In fact, according to preliminary research findings from the upcoming 2015 B2B Content Marketing and Lead Generation Report, more than half (52%) of marketers allocated a greater portion of their budgets to content marketing over the last 12 months compared to the previous 12 months. What’s more, more than one-quarter (26%) plan to more than double their spending on content marketing over the next 12 months.

To drive engagement, content and related landing pages need to be not only search-engine optimized, but also highly relevant and compelling based on the differing wants, needs and objectives of prospects and customers. Indeed, these wants, needs and objectives can vary dramatically. A content asset that resonates with one target segment may fail to engage a different target audience. Generic, one-size-fits-all content generally fails to move the needle on marketing ROI.

Until recently, content assets were typically developed in a vacuum. Marketers would simply take their best guesses at what content would resonate most effectively with their different target audiences. The efforts were often a crapshoot and the results were often disastrous.

With advances in social listening and data analytics, companies now have the opportunity to gain real insights into what matters most to prospects. Marketers can understand at a granular level what information they may be seeking, and also how best to present that information. Social data can reveal how prospects are going about conducting their research. It can reveal what questions they’re asking and where they’re getting answers. It can even reveal what specific levers reside at the forefront of people’s purchase decisions and what factors are influencing those decisions.

Beyond informing content development activities for future programs, marketers can analyze social data to track and measure consumer response to campaigns already in progress. They can understand what content is connecting with different intended audiences — as well as what content may be missing the mark. They can measure audience engagement – or lack thereof – against intended or expected behaviors. They can measure program uptake and even predict the likelihood of success in terms of triggering the desired calls-to-action, be it new website registrations, content downloads, social media shares and “likes” – or, more importantly, financial metrics like new customer acquisition and increased sales revenue.

Today, social listening and analytics can go a long way toward improving content marketing activities, systematically identifying emerging topics by narrowly-defined audiences and providing marketers with the insights from social data they need to drive effective content development.

The post Listen and You Shall Create More Relevant Content appeared first on Starfleet Media.

The survey can be found here. We’re delighted that our media partners this year once again include DemandCon, B2B Sales and Marketing and Integrated Marketing Summit, which is hosting educational marketing events in eight U.S. cities over the next several months. The schedule can be found here.

The post Take the New B2B Content Marketing Survey and Win Big appeared first on Starfleet Media.

Allocating marketing resources and dollars toward channels and properties with a high concentration of target prospects is insufficient. B2B companies sometimes think that running a marketing campaign that directly targets the membership base of an industry trade association, for example, or a relevant LinkedIn Group is akin to shooting fish in a barrel. Of course, that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Remember: Nobody wants to be shot at. That explains the rapidly declining effectiveness of cold calls and email blasts, which nowadays tend to do more harm than good, especially within the realm of B2B. Today’s decision makers want to conduct their own online research, which means searching for relevant content, and they want to agree to being contacted by vendors.

Generally speaking, decision makers will provide their names and contact information, and even tell about their purchase intentions, to download content they deem valuable. Consider: Last month, we conducted an online survey with readers of our Smart Decision Guides, which are gated. 92% rated the content as either “valuable” or “extremely valuable.” 74% even said they shared it with a colleague in their organization. And 72% said that the follow-up calls they received from one or more vendors were “helpful” or “extremely helpful.”

The right kind of “bait” (yes, the metaphor is flawed) may be an eBook, a research report, a white paper or another type of content asset. The important point is that B2B companies need to refrain from marketing to everyone under the sun that happens to meet their target prospect criteria. Instead, they need to utilize high-value content, along with inbound marketing tactics, to make sure they “get found” by those decision makers who may actually be interested in becoming new customers.

The post Effective Content Marketing Means Fishing With the Right Bait appeared first on Starfleet Media.

A lead is commonly defined as a prospect who has been shown to have the interest, authority and budget to purchase a particular type of product or service. Although the names on B2B contact lists culled from third-party data sources are commonly referred to as leads, the reality of the situation is that these people may have never demonstrated any interest whatsoever in the product or service at hand.

The sales reps may have no idea whether these contacts would now or at any time in the future be even remotely interested in purchasing what they’re pitching, or whether, for that matter, they’re even the decision makers or authorized to make a purchase decision. Of course, that lack of critical knowledge won’t stop a sales rep whose job is on the line from picking up the phone and dialing for dollars.

Let’s face it: Cold calling is an increasingly ineffective and even (as the research findings above suggest) self-destructive way to drum up new business. It is intrusive, disruptive and disrespectful to the people on the receiving end. It’s like a pesky mosquito, unwelcome and annoying. As a day-to-day approach to demand generation, it belongs in the dustbin of history.

Make 2015 the year that your company fully harnesses the power of content marketing and inbound marketing tactics to fill your sales pipeline with qualified leads. Identify decision makers who explicitly state that they are currently in the market to purchase the type of product or service your company offers. Understand their level of authority and timeframe for making the purchase decision. And ensure that these truly qualified leads not only expect to hear from your sales reps but will actually welcome the opportunity to talk with them when the phone rings.

The post Make It Your New Year’s Resolution to End Cold Calling appeared first on Starfleet Media.

In all cases, the infographics are steeped in research data from a variety of sources, including our own published reports on B2B content marketing and lead generation. As always, we’re delighted to see others using our research findings to help educate the marketplace.

A nice collection of the latest infographics on B2B content marketing and lead generation was compiled last week by TribalCafe. Below is a snippet from one of them, created by Uberflip, entitled B2B Content Marketing Trends for 2015. Taken together, the infographics leave no doubt that 2015 is going to be a pivotal year for B2B content marketing and lead generation.

The post New Infographics Paint a Bright Picture of B2B Content Marketing appeared first on Starfleet Media.

The first five stats (below) should be enough to convert even the most skeptical CMO — not that there are many serious marketers today, particularly within the realm of B2B, who haven’t already allocated a significant (and growing) portion of their budgets to various content marketing initiatives.

1. A whopping 93% of B2B organizations rely on content marketing for brand building and demand generation. (Content Marketing Institute)
2. Out of all organizations leveraging content marketing programs, 48% say their efforts are resulting in engagement with customers and prospective clients, and 41% are seeing an increase in brand awareness. (MarketingLand)
3. Content marketing costs 62% less than traditional marketing and generates about 3 times as many leads. (DemandMetric)
4. Year-over-year growth in unique site traffic is 7.8x higher for content marketing leaders compared to followers (19.7% vs 2.5%). (Aberdeen Group)
5. Website conversion rate is nearly 6x higher for content marketing adopters than non-adopters (2.9% vs 0.5%). (Aberdeen Group)

The post 30 Content Marketing Stats to Take to the Bank appeared first on Starfleet Media.

The post The Importance of Quality Content for Search Marketing appeared first on Starfleet Media.

We’re pleased to be able to play an instrumental role in educating the marketplace and positively influencing so many marketing spend decisions. We’re committed to continuing to benchmark B2B content marketing practices for the benefit of the marketing community as a whole, even as our own content development activities (i.e., Smart Decision Guides and custom eBooks) remain narrowly focused on serving the needs of companies in selected niche markets.

The post Making a Splash with B2B Content Marketing Research appeared first on Starfleet Media.