Most marketers rate the overall success of their content marketing strategy as “somewhat successful,” according to a new report [pdf] from Ascend2 and its research partners. The top challenge they’re having to their success is improving content engagement, per the survey results.
Interactive content can have a variety of benefits in customer engagement strategies. Delving into interactive content, the Ascend2 research finds that interactive emails are considered effective by the largest proportion of marketers, slightly ahead of interactive videos and live streaming.
There’s then a drop-off to other forms of interactive content such as polls/quizzes and interactive infographics, with fewer still feeling that calculators/measurement tools and games are effective.
It should be noted that the study surveyed marketers across both B2B and B2C (weighted more to B2C), and it’s possible that separating these groups would show that some types are more effective for B2B marketers versus B2C, and vice versa. (For example, among B2B marketers, online calculators are an important element of how go-to-market strategies are evolving to support increasing buyer preferences for “self-service.”)
The Ascend2 survey also asked respondents which types of interactive content are most difficult to execute, finding that interactive videos/live streaming and interactive infographics topped this list, while interactive emails and polls/quizzes are comparatively easier.
Putting the results together, the findings suggest that interactive emails are a good bet, as they’re not only perceived to the most effective, but also among the easiest to execute. Polls and quizzes also fall under this category, whereas interactive e-books/white-papers/research as well as games are perceived to be more difficult than effective.
In other results from the report:
- A majority (56%) of respondents either rarely (28%) or never (28%) use gated content.
- Even so, a slight majority (53%) believe that gated content impacts engagement either very (14%) or somewhat (39%) positively.
- The barriers to content success cited by the fewest respondents were organizing/managing content assets and allocating adequate budget.
- Three metrics stood out as being perceived to be the best to use when measuring content engagement: social media likes, shares, and replies; conversion rate; and email signups.
About the Data: The results are based on a September survey of 346 marketers targeting B2C (51% share), B2B (26%) and B2B and B2C equally (23%). Some 66% work at companies with at least 50 employees.
