Ann Handley says, “B2B content marketers are doing a great job, but they’re still up against some challenges, according to brand-new research. First, the good news: B2B marketers are indeed finding success with content marketing: 62% of B2B marketers in North America say their organization’s overall approach to content marketing has been much more or somewhat more successful than a year ago, according to B2B Content Marketing: 2017 Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends—North America. MarketingProfs and Content Marketing Institute, a UBM company, today released the seventh annual iteration... [...]

Lizette Louw says, “What do B2B buyers actually want from your website? What causes them to leave your website and not return? How many times do typical buyers return to your website before taking the next or final step in the buyer’s cycle? What kind of content is important to them? We looked at the results of the 2015 B2B Web Usability Survey and discovered what it would take for you as a B2B vendor to create credibility and trust. Spoiler alert: it’s not rocket science. 1) Buyers won’t give you a chance until they’ve seen legitimate identification Vendors beware: Buyers judge... [...]

Tony Messer says, “Do you offer services to other businesses in your area? Maybe you’re an Accountant, a Printer or a Training Company. If you do then I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you that it’s competitive out there. And that means that if you want a consistent flow of new inquiries coming into your business then one thing you need to be sure of is a high ranking website. But what exactly does it take to have a high ranking website? Well, recently we did some research on B2B websitesto identify what are the most important factors that determine a high ranking. So here are... [...]

Peter O’Neill says, “We are getting ever-closer to our first Forrester Forum for B2B marketing professionals. It is great to see so many of you registered for the event, and I look forward to seeing you in Miami. While Forrester does have another Forum for marketers, which is held in New York each spring and in which we cover some B2B topics, Miami is the one where we focus only on your needs. Why? Because B2B marketing is different! Of course, as the research director for the role that meets your needs, I get asked that question a lot — both within Forrester and by clients (especially... [...]

Renee Yeager says, “We all have that friend who was wild in their younger days. The one who would show up to the party, do some crazy things, then disappear without a trace — and without the memory of the craziness they had wrought. Amazingly, that friend grew up, matured, started realizing their potential and understanding their purpose. They’re still fun, but in a more attractive way, and suddenly they’re more popular than ever. That friend, of course, is Snapchat. In successful marketing, story is king. And Snapchat is great at telling stories quickly to an engaged audience.... [...]

Nikki Gilliland says, “When writing about customer experience we’re often guilty of neglecting B2B companies, believing that it is mainly a focus for large consumer brands. However we recently sat down with John Watton, EMEA Marketing Director at Adobe, who explained that CX is just as important for B2B marketers. You can watch what John said in the videos below, as well as read a summary of his points. Conversation with customers John states that content marketing is the key to a good customer experience, regardless of sector or industry. By content, he means creating a conversation... [...]

Sujan Patel says, “The latest Content Marketing Trends report from the Content Marketing Institute stated that 88 percent of B2B organizations are using content marketing, yet only 30 percent of them think it’s effective. Some marketers believe that producing content for B2B industries is difficult and that B2C marketing is easy. I don’t agree. They’re just different. And yet, they share one key similarity: regardless of what you’re marketing or who you’re marketing it to, you’re always marketing to a person. All you need to do is find a way to reach that person. Here are... [...]

Steven Casey says, “Today’s business marketers and their prospects are engaged in a frustrating content “dating” game. To get the content they want – and avoid the inevitable follow-up sales call or nurturing emails – more and more buyers are populating your gating forms with false, incomplete, or non-business information. They get the whitepaper, but all you get is another useless “lead.” To assess the current state of content gating and uncover innovative solutions to this problem, we reviewed 35 B2B websites and interviewed 15 B2B marketing practitioners across four industries,... [...]

Lena Brooks says, “In 2016, video is an important part of the content marketing mix, and it’s here to stay. Video has an uncanny ability to quickly warm up potential customers and connect them to you and your product. YouTube, the largest repository of videos, offers you the opportunity to create a dedicated audience of subscribers; and as the second largest search engine after Google, it’s not to be ignored. All that sounds very tempting, but if you don’t have video experience, it can also be very intimidating. When Magoosh, the company I work for, started making branded... [...]

Ayaz Nanji says, “What is the return on investment for B2B companies when they spend on Google AdWords search advertising? To find out, Bizible examined 1H16 data from 120 B2B companies in six industries. The researchers obtained a wide range of information from each firm, including monthly lead count, lead count attributable to AdWords, revenue, marketing spend, AdWord spend, and projected future revenue. The share of leads brought in by AdWords and the ultimate impact on revenue varies significantly from industry to industry, the analysis found. For the marketing agencies examined, AdWords... [...]