B2B Small Business Content Marketing: 2013 Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends North America

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1 B2B Small Business Content Marketing: 2013 Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends North America

2 FOREWORD Hello Content Marketers! Welcome to B2B Small Business Content Marketing: 2013 Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends North America. When we recently surveyed 1,416 business-to-business (B2B) marketers from North America,* we found some key differences between B2B small business marketers (10-99 employees) and their B2B enterprise peers (1,000+ employees). For example, B2B small marketers: Use an average of 12 content marketing tactics, whereas their enterprise peers use 16 Rate social media (other than blogs) as the content marketing tactic they use most often, whereas their enterprise peers use video most often Agree with their enterprise peers that in-person events are the most effective content marketing tactic, but have more confidence in books and blogs than those peers do Use an average of five social media platforms, whereas their enterprise peers use four Outsource content creation much less frequently than their enterprise peers do. Plus, more B2B small business marketers (57%) than enterprise marketers (46%) are planning to increase their content marketing budgets over the next 12 months. Of course there are similarities, too. For instance, both B2B small business and enterprise marketers have a ways to go in terms of content marketing effectiveness: Just over 30% of both groups rate their organizations as effective at content marketing. Here we take a closer look at how B2B small business marketers approach content marketing. We think you ll find the results interesting. On with the content marketing revolution Joe Pulizzi Founder Content Marketing Institute *See page 19 for study demographics. 2

3 OVERVIEW 94% of B2B small business marketers use content marketing. Percentage of B2B Small Business Marketers Using Content Marketing 6% do not use content marketing 94% use content marketing 3

4 CONTENT MARKETING BY TACTIC B2B small business marketers use an average of 12 content marketing tactics. Number of Tactics B2B Small Business Marketers Use 20+ Tactics Tactics Tactics Tactics 5-9 Tactics 7% 12% 23% 23% 27% 1-4 Tactics 6% Average: 12 B2B small business marketers use an average of 12 content marketing tactics, whereas their B2B enterprise peers use

5 CONTENT MARKETING BY TACTIC % 82 % 81 % Social Media Other than Blogs Articles on Your Website enewsletters Content Marketing Usage Among B2B Small Business Marketers 76 % Blogs 75 % Case Studies 73 % 71 % Videos In-person Events 69 % Articles on Other Websites 64 % White Papers 60 % Webinars/Webcasts Research Reports (by Tactic) 42 % 39 % Infographics 36 % 33 % Branded Content Tools Microsites 31 % 29 % 28 % Print Magazines Books ebooks 27 % 22 % 22 % 22 % Mobile Content 24 % 23 % Virtual Conferences Mobile Apps Digital Magazines Licensed/Syndicated Content B2B small business marketers use social media (other than blogs) the most, whereas their B2B enterprise peers use videos the most (87%). B2B enterprise marketers use all of these tactics with greater frequency than their B2B small business peers do, with one exception: B2B small business marketers use blogs more frequently (76% vs. 70%). Print Newsletters 20 % Podcasts 15 % Annual Reports 10% Games/Gamification 5

6 TACTIC EFFECTIVENESS Confidence Gap Effectiveness Ratings of Tactics Among B2B Small Business Marketers Believe It s Effective Believe It s Less Effective 64% 62% 60% 57% 56% 56% 56% 55% 53% 53% In-person Events Case Studies Blogs Research Reports enewsletters Videos Webinars/Webcasts Books ebooks White Papers 36% 38% 40% 43% 44% 44% 44% 45% 47% 47% 52% Microsites 48% 51% Articles on Other Websites 49% 50% Articles on Your Website 50% Like their B2B enterprise peers (71%), B2B small business marketers consider inperson events to be the most effective content marketing tactic. B2B small business marketers and their enterprise peers rate most items here similarly in terms of effectiveness, with two exceptions: Small business marketers have more confidence in books (55% vs. 35%) and blogs (60% vs. 46%) than their enterprise peers do

7 SOCIAL MEDIA USAGE Percentage of B2B Small Business Marketers Who Use Various Social Media Platforms to Distribute Content LinkedIn 83% Twitter 81% Facebook 80% YouTube Google+ Pinterest SlideShare 27% 24% 40% 62% B2B small business marketers use an average of five social media platforms, whereas their B2B enterprise peers use an average of four. Vimeo 17% StumbleUpon Flickr 10% Instagram Foursquare 9% 8% 11% B2B small business marketers most often use LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook, whereas their B2B enterprise peers most often use Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Tumblr 8% Quora 5% Other 3%

8 ORGANIZATIONAL GOALS B2B small business marketers cite brand awareness as their top goal for content marketing. Organizational Goals for Content Marketing (B2B Small Businesses) Brand Awareness Customer Acquisition Lead Generation Customer Retention/Loyalty Thought Leadership Website Traffic Engagement Sales 82% 78% 74% 69% 67% 66% 63% 49% 47% Lead Management/Nurturing Brand awareness is the top goal for both B2B small business marketers and their B2B enterprise peers

9 MEASUREMENT CRITERIA B2B small business marketers most often use website traffic to measure content marketing success. Measurement Criteria for Content Marketing Success (B2B Small Businesses) Website Traffic Sales Lead Quality Sales Lead Quantity Social Media Sharing SEO Ranking Direct Sales 62% 53% 48% 48% 47% 44% Qualitative Feedback from Customers Time Spent on Website Inbound Links 38% 15% 5% 41% Benchmark Lift of Company Awareness Increased Customer Loyalty 24% 44% 27% Benchmark Lift of Product/Service Awareness Cross-selling Cost Savings 22% Like their B2B enterprise peers (64%), B2B small business marketers most often use website traffic to measure content marketing success

10 BUDGET 57% of B2B small business marketers plan to increase their content marketing budget over the next 12 months. Content Marketing Spending Among B2B Small Business Marketers (Over Next 12 Months) Decrease 2% Remain the Same 32% Unsure 10% Significantly Increase 9% Increase 48% 57% of B2B small business marketers plan to increase the amount they allocate to content marketing, compared with 46% of their B2B enterprise peers. 10

11 BUDGET On average, B2B small business marketers allocate 31% of their marketing budget to content marketing. Percentage of Marketing Budget Spent on Content Marketing (B2B Small Businesses) 100% 0% 75-99% 50-74% 25-49% 10-24% 5-9% 1-4% 9% 11% 16% 17% 13% 12% B2B small business marketers allocate 31% of their budget to content marketing, whereas their B2B enterprise peers allocate 24%. 0% 3% Did Not Answer/Unsure 16% Average: 31%

12 INSOURCING VS. OUTSOURCING 39% of B2B small business marketers outsource content creation. Insourcing vs. Outsourcing of Content Creation (B2B Small Businesses) In-House Only Outsourced Only Both 3% 39% 57% B2B small business marketers outsource content creation less frequently (39%) than their B2B enterprise peers (65%) do

13 SEGMENTATION Nearly all B2B small business marketers segment their content. How B2B Small Business Marketers Tailor Content Profile of Individual Decision Makers Company Characteristics Stage in the Buying Cycle Personalized Content Preferences None Other 9% 4% 21% 43% 53% 61% 90% of B2B small business marketers tailor their content in at least one way, compared with 92% of their B2B enterprise peers

14 CONTENT MARKETING CHALLENGES Producing enough content is the top challenge faced by B2B small business marketers. Challenges that B2B Small Business Content Marketers Face Producing Enough Content 64% Producing the Kind of Content that Engages Producing a Variety of Content 43% Lack of Budget 38% Inability to Measure Content Effectiveness Lack of Knowledge, Training, and Resources Lack of Buy-in/Vision 25% Lack of Integration Across Marketing 23% 54% 33% 29% Finding Trained Content Marketing Professionals 13% B2B small business marketers are more challenged with producing enough content than their B2B enterprise peers are (64% vs. 53%); however, they are less challenged in all others areas shown here, especially with lack of integration across marketing (23% vs. 58%) and lack of buy-in/vision (25% vs. 38%)

15 CONTENT MARKETING CHALLENGES Biggest Content Marketing Challenge for B2B Small Business Marketers Producing Enough Content 26% Producing the Kind of Content that Engages Lack of Budget 13% Lack of Buy-in/Vision 10% Inability to Measure Content Effectiveness 3% 21% 6% 6% 3% Lack of Knowledge, Training, and Resources Lack of Integration Across Marketing Producing a Variety of Content Finding Trained Content Marketing Professionals % B2B small business marketers cite producing enough content as their biggest challenge, whereas their B2B enterprise peers cite producing the kind of content that engages. 15

16 OVERALL EFFECTIVENESS Just 34% of B2B small business marketers believe they are effective at content marketing. How B2B Small Business Marketers Rate the Effectiveness of Their Organization s Use of Content Marketing Very Effective 5% 29% 44% 17% Not At All Effective 3% B2B small business marketers and their B2B enterprise peers rate their organizations similarly in terms of content marketing effectiveness, with just 32% of enterprise marketers rating their organizations a 5 or

17 OVERALL EFFECTIVENESS Profile of a best-in-class B2B small business marketer. Comparison of Most Effective B2B Small Business Content Marketers with Least Effective B2B Small Business Content Marketers Percentage of marketing budget allocated to content marketing Average number of tactics used Average number of social platforms used Plan to increase content marketing spend over the next year Tailor content to profile of decision maker Challenged with producing engaging content Challenged with producing enough content Most Effective Overall/Average Least Effective 46% 31% 14% % 57% 46% 73% 60% 43% 41% 54% 65% 60% 63% 68% 17

18 OVERALL EFFECTIVENESS Profile of a best-in-class B2B small business marketer. The most effective B2B small business marketers, when compared with their less effective B2B small business peers: Allocate a greater percentage of their marketing budget to content marketing Use more content marketing tactics Use more social media platforms to deliver content Tailor content to specific profiles/personas much more frequently Are far less challenged with producing engaging content Are less challenged with producing enough content 18

19 DEMOGRAPHICS B2B Small Business Content Marketing: 2013 Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends North America was produced by Content Marketing Institute and sponsored by Outbrain. This report is based on the responses of 398 small business (10-99 employees) and 216 enterprise (1,000+ employees) marketers, who were part of a larger business-to-business (B2B) North America survey, B2B Content Marketing: 2013 Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends North America. The electronic survey was mailed to a sample of B2B marketers from among subscribers of MarketingProfs and Content Marketing Institute in August A total of 1,416 B2B marketers from North America responded, representing a full range of industries (advertising/marketing, software, consulting, manufacturing, healthcare, finance, and others), functional areas, and company sizes. Industry Classification, B2B Small Business Job Title/Function, B2B Small Business Publishing/ Media Healthcare/Medical/ Pharmaceutical 5% 5% 5% Business Services (Other) Other 24% Advertising/ Marketing 24% 6% 7% 7% Software Design/ Development/Distribution 17% Manufacturing Consulting Internet/ Online Services Industry Classification, B2B Enterprise Publishing/ Media Insurance Business Services (Other) 4% 4% 4% 5% Other 23% Computer & Peripheral Equipment Telecommunications Manufacturing 16% Software Design/ Development/Distribution 16% 9% Healthcare/Medical/ 7% Pharmaceutical 6% Advertising/ Marketing Banking/ Accounting/Financial 6% Sales/Business Management 7% Content Creation/ Management 6% Marketing Administration/Support 7% General Management 9% Other 6% Job Title/Function, B2B Enterprise Corporate Management/Owner 22% Marketing/Advertising/ Communications/PR 43% Corporate Consulting Management/Owner Sales/Business Management 4% 2% Other 5% General Management 6% 2% Content Creation/Management 9% Marketing Administration/Support 9% Sales Administration/Support 2% Marketing/Advertising/ Communications/PR 62% 19

20 About the Content Marketing Institute: The Content 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 is the largest content marketing-focused event. 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. Get more content marketing resources at ContentMarketingInstitute.com. CMI is a division of Z Squared Media, a 2012 Inc. 500 company. View additional content marketing research at the CMI website. For more insights on content marketing for small businesses, register for the Content Marketing World Small Biz Summit being held September 12, About Outbrain: Outbrain, the leading content discovery platform, is on a mission to help readers find the most interesting content online, while giving publishers and brands the ability to reach a highly engaged audience. Using personalized links, Outbrain recommends content across a network of more than 300 premium publishers, including CNN, Fox News, Hearst, Rolling Stone, US Weekly, and Mashable. Links to content on a publisher s own site increase stickiness, while links to high-quality third-party content increase site traffic and generate revenue. Outbrain is currently installed on more than 100,000 sites and generates more than 85 billion recommendations per month. 20