B2B Marketers Focused on Content Creation, Lead Gen

September 19, 2012

This article is included in these additional categories:

B2B | Digital | Email | Paid Search | Search Engine Optimization | Social Media

B2B marketers are devoting a good deal of their work hours to content creation and management and lead generation, and the most successful lead generation marketers are especially focused on these activities, according to [download page] September 2012 report from Optify. Roughly 3 in 10 respondents spend more than 15 hours a week on content creation and management (the highest proportion for any of the activities listed), but self-identified “star performers” or “marketing athletes” (who meet or exceed their lead generation goals) are about 50% more likely to spend that amount of time than their less successful counterparts. And while 16.9% of the overall sample spends 15+ hours a week on lead generation, star performers are about twice as likely to do so than their counterparts.

Star performers make up 47% of the overall sample.

Star Performers Look to Offline Lead Gen Tactics

Of 7 lead generation tactics identified, star performers focus more of their time on every tactic but one, being pay-per-click (PPC). The tactic to which most star performers devote more than 15 hours per week or more is social media, followed by offline tactics, SEO, and PR. Relatively fewer spend that amount of time on email marketing, online advertising, and PPC.

Interestingly, star performers are about twice as likely as less successful B2B marketers to devote 15+ hours per week to offline tactics.

Most Confident in Social Media Expertise

Star performers rate themselves highly in their knowledge of multiple lead-generation tactics. The areas in which they rated themselves highest in expertise were: social media (42% claiming expert knowledge); offline tactics (34%); and email marketing & SEO (28%). The areas in which they rated themselves weakest (with little or no knowledge) were PPC (25%), online advertising (18%) and SEO (17%).

This perceived lack of knowledge of SEO when compared to social media is interesting, given August 2012 survey results from Webmarketing123, which found 59% of B2B marketers saying SEO is the digital channel with the biggest impact on their lead generation goals, compared to 21% citing social media. The relative disparity in knowledge may be more related to perceptions of complexity of the channels rather than the extent to which they contribute to marketing effectiveness.

About The Data: The survey polled more than 250 B2B marketers to determine years of marketing experience, level of expertise across various marketing channels, and amount of time spent planning, executing, and reporting on marketing campaigns. Among the 250+ respondents, 82% work at small to mid-sized businesses, and 57% occupy roles in marketing departments consisting of five or less full time employees. There was an even split between gender and age (under/over 30 years old).

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