What do your B2B buyers want?
Content is nothing if you don’t consider your audience. Unfortunately, a lot of the time marketing teams rely on guesswork, generalities, and out of date information.
This is why we’ve surveyed 161 tech B2B buyers from the UK, EU, and USA to really get to the bottom of what they want from content marketing. The good news is that we’ve distilled it into one ridiculously good-looking report.
The even better news is that I’m going to share with you five key takeaways on the content types B2B buyers are after.
Let’s stop the guesswork and start creating content tech decision makers actually want.
1. Video
In our previous survey, case studies reigned supreme as the most useful type of content to B2B buyers when they’re considering a purchase.
However, this year they have been dethroned by video (55%) closely followed by webinars (54%).
This result isn’t a huge surprise, video has continued to rise and rise in the content marketing charts these last few years. And, thanks to the democratisation of tools, it’s easier than ever for any business to create videos, whether that’s to nurture viewers with a B2B TikTok campaign or to attract an audience at trade shows.
2. Unbiased third-party reviews
66% of B22 buyers find independent reviews to be the most trustworthy source of content.
In our previous survey, most buyers preferred user generated feedback and peer reviews. These still have their role in the marketing mix, but they don’t tend to provide the technical detail and depth that buyers crave. It’s therefore not surprising to see this shift towards more authoritative sources.
3. Blogs
The humble blog might not be impressing B2B buyers as much as videos, but it’s still worthy of a shout out.
Indeed, blogs are near the top of the list of content B2B buyers are most likely to share. 43% of buyers would be most likely to share a blog, and the number increases more dramatically in the USA where 61% of respondents would share them.
And of course you want content that B2B decision makers are going to share. That’s a sure sign that they’re engaged in what you’re creating and are involving other people in the discussion.
4. Content that’s easy to understand
I’ll say this louder for those sitting at the back “Buyers want content that’s easy to understand”.
Regardless of the format your content takes, be it podcasts, webinars, or whitepapers, throw the jargon out.
71% of American B2B buyers valued material that could be easily understood across the organisation.
5. Content that understands their pain points
What makes content memorable? According to our respondents, it’s content that gets them.
No surprises here, no one likes vague and generic content that doesn’t relate to their issues. And yet, still too many businesses fall into the trap of doing just that to be “universal”.
Unfortunately, the more you try to talk to everyone, the more you’re talking to no one.
In conclusion: get specific fast. Buyers will love you for it.
Want to know more?
Download our 2022 content marketing report to get more insights from B2B buyers, including engagement and purchase processes.
