Why B2B Tech Firms Are Embracing Content Marketing More than Others

Written by Maureen Condon | May 24, 2017

Does your technology marketing include a commitment to content? If not, an industry study shows you could be falling behind your competition.

The recently released 2017 Technology Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets & Trends report shows that tech firms are driving business results with their content marketing programs and that they're even faring better than B2B marketers in other industries. For example, 69% of technology marketers say their organization is “extremely committed” or “very committed” to content marketing, while only 63% of marketers overall report that level of engagement, according to the 2017 B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets & Trends.

There is one area where everyone could use some help, though – creating a documented content strategy. More on that a little later.

For now, take a look at the areas where B2B technology marketers are outperforming the general marketing population.

Our Organization’s Content Marketing Compared to a Year Ago…	B2B Technology Marketers	B2B Marketers (All Industries)
Extremely / very committed to content marketing	69%	63%
Much more / somewhat more successful with content marketing	64%	62%
Content marketing phase is sophisticated / mature	31%	28%
Measures content marketing ROI	76%	72%
Always / frequently delivers content consistently	62%	58%
Improvements in content creation (higher quality, more efficient) have contributed to our success	92%	85%
Content marketing is an important component of our marketing program	92%	88%
Has a documented content strategy	42%	37%
Content marketing strategy is somewhat more / much more effective	76%	70%
Uses analytics tools	83%	79%
Uses marketing automation software	74%	51%
Uses an editorial calendar	68%	62%
Produces blogs	91%	80%
Produces social media content	89%	83%
Produces eBooks / white papers	81%	65%
Uses email to distribute content	98%	93%
Uses LinkedIn to distribute content	92%	89%
Uses Twitter to distribute content	84%	77%
Uses Facebook to distribute content	80%	76%
Uses YouTube to distribute content	74%	59%
Organization uses paid social media to promote content	91%	84%
Uses search engine marketing to promote content	81%	67%
Will focus on lead generation as a content marketing goal in the next 12 months	88%	80%
Will focus on lead nurturing as a content marketing goal in the next 12 months	79%	66%
Agree that our organization can demonstrate how content marketing has increased our number of leads	77%	72%
Agree that our organization can demonstrate how content marketing has increased audience engagement	79%	75%
Plans to increase its content marketing spend over the next 12 months	43%	39%

You can see that there is nothing too flashy about technology marketers' approach to content – they're using email as their main mode of distributing content and LinkedIn as their primary content promotion channel.

They clearly use video, though. YouTube seems to be a more widely used distribution channel for technology marketers than it is for general B2B marketers – 74% of tech marketers use YouTube compared to just 59% of B2B marketers in general.

Tech marketers have also embraced blogs and white papers at a dramatically higher rate than B2B marketers overall.

Lead generation and lead nurturing are the top two goals of content marketing for technology marketers. Overall, B2B marketers also rank lead generation as their top goal but audience engagement and brand awareness rank as higher priorities than lead nurturing.

Finally, technology marketers are more likely to use – surprise! – technology in their content marketing efforts. They use analytics tools and marketing automation platforms at a higher rate than B2B marketers in general.

So why do tech marketers seem to be embracing content marketing more enthusiastically than B2B marketers in other industries?

Some initial thoughts:

Technology is a sophisticated sale. Most companies include several decision makers when considering a technology purchase – individuals from the Executive Team, Operations, Finance, IT and the specific business area where the technology will be used may participate in the process. Tech firms may be finding that it pays off to produce content that speaks to each type of buyer within the organization.

The sales cycle can be long. With so many decision makers and influencers, it’s no wonder that the technology sales cycle can span several months or even a year or more. Nurturing leads with content that is appropriate to each stage of the buyer’s journey is an effective way to stay top of mind and move the process along. Since lead nurturing is a top goal reported by tech marketers, it seems they have figured out the power of content in the sales cycle.

Tech buyers consume a lot of content. Smart technology marketers understand the importance of producing content to educate and influence buyers when it comes to the features and benefits of their solutions, as well as their organization’s expertise. A recent Tech Target Media Consumption Report shows that 91% of tech buyers consume content in the early stage of the buying cycle, and 85% consume it during the middle stage. This may explain why tech marketers reported their commitment to blog articles, white papers and video content – all of which can help demonstrate expertise and inform buyers at critical stages.

Technology customers want to help themselves. Tech firms that make it easy to find answers and get support will have happier clients, according to several studies. One study, for example, showed that 67% of people prefer self-service over speaking to someone, while another revealed that 91% would use an online knowledge base if it were tailored to their needs. This fun infographic compiles the results. Clearly, creating the right type of content not only for prospects but for buyers can pay off.

Data drives technology… and content marketing. The engineers and IT folks behind tech solutions are known to love numbers, right? It makes sense, then, that with all of the data available to measure content marketing success – site traffic, conversion rate optimization, lead scores, etc. – that technology firms would be onboard. And it makes sense that they have committed at a higher rate to analytics tools and marketing automation platforms that provide key insights into the data driving their programs.

Tech firms have the edge in many areas of content marketing when compared with general B2B marketers, but it appears that all marketers could use some help documenting their content strategy.

Creating a Documented Content Strategy: How to Start

It’s critical to not just DO content without an overarching purpose that drives decisions, budgets, topics, distribution, and promotion. And with the trends in content and optimization moving towards firms becoming owners of relevant topics geared toward their target personas, it’s more important than ever to set a strategic direction for your content.

While 83% of technology marketers surveyed say they have a content strategy, just 42% have documented it. While this is up 7% from last year, it’s not good enough. To help get you started if you have not taken the plunge in documenting your strategy, I’ll leave you with a simple core content strategy statement you can start exploring in your organization.

And here is an example of one that is filled in:

Thinking about who your content is designed for and the goals you seek to achieve with it will help you gain clarity, commitment and consistency – the keys to success in content marketing. Whether your tech firm has embraced content marketing some time ago or you're just starting with it, creating a strategy statement will focus your efforts going forward.

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