CMO Study Reveals Behavior Inside A Brand Remains Key To Content Sharing

Only 9% of CMOs view vendors as a trusted source for content. Third-party research, analyst reports and editorial content top the list of the most trusted sources, suggesting that some brands may need to rethink their content strategies.

A Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council study released Wednesday suggests that leading marketers should develop and deploy content that reaches consumers by analyzing the behavior and the buying patterns within their own organization.

The study, The Content Connection to Vendor Selection, done in partnership with NetLine, analyzes how circles of executives within a company share a piece of content, demonstrating how the sharing process flows from the C-suite to others on the team. It suggests that by measuring sharing paths within an organization, marketers can better determine how one piece of online content gets shared with others.

Knowing that sharing path -- similar to a purchase path -- will help marketers create better content, rather than just create a bunch of content that they hope will get shared. The custom Content Council estimates that B2B marketers invest an estimated $16.6 billion annually in dial content publishing and distribution, per the CMO Council.

Look at the flow of how content gets shared. About 6% of survey respondents fail to share content. Thirty-five percent of survey respondents said content sourcing and purchase decisions are driven at the executive level, but senior managers stay informed about how and why decisions are made. Some 30% said junior or mid-level managers source primary content and share with senior management, who then make the final decision on purchases. Senior management consumes the most content, about 29% of respondents said, sending information to those who report to them to identify products before making the purchase.

Web site content remains important, per the study, but 68% said they begin sourcing content at search engines and portals, 40% go to vendor Web sites, and 25% are prompted by emails from trusted sources or peers.

About 352 respondents took part in the online survey in January 2014. Representatives included 23% from companies with revenue of more than $1 billion annually, 10% from companies between $501 million and $1 billion; 32 % from companies between $50 million and $500 million, and 36% from companies with revenue less than $50 million.

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