How B2B Marketers Are Preparing for the Future of Content [Interview]

Krystle Vermes
August 9, 2016

In “The Future of Content” report, released in three parts by Rapt Media, research indicated that marketers were focused on content personalization, the use of MarTech, and conversion rate optimization.

However, B2B marketers have faced numerous obstacles along the way. We spoke to Jennifer Burak, vice president of marketing at Rapt Media, to gain her insight into the findings of the report.

WHY DO YOU THINK IT REMAINS DIFFICULT FOR DIGITAL MARKETERS TO PROVE ROI?

“Marketers are currently relying on marketing distribution technologies for targeted personalization through channels instead of personalizing the content at the point of creation. To prove ROI, marketers first need to understand why the content is successful and how is driving value for the target audience. It’s challenging to measure beyond initial engagement metrics and extend performance measurement to map conversions back to content and business goals.”

60% of marketers are unable to measure ROI on the content they produce
77% of content marketing creatives do not think that it’s important to link the content they create to performance data
49% of marketers cannot measure content performance across channels in aggregate
86% of content marketing creatives are not held accountable for business metrics from content they produce

WHAT CAN B2B MARKETERS DO TO STREAMLINE THE CONTENT PERSONALIZATION PROCESS?

“Arming creatives with deep analytics is a critical key to unlocking greater investment, leading to greater technologies that produce better analytics, and ultimately demonstrating better ROI. It’s the first step in a cycle that inevitably leads to the content ‘promised land.’

The content ecosystem connects assets to channels through distribution platforms, but there is still no indication that the actual content is effective. That’s where content technology tools make the process more effective, allowing marketers to optimize the content in real time, and enabling a whole new layer of measurement to answer the question: Is your content actually working?”

83% of content marketing creatives say that developing personalized content is their biggest challenge
94% of marketers say that better content technology is the key to creating personalized, engaging content experiences
75% of marketers do not think content can be personalized enough for different audiences

WHAT TYPES OF MARTECH DO YOU BELIEVE COULD BENEFIT B2B MARKETERS THE MOST?

“The ability to measure content performance and demonstrate ROI is rooted in content personalization technology. Marketers need to examine engagement metrics within the content itself to understand how the audience is interacting based on their unique interests and behaviors.

Once marketers know how and why the content is resonating with a target audience, they can use those key insights to optimize the content for a more personalized user experience.”

WHAT ELSE CAN B2B MARKETERS DO (ASIDE FROM PERSONALIZATION) TO MAKE THEIR CONTENT MORE ENGAGING?

“In addition to personalizing content so that it is relevant and engaging for target audiences, it’s highly beneficial to introduce interactivity. Specifically, empowering your targets with choices, and the control to self-select their own content.”

HOW DO YOU SEE B2B MARKETING TEAMS EVOLVING TO ADDRESS THESE CHALLENGES?

“One way that smart B2B teams are evolving is by adopting a content personalization technology platform that enables a customer-centric experience while capturing content analytics and insights, all of which can be used in multiple ways to deliver on ROI depending on your use case.”

WHAT STATISTICS DID YOU FIND MOST SURPRISING OUT OF ALL THREE REPORTS?

FROM PART 1:

83% say developing content that’s personalized enough is their biggest challenge
94% say better content tech is key to creating content that is personalized and engaging
86% of content marketing creatives are not held accountable for business metrics from content they produce

FROM PART 2:

60% of marketers are unable to measure ROI on the content they produce
49% of marketers cannot measure content performance across channels in aggregate

FROM PART 3:

95% of consumers take action to avoid seeing/receiving ads
62% say that online content they discover themselves feels more personalized and relevant
Why are consumers feeling inundated by bad advertising? Leading responses below:
- 67% – They’re sending too much of it
- 55% – It’s not interesting or relevant to them
- 46% – It’s too pushy
- 42% – They don’t trust them

To download all three parts of the Rapt Media report, visit the Rapt website.

Jennifer joined Rapt Media in September 2014 as VP of Marketing. Prior to joining the company, Jennifer was VP of Content Marketing and Marketing Communications at Getty Images in New York City where she led and empowered marketers to produce high impact branded content that delivered the very best in visual engagement, storytelling, and customer utility. During her time there, Jennifer established Getty Images’ content marketing platform, now called “Stories & Trends,” to help tell the stories behind the company’s content creators, content, and technology. Jennifer joined Getty Images in 2000 to general manager global sales, marketing, ecommerce and operations for their film and video offerings.