• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer, December 5, 2012

According to new research from Marketing Profs and the Content Marketing Institute, 86% of B2C marketers in North America are using content marketing, employing 12 individual tactics on average. But B2C content marketers are struggling with the effectiveness of their content marketing, says the report.

Highlights of the "B2C Content Marketing: 2013 Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends—North America" study include:

• B2B marketers use social media more often than their B2C counterparts. However, B2C marketers consider it more effective
• On average, B2C marketers use four social media platforms, compared with the five used by B2B marketers.
• On average, 28% of B2C marketing budgets are allocated to content marketing, and 55% of consumer marketers plan to increase their content marketing spend

In general, the larger the B2C company, the more tactics used. Companies with 10,000 or more employees use an average of 16 tactics, whereas the smallest companies use an average of 10. Compared with their B2B counterparts, B2C marketers use more mobile content, mobile apps, print magazines, and print newsletters; however, B2C marketers use far fewer case studies, whitepapers, webinars/webcasts, and research reports.

Lack of budget is the challenge most cited by B2C content marketers: 52% (vs. 39% of B2B content marketers). Nearly an equal proportion cite producing enough content (51%) and producing the kind of content that engages (49%) as challenges they face.

The Top 3 biggestchallenges cited by B2C Marketers are:

• B2C marketers said lack of budget is their biggest challenge (vs. 14% of B2B marketers).
• 15% said producing enough content is their biggest challenge (vs. 15% of B2B marketers).
• 15% said producing the kind of content that engages is their biggest challenge (vs. 18% of B2B marketers).

B2C marketers and B2B marketer agree on the primacy of in-person events as a content marketing tactic: 62% of B2c marketers say it's an effective tactic, as do 67% of B2B marketers. More B2C marketers than B2B marketers rank social media as "effective" or "very effective": 57% of B2C marketers vs. 49% of B2B marketers.

More B2C marketers than B2B marketers rank print materials (magazines as well as newsletters) as "effective" or "very effective": 51% of B2C marketers vs. 34% of B2B marketers for print magazines, and 42% of B2C marketers vs. 28% of B2B marketers for print newsletters.

The average share of marketing budget spent on B2C content marketing is 28% (on average, B2B marketers allocate a bit more: 33%). 55% of B2C marketers say they will increase their content marketing spend over the next 12 months.

B2C marketers use an average of four social media sites to distribute content, whereas B2B marketers use an average of five. B2C marketers most often use Facebook, whereas B2B marketers most often use LinkedIn.

Concluding, the report says the most effective B2C content marketers:

• Spend a higher percentage of their marketing budget on content marketing
• Use more tactics and distribute content on more social networks
• Tailor content to specific profiles/personas more frequently
• Are far less challenged in terms of producing engaging content
• Are less challenged with lack of buy-in/vision from higher-ups

For more information about the study from CMI, please visit here.