Content Marketing Archives - Page 2 of 2

Types of Videos B2B Buyers Prefer [Study]

by Lori Berson | May 16, 2022 | Content Marketing, Marketing Strategy, Video, Video Marketing

According to the results of a Brightcove study conducted by Ascend2, video has a strong influence on the B2B buyer’s purchase journey. Virtually all (95%) of the buyers surveyed for the report said that video has an important role in deciding to move forward with a purchase.

Video’s use in making purchase decisions manifests in various ways, according to the study, though buyers are most likely to find it helpful when learning about a product/service (58%).

Beyond learning about products and services, video also proves helpful to buyers in understanding a problem they have (36%) and learning how to solve a problem they have (40%). Buyers separately said that videos were more helpful than any other content type for creating awareness of business-related problems. Moreover, when comparing solutions to such problems, about 6 in 10 respondents said that video is the most impactful content type.

Video Types Preferred

Almost 9 in 10 B2B buyers have watched a video in the last 3 months for the purpose of learning about a product or service, and almost half (46%) have watched a video at least 5 times in pursuit of product and service research.

Two types stand out as the most widely watched: product reviews and product demos, each by 39% of this group of respondents.

Other popular types of videos watched include tutorials/training (33%), live videos such as webinars (31%), educational videos (30%), and brand story videos (24%).

Almost 3 in 4 (73%) report a preference for video over written communication when being introduced to a sales/customer service representative. And watching a video certainly seems to open buyers up to such communication: virtually all of the buyers surveyed said they were extremely or somewhat likely to be more receptive to sales communication from a specific organization after consuming its video content.

Additional Insights:

93% of buyers report that video is important in building trust in a brand.
Almost all (97%) buyers find video content and communication to be useful post-purchase.
Video is most helpful in the post-purchase stage for learning about other products/services offered and for training/onboarding.
About 8 in 10 (81%) prefer video over written content when learning how to use a product or service.

About the Data: The results are based on a February survey of 305 professionals responsible for purchase decision-making within their organization, operating in the business-to-business (B2B) space for businesses generating more than $50M in revenue or more annually in North America and the United Kingdom.

Need assistance with your video marketing? Schedule a call or email Lori Berson at lberson@BersonDeanStevens.com.

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What Makes Content Memorable and Enables a Sales Call [Survey]

by Lori Berson | May 4, 2022 | Content Marketing, Marketing, Sales Enablement

A majority of B2B buyers consume 3-5 pieces of content before engaging with a salesperson when making a purchase decision, although 3 in 10 consume more than 5 pieces of content, according to Demand Gen’s B2B Content Preferences Survey Report. With content consumption playing a key role in predicting purchase behavior, it’s helpful to see what buyers want from content.

Research & Data Are Key for Content Sharing

The report indicates that B2B buyers pay close attention to content that includes research and data, and that this is a factor in their decision of whether or not to share content. When they were asked the key drivers for sharing content, respondents pointed first to its inclusion of relevant/shareable links that can be immediately shared (48%), and then next they preferred the content be loaded with shareable stats and quick-hitting insights (42%).

In fact, the presence of data seems to be a driver of sharing for more respondents than the ability of that data to influence others: about 4 in 10 said that a motivation to share content was that it tells a strong story that resonates with the buying committee (41%), while fewer said that shareworthy content is that which will influence peers/other internal stakeholders on the buying team (34%).

B2B buyers participating in the study indicated that they were more likely to share research/survey reports (45%) with their colleagues than other popular types of content including e-books (43%), webinars (42%), and case studies (40%).

The results bring to mind recent research from Muck Rack, in which journalists said that two factors that make a story shareable are it containing an image or infographic, and it having exclusive and/or surprising data.

Data Makes Content Memorable

The survey also asked buyers what makes content memorable and triggers them to take a sales call. Once again, research and data figured prominently, with the top response being that the content uses data and research to support claims (51%). Some 4 in 10 also said that what makes a piece of content memorable is that it is packed with shareable stats and quick-hitting insights (41%) and that it is research-based (41%). The only other key element cited for content that triggers a buyer to take a sales call is that it tells a strong story that resonates with the buying committee (49%).

Not surprisingly then, a sizable share of buyers (36%) would recommend that B2B vendors use more data and research in order to improve their content quality. Other recommendations included curbing the sales messages (39%), creating shorter content (37%), and not overloading content with text (36%). In other words, as Demand Gen Report notes, “B2B buyers crave concise, research-based content.”

About the Data: The results are based on a survey of 174 B2B executives from a range of titles, industries, and company sizes.

Need assistance developing and implementing your content marketing strategy? Schedule a call or email Lori Berson at lberson@BersonDeanStevens.com.

The Most Valuable Content Marketing Formats for B2B [Survey]

by Lori Berson | May 3, 2022 | Content Marketing, Marketing

According to Demand Gen’s B2B Content Preferences Survey Report, B2B buyers say they’ve been placing a higher emphasis on the trustworthiness of the source of the content they’ve consumed over the past year. Below are the buyers’ content consumption preferences per the report.

Webinars Are Still Popular

Although there are signs of online event fatigue, webinars are still effective. Of the 174 B2B executives surveyed for the report, two-thirds (67%) said they had consumed webinars during the previous year. This was the top format, ahead of e-books (56%), research/survey reports (55%), blog posts (54%), white papers (52%), and case studies (49%).

It’s no wonder then that recent research finds B2B marketers saying that webinars are their most effective top-of-the-funnel demand generation tactic. They may also be key for the later stages of the funnel, too, as they’re more likely than some other formats to be associated with an immediate buying decision.

Webinars Are Well Suited for Mid-Stage of the Funnel

The report indicates that buyers are more reliant on content in the early- to mid-stages of their journey, as each of the 16 content formats examined for the study were said by buyers to grab their highest engagement at those stages.

A majority said that infographics (62%), blog posts (58%), and podcasts (56%) are most valuable at the early stage of the funnel. Despite the above-cited results, 48% of buyers said that webinars are most valuable at the mid-stage of the funnel, compared to 41% who find them most valuable at the early stage and 11% at the late stage.

This is supported by research from MarketingCharts in partnership with Active Marketing Services, in which B2B demand gen marketers said that blogs and infographics are most effective at the top of the funnel, while webinars are most effective mid-funnel. The only content format that a plurality of respondents believed was most effective at the bottom of the funnel was the in-depth white paper or e-book.

Research Reports Help in Purchase Research

While buyers are most apt to have attended webinars over the past year, webinars are not the format they’ve found most valuable for researching their purchases. Research/survey reports were cited by more than 4 in 10 respondents, narrowly ahead of case studies and webinars. Separately, respondents noted that research-based content that includes shareable stats gets their attention and proves memorable.