New research from NetLine’s 2022 State of B2B Content Consumption and Demand Report shows that B2B content consumption can be a strong predictor of purchase intent. In fact, the type of content a person consumes can even predict how soon they expect to make a purchase.
With this information, B2B cannabis marketers can better manage their content investments to ensure they’re creating the right types of content for people at various stages of the buyer journey.
B2B Content Consumption Aligns with Stage of the Marketing Funnel
NetLine’s researchers found that the type of B2B content a person downloads can be an indicator of when they intend to buy. As a result, marketers can align the types of content they produce with the stages of the marketing funnel.
Using this information, marketers can create a diverse portfolio of content to connect with prospects across all phases of the buyer journey – from not in the market all the way to ready to make a purchase decision.
The researchers divided the purchase timeline into four timeframes, and aligned content to each timeframe. Based on the data, the top five types of B2B content to send at each stage to meet demand are as follows:
0-3 Months Purchase Timeline
White papers
Articles
On-demand webinars
Reports
Research reports
Live webcasts (tied with reports and research reports)
3-6 Months Purchase Timeline
Live webcast
On-demand webinars
Articles
White papers
Ebooks
6-9 Months Purchase Timeline
On-demand webinars
Live webcasts
Guides
Ebooks
Articles
More than 12 Months Purchase Timeline
Tips and tricks guides
Cheat sheets
Reports
Research reports (tied with reports)
Ebooks
Digging into the data a bit deeper, the researchers found that there are some types of content that stand out at specific stages of the purchase timeline. For example, people who register for webinars are 29% more likely to make a purchase decision within six months than any other type of content while white paper registrations are considered to be a greater indicator that a user is in the late stage of the purchasing timeline than any other type of content.
The Volume and Quality of B2B Content Consumed Matters
NetLine found that overall B2B content consumption increased 33% in the past two years. In 2021, it grew by more than 9%, but C-Level consumption increased by 69.8%. In other words, the decision makers are actively looking for content and using it in their decision-making processes.
Marketers need to make sure they’re offering enough content to meet the growing demand. However, publishing more content isn’t enough. The content has to meet the quality and delivery demands of B2B consumers. Specifically, B2B buyers are looking for high quality content that is simple to consume.
On average, the data shows it took people 3.6 hours more to consume the content they requested in 2021 than it did in 2020. People are busy, and that’s a trend that won’t change soon. Therefore, marketers need to produce content that provides the right balance of simplicity and detail to meet demand without overwhelming the audience.
Interestingly, the majority of B2B content engagement happens on desktop computers according to NetLine’s research. Despite the growing use of mobile devices, the researchers found that desktop consumption accounted for 93% of B2B content engagement in 2021. For marketers, it’s still important to produce content that is mobile-friendly, but a mobile-first approach may not be necessary in the near-term when it comes to B2B content design and delivery.
An important thing to keep in mind as you develop content for your business is this – the more content people consume, the more likely they are to be closer to making a purchase decision. According to NetLine’s research, they’re not only more likely to buy, but they’re actually more likely to buy within the next 12 months.
Key Takeaways about B2B Content Consumption and Purchase Intent
Content is a critical part of today’s buyer journey and decision-making process. B2B buyers are in all roles and every industry, including the cannabis industry, are actively looking for content, and if your business doesn’t have content available to help them make a purchase decision, you can bet that your competitor will.
To ensure you don’t lose those sales, publish a variety of content to connect with people at all stages of the buyer journey so you can nurture and convert them over time. For example, you need to create tips and tricks guides and cheat sheets for people in the top of the marketing funnel based on the research findings and white papers, articles, and on-demand webinars for people in the bottom of the funnel who are in the final stage of the buyer journey.
In addition, publish more content than you’ve produced in the past, but don’t sacrifice quality for quantity. Finally, remember that people are consuming more B2B content than ever, and they want to get value from content immediately. Make sure your content is good, easy to consume, and gets to the point quickly.
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