges in Content Marketing

• Producing quality content is the top challenge (62%).
• Producing enough content (45%) and mapping content to the customer buying cycle (43%) are the next major challenges.
• Other challenges include lack of skilled resources, budget constraints, and difficulty in measuring ROI.

8. Budget Allocation

• 19% of organizations plan to spend less than 10% of their marketing budget on content marketing in 2016, down from 33% in 2015.
• 57% of respondents plan to allocate 10% to 25% of their budget to content marketing, up from 39% in 2015.

Trends and Recommendations

• Social media is becoming a more important channel for content distribution, emphasizing the need for engagement.
• Mobile is gaining traction, but only 11% of marketers have an exclusive mobile content strategy, a significant drop from 21% in 2015.
• Marketers should shift focus from pre-sale objectives to long-term customer relationships.
• Quality content is critical, and organizations need to invest in resources and strategies to ensure relevance and engagement.

Quotes from Respondents

• "Create content. Create well. Make it meaningful to prospects."
• "A strong and clear strategy is the key to a successful Content Marketing program."
• "For a winning campaign you need to know your audience and understand where and how they consume content."

About the Analysts

• Nimish Vohra, SVP and Principal Analyst, focuses on customer experience management, predictive analytics, and mobile enablement.
• Arunh Krishnan, Senior Analyst, has a background in consumer product marketing and brand management, and is currently studying emerging trends and consumer behavior in the digital space.

About Regalix Research

• Based in Silicon Valley, Regalix Research provides marketing insights, consulting, and peer-to-peer programs.
• They help technology companies leverage innovation and best practices to create real differentiation.
• Regalix has worked with Fortune 500 companies and venture-backed firms, offering services in social, mobile, content, multi-channel campaigns, technology development, and analytics.

Contact Information

• Regalix Research
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  Palo Alto, CA 94303
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  Email: research@regalix-inc.com
  Website: www.regalix.com