1、CONTENT MARKETING2020Benchmarks,Budgets,and TrendsNorth America SPONSORED BY2SPONSORED BYm WELCOME.3m B2B CONTENT MARKETING TOP PERFORMERS AT-A-GLANCE.4m KEY FINDINGS.6m SUCCESS&MATURITY.8m STRATEGY,OPINIONS&TECHNOLOGY.11m TEAM STRUCTURE&OUTSOURCING.15m CONTENT CREATION&DISTRIBUTION.20m METRICS&GOAL
2、S.29m BUDGETS&SPENDING.34m CONTENT MARKETING PRIORITIES.39m METHODOLOGY.41m ABOUT.42SURVEY TERM DEFINITIONSContent Marketing:A strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable,relevant,and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audienceand,ultimately,to
3、drive profitable customer action.Success:Achieving your organizations desired/targeted results.CHART TERM DEFINITIONSAll Respondents:B2B North America content marketers,all of whom indicated their organization has used content marketing for at least one year(see Methodology for more details).Most an
4、d Least Successful:The“most successful”(aka“top performers”)are those who characterize their organizations overall content marketing approach as extremely or very successful(Top 2).The“least successful”characterize their organizations approach as minimally or not at all successful(Bottom 2).See page
5、 9.Some charts in this report compare Most Successful vs.All Respondents vs.Least Successful.In many instances,charts reflect the findings based on All Respondents.Some charts show notable differences we observed based on things like company size or annual content marketing budget.Company Size:Small
6、(1-99 employees),medium(100-999 employees),and large/enterprise(1,000+).NOTEUse caution if making comparisons with past years.The survey methodology changed beginning with our 2019 version of this report,when we began asking respondents to confirm their content marketing role and whether their organ
7、ization has used content marketing for at least one year.TABLE OF CONTENTS3SPONSORED BYWelcome to our annual B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks,Budgets,and TrendsNorth America report.Were excited to present you with the findings from our latest content marketing survey.Content marketing has changed a
8、lot since we launched this research nearly a decade ago.We marketers are still focused on content creation,but our thinking about the audiences for whom we create that content has evolved.So,too,have the ways we distribute,measure,and improve upon our content marketing.Technology has played a big ro
9、le,along with the knowledge weve gained through our content marketing experiences.As youll see in this report,some organizations are more developed than others with their content marketing.But youll also recognize your own practices reflected in many of the findings.Where does your company stand?Wha
10、t do you need to get to where you want to be?If you need help,let us know!WELCOMEAnn HandleyChief Content Officer,MarketingProfs Stephanie StahlGeneral Manager,CMIRobert RoseChief Strategy Advisor,CMIKim MoutsosVP Content,CMICathy McPhillipsVP Marketing,CMILisa Murton BeetsResearch Director/Report A
11、uthor,CMIJoseph“JK”KalinowskiCreative Director,CMINancy ReeseResearch Consultant4SPONSORED BYMost SuccessfulAll RespondentsLeast SuccessfulOrganizations content marketing is sophisticated/mature87%42%8%Has a documented content marketing strategy69%41%16%Has a centralized content marketing group work
12、ing throughout the organization44%25%14%Uses metrics to measure content performance95%80%62%Has KPIs to measure content initiatives83%65%30%Measures content marketing ROI67%43%23%Rates ability to demonstrate ROI as excellent/very good84%59%25%Uses content marketing successfully to:Build loyalty with
13、 customers84%63%39%Nurture subscribers/audiences/leads83%68%51%Generate sales/revenue 75%53%29%Build a subscribed audience68%45%30%This Years B2B Content Marketing Top Performers At-A-GlanceTOP PERFORMERS5SPONSORED BYMost SuccessfulAll RespondentsLeast SuccessfulAlways/frequently:Prioritizes audienc
14、es informational needs over organizations sales/promotional message88%66%50%Crafts content based on specific stages of the customer journey74%48%26%Strongly/somewhat agrees:Organization prioritizes delivering relevant content when and where a person is most likely to see it 93%71%37%Organization pro
15、vides customers with optimal experiencesacross their engagement journey83%52%23%This Years B2B Content Marketing Top Performers At-A-Glance(continued)*Chart term definitions:A top performer(aka“most successful”)is a respondent who characterizes their organizations overall content marketing approach
16、as extremely or very successful.The“least successful”characterize their organizations approach as minimally or not at all successful.Base:B2B content marketers.2020 B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks,North America:Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfsTOP PERFORMERS6SPONSORED BYGoals for content m
17、arketing are largely focused on the top of the funnelMost B2B marketers use content marketing successfully to achieve top-of-funnel goals.Fewer report they use it successfully on activities that deepen relationships.There have,however,been notable year-over-year(YOY)increases in those who use it to
18、nurture,build loyalty,and generate sales/revenue.See page 33.Its rare to find internal teams of more than 5 full-time employees dedicated solely to content marketing.Even large companies are most likely to have teams in the 2 to 5 range.See page 17.84%of those who outsource cite content creation,wit
19、h content distribution a distant second(31%).See pages 18 and 19.Small teams are the normHalf outsource at least one content marketing activity,with content creation being the most likelyBlog posts/short articles are the highest performing for building brand awareness,while email newsletters are hig
20、hest for nurturing leads.See page 25.Among the content types used,in-person events are the highest performing for securing and converting leadsKEY FINDINGS7SPONSORED BYKEY FINDINGSEffectively targeted content distribution may be an issue for about one-third of all surveyed71%agree their organization
21、 prioritizes delivering relevant content when and where a person is most likely to see it.The remaining 29%neither agree nor disagree(15%)or disagree(14%).Top performers do a better job in this area.See page 13.Paid social is the top paid channel B2B marketers use for content marketing.LinkedIn is b
22、oth the top organic and paid social media platform they use,and the one they say generates the best content marketing results for their organization.See page 27.Key performance indicators(KPIs)are more common among the top performers than all respondents(83%vs.65%).Among all respondents who measure
23、return on investment(ROI),59%say they do an excellent or very good job at it(that number jumps to 84%for the top performers).See page 30.83%of top performers agree their organization provides optimal experiences across all phases of the customer journey compared with just half(52%)of all respondents
24、.See page 13.84%use paid distribution channels for content marketing purposesMost use metrics to measure content performance,but fewer have KPIs or measure content marketing ROITop performers are more likely than all surveyed to provide optimal experiences across the customer journey8SPONSORED BYSUC
25、CESS&MATURITY9SPONSORED BYOverall success with content marketing is similar to that reported for the last 3 years,with the largest percentage saying their organization is moderately successful.How B2B Marketers Rate Their OrganizationsOverall Level of Content Marketing Success 5%1%58%15%21%Extremely
26、 Successful Very Successful Moderately Successful Minimally Successful Not At All SuccessfulHow B2B Marketers Rate Their OrganizationsContent Marketing Success ComparedWith One Year Ago2%0%51%29%18%Much More Successful Somewhat More Successful About the Same Somewhat Less Successful Much Less Succes
27、sfulBase:B2B content marketers;aided list.2020 B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks,North America:Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfsNote:The survey defined success as achieving your organizations desired/targeted results.This report defines the Top 2 respondents(extremely/very)as“most successful
28、”or“top performers,”and the Bottom 2(minimally/not at all)as“least successful.”Base:B2B content marketers;aided list.2020 B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks,North America:Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfsSUCCESS&MATURITY10SPONSORED BY42%of B2B marketers say their organization is in the sophis
29、ticated/mature phase ofcontent marketing maturity.The percentages shown here are similar to last year.SOPHISTICATED Providing accurate measurement to the business,scaling across the organizationMATURE Finding success,yet challenged with integration across the organizationADOLESCENT Have developed a
30、business case,seeing early success,becoming more sophisticated with measurement and scalingYOUNG Growing pains,challenged with creating a cohesive strategy and a measurement planFIRST STEPSDoing some aspects of content,but have not yet begun to make content marketing a processBase:B2B content market
31、ers;aided list.2020 B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks,North America:Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfsHow B2B Marketers Rate Their OrganizationsContent Marketing Maturity Level 9%1%4%31%22%33%Sophisticated Mature Adolescent Young First Steps UnsureSUCCESS&MATURITY11SPONSORED BYSTRATEGY,OPINIO
32、NS&TECHNOLOGY12SPONSORED BYThe percentage of content marketers who document their content marketing strategy has inched up slowly year over year.Our annual research consistently shows that a documented strategy is often a key indicator of content marketing success.*As reported in the 2019 and 2018 v
33、ersions of this report.Base:B2B content marketers;aided list.2020 B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks,North America:Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfsSTRATEGY,OPINIONS&TECHNOLOGYPercentage of B2B MarketersWith a Documented Content Marketing Strategy20202019*2018*Most Successful All Respondents
34、Least Successful69%62%65%14%16%41%37%39%16%13SPONSORED BY52%of B2B marketers agree their organization provides customers with optimal experiences across the engagement journey.B2B Marketers Opinions About Content Marketing in Their Organization(Strongly/Somewhat Agree)95%86%72%71%37%23%93%83%52%65%9
35、2%78%020406080100Our audience views our organization asa credible and trusted resourceOur organization prioritizes delivering relevant contentwhen and where a person is most likely to see itOur organization values creativity and craft incontent creation and productionOur organization provides custom
36、ers with optimalexperiences across their engagement journey Most Successful All Respondents Least SuccessfulBase:B2B content marketers who answered each statement.2020 B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks,North America:Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfsSTRATEGY,OPINIONS&TECHNOLOGY14SPONSORED BYT
37、he top 2 technologies B2B organizations use to assist with content marketing are analytics tools(86%)and email marketing software(85%).Other technologies used:Content Distribution Platform(33%);Content Optimization(24%);Content Performance/Recommendation Analytics(22%);Digital Asset Management(DAM)S
38、ystem(20%);and Integrated Content Marketing Platform(10%).2%said none of the above.Technologies B2B Organizations Use to AssistWith Content Marketing(Top 7)86%85%80%48%44%65%51%020406080100Analytics Tools(e.g.,web analytics,dashboards)Social Media Publishing/AnalyticsMarketing Automation System(MAS)
39、Customer Relationship Management(CRM)SystemContent Management System(CMS)Email Marketing SoftwareContent Creation/Collaboration/WorkflowSTRATEGY,OPINIONS&TECHNOLOGYBase:B2B content marketers.Aided list;multiple responses permitted.2020 B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks,North America:Content Marketing
40、 Institute/MarketingProfs15SPONSORED BYTEAM STRUCTURE&OUTSOURCING16SPONSORED BYTEAM STRUCTURE&OUTSOURCINGAll RespondentsSmall(1-99 Employees)Medium(100-999 Employees)Large(1,000+Employees)We have a centralized content marketing group that works with multiple brands/products/departments throughout th
41、e organization25%19%32%28%Each brand/product/department has its own content marketing team6%1%4%21%BothWe have a centralized group and individual teams throughout the organization15%8%11%36%We have a small(or one-person)marketing/content marketing team serving the entire organization52%70%52%12%Othe
42、r2%2%1%3%52%of B2B marketers report their organization has a small(or one-person)marketing/content marketing team serving the entire organization.The second most common reported way of organizing is the centralized group structure,although this varies by company size.In addition,the centralized stru
43、cture is the most common reported method among the top performers(see page 4).B2B Organizations Content Marketing Team StructureBase:B2B content marketers;aided list.2020 B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks,North America:Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs17SPONSORED BYTEAM STRUCTURE&OUTSOURCING
44、All RespondentsSmall(1-99 Employees)Medium(100-999 Employees)Large(1,000+Employees)11+4%0%3%12%6-105%2%4%14%2-535%25%40%49%124%29%27%13%0(no one is full-time,dedicated)32%44%26%12%35%of B2B marketers say their organization has 2 to 5 internal team members who are full-time/dedicated to content marke
45、ting;another 32%have no full-time person.Teams grow with company size,but even large companies are most likely to have teams of 2 to 5(49%).B2B Organizations Content Marketing Team Size(Full-Time/Dedicated to Content Marketing)Base:B2B content marketers.2020 B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks,North Am
46、erica:Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs18SPONSORED BYTEAM STRUCTURE&OUTSOURCINGHalf of B2B marketers outsource at least one content marketing activity.Large companies are the most likely to outsource.Overall content marketing success has little bearing on whether a company outsources.Does Y
47、our B2B Organization Outsource Any Content Marketing Activities?All RespondentsSmall(1-99 Employees)Medium(100-999 Employees)Large(1,000+Employees)Yes50%37%56%71%No50%63%44%29%Base:B2B content marketers.2020 B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks,North America:Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs19S
48、PONSORED BYTEAM STRUCTURE&OUTSOURCINGContent creation is the activity B2B marketers are most likely to outsource,regardless of company size,content marketing budget,or overall content marketing success.Base:B2B content marketers whose organization outsources at least one content marketing activity.A
49、ided list;multiple responses permitted.2020 B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks,North America:Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfsContent Marketing Activities B2B Organizations Outsource84%31%22%13%13%12%18%020406080100Content CreationContent TechnologyMeasurementEditorial PlanningOtherContent Di
50、stributionContent Strategy20SPONSORED BYCONTENT CREATION&DISTRIBUTION21SPONSORED BYThese findings are similar to last years with one notable exception:There is a slight decrease in those prioritizing their audiences informational needs over their companys sales/promotional message.CONTENT CREATION&D
