B2B Content Marketing: Making Small Budgets Do Big Things

by Nick Nelson

The latest B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends Report found that 67% respondents are being asked to do more with the same resources compared to a year ago.

Many teams will keep being pressed to work under constraints in the coming year as economic uncertainty affects planning and budgets. In the latest CMO Survey, released in September, results showed that marketers “generally expect the growth of their marketing spending to slow or be flat in the coming year,” with waning optimism around the economic outlook likely a central factor.

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The most reliable way to drive marketing results is to (smartly) invest more. This can lead to more ambitious campaigns and more robust promotion, among other things. But when a big budget isn’t available, B2B marketers can still do big things.

Whether your company is facing a crunch and scaling back, or you’re a small business marketer looking to drive growth with limited resources, here are some tips for maximizing the bang for your buck in today’s environment.

5 Ways to Maximize the Impact of Your Marketing Budget
#1: Gain ground by investing in brand.
When under pressure to show the impact of marketing efforts, there’s a natural compulsion to lean into lower-funnel, sales activation campaigns aimed at quick wins. But research has shown that doing so at the expense of brand-building investment is misguided, for two reasons:

If your budget is down because of challenging economic conditions, there’s a good chance your buyer audience is also pulling back on spending. This means conversion-focused content is less likely to resonate and deliver ROI. Even the best lead gen ads won’t compel someone to make a purchase when they’re simply unable to do so.
Moreover, since many of your competitors are likely reducing brand investments during such times, there is a greater advantage to be gained by bucking that trend and tapping into the heightened opportunity. “The companies who don’t make knee-jerk reactions are positioned well to catapult out of tough times,” wrote Metadata.io’s Jason Widup recently, “because everyone around them is pulling back, which creates more space in the areas you’re advertising in to get in front of the right people at a lower cost.”
Marketing academic Peter Field explained this concept more thoroughly in a piece last

By: Nick Nelson
Title: B2B Content Marketing: Making Small Budgets Do Big Things
Sourced From: www.toprankblog.com/2022/10/b2b-content-marketing-makes-small-budgets-do-big-things/
Published Date: 10/24/22

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About the Author: Walter Acosta

Walter Acosta is a blogger. His primary interests are in digital marketing and content creation and curation.