What separates good from great in B2B content marketing and what’s stopping marketers from producing truly differentiated content? What makes content great isn’t in the word count, it’s in the connections it makes. Connections with individuals, target customers, and your skillfully segmented audiences. Being there when they need it, catching them at just the right mile marker on the customer journey, and giving them options in tune with their motivations at that moment in time — these are the outcomes that make your content marketing sing. But creating content that connects is a mix of science and art. It’s one area where more isn’t always better. And where better isn’t always right. This infographic shares some stats on what really matters to content marketers today, plus the tactic more likely to lead to success than any other — simply being different enough to be interesting. Here’s some background info for any organisation with the courage to do it.

1. USE IT FOR LEAD GEN FOR CUSTOMER
ACQUISITION
FOR NEW SALES
CONTENT MATTERS TO MARKETERS…
77% 62% 42%
…but only one in seven marketers have a written strategy to
differentiate themselves from their competitors.
DARE TO BE
DIFFERENT
AND MAKE YOUR B2B
CONTENT MARKETING
REALLY STAND OUT
What separates good from great in B2B
content marketing? What’s stopping
marketers from producing truly differentiated
content? Find out in our infographic
AND DIFFERENT CONTENT NEEDS:
A UNIQUE TONE
OF VOICE. 40% A
OF MARKETERS
SAY THEY DON’T
HAVE THIS.
AN APPROACH
DEFINED BY
DATA. 50% DON’T
PRODUCE DATA-
DRIVEN CONTENT.
AND WHILE 90%
MARKETERS
THINK THEY HAVE
ORIGINAL AND
FRESH IDEAS….
40% OF
MARKETERS THINK
THEIR CONTENT
IS “ABOUT THE
SAME AS THAT
FROM THEIR
COMPETITION”.
So clearly, something’s up...
Most marketers are too blasé about
keeping tone consistent across channels...
84% DON’T THINK THAT
MIXED MESSAGING HAS
A NEGATIVE IMPACT
MARKETERS HAVE
THE DATA…
BUT AREN’T USING
IT EFFECTIVELY
50%
NEARLY ONE THIRD
OF THEM ARE COLLECTING DATA, BUT DON’T ACT ON THE INSIGHTS IT PROVIDES
MARKETERS
WANT TO CREATE
DIFFERENTIATED
CONTENT… BUT THE
CLOCK TICKS ON...
LACK THE TIME TO
PLAN GREAT CONTENT
70%
OVER 50%LACK THE CAPACITY TO DIFFERENTIATE BY THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
AND WHERE THEY
DO DIFFERENTIATE,
THEY TAKE THE
EASY OPTIONS.
ONLY HALF OF MARKETERS
SAY DATA INFLUENCES
THEIR STRATEGY
CUSTOMISE BY INDUSTRY SECTOR…
77%
…BUT BARELY 40%
DIFFERENTIATE BY JOB ROLE
THE BIG PROBLEM
is too many marketers are targeting
customers according to what they
do (their job role or industry) rather
than what they want or need.
AND PSYCHOGRAPHICS
EAT DEMOGRAPHICS
FOR LUNCH.
So start differentiating by
what people want.
CONTENT THAT
APPEALS TO THE HEART
SNAGS INTEREST FASTER
(the head stuff can happen later).
...AND ONLY 36% ANGLE MORE
TOWARDS RETENTION
OF ORGANISATIONS
CONCENTRATE ON ACQUISITION...
INITIAL ATTRACTION IS WHAT BRINGS IN
NEW CUSTOMERS. WHICH EXPLAINS WHY:
36%62%
OF MARKETERS DO OF MARKETERS DO DON’T
BOTTOM LINE?
41% 37% 17%
IF YOU LACK BUY-IN FOR
FRESH IDEAS… LIKE
OR LACK COMPETITIVE
DIFFERENTIATORS… LIKE
OR DON’T TAILOR
YOUR CONTENT...
USE DATA IN CREATIVE WAYS
(TO PROVIDE UNIQUE INSIGHTS ON
MATTERS OF INTEREST)
UNDERSTAND YOUR CUSTOMERS’
MOTIVATIONS TO CREATE CONTENT
THAT SPEAKS TO THEM.
MEASURE THE DIFFERENCES IN
DELIVERY BETWEEN YOUR CONTENT
AND THAT OF YOUR COMPETITORS.
It’s not about more
content or even better
content — it’s about
different content.
You’ll waste valuable
resources on over-producing
content that fails to make
you stand out.
So spend less time creating
content, and more time
personalising it meticulously for
THE PEOPLE THAT
MATTER TO YOU.