Is your content marketing strategy documented? We ask because according to the Content Marketing Institute, 89% of B2B marketers are using content marketing, but just 37% have a documented content marketing strategy.

Messaging rarely gets credit or wins awards, but behind most top-performing B2B marketing programs is a messaging platform that was thoughtfully developed, carefully vetted and (probably) begrudgingly embraced. Still, many marketers see it as painful to develop, challenging to implement and difficult – if not impossible – to guarantee use and compliance.

Videos and webinars are emerging as the top form of content for reaching B2B professionals, according to a new industry report by BrightTALK. 


In the age of the smartphone, almost everyone knows what it means to share a post on Facebook, upload a photo to Instagram or “like” a new job announcement on LinkedIn.

In case you haven’t heard, podcasts are experiencing a remarkable surge in popularity. According to Edison Research’s recently-published 2019 Infinite Dial Report (the longest-running survey of US digital media consumer behavior), there are now 62 million weekly podcast listeners – up 14 million since last year.

AI has been a very popular topic of discussion in B2B marketing for several years now. More than 84% of B2B marketers and salespeople are using, implementing, planning to use or evaluating AI. While that is a high number, there is still a clear disconnect between understanding that AI is valuable and putting the time and resources into implementation. Here are some tips on how to overcome that initial hump and embrace AI.

1. Understand your challenges: It’s important to understand that you don’t need to learn AI at a deeply technical level. You do need to understand what challenges you need to solve and find the right technology solution to resolve those challenges.

Video content just got a bit more compelling for B2B marketers. A new report from Vidyard indicates that while B2B video is getting shorter, viewers are actually watching longer. The report says that last year, the average length of published videos was a little more than four minutes, which is 33 percent shorter than 2017’s average length of a little over six minutes. And just a year prior to that, the average length was more than 13 minutes. The trend toward shorter videos has been declining at a fast, consistent rate. And we shouldn’t find this surprising, considering the data. According to the report, videos under a minute long have the highest completion rate, with 68 percent of viewers watching to the end. 

So what does this mean for B2B marketers? As video continues to surge for both relevance and consumption for B2B, bigger (or longer) is not always better. According to the report, 87 percent of B2B video watching is still happening on desktop, which means B2B buyers are often watching video on their desktops while at work. They want to get the information they need, have it be high-value, then move on. What does your video strategy look like as we move into the latter part of 2019? Video is having, and will continue to have its moment in B2B. And just like many things in life, when it comes to B2B video, less is definitely more.

2018 was a near record year for fintech funding, with the first half securing $57.9 billion, almost surpassing the current record of 2015’s $62.5 billion. This momentum is expected to continue through 2019. There are three major ways we will start to see businesses benefit from this investment surge throughout 2019:

1. B2B Payments: It wasn’t long ago we started seeing a change in the way consumers pay for products, with more people reaching for a smartphone app to complete payment instead of their physical wallet or checkbook. Now, B2B payers can enjoy similar hassle-free automated payment options. A leader in this market is WorldRemit, which recently closed $175 million in funding and helps facilitate cross-border money transfers for employees and contractors.

2. B2B Lending: Anyone who has ever needed a bank loan knows how rigorous the process is to obtain credit. After banks tightened lending rules following the financial crisis, the space was left wide open for fintechs to use big data and technology to increase finance options. This is now being mirrored in the B2B world. Take, for example, Brex, a San Francisco-based startup that issues corporate credit cards to startup leaders so they don’t have to max out personal cards. It is predicted that there will be a dramatic increase in supply-chain finance options, with banks providing the capital and tech companies bringing parties together.

3. Better Bank Offerings for Businesses: Since 2008, fintechs have been putting a lot of pressure on banks. As more fintechs break into the B2B space, the pressure on banks continues. The B2B space offers larger markets, with higher profit margins, and banks are fighting hard to protect their market share. This translates into better offers for businesses. So while 2019 may be a great year for fintechs, it is business that will be the real winners.


Read the source article at Entrepreneur.

The need for ROI visibility is only increasing as marketing spending continues to grow. A Forrester study notes that digital marketing spend will reach $146 billion by 2023, growing at a 9% compound annual growth rate. With that information, we know that the more money is spent on marketing, the bigger the need to show the impact of that spend. Here are three key ways to ensure that you highlight the fruits of your marketing labor:

B2B marketers agree that a strong content marketing strategy is important, but project demands and budget constraints often leave team members “doing what they can” when time allows. If this sounds familiar, you may be missing out on valuable opportunities and selling your organization short.