While content marketing is now a common practice, many businesses still fail to measure the outcome of their programs, according to the results of a new B2B marketing survey from Curata.
The company’s second annual B2B Marketing Survey, conducted in October 2012, included more than 450 marketing professionals. This year, 82% of the respondents ranked content marketing as their most important objective, up from 78% last year. According to the survey, the three most common content marketing objectives include driving sales, establishing thought leadership and boosting brand awareness.
At the same time, the survey found that traditional marketing tactics continue to decline in popularity. The use of print, TV and radio advertising, for example, dropped from 32% of respondents last year to just 26% this year. In fact, according to Curata, content marketing was the only activity that gained in popularity compared to 2011.
In addition, the survey found that 43% of the respondents do not yet measure the outcome of their content marketing programs.
Pawan Deshpande, CEO and Founder of Curata, said marketers need to make measurement a top priority for their future content marketing efforts. “As our study confirms, the need for growth and development around measurement must be a central focus as the market matures. We are pleased to see that those who have been curating longer are finding their programs more successful, and believe that, with the right metrics in place, marketers will be able to further prove the value of their content marketing programs.”
