Why Every B2B Needs a Blog [Statistics]

Feb 2016

Why Every B2B Needs a Blog [Statistics] Lately I’ve noticed a curious trend in inquiries I get from companies seeking our blogging services.

Not only are they all B2B businesses — they’re all coming from niche B2B industries that I would never have pegged as would-be bloggers.

But lo, these marketers are ready to open up their budgets and devote real resources to developing a powerful, audience-focused blog. Why is that … and why now?

I believe we can find some answers in Content Marketing Institute’s report B2B Content Marketing: 2016 Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends—North America.

Every year, CMI surveys thousands of B2B marketers around the globe to find out how content marketing fits into their strategies. This year’s report includes some compelling numbers that show just what a big deal blogging has become in the B2B world:

88 percent of B2B marketers use content marketing (tweet this)

Why this matters: Many B2B marketers didn’t give a hang about content marketing … until they saw what their competitors were doing. Even folks who were the undisputed market leaders in their niche have seen the writing on the wall and taken action.

Question to consider: Put 100 B2B marketers in a room and 88 percent of them will be engaged in content marketing, which means many of them will be blogging. What are the odds that at least one of your competitors would be in that group … and how much longer can you afford to ignore them?

81 percent of those B2B content marketers are blogging (tweet this)

Why this matters: According to CMI’s survey, blogging is the third most popular B2B content marketing activity, ranking behind only social media and case studies. Clearly blogging has emerged from the “nice to have” back burner as more and more marketers recognize its power in generating traffic — and business.

I’d be willing to bet that not all of those 81-percenters are newbie bloggers either. Some of them have probably been at this blogging thing for a while. They’ve had time to get better at it … and they’ve had time to build up a solid audience.

Question to consider: If you still don’t have a blog for your B2B brand, chances are you’re falling behind at least one or two of your competitors. Will 2016 be the year you start to make some headway … or let that gap get even wider?

Ready to take your own B2B blogging skills to the next level?

Download our free e-book Ninja Secrets of B2B Blogging today.

B2B marketers expect to do more content marketing – and spend more money on it — in 2016

Why this matters: Just how much content are these folks producing? Well, whatever they did in 2015, 76 percent expect to do more this year … and 51 percent say they will be increasing their content marketing budgets. (tweet this)

Of course, this number represents companies’ overall content marketing budget, but we would be remiss if we didn’t consider the likelihood that at least part of that increase will go towards the blog. Towards better tools. Towards better graphics. Towards dedicated writers, editors, and other resources that will help them make their blogs even better.

Question to consider: B2B marketers are not only on board with content marketing, including blogging — they’re doing more of it and devoting more resources. Would you rather be taking the first baby steps on your own journey to blogging greatness … or leave it on the back burner for another year?

A final word about B2B blogging

Sometimes when I bring up blogging to prospective clients, I hear a lot of groaning about how long it takes for a blog to gain traction and generate real results. And I agree — it takes time. The question I ask them is this:

“One year from now, you can either be starting to see some solid results from your blog … or you can be starting from square one. Where would you rather be?”

Monday Marketing Mojo: One thing you must know about B2B blogging

Want to learn more about B2B blogging? Download your free gift, Ninja Secrets of B2B Blogging, at b2bbloggingebook.com.

About the Author

A self-described geek who can recite entire episodes of South Park by heart, Rachel Parker has had a passion for content ever since she was old enough to hold a crayon (purple, please).

As Founder and CEO of Resonance, Rachel helps businesses publish content that connects with their audience … and converts those followers into customers. She’s also the host of the Content Marketing Podcast and a sought-after speaker, having presented to many major business and marketing organizations. To learn more, download our complimentary audio 5 Things You Must Know About Content Marketing.

Our Clients Are Saying

Increased website traffic, New Lead Generation

We were experiencing a lack of internal resources to consistently maintain the Ustream blog. So we turned to Resonance Content Marketing to write blog posts on current industry topics while maintaining a consistent tone with the brand. The result is increased website traffic, new lead generation from gated assets on blog, and better educated/qualified leads. And I now have more time to spend on marketing strategy with the confidence that the content we push out is extremely well written and engaging.

Rachel is an amazing writer and has really managed to create engaging and relevant blog material on topics that aren’t always super interesting. On many occasions, she has been able to quickly turn around one-off requests and the results are always top-notch. She has also helped guide our content strategy based on her expertise in content marketing, which has been a huge asset to our team.
Increased our likes and interaction rates

Working with Rachel was a delight. Not only does she communicate very well, but she provided valuable insight about our social media platforms and followers. We have much better engagement with our fans and followers, which increased our likes and interaction rates.
Professionalism and Sincere Desire to Help

I just didn’t seem to be able to find the time or the right words to explain what I offer and how my company helps people accomplish their goals. Rachel was able to ask me some questions, do some research and capture my voice while writing my website copy exactly as I needed it to be written. Now, the copy on my website is much more professional than what I would have created and having this task handled by Rachel and Resonance freed up my time to complete other tasks I am better suited to do.

It was a joy to work with Rachel. Her professionalism and sincere desire to help was apparent from the first communication until the final delivery. I will definitely use Resonance again and highly recommend their services.
Produced ROI Result

Form.io needed someone who could grasp the complexities of our product, capture the subtlety of our differentiating value propositions, and convey them in the right voice for an exacting customer audience…. Resonance delivered, by crafting a multi-faceted online content marketing strategy that drove traffic and conversion, producing the ROI result we were looking for….
Event Sold Out Two Years In A Row!

Rachel worked with me on creating a content marketing calendar and content for the Big Social Media Summit (Big SMS) three years in a row. She is very organized and knows just the right amount of posts on social, email newsletters and content to send. Her content marketing efforts helping us sell out our event three years in a row! I am expecting the same for October 2014.

Rachel was hired to write content for our email newsletter and content for our social platforms. In addition, she had a budget to do advertising on social media. She participated in the event live and after the fact to assure buzz was created before, during and after the event. As a result, our event sold out.

When I work with Rachel, I have total peace of mind. I know that she is on target, on time, reliable and delivers over and above the results I expect.

I trust Rachel totally with her ideas on strategy, marketing and the content used to not only promote our events, but also post on my behalf on social networks. I have been doing social media for 8 years, and I hire Resonance to post on some of my social sites as it saves me time, and keeps my social sites relevant and current. They always post great, engaging content that gets my social properties likes, comments and shares.
Added 5 figures to my business in less than 4 weeks

Rachel took the overwhelm and stress out of writing content for my marketing campaign! When I approached Rachel, I was really concerned that I wouldn’t have the time to focus on writing copy for a lengthy marketing campaign that included sales pages, solo emails, newsletters and social media updates. Well, let’s just say I’m glad I hired Rachel because I couldn’t have done it without her support and expertise. I loved how she used my voice and words to craft content that helped me reach and attract my ideal client. As a result of working with Rachel, I added 5 figures to my business in less than 4 weeks, hundreds of new social media followers and exceeded my sales and list building goals! You know your marketing copy is working when you hear someone say, “I see you everywhere”. Thank you Rachel for helping me not only get seen by my ideal clients but get paid!
Social Media Ranking Better Than Ever!

We are so happy to have hired Resonance for our social media needs. We spend most of our time serving our clients and studying our field so we can provide the highest quality possible. We no longer worry about our social media, as we have total confidence in the wonderful work Rachel and her team have accomplished.

Our social media is active, promoted, and is ranking better than ever! People often comment about what they see on our Facebook page. Resonance has added a creative, and artistic twist to our social media that is appealing and captivating to our audience. This has allowed me more time to work with my team and clients, so I can focus on service towards the people that help our business grow.

I know there will be wonderful content on Facebook, and that Rachel will answer to posts, comments and questions as soon as a comment arrives. I am often impressed at how quickly she responds! Thank you Resonance! I highly endorse Resonance and encourage companies who need social media strategies to work with Resonance! You won’t regret it!
One of the best “vendor” relationships I’ve ever had.

My company had little or no time to spend on social media. Our needs were to ensure a steady stream of posts across three platforms (Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter) by harvesting and re-purposing content from our own site and news streams. So I contacted Rachel Parker of Resonance Content Marketing.

The result was two-fold. Not only did our ranks of followers grew steadily, the steady drip, drip, drip of content helped us train our personnel and direct their own individual social media efforts.

Rachel and her team are extremely organized and open to discussion and new ideas. They deliver a rapid response to new opportunities — and an overall feeling of being on the same team. One of the best “vendor” relationships I’ve ever had.