Key findings
The total score
Between July 2023 and 2024, the brands we researched published 1,353 long-form content pieces, averaging about two long-form assets/ month.
However, this result is skewed by the IoT sector, which produced 604 of these, or five long-form assets/brand/month.
All other sectors combined produced, on average, just over two long-form content pieces/brand/month.
Key findings
The favourite
Across tech B2B, webinars were the top content format, followed by podcasts and whitepapers. Webinars grew dramatically in popularity after the lockdown years when product marketers turned to webinars as a substitute for presentations made to industry audiences at trade shows, events, or in-person meetings.
Their popularity has continued. During the early stages of adoption, webinars were predominantly conducted in partnership with trade media outlets to reach a wider audience. Over the past twelve months, we have begun to see more tech B2B brands conduct webinars independently.
Key findings
Attitude towards gating
Gating strategies vary widely across sub-sectors. Telecoms B2B brands gate the least: only one in every five assets. At the other end of the spectrum, broadcast/ OTT, which produced the fewest long-form assets in a year, gated them the most, at 56%.
Content strategies also vary by asset type: the more unique value the asset delivers, the more confident brands are about gating. The whitepaper, the holy grail of long-form content, is the most gated asset. Players in the cloud segment gated every single whitepaper.
Key findings
Interactivity quotient
Embedding interactivity into long-form assets is still a nascent practice. However, our benchmark saw brands move beyond downloadable PDFs and experiment with various tactics to keep their audiences engaged.
Examples ranged from ‘book-like’ experiences to creative uses of video hosting platforms and placing long-form reports on web pages with catchy animations. Brands are aggressively seeking to complete goal conversions, offering contact forms at the bottom of landing pages or even on their podcast episode description pages.
Takeaways
Long-form content maintains a strong position in tech B2B marketing strategies. We would caution against blindly setting a target of two long-form content assets every month. While a huge company with a portfolio of dozens of brands might quite easily be able to sustain this level of momentum, smaller brands need to set goals with caution. Quality is far more important than quantity and we urge caution before turning to AI to augment content velocity.
The need to engage with their audiences and nurture existing relationships to generate leads is why webinars were the favourite long-form content type. The same applies to podcasts, which are becoming increasingly popular among tech B2B brands.
Interactivity is where going the extra mile will pay off and make your brand stand out. Brands are experimenting with it; however, captivating audiences with fully interactive experiences has yet to become the standard.
