Tech B2B buyers have spoken: What content is hot in 2022?

Content marketing is here to stay.

It is a key driver of leads, thought leadership, and awareness for the world’s major B2B brands. As a content marketing agency, we believe passionately in data-driven audience insights to inform tech B2B content marketing.

This spring, Isoline surveyed 161 B2B decision-makers from the UK, EU, and USA in the technology, telecommunications, internet, and electronics industries, and spanning a range of company sizes. We asked them in-depth questions about how they were responding to B2B tech content.

Not surprisingly, some changes in content consumption catalysed by the pandemic have persisted –time spent researching a supplier continues to grow, with 73% of respondents spending more or much more time researching than they spent last year– while others have subsided or been replaced. Case studies, for instance, are no longer the favourite type of content for tech B2B marketers, a significant change from the 2019 survey.

So, what resonates best and what’s falling flat? Our report explores three key areas:

Which types of content inspire B2B buyers?

• 55% of B2B buyers around the world find video the most useful type of content
• Webinars are now almost as important (54%) as video, growing from just 34% two years ago
• Both video and webinar are the most likely type of content to be shared (53% and 52%, respectively)

What role does content play in the B2B buyer journey?

• Responders consume an average of 4.5 pieces of content before contacting a supplier
• 62% of B2B decision-makers still prefer to consume content on a desktop or laptop
• Your website is still the best place to host your content, with 63% of survey respondents going directly to a company’s website when looking for information

What kind of information do buyers want at each stage of the purchase cycle?

• Technical information is key for buyers at all stages, but especially so at the beginning of the sales process (81%, compared to 74% for both the middle and end)
• Whilst the understanding of customer pain points scored 51% at the start of the process and 52% at the end, 61% of B2B decision-makers found it most important during the middle of the sales cycle
• At the end, content that focuses on closing is preferred by 59% of B2B tech buyers, an 8-9% increase compared to the other stages