The Content Marketing Institute’s 12th Annual B2B Content Marketing report gives valuable insights for 2022. One such insight is that the COVID-19 pandemic woke a sleeping giant: content marketing.

The reality is that everyone is creating content. However, a lack of strategy, an inconsistent voice, and the inability to measure success make failure imminent. Luckily, you can take cues from the report’s respondents and instead ensure B2B content marketing success in 2022.

B2B Content Marketing in 2022

So, what should you do about your B2B content during 2022? Here are some key takeaways from the report:

1. Let your best storytellers tell their stories. Most storytelling is siloed in the marketing department, but that’s not where the best storytellers usually are. Instead, the best storytellers are often the salespeople who deal directly with the customers. They know what the customers’ pain points are and how to best fix them. So, look for ways to involve the salesforce when creating B2B content. 
2. Outsource B2B content creation to a partner with topical expertise. Survey respondents said that they will spend more money on outsourcing content creation. Their main challenge, though, will be finding partners with strong topical expertise in the B2B content creation marketplace. This is a key reason to hold on tightly to quality third-party content creators.
3. Find help for your small content marketing team. B2B content creation will increase in 2022, but the size of content marketing teams will remain the same. Those teams will be asked to do more with the same resources. This makes it more important than ever to find a reliable third-party content provider.
4. Develop content that aligns with your marketing goals. In 2021, the top reported goals of respondents included creating brand awareness, building credibility and trust, and educating audiences. Marketing departments need to continue to create content—like White Papers and Case Studies—that achieves those same goals in 2022. 
5. Shift your focus toward satisfying more people within your target audience’s management structure. The top two challenges when creating content are having it appeal to multi-level roles within the target audience and acquiring subject matter experts. (Internal communication, too, remains a challenge.) Again, White Papers and Case Studies are a perfect fit when it comes to addressing these challenges.
6. Create White Papers and Case Studies. This point can’t be overstated. White Papers, Case Studies, research reports, and ebooks all rank high among the B2B content assets that produced the best results in 2021. If you’re creating these, keep it up. If you aren’t, it’s high time that you start.
7. Produce more videos. The top B2B content marketing area of investment predicted for 2022 is video. Marketers always look for ways to tell compelling stories that capture and keep the audience’s attention. One of the best ways to do this is to create Video Case Studies (also known as Video Testimonials). You can post such videos on your website and promote them on social media. In fact, B2B videos about customers proved highly effective in 2021.
8. Provide actionable insight. Producing evergreen content may be a thing of the past. B2B audiences want content to be highly relevant in the moment and provide insight from your perspective. Once again, well-written White Papers are the perfect way to provide what your audience craves.

Next Steps

The big takeaways from the 12th Annual B2B Content Marketing report indicate that it’s smart to redouble your efforts to create B2B content that engages and presents actionable information.

Avoid making mistakes at this key point in history. Instead, take advantage of the fact that your target audience wants fresh material that impacts their bottom line. Be sure to include White Papers and Case Studies in your content marketing mix. This has been mentioned several times because it should not be overlooked.

Also, remember that you aren’t in this alone. Reach out to third-party B2B content producers to ease the burden on your marketing department. This is the best way to create content that grows your business while saving time and money.

The team at SuccessKit is here to help you reach your B2B content marketing goals in 2022. Whether you need to create a White Paper, Case Study, or Video Testimonial, we have the expertise you need. Schedule a meeting with us to learn how we can help.