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Are B2C content marketers’ expectations too high?

by | Dec 19, 2017 | Public Relations

B2C marketers are becoming more successful with content marketing, but many report their organizations don’t have realistic expectations about what content marketing can achieve, according to a just-released research report from Content Marketing Institute and marketer education firm MarketingProfs.

The study, B2C Content Marketing 2018: Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends—North America, provides useful stats for marketers as they plan their 2018 content marketing strategies and budgets.

“Sixty-six percent of B2C marketers surveyed said they’re more successful with content marketing compared with one year ago,” said Lisa Murton Beets, research director at the Content Marketing Institute, in a news release.

B2C content marketers more successful, but must set appropriate expectations

Key research highlights include:

  • 86 percent of B2C respondents use content marketing
  • 78 percent of B2C marketers characterize their organization as moderately to extremely successful at content marketing (compared with 70 percent the previous year)
  • 60 percent of B2C respondents describe their organization’s commitment level to content marketing as extremely or very committed
  • The percentage of B2C marketers that agreed their organization has realistic expectations about what content marketing can achieve decreased from 69 percent last year to 55 percent this year
  • 79 percent of B2C respondents agree their organization values creativity and craft in content creation and production vs. 69 percent last year

Watch this video for a quick analysis of the research:

“At the same time, fewer B2C marketers than last year agreed that their organization has realistic expectations about what content marketing can achieve,” Murton Beets added. “One of the best ways content marketers can set appropriate expectations is to document their strategy. This will help stretched teams –even those that perform very well—focus on the priorities that matter most to their organization, and give teams that want to do more a starting point for building a business case for additional resources.”

B2C content marketers more successful, but must set appropriate expectations

“Our research shows that B2C content marketers are placing a higher value on creativity and craft in content creation and production compared with one year ago,” said Ann Handley, chief content officer at MarketingProfs, and author of Everybody Writes, in the release.

B2C content marketers more successful, but must set appropriate expectations

“Additionally, when we look just at the top-performing B2C content marketers, we see they place a higher priority on delivering content quality over content quantity and are more focused on creating content for their audience versus their brand—all important keys to content marketing success,” Handley added.

B2C content marketers more successful, but must set appropriate expectations

Richard Carufel
Richard Carufel is editor of Bulldog Reporter and the Daily ’Dog, one of the web’s leading sources of PR and marketing communications news and opinions. He has been reporting on the PR and communications industry for over 17 years, and has interviewed hundreds of journalists and PR industry leaders. Reach him at richard.carufel@bulldogreporter.com; @BulldogReporter

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