Email is the top content delivery tool for enterprise marketers, according to Enterprise Content Marketing 2019, a study by the Content Marketing Institute and Marketing Profs, sponsored by Seismic.
Of 236 marketers polled, 93% say their firms distribute content by email, versus 91% that use social media platforms and 67% that produce blogs.
In addition, email is the main nurturing tool, with 86% using email for that purpose. Second is educational content.
Email’s importance is also apparent in the technology used. Email marketing software is deployed by 81%, second only to social media publishing/analytics, which is deployed by 83%
In addition, 39% make use of partner emails to promote their content (i.e., ebooks and webinars).
Among paid distribution methods, however, email ranks behind sponsored content on social media (71%), banner ads promoting content (68%), search engine marketing/pay-per-click (68%) and native advertising (45%).
All that said, enterprise content marketers appear to be gaining in confidence and maturity. For instance, 36% rate themselves as mature and 7% see themselves as sophisticated.
Another 28% are self-described as adolescent, and 24% as young. And 5% say they are taking first steps.
Moreover, 72% have a content marketing strategy, although that’s split between firms that have documented their plan and those that haven’t. Another 22% plan to have a strategy within 12 months.
Overall, 61% are very or extremely committed to content marketing, and 35% somewhat so.
When it comes to content marketing technology, 62% describe themselves at least moderately proficient, with 38% they are intermediate, 20% advanced and 4% expert.
In addition, the study found that: 68% are more successful with content marketing than they were one year ago, with 12% reporting serious gains.
The main challenge, cited by 74%, is coordinating content marketing efforts among multiple departments and brands. Second, specified by 60%, is siloization.
Only 26% of the firms in the sample have a centralized content group, and 14% have individual teams or each brand/product/department. In addition, 19% have a one-person team for the entire company.
Of those polled, 34% use account-based marketing (ABM), and 21% planned to do so by the end of 2018. If that proved true, 58% would have been using ABM by January.
Here are the methods used for audience nurturing: