When Ann Handley and Joe Pulizzi speak, content marketers listen! (Unless they’re late for a walk with their dogs, then they listen later…)
Truly great content engages, and last Saturday, as I read through the 2015 content marketing trend report from MarketingProfs and the Content Marketing Institute, I lost all track of time. I was engaged in a really big way. As I lounged on my couch reviewing the report, I found myself exclaiming things like: “Honey, can you believe that only 35% of marketers say they have a documented content marketing strategy!”
As a non-marketer, and someone who wanted to do different things with her Saturday, my wife responded with comments like: “You don’t say. Hey, can we take the dogs for a walk now?”
By then, the dogs were dancing around her legs with excitement as they had heard the magic word ‘walk.’
OK. Walk time…
My Saturday reading, paused for a dog walk, was the result of an email I’d received from two content marketing heroes, Ann Handley and Joe Pulizzi. As I spotted the gem in my inbox, sandwiched between a sale at Original Penguin and a message from Toyota, the content marketing geek in me felt a stir of excitement. This email was sent to inform me, and their respective email lists, that their annual report on content marketing trends is available for download. In other words… an AWESOME email!
No, it was not a personal email (which would’ve been cool), but it was a message I’d been waiting for all year – I love this report.
Pop Quiz
Why do I love this content marketing trend report so much?
- a) It’s the result of a collaborative effort between two of the most respected content marketing thought leaders in the industry (Ann and Joe) and their respective companies (MarketingProfs and the Content Marketing Institute)
- b) The stats included always prove helpful in content creation, budgeting and internal discussions about content marketing
- c) It provides me with Saturday reading that’s interesting enough that I almost forgot to walk the dogs
- d) The metrics always prove both insightful and a little surprising
- e) The report itself is a great piece of content marketing
- f) All of the above
Answer: f) All of the above.
This report is indeed “all of the above,” but most importantly, it’s a fantastic piece of content. These days, I find it amazing when I get truly wrapped up in a great piece of content. Perhaps I’ve become jaded with all of the bad content in the world, or maybe I’m just reading so much great content that it takes something beyond stellar to move the needle on the Marc Meter.
Either way, great content is pretty exciting and this is a great piece of content! So much so that I almost forgot about walking the dogs, which for me, is a big deal. I love my dogs so much and walking them with my wife is one of my favorite parts of my day.
Key 2015 Content Marketing Trend Takeaways:
As the report opens, it’s clear that there’s a centralized theme all marketers need to hear: In marketing, a well-documented strategy is usually the best step towards defining both goals and success. Content marketing is no different, and this report proves that point.
Have a look at these numbers; they tell a great story:
- 86% of those surveyed say they are currently using content marketing
- 35% of them say they have a documented content marketing strategy
- 48% say they have a content marketing strategy, but it is not documented
- Overall, about 38% of marketers using content marketing consider their efforts to be effective
- 60% of those who have a documented strategy rate themselves highly in terms of content marketing effectiveness, compared with 32% of those who have a verbal strategy
- 70% of marketers surveyed are creating more content than they did a year ago. This includes those who report being the least effective and those with who report little or no documented strategy
To summarize, without numbers:
Today, most B2B marketers are using content marketing and they are creating more content than ever before. Most have some sort of strategy, but very few have taken the step to have it properly documented. However, for the most part, only those who have a documented strategy report being highly effective.
“If you want to be more effective at content marketing, document your strategy.”
- 2015 B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends—North America
This report is full of amazing data, but if you take only one thing away, let it be a desire to make sure your content strategy is documented.
If you haven’t downloaded the report yet, have an interest in learning more about the content marketing trends to expect in 2015 and are looking for reading material for this upcoming Saturday, check it out here.*
Further reading on 2015 content marketing trends:
- I recommend checking out what Joe Pulizzi had to say about the report on the Content Marketing Institute Blog.
- Lee Odden sat down with 21 great content marketers and the result offers fantastic predictions of what we might see in 2015, check it out on Top Rank Blog.
*Make sure to take the dogs for a walk before you start reading the report…
