Content Contemplations: How We Process Information & Why B2B Marketers Must Craft Content That Elevates
By Lane Ellis
How can B2B marketers craft content that elevates, and what role do our preferred digital formats play in making it happen?
Recent study data looking at content formats has deep implications when it comes to creating online experiences that will not only be noticed, but delight the senses while also answering our most important questions.
Let’s take a look at how we process information, and how written, static images, video, and audio can work cohesively to create B2B marketing content that elevates with hope and delights with hyper-relevant answers delivered at the right time.
1 — Brain Science & Marketing Content Preferences: Formats, Styles & Relevance
Understanding the human brain, with its exquisitely complex computational and filtering mechanisms, can go a long way towards learning the types of content that can perform the best in B2B marketing.
The digital online content we experience everyday is in essence simply information that our brains process — swiftly weeding out data that:
- Doesn’t catch our attention
- Isn’t relevant
- Goes against our life values
Content that passes these initial filters in our brains then begins a second phase, where greater focus is given to information. During this round of consideration, we look at:
- Does this answer a question I have?
- Can this be useful to me?
- Can it be helpful to others I know?
If your marketing passes muster during this crucial moment, people will take action by interacting with your content in ways that include:
- Visiting a link to learn more
- Bookmarking or saving a digital asset for sharing or further study
- Sending a message to get more information
Survey data from three annual reports can help us learn more about marketing content preferences.
The volume of requested B2B content consumption grew by over nine percent year-over-year from 2020 to 2021, with total demand expanding by over 33 percent, while the average time professionals used to consume content climbed to 33.3 hours— an increase of over three hours. (1)
More people are consuming more content, and spending more time processing and taking action on what they take the time to engage with.
Among corporate executives, content consumption rose by 15.8 percent in 2021. (1)
Some 31 percent of content topics came from the information technology category, followed by finance with just over nine percent, and human resources with 8.8 percent. (1)
If you’re a B2B marketer working in the IT sector, you face the inherent challenge of having more content competing with yours, making it even more important to craft content that stands out to even get your foot in the door.
Some 62 percent of marketers said they rely more on content when it comes to researching and making purchase decisions than they did a year ago. (2)
44 percent of marketers consumed between three and five pieces of content before engaging with sales, while some 32 percent said they felt overwhelmed at the sheer …read more
Source:: Top Rank Blog
