B2B Software Content Marketing:
2013 Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends – North America
FOREWORD
Hello Software Marketers!
Welcome to B2B Software Content Marketing: 2013 Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends–North America.
When we recently surveyed 1,416 business-to-business (B2B) marketers from North America (United States and Canada) representing a full range of industries, we found that in many ways, software companies have adopted content marketing with more gusto than their B2B peers overall.* For instance, 99% of software marketers use content marketing, they use more content marketing tactics than their peers, and they use those tactics with greater frequency, indicating their willingness to try different things.
Here are some other key findings:
On average, software marketers allocate 29% of their total budget to content marketing.
53% say they will increase their content marketing budget over the next 12 months.
Software marketers cite lead generation as their top goal and put more emphasis on thought leadership than other B2B marketers do.
Like their B2B peers overall, software marketers are challenged with effectiveness: just 38% believe they are effective at content marketing.
However, they are no less challenged with lack of budget and executive buy-in than their B2B peers overall – and yet they have the highest adoption rate of content marketing – which indicates that software marketers are especially resourceful. Over time, we expect their confidence in their effectiveness to grow with more experience.
On with the content marketing revolution…
Joe Pulizzi
Founder
Content Marketing Institute
*See page 19 for study demographics.
2
OVERVIEW
99% of software marketers use content marketing.
Percentage of Software Marketers
Using Content Marketing
1%
do not use content marketing 99% use content marketing 2013 B2B Software Content Marketing Trends—North America:
Content Marketing Institute/International Data Group
3
CONTENT MARKETING BY TACTIC
Software marketers use an average of
14 content marketing tactics.
Number of Tactics Software Marketers Use
13%
20+ Tactics
21%
16-19 Tactics
15%
5-9 Tactics
0
than their B2B peers, who use an average of 12.
22%
10-12 Tactics
1-4 Tactics
Software marketers use more tactics
23%
13-15 Tactics
3%
Average: 14
10
20
30
2013 B2B Software Content Marketing Trends—North America:
Content Marketing Institute/International Data Group
4
40
CONTENT MARKETING BY TACTIC
Content Marketing Among Software Marketers
(by Tactic)
Social media (other than blogs) is
93%
72%
Software marketers use all but one of
45%
33% 32%
29% 29%
28% 28%
Print Magazines
Licensed/Syndicated Content
eBooks
Branded Content Tools
Microsites
Infographics
Research Reports
Articles on Other Websites
In-person Events
Blogs
eNewsletters
Articles on Your Website
White Papers
Case Studies
Videos
Webinars/ Webcasts
0
Social Media–Other than Blogs
20
36% 34%
Mobile Content
40
Books
47%
Podcasts
51%
Virtual Conferences
60
the top 15 tactics shown here more often than their B2B peers. The exception is “articles on your website,” which 83% of both groups report using.
23%22%
2013 B2B Software Content Marketing Trends—North America: Content Marketing Institute/International Data Group
5
16%
10%
Games/Gamification
60%
Print Newsletters
80% 79%
Digital Magazines
80
83% 82%
the most popular tactic among software marketers (93%) and their B2B peers (87%).
Annual Reports
88% 87%
86%85%
Mobile Apps
100
TACTIC EFFECTIVENESS
Confidence Gap
Effectiveness Ratings of Tactics Among
Software Marketers
Believe It’s Effective
71%
Believe It’s Less Effective
Webinars/Webcasts
65%
65%
63%
63%
60%
58%
57%
54%
53%
51%
Case Studies
White Papers
In-person Events
Research Reports eBooks Blogs
Microsites
eNewsletters
Articles on Your Website
Videos
