Everyone is a consumer.

Marketers can develop B2C marketing strategies based on what would appeal to themselves as consumers, but effective B2B marketing is more elusive.

In a recent study, Content Marketing Institute defines content marketing as a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant and consistent content.

Deployed by 88 percent of B2B organizations, it’s a strategy used to attract and retain a clearly defined audience—and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.

So what sets effective marketers a part?

They get it.
Understanding what successful content marketing looks like is essential for implementing an effective campaign.

Seventy-nine percent of the most effective B2B marketers have a clear vision of content marketing success; by contrast, 77 percent of the least effective marketers lack this clarity.

They document.
Research consistently shows that B2B marketers who document their strategy are more effective in nearly all areas of content marketing.

Editorial mission statements for primary audiences are also helpful for B2B organizations, and the most effective content marketers document both their editorial mission statement and their content marketing strategy.

They communicate.
Content marketing effectiveness is greatest among teams that meet more frequently to discuss their programs’ progress and results, with 61 percent of the most effective B2B marketers meeting daily or weekly.

While weekly meetings—either in person or virtually—are the most popular, 8 percent of B2B marketers responded that they meet every day to discuss their content marketing program.

Of all tactics proposed by organizations in the survey, social media content is the most popular, with 93 percent of organizations participating. Still, traditional tactics like case studies, newsletters and events provide a valuable supplement to modern approaches including blogs, infographics and webinars.

Despite its proven effectiveness, the survey found that 55 percent of the responders don’t clearly know what content marketing success looks like.

That shows that for most organizations, there’s room for content marketing growth—and increased customer engagement.