92% of Marketing Leaders Report Content Budget Increases; 46% Will Spend $500,000 or More in 2024 Based on New International Study

Key Findings:

• Content Groups Get a Budget Boost: 91% of B2B and B2B2C marketing leaders report annual budget increases. Forty-six percent of marketing leaders have a content budget between $500,000 to $5 million for content production and distribution in 2024. Twenty percent reported having a budget between $500,000 and $999,999 for content in 2024.
• A Lot More Content: 40% of marketing executives expect to produce three to five times more content than last year, with 48% publishing content daily.
• AI Adoption: 81% of marketers reported using AI to streamline content creation.
• External Support: 93% of execs leverage third parties to create and distribute content.
• Social Posts and Video Steal the Show: Marketing executives ranked social posts and videos as their top format priorities for content in 2024.
• Marketing Turns to Data-Driven Evaluation: In 2024, marketing leaders are using tools like web analytics and CRM software to evaluate the content (over sales opinion, etc.) and trigger content creation decisions.

“The marketing leaders we engaged through Sapio Research have clearly dedicated substantial budgets and resources to their content strategies,” said Susan Thomas, CEO of 10Fold Communications. “Our year-over-year data shows a strong trend: marketers are not only open to adopting new technologies and innovative approaches but are also willing to overhaul their entire strategies, processes, and content formats. This commitment is driven by the goal to produce high-quality content that truly resonates with and reaches their target customer profiles.”

Marketers Scale Budgets to Fuel Content Boom

Marketers acknowledge the vital role of content marketing and are increasing budgets to fuel its growth. When asked about increasing budgets, the majority (91%) have boosted their budgets, and 46% are investing at least $500,000 annually. This financial commitment aligns with the global trend of heightened content creation, as 92% of marketers report producing more content compared to the previous year. Nearly 40% have increased their output by three to five times.

AI and External Resources Fuel Content Boom

When questioned about using AI for content creation, 81% of marketers confirmed using AI (36% frequently, 45% occasionally). Only 19% said they rarely (15%) or never (4%) used AI for content creation. Another content efficiency boost in content creation and delivery was the use of third parties such as agencies and contractors – with 93% of marketing leaders using third-party resources. Thirty-one percent of companies outsource 50% to 74% of their content development and 53% of companies outsource 50% to 100% of their content development – adding capacity and speed to their content development capabilities.

The Power Couple: Social Media and Video

Social media content tops the list of preferred content preferences with 46% of marketing leaders prioritizing this content format for 2024, with video a close second (41%). For marketers with budgetary constraints, social media offers a cost-effective approach to scaling content and aligns with growing audience preference for shorter formats – compared to resource-intensive, longer formats like eBooks and white papers (used by less than 15% of marketers).

Data-Driven Content: Leveraging Analytics

The marketing landscape is saturated with content, placing immense pressure on generating marketing qualified leads (MQLs). Nearly half (48%) of global companies are now making content creation a part of their routine. Notably, this trend is especially prominent among B2B organizations (37%) and those with larger budgets. While Google Analytics remains the primary tool (42%) for measuring content effectiveness, other website and CRM tools are a strong second (36%). Interestingly, these same website analytics combined with research, trigger decisions for new content for at least 50% of marketers making content decisions.

To view the full findings of The Engagement Equation: How B2B Tech Marketers Are Creating and Delivering Content That Captivates in 2024, please visit: https://info.10fold.com/content-digital-survey

Research Methodology

10Fold engaged Sapio Research to deploy an online survey to marketing executives with decision-making and budget authority within B2B or B2B2C technology companies in the United States, Canada, France, Germany and the United Kingdom. In all, 450 marketing executives completed the survey and the results are accurate to a +/- of 4.6% at a 95% in 100% confidence limit assuming a result of .05%.

About 10Fold Communications

10Fold is a leading North American integrated communications agency designed to create thought leadership and build brand value for B2B ‘Deep Tech’ companies. Our agency is headquartered in San Francisco, with regional offices in Walnut Creek and San Diego, California; Austin, Texas; and Boston, Massachusetts. Our award-winning, highly specialized account teams consist of multi-year public relations veterans, broadcasters and former journalists who have been recognized nationally for media and analyst relations, written and video content, messaging, social media and paid digital services. For more information, please visit www.10fold.com and follow us on X and LinkedIn.