In 2014, marketers are not only welcoming content marketing a little more warmly, they starting to gain confidence in their content marketing. The results of a recent study conducted by Content Marketing Institute and Marketing Profs has made those who doubted content marketing or called it a “fad” are starting to look silly.

In the study, which reported on 2014 B2B content marketing benchmarks, budgets and trends in North America, the two sources reported that 93 percent of B2B marketers said they used some form of content marketing – a number that has consistently risen. The two sources also reported that more marketers (42 percent) are considering their efforts effective.

The study aimed to zero-in on content marketers’ newfound confidence, specifically concentrating on whether or not the companies who participated had a documented content strategies (44 percent said they do) and/or a person who oversees their marketing strategy (73 percent do).

The study found that marketers who have strategies and content specialists are not only more effective, but less challenged with every aspect of content marketing.

Here is a profile of a best-in-class B2B content marketer, based on a comparison study of the most effective B2B content marketers with least effective B2B content marketers.

What a best-in-class B2B content marketer looks like

• 66 of the most effective B2B content marketers percent have a documented content strategy, and of the least effective, only 11 percent did.
• 86 percent of the most effective B2B content marketers have someone who oversees their content marketing strategy, as opposed to only 46 percent of the least effective.
• The most effective B2B content marketers use an average of 15 different tactics and an average of seven social media platforms.
• And these marketers have definitely seen the fruits of their labor. They rated blogs as the most effective tactic (79 percent), surpassing in-person events (76 percent). Their strategy makes all the difference; meanwhile, only 29 percent of their least effective peers rated blogs as effective.

What the numbers are telling you

• It’s not as expensive as cautious B2B content marketers might have thought. These best-in-class marketers aren’t spending an arm and a leg to carry out their effective content strategy. Because of the easy, economical nature of blogging and posting on social media, the most effective B2B marketers only spent 39 percent of their marketing budget on content marketing, according to the study.
• It’s a cost-effective (and popular) marketing solution for smaller B2Bs. Content marketing strategy isn’t some undertaking just for the big wigs – it is surprisingly more popular among smaller businesses than large. 48 percent of smaller B2B organizations (10-99 employees) have a documented content strategy, compared with 41 percent of large organizations (1,000+ employees). Small companies are also 20 percent more likely to have someone who oversees this strategy.

What you can learn from best-in-class B2B content marketers

• The amount of work you put into content marketing influences the amount of results you will get out of it. As SkyRocket has said a million times: content marketing is a journey, not a destination. You won’t generate a significant increase in traffic by posting five blogs and letting them sit there. You have to consistently create useful content and consistently update your company blog. And as it gets easier, you can ramp up your content strategy year after year. That’s why 78 percent of the most effective B2B content marketers are creating more content than they did a year ago, compared with 57 percent of their least effective peers.
• Strategy can maximize your content’s effectiveness. And although they’re gaining confidence in their content abilities, they’re still taking a systematic approach: B2B marketers who have a documented content strategy are creating more content than they did one year ago, more so than those who do not have a documented strategy. Nearly all (95%) A B2B content marketer segments their content in at least one way, but the most effective ones tailor their topics to industry trends, buyer profiles, company characteristics, stages in the buying cycle and competitor’s content.

What else can I say? The numbers pretty much speak for themselves. If you haven’t already, appoint/ hire someone to oversee your content and develop/document your content strategy. And if you need anything, SkyRocket is always here to help!