In 2020, giving leads to receiving. Business-to-business buyers are increasingly turning to free educational content produced by potential business partners to inform their purchasing decisions.
Businesses research solutions online first
Two-thirds of 2020 Content Preference survey respondents say they rely more on content — white papers, blogs, infographics, etc — to drive B2B purchases than in 2019. Half said they read at least three content pieces before speaking with a salesperson. For 30%, it was at least five. The study, conducted by Demand Gen Report, doesn’t say why content plays such a key role, but SmartBrief Group Publisher Chris Warne has a theory.
“With so much business conducted remotely, buyers are becoming more self-reliant when it comes to educating themselves. They want to get reliable market intel before they are ever pitched for a product, especially when the decision requires a lot of research,” said Warne, who leads the Energy & Chemical publications at SmartBrief, a digital media publisher of targeted business news and information. “The Demand Gen Report results may actually underestimate the importance of custom content for 2021 because the survey was conducted in early spring of 2020, before the full extent of the COVID-19 pandemic was known.”
What content formats do well?
At SmartBrief, e-books and white papers made up half of the custom content created for advertising clients in the first eight months of 2020. The formats lend themselves well to generating prospects and providing readers with detailed analysis. The remaining content products included executive Q&As, infographics, and blog posts. Shorter content formats were preferred by 43% of those surveyed by Demand Gen Report.
Custom content pieces can be distributed via direct marketing, social channels and specialized newsletters. For the energy sector, SmartBrief email campaigns featuring customized content had a 140% increase in response, compared to more transactional emails to similar audiences. Content shared in SmartBrief’s Energy & Chemicals newsletters enjoyed 40% higher engagement rates than traditional advertising. Custom content ROI grows even more via peer-to-peer sharing.
Results like these explain why 70% of marketing managers surveyed by HubSpot for its Ultimate List of Marketing Statistics for 2020 said they are actively investing in custom content in their campaign strategies.
To learn more, download the interactive infographic.