As so much content is being produced it’s important to find ways to stand out and stay on top of the current trends to ensure you produce content that’s going to get results.
So, we’ve gone through the data and taken some of the best content marketing examples and stats we have seen and compiled our list of the top 5 B2B content marketing trends to take into the new year. These trends are sure to stick around in 2021 and will hopefully be a great source of inspiration to you.
Give Your Content an Experience
In 2019 artificial intelligence company GumGum wanted to get the attention of T-Mobile CEO, John Legere. So, they created a personalized comic book for him and within hours of its distribution had a meeting penciled in.
Whilst it was a great example of Account Based Marketing, it also proved that customer experience, or CX, is now not just limited to consumers – it’s expected across the board, from marketing departments to internal stakeholders. John even took to twitter to show his gratitude.
Producing engaging, interactive content such as animated infographics, audiobooks, podcasts and augmented or virtual reality case study experiences can help encourage connection and develop loyalty, all through the art of experiential marketing.
Video Continues to Give Content a Voice
Research from Google has indicated that 70% of B2B buyers and researchers are watching videos throughout the buying journey, and this year’s Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs benchmarking report stated that 71% of marketers said they’d used video content in the past year, up 10% from the previous year’s respondents.
The importance of having video in your content marketing strategy is also highlighted by our own research that found 53% of tech B2B buyers found video content most useful when researching a purchase.
content marketing
Video is allowing storytelling to seep into every section of the funnel, allowing for clever and compelling narratives to reach more audiences than ever before and in the B2B space, whereas previously technical product datasheets may have been saved for later, more viewers will have the time to watch an entertaining, engaging two to three-minute video about a solution that might be of value to them.
Press Play on Podcasts
In the B2B segment, as in B2C and leisure, Podcast listenership continues to grow year on year. Popular music platforms such as Apple Music and Spotify continue to feature Podcasts of all types on their main homepages, and Edison Research found the percentage of people listening to podcasts either daily or on a regular basis is still steadily on the rise.
For the B2B sphere, podcasts offer a great opportunity for collaboration, whether interviews with leading figures in your industry, or in-house expertise from figures within your company. They can also give more of a personalized look inside big corporations, potentially engaging a wealth of new audiences.
Co-Market Personalized Partnerships
Co-marketing, or cross-promotion has been a staple of B2B content marketing since its very existence, but in the increasing world of social media, now more than ever aligning with another brand, or an influencer to adopt a two-pronged approach reaps benefits.
Developing partnerships with industry leaders, thought leaders, influencers and indeed, your own consumers can open up brand new, joint reaches and add a priceless layer of trust to any marketed content campaigns.
TopRank Marketing’s founder Lee Odden stated that “Influencers with complementary domain expertise and networks that combine forces can offer a B2B brand the reach of a major publication but with the credibility and trust of respected influencers.”
Make Email Marketing Exclusive
A recent report published by LinkedIn revealed that around 50% of all B2B social traffic generates from LinkedIn, and out of that traffic, 80% of all leads are derived not only from its published content, but also from its email distribution channel.
A study conducted by IgniteVisibility found that 60% of B2B marketers found email marketing the most successful way of generating leads and revenue, all thanks to being able to curate personalized mails.
Personalized emails that show research taken into the brand, company and person have shown to increase transaction rates by 6x and with more buyers and companies working on their LinkedIn profiles, this is one trend that will continue to blow existing stats out of the water year on year.
Added to the above it was found that 31% of B2B marketers say email newsletters are the best way to nurture leads.
Final Thoughts
To summarize, Content Marketing in B2B technology is still one of the fastest growing and ever-changing fields in marketing today. With the continuing rise of influencer marketing and boom in LinkedIn Lead Generation we’re sure that more trends around narrative storytelling through technologies such as AR and VR will emerge as a staple of all content distribution into 2021 and beyond.
Anu Ramani is managing director of Isoline Communications, a London-based independent content marketing firm specializing in the technology B2B industry.