TECHNOLOGY B2B TECHNOLOGY CONTENT MARKETING: 2015 BENCHMARKS, BUDGETS, AND TRENDS NORTH AMERICA
TABLE OF CONTENTS Welcome... 3 Usage & Overall Effectiveness... 4 Strategy & Organization... 6 Goals & Metrics... 10 Content Creation & Distribution... 13 Budgets & Spending... 22 Challenges & Initiatives... 24 Comparison Chart: Differences Between Technology Marketers and B2B Marketers Overall... 29 Comparison Chart: Most Effective vs. Least Effective Technology Marketers... 30 Comparison Chart: Technology Marketers: Documented vs. Verbal or No Content Marketing Strategy... 31 Demographics... 32 About... 33 2
WELCOME Greetings Technology Content Marketers, Welcome to B2B Technology Content Marketing: 2015 Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends North America. Throughout this report, you ll see how technology marketers have changed their content marketing practices over the last year and how they compare with the overall sample of B2B marketers who completed our annual content marketing survey. Among all groups we studied this year, technology marketers are the most likely to use content marketing. They re also the group that is most focused on lead generation as the primary goal for their content marketing efforts. Producing engaging content continues to be a challenge for technology marketers; however, 73% are presently working on initiatives to improve in this area. Overall, technology marketers are some of the savviest we ve studied in terms of how they are working to align their goals, metrics, and initiatives. Those who have a documented content marketing strategy are getting the best results. Joe Pulizzi Founder Content Marketing Institute Thanks for looking to Content Marketing Institute as a resource. We look forward to serving you for many years to come. Yours in content, Joe 3
USAGE & OVERALL EFFECTIVENESS Percentage of Technology Marketers Using Content Marketing 7% No 93% Yes Does your organization use content marketing? 93% say yes Last year, 98% of technology marketers said they use content marketing. Back then, we defined content marketing as the creation and distribution of educational and/or compelling content in multiple media formats to attract and/or retain customers. This year, we defined content marketing as a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action. The new definition crafted by Content Marketing Institute in early 2014 better reflects how content marketing has grown from the mere creation and distribution of content to a formal business discipline. 4
USAGE & OVERALL EFFECTIVENESS How Technology Marketers Rate the Effectiveness of their Organization s Use of Content Marketing 5 4 3 2 1 Very Effective 5% 16% 29% Not At All Effective 1% 0 10 20 30 40 50 47% Overall, how effective is your organization at content marketing? 34% say they are effective Note: For purposes of our annual survey, we define effectiveness as accomplishing your overall objectives. Those who rate their organizations a 4 or 5 (on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being Very Effective and 1 being Not at all Effective ) are the most effective or best-inclass. The 1s and 2s are considered the least effective, while the 3s are neutral. Last year, 39% of technology marketers said they were effective at content marketing. Even though there is a decrease this year, having a documented content marketing strategy helps in this regard (59% of technology marketers who have one say they are effective). 5
STRATEGY & ORGANIZATION Percentage of Technology Marketers Who Have a Content Marketing Strategy Does your organization have a content marketing strategy? 33% say they have a documented strategy No 14% Unsure 4% Yes, and it is documented 33% Yes, but it is not documented 50% Technology marketers who have a documented content marketing strategy are less challenged with content marketing when compared with their peers who have a verbal-only strategy or no strategy at all. 0 10 20 30 40 50 6
STRATEGY & ORGANIZATION Percentage of Technology Marketers Who Say Strategy Guides Efforts How closely does your content marketing strategy guide your organization s content marketing efforts? 35% say very closely We rarely use it 6% Unsure 3% Very closely 35% Somewhat 56% Having a strategy is one thing following it is another. The more effective the technology marketer, the more likely it is that his or her organization follows the strategy very closely (56% of the most effective follow their strategy very closely). 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 7
STRATEGY & ORGANIZATION Percentage of Technology Marketers Who Have a Dedicated Content Marketing Group Yes, and it functions independently as its own unit 13% Yes, and it works horizontally across the organization silos 35% Does your organization have a dedicated content marketing group? 48% say yes The numbers on this chart represent all technology marketers, but the most effective (76%) and those who have a documented content marketing strategy (71%) are more likely to have a group in place. No, but planning to have one 15% No, and no plans to have one that I know of 36% 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 8
STRATEGY & ORGANIZATION Areas Accountable for Content Marketing in Technology Companies 4% 14% 9% 13% 4% 23% 32% Demand Gen Marketing Product Marketing PR/Corporate Communications Owner/C-level Social Team/Social CRM Other No One, Unsure, or No Answer Which area in your organization is accountable for content marketing? 32% say demand gen marketing When compared with their B2B peers overall, technology marketers are more likely to report to demand gen marketing (32% vs. 18%) and product marketing (23% vs. 19%). Enterprise technology firms (1,000+ employees) are slightly more apt to report to product marketing (27%) versus demand gen marketing (25%). 9
GOALS & METRICS Technology Marketers Organizational Goals for Content Marketing Lead Generation Engagement Lead Nurturing Sales Brand Awareness Customer Retention/Loyalty Customer Evangelism Upsell/Cross-sell 65% 56% 53% 81% 80% 80% 79% 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 91% How important are each of the following content marketing goals to your organization? 91% say lead generation is an important goal Note: Percentages shown represent marketers who rated each goal a 4 or 5 on a 5-point scale where 5 = Very Important and 1 = Not at all Important. Among all segments of marketers we ve studied, technology marketers are most focused on lead generation as a goal for content marketing. It was their top goal last year as well (86%). In comparison, 83% of B2B marketers overall say lead generation is a goal. The goal that had the biggest increase this year was sales. Last year, only 49% of technology marketers cited sales as a goal, versus 80% this year. 10
GOALS & METRICS Technology Marketers Metrics for Content Marketing Success Website Traffic Sales Lead Quality Higher Conversion Rates Sales Lead Quantity Sales Time Spent on Website SEO Ranking Inbound Links Subscriber Growth 66% 62% 61% 54% 43% 42% 39% 39% 30% 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 Which metrics does your organization use to assess content marketing success? 66% say website traffic Note: Fewer than 30% cited the following metrics: Qualitative Feedback from Customers (27%), Benchmark Lift of Company Awareness (22%), Customer Renewal Rates (19%), Benchmark Lift of Product/Service Awareness (17%), and Cost Savings (5%). These percentages are fairly similar to last year s. The biggest decrease was for SEO ranking (54% said it was a metric last year vs. 39% this year). Higher conversion rates was a new choice on the survey. 11
GOALS & METRICS How Technology Marketers Rate their Organization s Success at Tracking ROI 5 Very Successful 5% How successful is your organization at tracking the ROI of its content marketing program? 24% say they are successful 4 3 2 1 19% 36% 20% Not At All Successful 8% We Do Not Track 13% Technology marketers are slightly more confident in their ability to track ROI when compared with their B2B peers overall (24% vs. 21%). Having a documented content marketing strategy helps in this regard; 40% of technology marketers who have one say they are successful in this area. 0 10 20 30 40 50 12
CONTENT CREATION & DISTRIBUTION Change in Amount of Content Creation Among Technology Marketers (Over Last 12 Months) 16% 5% 5% 32% Significantly More More Same Amount Less Compared with one year ago, how much content is your organization creating? 74% are creating more Last year, 78% of technology marketers said they were producing more content, so this percentage has decreased a bit. Even so, technology marketers are still creating more content than their B2B peers overall (74% vs. 70%). 42% Unsure 13
CONTENT CREATION & DISTRIBUTION Number of Audiences that Technology Marketers Target 10+ 6% How many different audiences does your organization target with separate content marketing strategies? The average number is 4 7-10 4-6 2-3 1 5% 5% 30% 46% There is a correlation between company size and the number of audiences a marketer targets. For example, small technology companies (10-99 employees) target 3 audiences, on average, while enterprise firms (1,000+ employees) target an average of 6. Unsure 8% 0 10 20 30 40 50 14
CONTENT CREATION & DISTRIBUTION Technology Marketers Content Marketing Tactic Usage Social Media Content other than blogs Blogs Case Studies enewsletters In-person Events Videos Webinars/Webcasts White Papers Articles on Your Website Online Presentations Infographics Illustrations/Photos Research Reports Microsites ebooks 96% 90% 90% 87% 86% 86% 84% 83% 81% 75% 73% 68% 60% 54% 51% 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Which content marketing tactics does your organization use? 96% use social media content Note: Fewer than 50% said they use the following tactics: Branded Content Tools (40%), Books (32%), Mobile Apps (32%), Virtual Conferences (28%), Digital Magazines (26%), Print Magazines (25%), Podcasts (24%), Print Newsletters (17%), and Games/ Gamification (14%). Technology marketers used an average of 15 tactics last year, compared with 14 this year. That is still more than B2B marketers overall (13). Social media content (other than blogs) was the most frequently used tactic last year as well, at 91%. The percentages shown here are all higher than they were last year, with the exceptions of video (which stayed the same) and illustrations/photos (which was a new choice on the survey). The biggest increases were with: Infographics (58% last year vs. 73% this year) Microsites (43% last year vs. 54% this year) Research Reports (51% last year vs. 60% this year). 15
CONTENT CREATION & DISTRIBUTION Technology Marketers Effectiveness Ratings for Content Marketing Tactics In-person Events Webinars/Webcasts Research Reports Case Studies Videos White Papers Blogs ebooks enewsletters Articles on Your Website Microsites Infographics 69% 69% 67% 61% 61% 61% 58% 58% 52% 51% 51% 50% 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 How effective are the following tactics that you use? 69% say in-person events and webinars are effective Technology marketers say in-person events, webinars, and research reports are the most effective tactics they use. Last year, they said webinars, videos, and case studies were the most effective. Research reports had the biggest increase (60% last year vs. 67% this year). These percentages are similar to what we see with B2B marketers overall, who also say inperson events are the most effective tactic (69%). The biggest difference is with research reports (67% of technology marketers say they are effective vs. 58% of B2B marketers overall). 16
CONTENT CREATION & DISTRIBUTION Technology Marketers Social Media Platform Usage Which social media platforms does your organization use to distribute content? 98% use LinkedIn LinkedIn Twitter Facebook YouTube Google+ SlideShare 50% 70% 86% 83% 98% 95% Note: Fewer than 50% said they use the following platforms: Pinterest (27%), Vimeo (24%), Instagram (23%), Flickr (15%), StumbleUpon (11%), Vine (9%), Foursquare (8%), Tumblr (8%), and SnapChat (4%). Technology marketers use an average of 6 social media platforms, the same as last year. This is the same average number of platforms that their B2B peers use. 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 There were slight increases this year in the percentage of technology marketers who use LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and SlideShare. The percentage who use Google+ increased the most (60% last year vs. 70% this year). The use of YouTube decreased slightly (85% last year vs. 83% this year). 17
CONTENT CREATION & DISTRIBUTION Technology Marketers Effectiveness Ratings for Social Media Platforms LinkedIn Twitter YouTube SlideShare Facebook Google+ 23% 15% 64% 58% 48% 43% How effective are the social media platforms that you use? 64% say LinkedIn is effective As they did last year, technology marketers say LinkedIn and Twitter are the most effective social media platforms. These are also the two platforms that technology marketers use most often. 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 18
CONTENT CREATION & DISTRIBUTION How Often Technology Marketers Publish New Content 8% 9% 21% 15% 15% 28% Daily Multiple Times per Week Weekly Multiple Times per Month Monthly Less than Once per Month How often does your organization publish new content that supports its content marketing program? 43% say daily or multiple times per week The most effective technology marketers (59%), as well as those who have a documented content marketing strategy (60%), are the most likely to publish new content daily or multiple times per week. Company size also has an impact: 54% of enterprise technology firms (1,000+ employees) vs. 36% of small technology businesses (10-99 employees) publish new content daily or multiple times per week. 19
CONTENT CREATION & DISTRIBUTION Technology Marketers Paid Advertising Usage Search Engine Marketing (SEM) Traditional Online Banner Ads Social Ads (e.g., LinkedIn ads) Promoted Posts (e.g., promoted Tweets) Print or Other Offline Promotion Native Advertising Content Discovery Tools 64% 59% 50% 48% 44% 15% 75% 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 Which paid advertising methods do you use to promote/distribute content? 75% use search engine marketing (SEM) This was a new question on the survey. Search engine marketing (SEM) is the paid advertising method that both technology marketers and their B2B peers overall use most often. Technology marketers use all of these methods more frequently than their B2B peers do, except for print or other offline promotion (48% vs. 52% for B2B marketers overall). 20
CONTENT CREATION & DISTRIBUTION Technology Marketers Effectiveness Ratings for Paid Advertising Methods Search Engine Marketing (SEM) Promoted Posts (e.g., promoted Tweets) Native Advertising Social Ads (e.g., LinkedIn ads) Content Discovery Tools Traditional Online Banner Ads Print or Other Offline Promotion 48% 40% 38% 38% 33% 23% 18% How effective are the paid advertising methods that you use to distribute content? Search engine marketing (SEM) is considered to be the most effective Technology marketers view the effectiveness of these methods nearly the same way their B2B peers do, with the exception of print or other offline promotion (30% of B2B marketers overall say print is effective vs. 18% of technology marketers). 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 21
BUDGETS & SPENDING Percentage of Marketing Budget Technology Marketers Spend on Content Marketing 100% 75-99% 50-74% 25-49% 10-24% 1-9% 0% Unsure 0% 2% 8% 15% 22% 21% 1% 29% Approximately what percentage of your organization s total marketing budget (not including staff) is spent on content marketing? The average is 25% Last year, technology marketers spent an average of 28% of their budget on content marketing. B2B marketers overall spend an average of 28%. 0 10 20 30 40 50 22
BUDGETS & SPENDING Content Marketing Spending Among Technology Marketers (Over Next 12 Months) Significantly Increase 8% Increase Remain the Same 27% 48% How do you expect your organization s content marketing budget to change in the next 12 months? 56% say they will increase spending Last year, 58% of technology marketers said they would increase spending. 55% of B2B marketers overall plan to increase spending. Decrease 2% Unsure 13% 0 10 20 30 40 50 23
CHALLENGES & INITIATIVES With regard to content marketing, how challenged are you with each of the following? Producing engaging content is the most often cited challenge Technology Marketers Overall Sample of B2B Marketers Producing Engaging Content... 63%... 54% Producing Content Consistently... 55%... 50% Measuring Content Effectiveness... 53%... 49% Producing a Variety of Content... 46%... 42% Lack of Budget... 40%... 41% Finding Trained Content Marketing Professionals... 37%... 32% Gaps in Knowledge and Skills of Internal Team... 35%... 34% Lack of Integration Across Marketing... 33%... 30% Lack of Buy-in/Vision from Higher-Ups... 30%... 29% Technology-related Challenges... 14%... 20% Producing engaging content is the biggest challenge for technology marketers, including the most effective and those who have a documented content marketing strategy. 24
CHALLENGES & INITIATIVES Which content marketing initiatives are you working on? 73% are focused on creating more engaging content New this year, we presented marketers with a list of 28 initiatives. We asked them to select one of three options for each: working on now, plan to begin working on within 12 months, and not a priority. Technology marketers are working on an average of 14 initiatives, and plan to begin working on 7 more, on average, over the next 12 months. The highest percentages of technology marketers are presently working on: Creating more engaging/higher-quality content: 73% Doing better at converting website visitors: 71% Better understanding of audience: 69% Finding more/better ways to repurpose content: 66% As for which they plan to begin working on within 12 months, the highest percentages selected: Content personalization: 43% Progressive profiling: 35% Better mobile strategy: 34% Developing a documented content marketing strategy: 34% The initiatives appearing on the following pages are the 10 that received the highest combined percentages of working on now and plan to begin working on within 12 months. 25
CHALLENGES & INITIATIVES Better at Converting Website Visitors Creating More Engaging/Higher-Quality Content Better Understanding of Audience 5% 5% 4% 4% 6% 8% 19% 16% 71% 73% 18% 69% Now Within 12 Months Not a Priority No Answer 26
CHALLENGES & INITIATIVES Better Understanding of What Content is Effective and What Isn t Finding More/Better Ways to Repurpose Content Measuring Content Marketing ROI 8% 5% 5% 4% 8% 11% 28% 59% 21% 66% 32% 52% Now Within 12 Months Not a Priority No Answer 27
CHALLENGES & INITIATIVES Optimizing Content Organizing Content on Website Creating Visual Content 10% 5% 5% 5% 11% 11% 25% 59% 62% 23% 23% 62% Creating a Greater Variety of Content 5% 13% Now Within 12 Months 56% Not a Priority No Answer 26% 28
COMPARISON CHART Differences Between Technology Marketers and B2B Marketers Overall Technology Marketers Overall Sample of B2B Marketers Uses content marketing...93%...86% Considers organization to be effective at content marketing...34%...38% Has a documented content marketing strategy...33%...35% Has a content marketing strategy, but it s not documented...50%...48% Does not have a content marketing strategy...14%...14% Has a dedicated content marketing group...48%...47% Is successful at tracking ROI...24%...21% Average number of tactics used...14... 13 Average number of social platforms used...6... 6 Average number of paid advertising methods used to promote/distribute content...4... 3 Publishes new content daily or multiple times per week...43%...42% Percentage of total budget allocated to content marketing...25%...28% Plan to increase content marketing spend over next 12 months...56%...55% Average number of initiatives working on now...14... 13 Average number of initiatives planning to begin working on within 12 months...7... 8 29
COMPARISON CHART Most Effective vs. Least Effective Technology Marketers Most Effective, TECH Total Sample, TECH Least Effective, TECH Has a documented content marketing strategy...57%... 33%... 13% Has a content marketing strategy, but it s not documented...39%... 50%... 37% Does not have a content marketing strategy...2%... 14%... 47% Has a dedicated content marketing group...76%... 48%... 24% Is successful at tracking ROI...45%... 24%... 7% Average number of tactics used... 15... 14... 13 Average number of social platforms used...7... 6... 6 Average number of paid advertising methods used to promote/distribute content...4... 4... 3 Publishes new content daily or multiple times per week...59%... 43%... 12% Percentage of total budget allocated to content marketing...36%... 25%... 15% Plan to increase content marketing spend over next 12 months...53%... 56%... 62% Average number of initiatives working on now... 15... 14... 10 Average number of initiatives planning to begin working on within 12 months...6... 7... 9 Chart term definitions: A best-in-class content marketer (aka most effective ) is one who rates his or her organization a 4 or 5 in terms of effectiveness on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being Very Effective and 1 being Not at all Effective. Those who rate themselves 1 or 2 are the least effective. The numbers under total sample represent total manufacturing respondents. 30
COMPARISON CHART Technology Marketers: Documented vs. Verbal or No Content Marketing Strategy Documented Strategy Verbal Strategy No Strategy Considers organization to be effective at content marketing...59%... 27%... 6% Content marketing strategy very closely guides efforts... 57%... 21%... N/A Content marketing strategy somewhat guides efforts...40%... 66%... N/A Has a dedicated content marketing group...71%... 43%... 17% Is successful at tracking ROI...40%... 19%... 6% Average number of tactics used... 15... 14... 13 Average number of social platforms used...7... 6... 6 Average number of paid advertising methods used to promote/distribute content...4... 3... 3 Publishes new content daily or multiple times per week... 60%... 38%... 19% Percentage of total budget allocated to content marketing...32%... 24%... 15% Plan to increase content marketing spend over next 12 months...59%... 57%... 54% Average number of initiatives working on now... 16... 14... 9 Average number of initiatives planning to begin working on within 12 months...6... 8... 9 31
DEMOGRAPHICS B2B Technology Content Marketing: 2015 Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends North America was produced by Content Marketing Institute and sponsored by International Data Group (IDG). The fifth annual content marketing survey, from which the results of this report were generated, was mailed electronically to a sample of marketers using lists from Content Marketing Institute, MarketingProfs, Brightcove, Blackbaud, the Business Marketing Association (BMA), EnVeritas Group (EVG), The Association for Data-driven Marketing & Advertising (ADMA), the Direct Marketing Association UK (DMA), Industry Week, New Equipment Digest, WTWH Media, and Corporate Financial Group. A total of 5,167 recipients from around the globe representing a full range of industries, functional areas, and company sizes responded throughout July and August 2014. This report presents the findings from the 420 respondents who said they were B2B technology marketers in North America. Sections of this report compare the technology respondents with the overall sample of 1,820 B2B marketers from North America, whose responses were previously reported on in the Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs study, B2B Content Marketing: 2015 Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends North America. Size of B2B Technology Company (by Employees) 39% 6% 25% 29% 8% 12% B2B Technology Job Title/Function 6% 14% 8% 52% Additional reports based on the annual survey are available at www.contentmarketinginstitute.com/ research. Special thanks to MarketingProfs for their assistance with the annual survey and the B2B North America and B2C North America reports. Large (1,000+ Employees) Midsize (100-999 Employees) Small (10-99 Employees) Micro (Fewer than 10 Employees) Marketing/Advertising/ Communications/PR Management Content Creation/Management Marketing Administration/Support Corporate Management/Owner General Management (GM/VP) Other 32
ABOUT About Content Marketing Institute Content Marketing Institute (CMI) is the leading global content marketing education and To learn more about training organization. CMI teaches enterprise brands how to attract and retain customers content marketing for through compelling, multi-channel storytelling. CMI s Content Marketing World event, the technology marketers, attend a full-day Industry Lab largest content marketing-focused event, is held every September, and Content Marketing at Content Marketing World on World Sydney, every March. CMI also produces the quarterly magazine Chief Content Officer, September 11, 2015. and provides strategic consulting and content marketing research for some of the best-known brands in the world. CMI is a 2012, 2013, and 2014 Inc. 500 company. View all CMI research at www.contentmarketinginstitute.com/research. Learn how to create a documented content marketing strategy, a key component for improving overall content marketing effectiveness. About International Data Group (IDG) International Data Group (IDG) is the world s leading technology media, events, and research company reaching an audience of more than 280 million technology buyers in 97 countries. IDG Communications, a subsidiary of IDG, is the largest global technology media, data, and services company delivering personalized and contextual-based experiences for the most powerful technology buyers. IDG s media network features 460 websites, 200 mobile sites and apps, 179 print titles, and more than 700 conferences and events. International Data Corporation (IDC), a subsidiary of IDG, has more than 1,000 analysts who provide global, regional, and local expertise on technology and industry opportunities and trends in more than 110 countries. 33