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6 Cold, Hard, Facts to Help Plan Content Marketing With Laser Focus

Content
26 Nov 2015 | by Ian Blake

Uncover 6 content marketing facts and how they help plan and implement a great inbound marketing programme.

Unsure how to start your B2B Content Marketing? Wondering whether to believe the hype? Keen to cut through the noise and figure out what really works – the trends and tactics that see results? You’ve come to the right place.

Here are five cold, hard content marketing facts to help you plan your first campaign with laser-sharp focus.

1. Almost a Third of Content Marketers Cite Content Marketing as Their Most Valuable Digital Tool

Why this matters: More marketing professionals see content marketing as 2015’s most commercially important trend than those backing Big Data, Marketing Automation and PPC put together. This isn’t a passing fad, this is where the future of marketing is headed. And with so much competition from major marketing minds, you’ll need to up your game as early as possible to keep yourself in the race.

2. The Most Effective Marketers Spend 37% of their Budget on Content

Why this matters: Consider this for a moment; the average B2B marketer only puts aside 28% of their total marketing spend. What does this tell us? It suggests that if you want to be an effective marketer, you can’t do things by halves. The more resources (and time, and thought) you’re willing to commit to your content marketing strategy, the more momentum you’ll pick up and the more successful you’ll be. If you’re going to do it, do it properly!

3. 94% of B2B Marketers Use LinkedIn for Distribution

Both LinkedIn and Facebook are on the rise for content distribution, but when it comes to B2B, it makes sense to go where your clients are. In most cases, that means LinkedIn – and judging by the uptake, professional marketers find this to be a successful tactic.

4. 60-70% of B2B Content is Wasted

Why this matters: Vast amounts of content created for B2B marketing campaigns is never used – simply because they it isn’t that relevant to the target audience. That doesn’t mean creating less content, but it does mean you have to really, really plan what you’re going to make. Don’t make stuff for the sake of it: research, strategise, and see it through. In fact…

5. 60% of B2B Marketers with a Documented Strategy Are Highly Effective

Why this matters: Nearly twice as many marketers with a proper strategy in place consider themselves to be more effective than those that don’t. You simply can’t figure out what to make, when you release it, how to measure it and how to capitalise on your success if you don’t have a thorough strategy. That means knowing exactly what you’re trying to achieve with each item of content – what step in the customer journey it represents and where you want your audience to go next.

6. Investing in Top Content is a #1 Recommendation

Why this matters: You’re the experts and you know your business (and, hopefully, your clients) inside out. That means you’re in a great position to harness that expertise and start generating great ideas for engaging content. But content creation is a skill, and trying to do everything in-house can be an exhausting process that costs you more in time, resources and opportunity cost than bringing in a third party to help. Of course, you want to be very careful about what you outsource, and to whom. But don’t rule this out on the basis of cost: it can be one of the smartest investments you make.

Looking for more practical advice on how to start content marketing? Download the ‘B2B Content Creation Masterclass’ below.

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