A study conducted by the Content Marketing Institute about content marketing efforts in the computing and software industry presents interesting data on how technology marketers use different promotional techniques and their perceptions of the effectiveness for each.
Yet the report shows that marketers give middling ratings for the effectiveness of much of this content. As a possible reason for this rating, the report concludes that the content produced by tech companies is not matched to the different information needs of buyers at different stages of their decision cycle.
That's a good point, however, the report doesn't offer any ideas or resources for how to make that match. For those ideas, look to the following surveys of buyers for a broad range of IT products:
- Eccolo Media 2010 B2B Technology Collateral Survey Report: Includes clear and helpful data on the use of different types of print and multimedia collateral during the buying process.
- Tech Target Global IT Buyer Media Consumption Report: Focuses on the differences in information access and preferences in different parts of of the world; valuable insights for reaching prospects in key technology markets outside of North America.
Additionally, my book Copywriting That Sells High-Tech describes a typical buying cycle for technology products and suggests materials for each stage.
Has your company made this analysis? If so, how has it influenced your decisions about which types of marketing content you produce, and how you promote and distribute it?
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