B2B Content Marketing Trends in 2022

Updated October 19, 2022

Fueling Growth with Content

In the modern era, consumers don’t have time to be simply “sold to” any longer. They’re hit with traditional advertisements from virtually all angles, every minute of the day – they’ve gotten incredibly effective at tuning it all out. This is especially true in the B2B world, which is arguably more saturated than B2C.

That is why we highlight the importance of content marketing. Content is still king – it allows you to establish a deeper and more meaningful connection, all to take a possible one-time buyer and turn them into a loyal brand advocate.

B2B Content Marketing Statistics

According to one recent survey, making a strategic investment in content marketing is at the top of many CMO’s priority lists. 43% of people say that spending in 2021 was higher to that end than the year before, and 66% of respondents expected another increase in 2022 as well. In fact, one out of five said that their increase would be almost 10%.

Investing in Content Marketing

Of course, success in content marketing requires you to spend money wisely. According to the Content Marketing Institute, here is how these marketing dollars are often being allocated in the B2B world:

• About 69% of the budget is allocated to video, on average.
• 61% in certain industries is being spent on events – including digital, in-person, and hybrid.
• 57% is going into owned media assets.
• 55% is going to paid media.
• Webinars and online courses have also become very popular in recent years.

9 B2B Content Marketing Trends for 2022

1. Digital Events are a Popular Topic

Digital events have become popular in recent years, especially given everything going on in the world right now with the COVID-19 pandemic. Ideas can include webinars, which give organizations a chance to speak to a technical audience in great detail. Additionally, you then get to use transcripts and recordings to create new gated content moving forward.

2. Content Marketing Budget is on the Rise

Another trend to note is that content marketing budgets are steadily increasing. This is true in terms of the use of content marketing platforms, tools like artificial intelligence and others that aid with optimization, and the use of both in-house and outsourced writers.

3. AR Content (Augmented Reality)

According to one recent study published by Gartner, it is predicted that by as soon as 2023, a full 60% of organizations that have started virtual events will begin integrating augmented reality elements into the marketing experience. Remember that even in the B2B space. These real-time/real space experiential elements create a deeper level of immersion for people than ever before, leading to a far deeper connection as well.

4. End-to-End Customer Experience

One of the most crucial Business-to-business content trends has to do with creating an authentic end-to-end customer experience. Some have even started using Ai to predict and analyze customer behavior. Start creating content for onboarding your customers like informational blogs and newsletters. That means having content ready to train your buyers like eBooks, videos, and more.

That also means having content designed for the specific purpose of customer retention – including things like data, case studies, and testimonials.

5. Data & Empathy Imbued in Content Development

Another recent study conducted by the Content Marketing Institute revealed that marketers found that increasing empathy towards their audience made them more receptive.

Therefore, expect to see more of an emphasis on empathy and less on the hard-selling of yesteryear. Simply be helpful, provide valuable information and demonstrate what you bring to the table, and you will go far.

6. Digital new Frontiers: Video Content Marketing in B2B

One recent Hubspot survey revealed that 86% of organizations now use videos as a marketing tool. 87% of those businesses report that video has a positive return on investment. Therefore, expect to see an even bigger emphasis on video in the near future.

7. Interactive Content Marketing

Techniques that fall into this category include LIVE chat assistants on websites, chatbots for situations where the aforementioned is unavailable, and even surveys and polls to further increase engagement.

8. B2B Podcasts

A study from Statista reports that about 41% of the entire United States population listens to podcasts every month. In B2B podcasts, try to focus on questions and answer sessions or anything that lends itself to the panel discussion format.

9. Content Atomization

Here, you’re essentially taking one broad theme and breaking it down into a series of smaller, more focused, and more strategically driven elements. Breaking up content like this is also an excellent way for companies and content marketers to track micro-conversions.

Measuring Content Marketing: Return on Investment

All told, you need to calculate how much you’re spending to produce the content you’re putting out into the world. That includes money spent paying designers, writers, and other professionals. Once you do that, you can figure out how much your organization has made in return for that investment – which can be a great way to see what is working and, more importantly, what isn’t.

Ready to Plan Out Your 2022 Content Marketing Strategy?

Are you ready to plan your 2022 content marketing strategy? Spectrum Group Online is here to help. Our content marketing services are second-to-none, and we encourage you to contact us today so that we can find out what we can do to help.

Looking for up-to-date information on digital marketing? Our newest post on Digital Marketing Trends for 2023 and Content Marketing Trends for 2023 is up and ready for you.