Having access to the right market intelligence is essential for unlocking crucial information that will help you convert your target B2B buyers.
Our previous article Tech Buyer Insights 2021/22: What are the top challenges driving demand? took a deep dive into the biggest pain points faced by tech buyers moving into 2022.
However, while knowing the greatest pain points for today’s B2B tech buyers is important, turning this into actionable insight which can transform your content marketing strategy is vital if you wish to achieve real competitive advantage.
Our first party research provides timely insights into the main obstacles faced by today’s in-market tech buyers. This article aims to provide clarity on how these insights can be of significant value to B2B marketers in tech as they plan for 2022.
This article covers:
- First party insights into the most prominent challenges facing today’s tech buyers
- How you can apply these leading insights to your content marketing strategy as you plan for 2022
- How to utilize our research to create high performing content that will truly resonate with your optimal target buyers.
We’ve created three easy to digest planning templates to help guide your 2022 planning in the right direction. Read on to discover the biggest barriers to success for IT, Marketing and HR tech buyers and the key insights they deliver to help construct your winning content strategy…
Reading time: 5 minutes
What are the leading challenges facing IT tech buyers and how do these translate into content recommendations?
Our first party research reveals that the top challenges concerning IT professionals are Cloud Security (55%), Digital Technology Integration (49%), CI/CD Tools (43%), Data Protection (42%), Data Center Management (30%) and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), 28%. With remote working at an all-time high since the COVID-19 pandemic began, and looking to remain this way, it’s unsurprising that the areas of security and data protection are high on tech buyer agendas as we move into 2022.
Content which reflects the level of sophistication seen in these areas is vital to providing your target buyers the confidence they desire when considering new technologies to adopt. Cloud Security for example, is now an area under constant attack from cybercriminals for the vast amounts of sensitive data stored in clouds – only heightened with remote working. Buyers therefore need to feel that your tech solutions are of the highest complexity when dealing with the necessities of data security. You need to prove their capabilities, so consider explanatory videos to offer a deeper dive into exactly what research and software goes into making your offering that much better than your competitors.
Now to optimize: Key takeaways…
- Create a range of content in various formats, rather than relying on just one standard type which is unlikely to resonate with all of your audience
- Keep blog titles within the recommended 40-60 characters and blog content within 1,200-2,000 words
- The level of topic complexity can greatly determine the time invested in research, so ensure the content available reflects how long buyers will need before coming to a decision.
Marketing tech buyers: Top pain points and what these mean for your content strategy…
The overriding pressure points facing marketing tech buyers are Social Media (26%), Customer Relationship Management (CRM), 24% and Customer Loyalty (22%). With coronavirus lockdowns preventing face to face interaction for so long, it’s no wonder social media uptake rose drastically. In Q2 of 2021, marketers spent 49.9% more on Facebook and Instagram advertising compared to Q2 of 2020. It’s clearly an area on the rise for B2B marketers and therefore the coming year is the ideal time to create ample amounts of content around social media planning, strategy and analytics. Showcase your social media tools and software to confirm your position in this rapidly growing market and entice tech buyers further by demonstrating how your solutions integrate with marketing automation platforms to really boost performance.
When it comes to Customer Loyalty and CRM, both closely interlinked for the way they encourage customer retention, satisfaction and positive feedback when done well, highlighting the benefits of such solutions in your content is what will resonate with target buyers. A USP is a great way to differentiate your CRM platform from others in the market and this is what tech buyers will be looking for. It’s also a good idea to provide product demos so that they can see the positive results for themselves before making a decision.
Content optimization tips:
- As marketing tech buyers are more inclined to trust Executive Conferences/Events, ensuring that your presentations are of a high standard and provide solid reasoning of why your tech solution outshine all others is vital
- Focus on your blog readability score to boost performance – aim for between 60-70
- Tech content sites are the second most trusted source of research information, so create plenty of relevant press releases that these sites can pick up and share with your target audience.
How can the key obstacles faced by HR professionals inform your 2022 content planning?
The greatest areas of concern for HR tech buyers are Diversity and Inclusion (38%), Talent Management (33%), HR Management (30%) and Skills Gap (28%).
Content which can help guide effective HR and talent management is clearly highly sought after by HR professionals. Providing helpful planning templates, training ideas and plans, morale boosting tips and proven development schemes will therefore all be of great interest in the HR community. Consider the struggles that remote working can bring to the table when targeting your HR buyers, so focus on solutions that can alleviate the struggles of keeping staff engaged and motivated remotely.
Content optimization: Top learnings…
- Ensure blogs remain within the optimal length of 1,200-1,000 characters so that they rank as high as possible on search engines
- Provide a varied range of resources for HR tech buyers researching an average of 11-15 different sources of information in their decision making process
- Aim to reduce load time to under 0.5 seconds to prevent potential buyers from quickly leaving your site.
Final Thoughts
This article has demonstrated how you can apply our first party research insights to your own content marketing plan, to see a real difference in your content performance. 2022 planning just became that little bit easier with our handy tables detailing the key areas of consideration and what to incorporate into your content strategy, based on highly credible data from our Insights for Professionals (IFP) community.
By drilling down one step further to uncover what the key challenges faced by your optimal tech buyers mean for your content, B2B marketers and tech vendors across IT, Marketing and HR should now have a considerably better picture of how to reach and engage their target audience and gain a real competitive edge in doing so.
For further B2B Buyer insights, download our full research report: B2B Tech Buyer Behavior: Unique Insights for 2021/22
