Report: Brands Struggling to Create Engaging Content Despite Increased Production

A new report has revealed that although marketers are constantly churning out content, engagement rates are not keeping up with the pace.

According to the “Marketing Truth or Marketing Hype?” study from Beckon, the average number of brand-created content produced over the past year has increased three-fold when compared to the previous 12 months. However, total customer engagement with content was flat year-over-year.

When breaking down the data even further, Beckon discovered that just 5 percent of branded content generates 90 percent of total customer engagement (views, clicks, likes, forwards, etc.).

However, the researchers of the report noted that they did not precisely analyze why the rest of the content goes generally ignored. They hypothesize that it could be a difference in quality, or the amount of media behind the content.

“Some brands have central controls, brand guidelines and creative review of all the branded content they create to ensure high quality,” wrote the authors of the report. “But not all brands do. We’ve seen cases where local teams publish content fairly autonomously, with little brand review. This may be leading to lower-quality content pieces, which could be driving the low engagement metrics for most content.”

How Marketers Resonate with B2B Buyers

In terms of B2B marketing, research has previously shown that B2B buyers are more interested in content that shows the business value of products and services. The “2016 B2B Buyer’s Survey” from Demand Gen Report revealed that according to 69 percent of B2B buyers, the most influential aspect of any vendor’s website is content that speaks directly to their company.

Nearly 84 percent stated that solving a pain point and deployment time/ease of use were their two most critical selling points.

“From review sites to social media, today’s B2B buyers have more options than ever when it comes to finding feedback from peers,” wrote the authors of the report. “Review sites – long a staple of consumer marketing – continue to gain influence in the B2B realm.”