Secret to Content Marketing Success: Writing it Down & Following Through

CLEVELAND, October 1, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Marketers don't have to actually use a pen and paper just as long as they document their content marketing strategy in some form, they'll be more successful.  That's the key finding in new B2B content marketing research published by Content Marketing Institute (CMI) and MarketingProfs.

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This is the fifth and biggest year yet for one of the most highly anticipated content marketing research reports in the world.  Sponsored by Brightcove, B2B Content Marketing: 2015 Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends—North America, includes findings from 1,820 North American business-to-business (B2B) marketers —just a slice of the 5,000+ marketers we surveyed across 109 countries, in 25 industries. This year we made changes to the survey to get a deeper understanding of how organizations use content as part of the marketing mix.

"This research is incredibly important so that savvy marketers can benchmark their content marketing strategy, processes, and budgets against their peer group. Content marketing has been around for over a hundred years, but it's an immature industry. Marketers need as much reference information as possible so the industry can continue to grow," says Joe Pulizzi, Founder, Content Marketing Institute, and author of Epic Content Marketing.

The research indicates there are two critical factors that differentiate the "good from great" content marketers — having a documented content marketing strategy and following it very closely.  Thirty-five percent of B2B marketers have a documented strategy, whereas 48% have a strategy but it's not documented.  Having a verbal strategy is a great first step.  However, research shows it pays to write it down.  In fact, those who document their strategy — as opposed to just having a verbal strategy —rate themselves as eight times more effective than those who don't have a strategy.

Additionally, the survey found the number one initiative B2B marketers are working on now is "creating engaging content," which has been a persistent challenge for the last five years.

"This is a challenge that isn't going away," explains Ann Handley, Chief Content Officer, MarketingProfs, and author of Everybody Writes. "With so much content being produced these days, companies really need to be focused on creating engaging, relevant content for their audience instead of just pushing their sales messages," she adds.

There are many more eye-opening findings in the report here.
You can download the full report here.  
For graphics/charts, pictures, quotes and more, you can grab them here.

About Content Marketing Institute (CMI)
Content Marketing Institute 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, the largest content marketing-focused event, is held every September, and Content Marketing World Sydney, every March. 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. CMI is a 2012, 2013 and 2014 Inc. 500 company.

About MarketingProfs:
MarketingProfs offers real-world education for modern marketers. More than 640,000 marketing professionals worldwide rely on our free daily publications, virtual conferences and more to stay up-to-day on the most important trends in marketing—and how to apply them to your business. Visit MarketingProfs.com for more.

SOURCE Content Marketing Institute