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5 Examples of Branded Content: Inspiring Ideas and Emotions in Consumers

Author: Ciente Editorial Team

5 Examples of Branded Content: Inspiring Ideas and Emotions in Consumers
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5 Examples of Branded Content: Inspiring Ideas and Emotions in Consumers

5 Examples of Branded Content: Inspiring Ideas and Emotions in Consumers

Traditional marketing is persistent and off-putting. To improvise, savvy marketers have devised an approach that informs and entertains- branded content.

Storytelling anchors marketing campaigns, strategically influencing a behavioral change.

This theory has been the magnum opus behind using stories at the heart of marketing communications. From traditional playbooks to the latest drivers, its innate ability to influence behavior continues to help marketers attract and engage their target audience.

Beyond aggressive marketing and incessant selling tactics, storytelling puts consumer pain points into context, making it digestible and relatable. And there’s minimal space to counterargue when your business’s success stories or value proposition is delivered through stories.

Because consumers don’t see a narrative in segments but as a whole- they want minimal distractions and immersive experiences.

This underlines why modern marketers have actively gravitated towards branded content.

Branded content makes up the majority of where marketing is headed. To illustrate this, we have some of the best branded content examples in our pockets.

But before diving into it, let’s start with outlining the basics.

Branded Content: What It’s Not

Traditional advertisements haven’t been successful in moving the needle anymore. With increasing ad saturation, consumers have adapted by tuning out unnecessary ads.

This isn’t the case with branded content, given how it takes a more nuanced approach to marketing.

So, the commercials, pop-up ads, and clickable banner ads you observe on diverse platforms aren’t branded content. The fundamental differentiator: this content isn’t focused on products and services.

Then, what is Branded Content?

To ensure the impact is tenfold, marketers have added an edge to their storytelling techniques – the use of branded content. Branded content is content pieces created in partnership with advertisers or publishers to highlight an organization’s mission and values.

It’s used to deliver ideas that help establish a strong connection with the audience. As stated before, it’s not supposed to sell a product or service but to enable them to think and inspire empathetic emotions.  

It doesn’t expose viewers to pushy sales content, encouraging them to buy so-and-so products.

Branded content is a very subtle way of elevating brand awareness, i.e., introducing who you are underneath the colored graphics and catchy taglines. This way, intrigued viewers are more likely to pay attention to the entire content and even interact with it.

So, what branded content does is:

  • Spotlight that a company is more than its corporate entity
  • Appeal to the consumers by connecting on an emotional level
  • Facilitate conversation by weaving a narrative

Branded content is, in itself, really a narrative. It leverages Bandura’s social cognitive theory:

By seeing role models whether real or fictional perform a behavior with positive consequences, viewers are more likely to learn and engage in the behavior themselves.

And branded content uses realistic and relatable characters and plotlines.

Given that it’s curated in collaboration with celebrities, individual creators, and other professionals, Bandura’s theory functions in full force here. It triggers empathy and social learning, elevating the possibility that the viewer is willing to undertake an action.

Is Branded Content Effective?

When interacting with branded content, consumers receive something in return – value in the form of entertainment.

It’s the significant driver behind why branded content works effectively. Technology has caught a considerable portion of viewers’ attention- branded content leverages this vulnerability.

Too much of the produced content reeks of recycling. With the same messages published incessantly, there’s a dullness shrouding the marketing-scape.

And with saturation in tow, the stakes are higher than ever. How do businesses move their fatigued consumers?

Marketers are aware of the impact of stories on people, especially those that make us acknowledge our humanness. So, they leverage storytelling to their advantage.

Modern content marketing has realized that content doesn’t always need to veer in a single direction. Sometimes, it requires derailing – something that offers an immersive experience.

Branded content does just this.

It penetrates through the cacophony of this baseless noise and delivers uniqueness (not just promises). And spotlights your brand as it is, seeking to transform the public perception of your company.

This content form can be developed in any format – from sponsored Instagram posts and social activations to YouTube videos and influencer-driven campaigns.

In the long run, branded content is a strategic investment in your brand’s future. With a strong market reputation, your business is sure to build customer loyalty and generate high-quality leads.

Although branded content is fundamentally different from traditional advertising methodologies, it requires a strategy.

How else do you know where to begin creating your branded content?

As a solution, we offer you a framework. And branded content examples that fortify why some brands were successful while others weren’t.

A Strategic Framework for Creating Branded Content with Examples

Example 1: Tell a story and commit to it.

Weaving a story isn’t the first obstacle to creating branded content. It’s about converting it into a reality.

Buyers have outlined the real reason for their pivot towards self-directed buying– most businesses don’t live up to the promises they initially make. And their offerings are lackluster.

Telling a story isn’t enough anymore. What value does it deliver beyond entertainment? The branded content should spotlight your brand’s genuine beliefs. It must be built into the content you’re creating.

For example, if a tech company ascertains sustainable practices, what exactly are they doing to live up to the same? It shouldn’t be a charade to garner leads and be truthful.

Promises and values, when not reflected truly, can only end up harming your brand’s reputation.

So, the solution is to create branded content that illustrates the organization’s commitment to these values. Make it sensory and immersive. Or your stories ring hollow.

Consider, for example, Greta Gerwig’s Barbie. It created an enormous frenzy like never witnessed before. For most, it wasn’t merely a feature film.

image

The emotional resonance, messages empowering women, and high-profile partnerships relaunched a whole new generation of potential customers for the toy brand. One of the most commercially successful films in history, the film’s success spotlighted the brand’s core value.

And the brand’s worth rose to $720 million.

The branded content film redirected everyone’s attention to a brand often seen as too “girly” or “feminine.” And reiterated the global public perception. Now, Barbie is associated with owning your feminine side and being confident in who you are.

Barbie proves it.

Storytelling in your branded content isn’t just a “what we can offer you” narrative. The story here does not equate a sales pitch but delivers a powerful message. Instead, it should entertain, educate, and instill curiosity, ensuring your brand stays at the top of the mind.

This is why Barbie’s (the film) marketing campaign affected the toy brand to such an extent. By working as an asset of its own, the movie significantly reshaped the perception of dolls and the color pink.

Barbie (the toy brand) came to resonate with its own story and embody the message of women’s empowerment, owing to the movie’s virality.

Example 2: Build characters that personify your brand.

The relationship between businesses and consumers has drastically shifted. Buyers want interpersonal relationships with brands that demonstrate how much they really matter. This has changed the entire face of customer relationships.

Consumers need brands they can relate to and build an emotional connection with, i.e., something they identify with. Most of this relatability factor is regarding the characters in your branded content – the role models Bandura’s been emphasizing.

Marketing has realized the need to deliver relevant content. This applies to every content type, even branded content. When buyers see people who are just like them, real and mundane, they create a stronger bond.

Your branded content, in short, should be a mirror through which consumers see themselves reflected truly. This means using real stories surrounding real people.

But there’s always a downside, so offer genuine content.

Most digital content is built on false stories and insincere reviews. And consumers have become adept at pinpointing. Given how far modern tech has advanced, it’s easy to gauge when businesses are biting off more than they can chew. And this only topples your brand reputation, scattering away any potential customers.

Remember Burger King’s Women’s Day tweet?

image 3

Burger King was attempting to capitalize on one of the most celebrated holidays – Mother’s Day. But in a very short period, the company’s expectations took an unexpected turn.

666k likes as opposed to 171k quote tweets: A Twitter novice will tell you that while this highlights engagement, it has proved detrimental to the food chain. The users quoted-tweeted it, didn’t realize the post was clickbait. The team responsible couldn’t nail its execution.

And that’s where the disconnect was.

The image on the right highlights Burger King’s actual intentions behind the tweet. The food chain’s tweet was to raise awareness regarding the lack of gender diversity in the restaurant industry, promoting a scholarship program for female employees.

However, only their initial message stood out, causing widespread backlash for Burger King. This was because it was posted on International Women’s Day – a day to celebrate women.  The strategy was cheeky but highly insensitive as a standalone tweet, leading to its virality for all the negative reasons.

And the result? Burger King apologized and deleted the original tweet.

Example 3: Inspire the right emotions.

BK hit a nerve, but not in the way branded content is supposed to.

There’s one takeaway from this incident: audience connections can only be built through shared vision and values, not sales objectives. Your branded efforts should be perceived as worthy of attention and trust – quite distinct from what digital ads seek to do.

So, branded content must balance between offering informational and entertainment value. Only then can it help establish your brand’s thought leadership and market perception.

But all of this can be executed effectively once you understand who your target audience is:

  • What do they care about: values, beliefs, and ideals
  • Audience preferences and interests
  • What entertains them
  • What is their preferred channel and content types
  • Which role models do they identify with?

Take, for example, HP’s Generation Impact, one of the best examples of branded content.

image 4

Source: YouTube

It targets the tech giant’s audience base of tech enthusiasts, young professionals, and students. Each video content or episode highlighted how young innovators leverage tech to create an impact, also learning to make the world a better place.

Every episode follows a single theme of “Their brilliance will change the world,” i.e., how young minds have used technology to reshape their community.

In their content, none of their products are highlighted or focused on. The creators had only one objective: to illustrate technology’s positive impact on the world. And HP has carried this out through robust storytelling techniques. It has developed a single theme across all its branded video content in this series – young minds’ innovative solutions to global challenges.

This aligns with HP’s broader mission to elevate sustainability and also their brand value – “to create technology that makes life better for everyone, everywhere.”

The strategy is quite impactful. And proved quite adept at creating ripples across their audiences, mainly comprised of young professionals, students, and tech enthusiasts.

At large, HP’s branded content was quite exemplary. Not only did it acknowledge the fundamental issues entrenched in the minute crevices of society, such as poverty and inequality. But it also highlights HP’s commitment to environmental responsibility, reinforcing its vision.

This branded content resonates with their demographics and is authentic.

It spotlights how committed HP is toward sustainable principles and the extent to which it’s intertwined in its products. For example, the Pavilion Laptop, which uses ocean-bound plastic, and the Smart Tank, made from recycled plastic.

Example 4: Establish meaningful collaborations.

There’s one aspect to highlight in this discussion – branded content has a core message. It might not always be the same, but it continues to align with a company’s values. Imagine it as an overarching umbrella that allows you to take leaps creatively.

This creative prowess is only amplified through the correct collaboration. It spans multiple platforms and offers an immersive experience, elevating visibility across numerous touchpoints.

As in the case of HP’s partnership with Ocean Impact Organization, the HP Generation Impact Incubator.

At the heart of this collaboration, we circle back to HP’s mission statement: “to create technology that makes life better for everyone, everywhere.” HP is committed to environmental responsibility. And most of their branded content embodies this.

HP and OIO partnered up to find the next young Australian innovator. Each year, they announce the grand prize winner and runners-up for innovative solutions that can help transform ocean health.

The tech giant’s collaboration with OIO is not merely a marketing charade. It’s centered around empowering young innovators to demonstrate authenticity, value, and innovation – components that every branded content must embody.

And just like HP, several brands have gotten branded content right. It’s time to glance at some of the noteworthy examples.

Example 5: Take a stand.

Branded content is all about creativity. And it’s vital to deliver a unique narrative that takes a stand. How else do you outline what your brand has to offer differently?

Without a distinct perspective, your branded content could end up blending with the repetitive marketing clamor.

So, take a stand on a subject you wish to cover. Every marketing piece addresses a common pain point, but you need a compelling angle – one that earns your audience’s attention.

This, in turn, helps elevate you as a subject matter expert and establishes your credibility. A general perspective is commonplace, but a fresher viewpoint highlights the knowledge you hold.

And Lenovo’s Late Night IT is a brilliant example of this.

Thought leadership around technology is often jargon-heavy and complicated to grasp. From blockchain and data management to cybersecurity and IT – subjects remain the same.

The approach is the real differentiator. And that’s what Lenovo leveraged in its branded content. It covered similar topics to its competitors, but the ‘how’ differed.

Lenovo created a comedy news series titled ‘Lenovo Late Night IT.’ Available on CIO.com and YouTube, this program stood out owing to its unfiltered host and guests. This attributed an entertaining spin to tech discussions, making it more relatable for tech decision-makers.

This series offered a fresh take on technology and how tech brands operate. The conversations were brutally honest and authentic.

The episode “Mental Health: Generation Burnt-the-F-Out” spotlights mental health in the workplace. Here, the host and guests tune in to a genuine discussion on what tech brands are doing to help their employees tackle mental health.

A single question delivered the final blow, a reality curtained by humor: “Is wellness woven into your digital transformation strategy? Or did you deploy a self-help app and call it a day?”

Branded Content: Ideas that Drive Action.

These examples of what worked and what didn’t are to direct your brand in the right direction and inspire new ideas. But this isn’t all we hope to incite.

Branded content isn’t a piece put together to incite your targeted audience. They are stories told through illustrative media that are supposed to deliver the right message.

Whether branded video content or an Instagram collaboration, it’s more than a traditional marketing gimmick. Branded content, although entertaining, is also a versatile medium to showcase brand values.

And it embodies a single marketing motto – practice what you preach.

In the race to boost sales revenue, businesses have forgotten their mission of change. And that’s why their promises end up vacant. They have messages diluted across multiple channels, but the impact isn’t evident at all.

Where are they missing the mark?

Not converting their words into actions. Not sticking to their promises. Barely skimming through customers. Branded content becomes an effortless way of building content that delivers meaning. And peels the facade to reveal the layer that drives businesses – audience connections.

5 Lead Magnets to Improve Lead Generation Efforts
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5 Lead Magnets to Improve Lead Generation Efforts

5 Lead Magnets to Improve Lead Generation Efforts

Your leads aren’t going to share information without something in return. Marketing is always quid pro quo. And there’s no better quo than a lead magnet.

Engaged prospects who are not ready to purchase just yet, what can move them? This concern has consistently afflicted marketers.

Between attracting a lead and finally closing a deal lies a rugged patch of land – MOFU. It’s packed with hesitance and uncertainty, the mundane nitty-gritty of every decision-making process. These may influence leads to either drop off, linger, or make a purchase.

Simply put, hesitance stands as an emotional barrier in MOFU and BOFU, potentially stemming from:

  • Lack of trust in the brand
  • Fear of wasting money
  • Analysis paralysis
  • Internal pressure to justify the investment to the stakeholders
  • Doubt whether it’s the right fit for the organization

The purchase makes ample logical sense on its own. But the ambiguity and emotional risk influence buying committees to delay the final decision.

As a solution, marketers opt to create content that offers a playful nudge in the right direction – lead magnets.

The Basic Understanding of Lead Magnets

Often perceived as a freebie or bait, lead magnets are trust-building tools. They are primarily leveraged at the top of the funnel to engage and establish brand awareness in exchange for the lead’s contact information.

But its role transcends the initial steps. Lead magnets work wonders for leads even in the middle of the funnel. When crafted with the right intention, these content pieces can help qualify leads and nurture them closer to a purchasing decision.

It’s the psychological factor of reassurance imbued within the magnets that convinces a potential customer: “We understand your concern, but you aren’t wrong for considering us. Others have done it before you. Here’s how it worked out for them. And it can help you as well.”

5 Lead Magnets to Elevate Your Nurturing Strategies

lead magnets best types

Not all perform equally across all industries. Even across your ICP, each buying committee has individual preferences shaped by consumption patterns and professional backgrounds.

For the B2B audience, lead magnets are practical tools.

It should simply help justify the investments to the decision-makers and stakeholders. And grasp your target audience’s attention.

Not every lead magnet listed on the Internet is deemed crucial for businesses to succeed. But there are a few fundamental (best) must-haves for every B2B organization.

1. Webinars

Videos are gaining significance across marketing. And savvy marketers must leverage their maximum potential.

It’s the upcoming star in digital marketing, and with the market hungry for uniqueness, it will only gain momentum. For marketers, it’s one of the most interactive channels to grow their presence and also communicate with customers.

Why not utilize it in the form of a lead magnet?

image 4

Source: Forrester

Webinars as a lead magnet have a multitude of benefits to offer. In an attention-deficit economy, it’s sure to induce a ripple.

So, take this (barely) trodden path and offer curious content. It doesn’t have to be long presentations with the perfect voice-over.

You can convert blog posts or eBooks that are compelling into slides and creative visuals, using them as a springboard during your live talk. The reference could be any blog that establishes you as the subject matter expert.

And remember to add fresh insights that the blog doesn’t offer, with the recording serving as an additional resource.

The fundamental benefit: Highlight the people (humans) behind a corporate entity.

2. Templates

Sometimes, an execution requires a quick hack. It’s not always necessary to start from scratch.

This is why templates exist. These pre-designed formats are direct solutions for your audience’s needs as they require little to no modifications. And a means to save time and effort.

Using templates for, say, a Lead Generation Landing Page, marketers can save resources and focus on the next step.

image 9

Source: HubSpot

Through these templates, you’re offering your audience a channel to elevate their performance without the added effort.

Using a simple sign-up form before allowing the users to access the templates ensures that they are engaged enough to take this extra step. This might only be beneficial at the top of the funnel.

At the bottom, the sign-ups could be directed toward the newsletter rather than to collect email addresses.

Rest assured, offering templates is a sure-shot way of informing the users what you’ve in store for them.

3. Checklists

Checklists are a list of actionable bits of advice.

And they are very easy to create from already-written blog posts. Its content follows the ‘things to keep in mind’ pattern.

Taken from the main piece of content, these can be split into a significant number of steps to make the outcome more achievable.

You can also offer it in a downloadable/printable format so users can keep track as they complete a single milestone.  

image 5

Source: Forrester

Checklists are great lead magnets because they instill a sense of achievement and a positive feeling into your audience.

Think of checklists for your marketing campaigns – whether ads or conferences. You can create a checklist for a variety of them, covering the before and after as well.

Checklists are unique, concise, and easy to consume. And they offer ample, immediate value to users – download the relevant checklist and use it right away.

4. Free Tools

Numerous digital marketing businesses offer free tools that solve specific problems or make tasks more manageable. They are digital utilities that are (often) free to use.

Not only do these offer quick and tangible results, but they also provide instant gratification.

Take, for example, HubSpot’s ROI Calculator.

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Every business wishes to know if its efforts are bearing fruit. Measuring the ROI is one way to justify the investment to stakeholders.

But most businesses aren’t sure where to begin. And measuring ROI follows a basic framework – starting with the right metrics that must be tracked. Amid the confusion, HubSpot offers a free tool to calculate the ROI.

It’s simple. You have to fill out the form, and voila! The calculator will provide a detailed and comprehensive ROI report.

This is why free tools have gained such momentum as lead magnets. They are genuine and strategic, without the need for aggressive sales tactics that overwhelm visitors.

5. Case Studies

Two of the prerequisites of lead magnets are offering value and being digestible. Case studies fit well and are one of the most commonplace lead magnets for B2B businesses.

Their significance has remained, even as several marketing trends come and go.

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Source: HubSpot

Case studies are proof of a business’s capabilities and skills. They outline the company’s success stories with clients, also iterating how the solutions can help others, too.

It helps boost credibility and trust within a brand, especially in the MOFU, where buyer hesitance is high. Most businesses offer case studies on exchanging emails, especially when buyers are in the negotiation stage with SDRs.

By offering case studies to leads, businesses are illustrating their industry expertise and also convincing them that – yes, you’re making the right decision, as have others before you.

And the best facet of using case studies as lead magnets? They never expire.

6) Bonus: eBooks

Original content isn’t always a solution. And the market is filled with content of all types, with originality a thing of the past.  

So, marketers choose a middle ground – repurpose insightful content into another format.

Imagine developing comprehensive blogs on how technology has shaped marketing and covering every aspect from A to Z.

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Source: Ciente.io

Given how crucial this segment is in modern marketing, you’ve to create more content around it. But how? Convert it into the ultimate guidebook.

Start by including all the articles around technology’s influence in the marketing landscape into one asset.

Yes, you would want to change the tone, add an introduction for each chapter, and publish it as a book. It’s informative, comprehensive, and offers enormous value.

To optimize their Martech stack, your audience can also revert to the guidebook and use it as a reference.

The Role of Lead Magnets at MOFU

At MOFU, lead magnets can offer clarity, address objections, and prove credibility. However, not every lead magnet can drive the desired results.

Some prove profitable in attracting the ICP, while some collect dust. So, it depends on the right lead magnet and what you intend it to do – generate brand awareness or nurture leads.

At the MOFU stage, trust building is the priority. And the audience is finite and segmented. So, the lead magnets are more targeted and valuable – ones that can help the lead decide between dropping off or purchasing the solution.

The general ones are whitepapers, templates, case studies, price charts, and product comparisons, among others.

But one dilemma plagues modern marketing teams. With marketing asked to do more with less, i.e., prove their investment, can they take a risk?

Lead magnets might work, but they don’t guarantee success. So, as a marketer, you might have to reiterate: Is investing your time and resources into lead magnets worth it?

The truth is that lead magnets hold significant value for B2B companies.

Imagine you’re a SaaS organization that doesn’t have lead magnets at all. Now, how do you track who your website visitors are, especially ones who haven’t signed up? You cannot discern how to communicate with these prospects because you’ve no idea who they are. Additionally, there’s no way to segment which visitors engaged and which didn’t.

But beyond outlining its space amid other marketing functions, there’s another burning issue across B2B – Do lead magnets work?

The answer is subjective.

While many marketers lean towards the stance that all content should be free to consume, some argue that the use of lead magnets in B2B is practical. Both arguments make sense.

The short answer is: Irrespective of the result, experiment.

After all, in marketing, it’s not the hacks and how-tos that matter, with mountains of online content outlining what to do.

But execution is where marketers falter the most – the essence of every campaign.

To get this right, focus on the basics – the three core components every lead magnet should entail:

  1. Clarification – Address the specific pain point or objections.
  2. Reinforcement – Reassure and build trust through social proof.
  3. Personalization – How do your solutions fit their needs?

The final content piece might align with the brand’s voice. But at the molecular level, each lead magnet must entail those mentioned above in its framework.

It’s crucial to differentiate a regular lead magnet from a good one.

The traditional content playbooks outlined lead magnets as a PDF published with a form, highlighting it’s free to download.

However, modern marketers have changed the content game to adapt to changing buyer patterns.

A regular PDF wouldn’t serve the desired purpose. Instead, a quality lead magnet is built with intention – one that is meticulously crafted, well-researched, and addresses relevant pain points. And is shareable.

With half-heartedly developed and generic information, your lead magnets would fail to do more than compel leads to download.

What Makes a Great B2B Lead Magnet?

Align lead magnets with your core offerings

Lead magnets should be an extension of your brand solutions. If you’re offering content marketing services, the lead magnets could focus on SEO strategies or how to streamline content strategy with the stages in the buyers’ journey.

Talk about their pain point

One of the avenues where marketing falls short is focusing too much on selling. That’s not technically your job, but sales. Your assets should focus on how the solutions can help businesses address specific challenges.

Easy to consume

Decision-makers don’t have a copious amount of time to waste. If they need an answer, they require it stat without any hindrance. This is one of the primary factors of B2B lead magnets – they should be easily accessible, concise, and simple to go through.

Provides value

Lead magnets’ content needs to be directed and have a focus. They aren’t merely a means to get contact information. But assets that have to move lead in a particular direction and inform them. So, it must provide practical, actionable, and informative tools to the user.

Key Traits of an Effective B2B Lead Magnet

Creating unheard-of pain points

In the rush to deliver something unique, marketers derail from the core notion. The content is relevant only when it addresses the audience’s pain points and needs, not when it focuses on what personally interests marketers.

How are your lead magnets supposed to attract an audience when it doesn’t address their specific challenges? Cover genuine business challenges.

Lengthy production time

Lead magnets, when developed and distributed regularly, would have more impact. It demands simplicity and conciseness. So, taking weeks to curate one magnet is unnecessary. Focus on delivering value consistently.

Delivering false promises

Your lead magnets are neither bait nor a teaser. Teasing and withholding value within these content pieces is an incorrect strategy. Instead, instill value at full force and establish what you have to offer.

With lead magnets sometimes being the first piece of content that leads interact with, they should showcase your capabilities. So, they should be stand-alone resources that deliver practical solutions and outline the next step.

Publishing is the final step

Lead magnets such as whitepapers and eBooks are evolving channels. So, you should also prioritize regularly updating them.

In the current landscape, buyers, businesses, and the market – are all changing rapidly. Your lead magnets should align with the market conditions and audience feedback.

In short, lead magnets are a testing medium.

Your prospective buyers take you for a spin before committing to you – they are testing your expertise. And every time it’s successful, the lead comes closer to becoming your active customer.

This is why it’s a prerequisite to choose the right lead magnet.

Lead Magnets: An Innovative Nudge for Your Businesses

These are some of the fundamental and best lead magnets that currently give marketers a strategic edge. They provide a foundation for long-term value-driven relationships and set the tone for your brand — how uniquely do you approach problem-solving?

But as the marketplace evolves and digital innovation strengthens its roots, marketing assets must also transform. It’s simple — digital experiences demand that marketers innovate.

How long will the old playbooks offer leverage? There’s little space for them amidst modern practices. And this applies to every crevice of marketing – from strategy to execution and the intricacies.

Most businesses have already begun developing AI lead magnets and personalized assessments that drive more engagement and also offer community access.

Although sophisticated, these lead magnets demand a lot of care and attention from marketing teams. But the pay-off is quite satisfying, as these assets influence user perception and drive value.

And in exchange of this perceived value, the leads will gladly share their information for access.

After all, the goal is to illustrate audience understanding and reliability. What’s better to deliver these than the right lead magnets?

Content Performance Metrics to Drive Meaningful Outcomes
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Content Performance Metrics to Drive Meaningful Outcomes

Content Performance Metrics to Drive Meaningful Outcomes

It’s easy to drown in a sea of measurable metrics. So, this piece helps highlight how choosing the right ones ultimately depends on the campaign goals.

HubSpot defines content performance metrics as –

“Numbers that can help you determine if what you’re doing is making an impact as is, if you’ll need to tweak your approach, or if you’ll need to abandon it altogether in exchange for something else.”

Across the crowded digital space, content has continued to be marketing’s magnum opus – but the game is changing.

Modern buyers are skeptical of recycled messages that stem from traditional playbooks. And are actively tuning them out.

Amid these shifts in consumption patterns, content marketing has become the only way out. Especially when it helps deliver unique, targeted, and valuable content in an age where the power has tilted back toward buyers.

But, it’s easier said than done.

Content marketing demands patience, consistency, and a copious investment in resources. How do marketers know their efforts are bearing fruit?

This is where content performance metrics come in.

What Are Content Performance Metrics?

Content performance metrics are simply numbers or data illustrating your content’s impact and performance. The answer to: Is your content influencing the bottom line?

However, not all metrics are equal or used for the same purpose.

Cue: vanity metrics. They used to play an integral role in the old content playbooks. But marketing realized these could be directional indicators of brand visibility and reach. Otherwise, the vanity metrics didn’t capture demand or indicate a shift in market perception.

So, in a landscape where CMOs are held accountable for revenue, impactful marketing demands actionable metrics that demonstrate tangible business outcomes.

Why should you measure content marketing metrics?

Measuring the performance of your content isn’t only beneficial for the bottom line. It ensures that your strategies are updated and aligned with the broader business goals.

1. Visibility

Without any optimization, it’s possible that your content won’t be visible to the right audience. And just gathering digital cobwebs. So, tracking content performance metrics allows marketing to ensure that the right content is reaching the ICPs at the right time.

Search engines only rank relevant, high-quality content for users searching for solutions similar to your brand offerings. But if your content strategy is loose at the ends, your content doesn’t even appear to prospects.

2. Strategy

Content marketing metrics illustrate the effectiveness of your content strategy from the bottom up, tying directly to your brand visibility and its overall growth.

Through a robust content strategy, it becomes easier for potential buyers to find your brand amidst the competition and elevate conversion possibilities.

3. Quality

But this is significantly dependent on whether you’re creating the right content in the first place.

Measuring content marketing metrics ensures this is the actual case. It allows you to assess the content quality and change the content or its type to what drives impact.

4. Impact

Content performance metrics also help gauge audience behavior: Are they really hooked or leaving a page too quickly? Does it fit your audience’s preferences?

You can optimize your channels and segment audiences by understanding who is interacting with your content and how. Both help underscore whether your content reaches your ICP and drives them to action.

And if it doesn’t, the metrics outline where your strategy is lacking.

Overall, measuring content performance metrics is a key driver of your brand’s growth and expansion. And offers a comprehensive understanding of your content marketing ROI.

So, the primary step for tracking these is to ensure the chosen metrics align with your business goals. And in turn, the goal you’re attempting to achieve underlines the content marketing metrics you should track.

How Do Your Business Goals Define Your Content Metrics

Not all content is curated for the same reason, which means not every metric is measured the same way.

From attempting to fill your sales pipeline, elevate brand awareness, or retain customers, your performance metrics should align with the goal your business hopes to achieve.

1. If your priority is lead generation:

One of the commonplace goals of marketers is generating quality leads through their content marketing KPIs efforts. After all, the leads that convert into customers are the honest indicators of your business’s success.

So, it’s not just about traffic but about qualified traffic because you’re capturing demand that transforms into action.

The warmer your leads are, the higher the chances that your content marketing strategies are set in the right direction. So, it is significant to underline the number of leads your content has generated.

The key metrics to calculate –

  • Lead quality
  • Lead volume,
  • Cost-per-lead (CPL)
  • Traffic-to-lead ratio
  • Conversion rates

What not to focus on –

Think: A lead downloads a whitepaper, which marketing forwards to sales. When contacted, the lead illustrates no interest in the brand, resulting in a waste of time and resources.

Just because a lead downloaded a whitepaper, it doesn’t mean they are always a potential buyer. Most often, third parties who hold no interest in your solutions also undertake specific actions for their research.

This missing piece here is intent.

So, page views, impressions, or shares without content don’t carry weight here. High engagement doesn’t equate to high intent. And often signals marketing towards low-quality, irrelevant leads.

2. If your priority is brand awareness:

Brand recognition is one of the most crucial indicators of growth – How well does your ICP really know your brand?

And content that provides real value can help build your brand awareness. A crucial aspect of this is thought leadership content that leverages your brand’s top voice to establish credibility across the industry.

Here, the focus isn’t on driving immediate action but on building trust and visibility. The final goal is to stay on top of the buyer’s mind – as the best possible solution to their pain points.

The key performance metrics to improve this –

  • Social media metrics: Engagement, mentions, and shares
  • Brand search volume
  • Unique page views
  • Backlinks
  • Time on page
  • Scroll depth
  • Impressions

What not to focus on –

Conversion rates.

This particular metric has a lot to offer. But this isn’t always a business’s objective, especially when it comes to elevating brand recognition and awareness.

Imagine a company planning to introduce new services or even itself in an already crowded and unfamiliar market. And its sole priority is to get on the radar.

How else will they engage leads if the market doesn’t know the company exists in the first place while building trust?

Brand awareness here becomes the company’s strategic moat.

It might be too early to sell, so driving action isn’t even the first step. And lead generation doesn’t add much value here, not before the company has penetrated the new territory and established itself as a credible source.

3. If your priority is customer retention:

Content marketing efforts aren’t merely meant to capture prospects. As much as it’s crucial to engage new customers, it’s also vital to nurture existing ones.

Marketers seamlessly forget that it’s not the first buy that matters. It’s truly the second one. A customer who buys from your brand again means taking a step forward to become a brand advocate.

It should also be your content marketing’s focus.

Imagine a customer making purchases from you repeatedly over the years and also referring you to their peers. This customer has a high CLTV compared to a one-time buyer.

That’s why your efforts should also prioritize nurturing and retaining these customers.

Retaining an existing customer is far simpler than converting a new one – valuable, relevant, and unique content can ascertain this.

Your marketing team can ensure that there’s specific content that elevates the CLTV of these customers while simultaneously boosting your bottom line. The only concern here: Do you know if it’s working?

Track the relevant metrics –

  • Repeat purchase rate (RPR)
  • Customer churn rate
  • Customer lifetime value (CLTV)
  • Customer satisfaction score (CSAT)
  • Net Promoter Score (NPS)
  • Upsell conversion rate
  • Repeat logins

What not to focus on –

Traffic volume.

Customer retention means nurturing existing customers with high LTV. This means you aren’t marketing to the broader public.

Your audience for all your content marketing efforts is directed towards a concise, familiar, and segmented pool. For SaaS companies, the bottom line is dependent on churn rates. Once a customer signs up, one of the priorities is to keep them engaged and upgraded.

So, content marketing metrics, from pageviews to the number of users, don’t offer depth. To elevate customer retention, you don’t need eyes on irrelevant bots or new leads.

But focus on the specific and finite existing customer base.

Accurately tracking and analyzing content performance metrics.

We’ve briefly established the content performance metrics you should track in line with different business goals.

Do you measure these manually? No.

Leverage marketing tools and software for accurate data. There are a vast number of content reporting tools available to help businesses collect and track website data.

These help marketers collate and analyze user behavior, make sense of insights, and track conversions – most often, across a single dashboard.

Some of the known effective and robust tools that offer integrated content measurement along with seamless user experience are:

  1. Google Analytics 4
  2. HubSpot
  3. SEMrush/Ahrefs
  4. Attribution tools, such as Dreamdata and HockeyStack

These tools are significant for tracking, measuring, and analyzing your chosen content performance metrics.

But not all data sets are the goldmines, you’re searching for. With a data-driven approach at the base of most of their tactics, marketers should realize that more data isn’t synonymous with more insight.

Especially when it concerns measuring the performance of your content.

What Can Marketers Get Wrong About Content Metrics: The Common Pitfalls

Without a clear strategic roadmap, the numbers rarely mean anything:

  1. What do the metrics on your dashboards mean?
  2. Why are you particularly tracking these?
  3. How do they influence the bottom line?
  4. Do they align with your broader business goals?
  5. Do these metrics demonstrate content’s impact for the long term?

But without an answer to any of these questions, your marketing team is moving in the dark. And your plans lack any scope.

Without the basic know-how, i.e., the why, which, and how of your performance metrics, it’s easy to face a setback. Some of which could stem specifically from:

  • A knowledge gap regarding which metrics to measure at each funnel stage – This is particularly demonstrated by non-marketing leadership. Not all stakeholders entirely gauge the importance of content across the funnel, resulting in a constricted understanding that success looks different at each stage of the funnel.
  • Pressure to prove the marketing ROI – Stakeholders want proof of their investment – they want content to work within a short period. To prove its worth, marketers chase measurable metrics that are easy to gauge.

So, they end up over-indexing short-term metrics such as impressions and visitors and skip long-term investments, like SEO and thought leadership – ones that build brand equity.

But what they forget is that vanity metrics are ineffective. They offer a false sense of success but rarely translate into active customers.

  • Attribution gaps – Even with the relevant attribution tools, it’s hard to assess if the insights are down to the number. There are so many intangible channels through which leads interact with content – not all of it’s graspable through quantitative data.

Many visitors read blogs anonymously or are engaged through podcasts. There’s a lack of clarity in attribution.

So, marketers dive into the extremes with less to see and more to prove. They either overvalue what is measurable (traffic and impressions) or don’t end up measuring at all.

Additionally, marketers could fall into blind spots, miss insights, prioritize the last touch, rely only on attribution tools, focus only on numbers, or expect content to work within a short period (say, 2 weeks).

It’s simple – any of these pitfalls could prove detrimental to your content marketing efforts.

Keeping a to-the-point track of your content performance metrics isn’t straightforward even with the right tools and software. Marketers bend backward with the most limited resources while attempting to prove the content marketing ROI.

This feeds into the existing rupture between stakeholder expectations and actual outcomes, widening the gap.

But it’s not the end of your content marketing journey. Although each business might choose to measure a different set of metrics, the underlying basis should remain the same.

There are particular strategies, the fundamental building blocks, that can help improve your content marketing metrics and refine the overall measuring process.

Improving Content Performance Metrics: Optimize Based on Data

A/B test for headlines and CTAs

Churning out content pieces constantly is a waste of both time and resources, especially if you don’t know whether it’ll move customers. For your content to translate into tangible outcomes, you need to assess what works and what doesn’t.

The best path to do this is A/B testing.

Not only will it highlight the headline that engages your audiences the most, but also the placement of the CTAs. It shouldn’t overwhelm visitors but also be compelling enough to drive immediate action.

So, test using alternatives.

There are multiple variations of a single content that can appeal to different customers. But your priority should be to drive the maximum number of leads to action. And headlines that instill curiosity within them to know more and read through the content.

So, experimenting with different CTAs – the subject and placement – will outline an idea that aligns with the brand requirements and ICP.

Update underperforming content

Most content is published and then forgotten. But a potential client browsing through your website is looking only for solutions. And often, they merely skim through the written content for the relevant bits.

What if the information they’re looking for doesn’t align with the latest market conditions? It can harm your brand’s reputation.

So, update your content periodically, especially statistics and market problems at the crux of your piece. This little piece of advice isn’t limited to blogs – it’s for infographics, content carousels, and whitepapers.

Your potential buyers depend on you to act as a guide, helping make informed decisions.

So, it’s paramount to update the information you’re offering – at least the irrelevant statistics.

Repurpose the content that’s working.

At the heart of content marketing is quality, not quantity. And one of the most effective channels to gauge the most out of your pieces and elevate their quality is repurposing them.

Content repurposing boosts impact without multiplying the effort. Now, instead of waiting for your audience to visit your website, your content reaches them through infographics, LinkedIn carousels, newsletters, podcast snippets, etc.

This methodology will elevate your reach and impression while improving SEO and organic traffic.

It’s a harsh reality that most content expires. However, by keeping the core message alive through short-form formats, you’re increasing its lifecycle.

And keeping your brand’s core message alive.

Set content strategy goals

What is it that you’re aiming for with your content?

From driving conversion to instilling awareness – your content should entail an intention, i.e., a purpose. Once the goals are set, it becomes easier to gauge the direction you’re moving in.

A directionless strategy might catch a few stray prospects here and there in the long term. It’s ineffective. So, build a roadmap and outline what you want your content to do – close sales or inform?

Accordingly, your own goals can help underscore the kind of content you should focus on.

Consider different channels and formats.

Marketing has had one motto, and in all these years, it has remained constant – experimentation. It’s applicable to content formats and your campaign channels.

It might be perceived as a ‘let’s see what sticks’ formula, but it isn’t.

Experimentation is about diving into innovation without the fear of failure. Not all channels you first camp on will offer the same outcomes – some might work, while others mightn’t. The same applies to various content formats.

Your ICP might interact highly with some, while others may fall flat. But you wouldn’t know this unless you experiment. Think out of the box.

Customers want unique content and to be caught off-guard – how can your marketing team offer this to them? Deliver your story (content) in the relevant box (format) through the right medium (channel) to maximize its impact.

Even if you fail, remember you can rethink your strategies and trace your initial steps. Your content marketing metrics will spotlight your missteps from the get-go, a crucial advantage.

Content Performance Metrics: The Goldmine Beyond Datasets

Measuring the performance of your content marketing efforts can be daunting. It’s like opening a can of worms or being uncertain about the number of potholes you’ll encounter.

But marketing offers you the space to learn and grow.

It’s limiting to underscore marketing as a chore. Instead, it should function as your business’s extension in overcoming its pain points – whether it’s lead generation or building brand equity.

By tracking and analyzing content performance metrics, you’re allowing your team to pinpoint its gaps – why is your marketing campaign not generating the expected results? And how to overcome similar dilemmas.

The right content performance metrics open up a treasure box – a roadmap for how your campaigns generate better results without the need to multiply efforts.

Content-Marketing-ROI
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Content Marketing ROI to Assess Impact Accurately

Content Marketing ROI to Assess Impact Accurately

Shrinking marketing budgets have led to higher expectations. The strategic solution? Move away from the vanity metrics to spotlight the actionable ones.

Today’s market is utterly fast-paced. Buyers demand more, and businesses stitch new ways to catch up. And even if they do, it’s not the end.

Marketing, once transactional, has made a transformational leap to being relational. But has customer-centricity ended at personalization and value addition? Not quite.

It’s become crucial for marketing to get every tidbit right, from strategy to execution. Businesses desperate to repair their strategic ruptures and keep up are investing in updating their old playbooks.

But investment doesn’t equal impact – it’s an age-old story.

Marketers fail at bridging content marketing’s value with business objectives. In simple terms, B2B marketers invest a copious amount of time and resources into content marketing, often failing to show how it impacts their revenue or pipeline.

This strategic disconnect between content’s performance and business goals has made it complex to justify the spend, let alone the content marketing ROI.

So, it’s become paramount for businesses to track whether their investments are actually worth it. The content marketing landscape is all too familiar with this dilemma.

How can you prove to your CEOs and other stakeholders that investing in content actually works? An efficient solution to navigating this pushback and doubt starts from the basics.

What Is Content Marketing ROI?

B2B Content Marketing ROI by Industry

Investing in content marketing means playing the long game. But what if your marketing team can’t showcase the results of this investment and procure initial buy-in? According to recent statistics, 65% of marketers can’t.

It’s truly about finding the relevant measuring methodology for your content, starting with content marketing ROI.

Content marketing ROI is simply the percentage that demonstrates the revenue generated (the earn-back) compared to how much the business spent on its marketing efforts. It calculates the efficiency and effectiveness of your content marketing campaigns.

Why is measuring content marketing ROI vital?

This performance metric is crucial for businesses to understand the extent to which their content is making waves – generating revenue, and the like. Calculating website traffic and engagement doesn’t correspond with the spend, and their weight is significant in capturing demand, but it doesn’t justify the entire investment. The total investment into content marketing includes production, management, licensing, distribution, strategy management, and relevant software/tools.

These make it crucial to illustrate whether your content assets are actually moving the needle, i.e., converting prospects into active buyers.

Content marketing ROI plays an integral role here.

It assesses and offers tangible numbers to spotlight the impact generated through targeted campaigns and individual content assets such as blogs, email newsletters, and social media campaigns.

And the benefit of calculating content marketing ROI is that it can highlight qualitative and quantitative factors. Beyond the numbers, it also helps demonstrate how your content pieces are fairing to build customer loyalty, capture leads, and elevate brand awareness.

In short, your content marketing ROI is tangible proof to justify the overall marketing budget allocation. Because CMOs are asked to do more with less.

Marketing faces the biggest budget cuts. A 2024 Gartner report illustrated how the department has faced a 15% year-over-year decline in average marketing budget. And in 2024, it was attributed only 7.7% of the company’s revenue.

Why is this the case?

We have come full circle here. Marketing is perceived as a cost center. And with narrower budgets, there’s more pressure on teams to showcase quantifiable outcomes.

So, the vitality of content marketing ROI.

It’s easier to make informed decisions with clear metrics like which marketing channel is bringing in the profit, and which needs an upgrade.

This way, your content marketing team doesn’t spend unnecessary time churning out assets that don’t really influence the leads or build your brand. To do so effectively, it’s primarily significant to outline how to measure content marketing ROI.

How Should You Measure Content Marketing ROI To Assess Impact on the Bottom Line?

To measure real impact, marketers need to transcend the soft metrics and focus on what actually matters- the bottom line.

How to Calculate Content Marketing ROI

So, the commonplace formula for measuring content marketing ROI establishes a direct correlation between content marketing efforts and an increase in sales or revenue.

  • Content Marketing ROI = (Revenue – total investment/total investment)/100

Revenue is at the core of every business function – it’s the final boss. Hence, the traditional content marketing ROI formula centers on business revenue.

Although it is important, this formula is a bit constricting. It takes months for leads to convert into sales opportunities. And without these sales, it’s ascertained that the final metrics would again fail to prove how investing in content marketing has moved the needle.

The need for an upgrade in the traditional ROI formula

There are other stages in your buyer’s journey where content illustrates substantial impact, especially in helping leads progress down the funnel.

It may take months to prove whether your content production and the relevant nitty-gritty have a fundamental role in revenue generation. But you can still demonstrate how it affects your pipeline.

Content impacts the deal velocity and lead volume, and is crucial to focus on.

Marketers require a much-needed upgrade in this formula – one that entails precision. This change is requisite because B2B customer journeys are rarely linear and straightforward.

Amidst the 95% of buying committees that make tech purchases, a whopping 49% of them don’t even speak to sales reps. They rely on the content assets available at the different digital touchpoints to finalize their decisions.

So, rather than the traditional formula, curate a more sophisticated one that allows you to measure different stats to build a more accurate picture of your business performance. It must be based on the Content marketing KPIs that matter to you, not what your competitors are following.

It’s true that industry benchmarks significantly matter, but don’t lose sight of what is relevant to your brand and your customers. Owing to this, it’s better to underline your own system that traces the KPIs you want.

5 Effective Strategies to Improve Your Content Marketing ROI

Each content type has its own set of metrics to consider.

You don’t need to focus on all available metrics to calculate performance, but on the right strategies that augment your existing capabilities. And improve your ROI.

The pivotal ones you can begin with are:

1. Ascertain that the set KPIs align with the overarching business goals.

First, underline the fundamental goal of your campaign and the channels you’ll leverage. They significantly impact the metrics you’re required to measure.

For example, if your priorities are sales and revenue, track the customer journey from awareness to conversion. As the lead progresses down the funnel, focus on every micro-conversion and assign it a tangible value.

2. Focus on the actionable metrics that provide you with tangible insights.

This will help you underscore what to optimize over time. Move away from misleading vanity metrics such as web traffic or CTRs.

Do all the 10k website visitors convert into your buyers? No. Views and traffic don’t demonstrate interest or value.

The relevant metrics are the ones that enable your marketing team to act. They don’t just look impressive on paper, but actually delve into what drives prospects to close deals with your brand.

3. Audit your authority and keyword rankings.

How your ICP perceives your brand is a crucial metric to study, i.e., your authority. It might be complex to track, but if you do it correctly, this metric can help supplement your efforts to improve the ROI.

Tracking your authority means auditing the number and quality of inbound links added to the brand’s social media mentions.

What do these illustrate? Whether your brand authority and awareness are growing.

The same goes for keyword rankings. Analyzing SEO metrics helps you monitor the impact of your blogs. When carried out effectively, your blogs should boost your domain’s SERP and elevate your ranking. In tangible terms, this signifies more organic traffic for your website.

But to get a clear picture of whether you’re doing content marketing right, pair SEO metrics with conversion rates. It will give you a clearer view of whether your marketing team is:

  • Leveraging the right keywords
  • Truly reaching your target audience
  • Influencing leads’ journey through the funnel

4. Merge brand value into the metric mix.

Brand value is considered less significant in measuring success. And is often perceived as an intangible or fluffy aspect of a business.

It’s true that brand building takes time, patience, and consistency. But when paired with content, it functions as a multiplier.

But savvy marketers who have learned how to catch up with changing marketing dynamics know this is untrue. A strong brand ensures your prospects are warm, informed, and already leaning towards purchasing your solutions. This results in shortened sales cycles and improved conversion rates – two factors directly affecting revenue.

A strong brand identity attracts the most relevant leads (that fit your ICP) and pays off in the long term. Growing market recognition means you invest less in paid channels because your prospects are actively searching for you.

This results in compounding ROI, enhancing the value of all your content pieces, rather than just the latest ones.

5. Track the performance of the sales enablement assets.

Your sales teams utilize these content pieces to drive conversion. These aren’t blogs or LinkedIn posts.

These pieces are part of sales enablement directly offered to a potential client at the BOFU stage. They help prospective buyers to finalize their purchasing decisions. Think of one-pagers, proposals, objection-handling decks, among others, that are built by marketing and leveraged by sales.

What makes the sales enablement content vital is its direct involvement in sales deals, from a case study that can build trust to a one-pager highlighting the pricing model that accelerates negotiation.

If your sales enablement content is helping convert leads into opportunities, you’re looking at real and tangible impact – one that should be tracked and optimized.

Content Marketing ROI Is More Than Just Following a Formula.

This is what actually matters to accurately measure the success of your content marketing efforts – impact on the bottom line.

Measuring the ROI is just a means to convert the said impact into understandable terms. But in practice, it’s not a piece of cake. Its multifaceted-ness really puts a schism into the entire process.

“Sometimes, there are still gaps in the data where it’s just impossible to see the immediate impact of certain metrics on core objectives.”

– asserts Google’s VP of Large Customer Solutions.

The real game changer is knowing which metrics to actually track and using this knowledge to execute the right strategies. Content marketing ROI cannot prove your brand’s success and growth to the decimal, but it can help it grow and revamp.

Tracking your content marketing ROI is really just about highlighting the blind spots in your efforts and improving on what’s not working for you – setting you on the right track for the long term.

Content Marketing Trends: Where's It Headed?
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Content Marketing Trends: Where’s It Headed?

Content Marketing Trends: Where’s It Headed?

AI has become the guiding wheel of content marketing in 2025. How have these advanced tools revamped the old content playbooks?

The endless waves of market disruptions and tech innovations have sent the B2B landscape into a frenzy. Things aren’t what they were before. And neither is content marketing.

With the advent of advanced tools and software, it’s presumed that AI can reshape marketing’s basic approach to generating content. Prompts with relevant keywords and outlines are used to churn out mainstream content that recycles the same message.

There’s a missing factor – one that could help brands stand out.

It’s the human touch that elevates a content’s impact, translating it into a tangible outcome. Most content falls flat without the creativity and edge only human writers can distil.

So, marketers moved away from channeling all of AI’s prowess towards content creation.

It currently functions more as an enabler in augmenting content marketing capabilities – with a suitable balance between creativity and innovation.

Content marketing today: The conundrum and the solution

In B2B marketing, there’s an (over)abundance of content, but all of it’s meant to drive different goals. In all honesty, while marketers focus on the nitty-gritty, they often fail to acknowledge this distinction. Not all marketing content can be promoted in the same way.

It’s straightforward because this is what content marketing is about, but marketing teams are lost in a maze. What do they prioritize – Quality over quantity? Content creation over execution? Searchability over creativity? The nuances are countless, especially when content performance metrics blur the lines between success and noise.

But suffice it to say, modern marketers are gradually realizing this – the difference in content and its marketing. This is their Eureka moment.

It’s also gradually shifting content marketing’s once static role in B2B.

B2B content marketing has run off this perception. It’s no longer about writing blog posts, case studies, and whitepapers – a machine churning out content to gain organic traction.

Today, it’s mainly driven by personalization, intent, data analytics, AI, automation, and the intricacies of customer behavior.

These components are changing the game for content marketers. Because across the digital landscape, these strategies matter in building targeted and tailored messages that result in maximum impact.

Given the current market conditions, content marketing has shifted towards offering immersive experiences. This, in return, has helped content marketing evolve from recycling the same old tactics to become more sustainable in the long run.

It’s not run as an isolated strategy as before, but is bound strategically with other marketing functions, especially SEO.

The future of content marketing looks quite bright – interactive experiences, long-form storytelling, podcasts, and video-focused marketing, among others.

And this is not merely a fluke to align with the latest trends.

With content marketing going through a much-needed transformation, the goals are the same: customer engagement and retention, lead nurturing, and consistent revenue growth. Marketers are curious – with content marketing being such a cost-effective channel from TOFU to BOFU, does it have any future?

The audience is already undergoing content fatigue. So, its potential has dimmed quite a bit. But its significance stayed the same.

Without content marketing, there’s a massive gap no other can fill. How else do you promote your brand’s story in the most effective and cost-efficient way possible?

The future of content marketing: Three ways it has changed (and continues to)

1. Use of Artificial Intelligence

The first directive that content marketing will surely take is a deep dive into mapping AI-driven strategies. It’s not just the future; we are halfway there.

AI has drastically transformed the way businesses leverage content marketing. While some have dipped their toes too far into the marshland, others are still debating how to leverage AI without losing the human touch.

It’s now easier to expand on your original ideas, analyze customer data, and deliver personalized experiences as they want. Saving time and increased efficiency have become the buzzwords of this AI-driven marketing landscape. And this is what content marketing paired with AI is promising its audience.

What about AI-generated content – will it make the final cut?

Generative AI is all the buzz currently. While its present capabilities are doubtful, its long-term promises hold a certain allure. From Microsoft to Alphabet, the rumors are that the tech giants could be making major improvements to their models, especially for graphic designers, copywriters, and coders.

However, for B2B content marketers, this hasn’t really posed a challenge.

AI-generated content has become too mainstream, so marketers aren’t leaning towards that anymore. But they are taking a different road – one that fits audience preferences.

With marketing pairing AI-centric insights with content marketing, they have developed a balance. Marketers wish to foster impact while keeping efficiency and creativity within the same circle. So, AI is doing the heavy lifting while it’s the role of marketers to instill authenticity and brand voice correctly.

Adopting AI doesn’t mean their content becomes highly mechanized – the human touch continues to take precedence while developing content.

Whilst not entirely used for generating content, AI has afforded scalability and speed to traditional content marketing techniques. More than a writer, it’s used as an assistant to optimize content, build email sequences, and come up with dynamic blog content.

2. Interactive and Personalized Content

In this age of snackable and digital content flooding the market, ask yourself – are static PDFs enough to keep your leads occupied? It might not always keep them engaged.

Content marketing has since then moved to interactive and personalized content, one that actually appeals to B2B audiences. From quizzes and polls to infographics, graphically compelling content is taking over. And for good reason.

Gone are the days of a one-size-fits-all approach. Content marketing has transcended the age of mere passive marketing assets to kick-starting dynamic conversations.

Interactive content isn’t merely about engaging leads, but informing leads on one hand, and engaging informed leads on the other. This creates a give-and-take relationship – you give your audience important information and gain information regarding them.

This is a win-win situation for both parties.

Your customers want a more interactive relationship with you. They aren’t passive actors but are gravely involved in the overall purchasing process. And interactive content only enhances their attention. When potential leads are asked to engage with a LinkedIn poll, it makes them feel involved with the brand.

And the result? Elevated dwelling time and brand visibility.

But immersive and interactive media isn’t just limited to polls and quizzes. It will be built into the experiences from the very start, especially with the help of AR, VR, and video.

Brands will focus more on the ability to connect – the value they provide to their customers.

So, there will be a substantial increase in the use of video content.

Generative AI has granted marketers a crucial tool to create even interactive videos. 73% of content marketers assert that video positively influences their marketing efforts. And rightfully so.

Video grabs attention and ensures the customer is engaged until the very end. But how will it remain a game changer in the age of more advanced tech?

From how-tos and behind-the-scenes to curating stories, video showcases the human angle. And it delivers a great user experience – whether short or long-form, pre-made or live, video has a specific ability to say what needs to be said.

This content type can leave a significant impression on B2B audiences without needing a separate production budget. From portraying a smiling CEO or a happy client to product visualization, video is a treasure trove to reach the right decision-makers.

Think about this: customers will try on products or have an immersive walkthrough through your sales pitch.

Marketing has always promised experiences, no less than anything fantastical. And with the help of tech, the industry is gradually getting there.

3. Creator-led Content: Search Has Changed

The increase in AI-generated content has pushed a single realization to the front – the value of human-creator content. While AI can mask the tone and research its content, there’s a huge hole – the human touch.

So, brands are partnering with human creators to tell authentic stories. This has spotlighted influencer marketing.

For young audiences, search is no longer synonymous with Google. While the tech giant has adapted to the marketing revolution, it’s not the only focus. Platforms like TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, and Reddit have become crucial touchpoints in a user’s buying journey.  

Because customers want first-hand experiences, possibly through community and voice. And this is what search is also gradually shifting towards.

Influencer marketing has already been a significant chunk of content marketing. But it’s merely the starting point. Brands are moving from just talking about experiences to authentic collaborations that echo across different segments.

In B2B, instilling this change might be demanding. But it’s not unlikely.

From B2B to B2C to D2C, at the heart of marketing is the need for trust and relevant experiences.

So, what better than leveraging personal and authentic voices to appease your buying committee?

In a landscape where decision-makers tend to be more risk-averse, B2B industry experts can pose as creators. Even behind the scenes of a B2B project development might prove vital for targeted business leaders who want transparency before investing in a brand’s services.

So, creator-led content would come to play an integral role in evolving B2B experiences. And search will no longer be limited to websites. In a world where chat-based discovery becomes the norm, creator-led content will surface.

And the brands repeatedly mentioned by reviewers, creators, and influencers could garner more presence – SERP visibility becomes multi-sourced and multi-formatted.

It will no longer be about traditional ranking methods. Brands will do so through thought-leader-led discussions, social crossovers, their own optimized content, and AI-overviews that cite reliable creators.

At the end of every query or problem, people want to hear from people, not brands.

Brand discovery will transcend relying on Google search to other (believed to be secondary) touchpoints. As Semrush reports, Google’s monopoly is slowly eroding – the tech powerhouse now owns about 84% share in search.

Your priority cannot merely be your website and SEO anymore. Think beyond the obvious and diversify your channels – not the basics. Marketing is mainly about taking the significant leap, so experiment with formats and start with creator-led content marketing.

This is where the future of search is headed (or is gradually seeping into).

The promise?

Hyper-personalization, multimodal discovery (more than just typed queries) managed by AI interfaces, and customers participating in active search through dynamic conversations.

But at the bottom of driving all these changes is one crucial facet – innovation.

Marketers move beyond following trends for content marketing to enter a new phase in its lifecycle.

Once a campaign gets all the flair, other brands rush to copy it. But all of it loses significance in weeks, let alone months. When it loses its spark, customers naturally tune it out.

Becoming part of a trend might be exciting, but its promises are only short-term. Customers don’t want to see the same campaign again and again. Every brand creates SEO blogs, whitepapers, eBooks, and social media posts – what is your brand doing differently to capture demand?

So, don’t just follow short-term trends, think outside the box, and create them. It sounds easy in theory. But every brand has a starting point – the first fundamental brick. Focus on developing a signature experience that no other brand can copy from and one that addresses your ICP’s unique pain points like no other.

The elevated adoption of emerging tech, complex customer behavior, and changing search has stressed modern marketers.

They are grasping at random threads to escape the tunnel. Marketing can feel the impact, but it’s only under the weight of their own unrealistic expectations. This has held marketers back more than they can afford to.

And the only solution has become accepting the long game.

It’s not merely about investing in loads of resources anymore, but the people. AI can replicate most content, but not the experiences and authenticity that only human voices can build.