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Generating meaningful results with B2B content marketing—3 trends for 2019

by | Nov 27, 2018 | Public Relations

Business communicators are scaling and optimizing their content marketing strategies, finding even more ways to make it valuable and effective for strengthening brand positioning, building engagement and generating qualified leads.

New research from Informa Engage, which connects marketers with B2B decision makers, recently unveiled its second annual B2B Marketing Trends Report, revealing content amplification strategies, marketing trends, challenges and priorities for 2019.

Generating meaningful results with B2B content marketing—3 trends for 2019

In the ever-changing world of marketing, the new report shows three themes for the coming year:

People watch video—and it’s gaining momentum in B2B

Videos and highly visual storytelling activates brand interest, builds brand retention and enhances the buyer’s journey. Early adopters are increasing video usage, and as production and distribution costs become more accessible, more marketers will layer video into their strategies. In the coming year, 60 percent of companies using video now, will increase their investments, with even higher numbers in Infrastructure (72 percent), Technology (67 percent), Financial Services (67 percent) and Health & Nutrition (65 percent).

Account Based Marketing proliferates with marketers

Sixty-two percent of marketers who use Account Based Marketing (ABM) intend to increase their investment in it. Companies of all sizes believe in ABM—even marketers who don’t have the dollars to automate ABM programs are exploring and developing their own manual solutions. ABM technology is also improving, with new techniques to monitor company-wide interests, and ways to make it easier to automate and track targeting.

Generating meaningful results with B2B content marketing—3 trends for 2019

Events are the linchpin to B2B marketing

Seventy percent of marketers selected events as a top tactic, and 61 percent find in-person events and trade shows are the most effective lead generation approach. But it’s not just the events, it’s the multi-faceted content marketing built around the event, with multi-touch pre- and post-show marketing efforts to surround attendees with relevant attention.

“Last year our research showed that marketers were preparing to increase their investment in content marketing. It appears that marketers have used their dollars wisely. This year’s report confirms marketers are expanding their content marketing efforts as they progress from a broad approach to a more audience-driven focus,” said Scott Harris, vice president of sales enablement at Informa Engage, in a news release.

Generating meaningful results with B2B content marketing—3 trends for 2019

“Reach efficiency and attribution are center-stage for marketer’s objectives heading into 2019, which we see reflected in the increased interest around video and ABM,” Harris added. “As the market continues to evolve, Informa Engage is uniquely positioned to help our customers take advantage of these trends within the niche B2B communities powering our global economy.”

Download the full report here.

Generating meaningful results with B2B content marketing—3 trends for 2019

The survey was conducted among the Informa Engage brand audiences. Informa Engage invited contacts within its database of B2B companies to participate in an online survey about marketing challenges and trends. The annual survey was fielded online, between August 1 through August 25, 2018, with the objective of identifying key trends, insights and analysis of the B2B marketing landscape to better understand the challenges and priorities in the year ahead. The methodology, data collection and analysis were performed by Informa Engage and conforms to accepted marketing research methods, practices and procedures.

Richard Carufel
Richard Carufel is editor of Bulldog Reporter and the Daily ’Dog, one of the web’s leading sources of PR and marketing communications news and opinions. He has been reporting on the PR and communications industry for over 17 years, and has interviewed hundreds of journalists and PR industry leaders. Reach him at richard.carufel@bulldogreporter.com; @BulldogReporter

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