Content Marketing Significantly Expanded
Posted: Sat Dec 28, 2024 9:40 am
While content marketing as a concept existed prior to 2010, it really took off over the past 10 years. This rise was directly caused by the increase in digital marketing. Successful digital marketing required companies to seed free content to attract prospects and build their brand. During the decade, customers fell in love with free content. In IDC’s 2019 IT Buyer Experience survey, 89% of tech buyers said that thought leadership content about solving their challenges would have a greater influence over their future decisions about which vendors and products they would choose.
The macro trends we’ve seen in technology marketing also show up specifically in content marketing trends. Spending on content marketing programs have risen steadily over the past decade, even as the total number registered nurse database of content marketing staff has decreased in-house. However, while the number of content marketers has decreased, the creative and brand services staff has increased 60% over the past 5 years, according to IDC’s benchmark. The larger creative staff then serves to assist these experts to present their work optimally.
Marketing leaders told IDC that in-house content idea development, writing, and speaking is dispersed among company experts, product marketers, and other thought leaders rather than housing them in one department. Additionally, need for interesting content has driven marketing to supplement internal efforts with professional content created by experts. This requirement drove up content’s program-related expenses.
4. Influencers Became Even More Important
While social media influencers are certainly a buzzworthy consumer marketing tactic, the fact still remains that analysts, influencers, and customers are critically important to tech marketing. Younger tech buyers increasingly rely on peers and the crowds for their buying advice. Marketers must influence the crowd and the crowd will influence the buyer.
To that effect, over the earlier part of the decade, social marketing program investment increased significantly, although it has recently flattened. Possibly the flattening is related to better management technology, or a shift to paid social.
The macro trends we’ve seen in technology marketing also show up specifically in content marketing trends. Spending on content marketing programs have risen steadily over the past decade, even as the total number registered nurse database of content marketing staff has decreased in-house. However, while the number of content marketers has decreased, the creative and brand services staff has increased 60% over the past 5 years, according to IDC’s benchmark. The larger creative staff then serves to assist these experts to present their work optimally.
Marketing leaders told IDC that in-house content idea development, writing, and speaking is dispersed among company experts, product marketers, and other thought leaders rather than housing them in one department. Additionally, need for interesting content has driven marketing to supplement internal efforts with professional content created by experts. This requirement drove up content’s program-related expenses.
4. Influencers Became Even More Important
While social media influencers are certainly a buzzworthy consumer marketing tactic, the fact still remains that analysts, influencers, and customers are critically important to tech marketing. Younger tech buyers increasingly rely on peers and the crowds for their buying advice. Marketers must influence the crowd and the crowd will influence the buyer.
To that effect, over the earlier part of the decade, social marketing program investment increased significantly, although it has recently flattened. Possibly the flattening is related to better management technology, or a shift to paid social.