B2B Publishers Continue to Shift Efforts Toward Digital, Data and Events

As B2B media and information organizations are finding new ways to communicate with customers and prospects, research indicates that an increasing percentage of revenue is coming from non-traditional tactics.

The “2015 Business Information Survey” from Connectiv has found that by 2020, about 24 percent of all B2B media and information company revenue is expected to come from events, while 23 percent is expected to come from paid content and data products. About 21 percent of income will likely be derived from digital resources.

“Our study gives a clear indication that the shift from print to digital will move into hyper-speed over the next few years,” said Mike Marchesano, managing director of Connectiv. “Companies have already made substantial investments in digital categories, and they clearly have no plans to slow down.  In fact, we find that data analytics will be the top category for planned headcount increases in the year ahead.”

Additional research from the report indicates that B2B media and information organizations are not expecting to see an ample amount of revenue come from print resources. Companies predicting to see less income from print assets claim that they will only be attributed to 18 percent of their revenue by 2020 (currently 28 percent).

Traditional Marketing vs. Digital Marketing

In the past, research has shown that marketers can reap more benefits from utilizing digital marketing tactics versus traditional methods. A survey conducted by Halverson Group on behalf of IZEA found that social media advertising had an effectiveness rating 7.29, ahead of both TV ads (6.46) and radio ads (5.65).

Between 2014 and 2015, traditional online display use fell from 58 percent to 54 percent. About 64 percent of respondents claimed that they were using content marketing in 2015.