The first three quarters of 2014 brought new insights about the state of digital marketing. A look at some findings from studies of B2B marketers reveal what’s working and what’s not in today’s digital marketing landscape. Consider these insights as you shape a digital marketing strategy to carry your business through the rest of 2014 and into the new year.
According to “2015 B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends,” a September 2014 report from The Content Marketing Institute (CMI) and MarketingProfs, B2B marketers rank the following social media platforms as the top five most effective for their purposes:
1. LinkedIn
2. Twitter
3. YouTube
4. Slideshare
5. Vimeo
In paid advertising, B2B marketers rank search engine marketing (SEM), promoted posts on social media and social ads as more effective than either print and offline promotions or traditional banner ads.
Over the past several years, social media has become an established part of marketing. Now, marketers are beginning to understand the importance of crafting platform-specific content. We are beginning to see marketers strategically choose the social platforms most relevant to their business.
In preparation for 2015, B2B marketers must develop focused digital marketing strategies that consider the most effective uses of their content marketing and ad spend. While video is a cost-intensive form of branded content, the above list of top five platforms shows that it can also prove to be a key element in an effective digital marketing strategy.
According to DemandMetric, “B2B marketers use an average of 12 content marketing tactics.” To analyze the success of those tactics, B2B marketers measure web traffic, sales lead quality and social sharing.
The next step for marketers is to use that data to craft and improve an overall digital strategy. Those many content marketing tactics require a cohesive direction if they are to drive qualified sales leads or build a consistent brand.
Going forward, B2B must tie observed results back to specific tactics. A responsive digital marketing strategy can then respond to what’s working with the goal of true marketing predictability.
Follow our blog throughout October to learn more about how to apply insights from 2014 to shape your ongoing digital marketing strategy.
Photo Credit: Dan Moyle via Flickr Creative Commons
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