2017 - DIGITAL MARKETING TRENDS REPORT

DIGITAL MARKETING TRENDS FOR 2017

TOP CHANNEL FOR REVENUE GROWTH IS A TIE BETWEEN SEO AND EMAIL.

Despite email retaining its throne as a top channel for revenue gains (63%), more marketers are waking up to the financial benefits of SEO. This shift is reflected in organic search pulling even with email for the first time as the biggest revenue driver, signaling a 28% increase from last year. 

B2B BUDGETS INDICATE STRONG CONFIDENCE IN DIGITAL CHANNELS.

Nearly half of B2B marketers expect to invest more in digital marketing this year, while just 6% expect a decrease in budget. Even more telling, 38% of marketers plan to spend a whopping 60% or more of their marketing budget online, as opposed to offline marketing investments 

✮  ✮  ✮  ✮ 

WHITE PAPERS BEAT WEBINARS AS TOP CONTENT REVENUE DRIVER.

Despite blogs and videos being the most popular forms of content for marketers, 40% said white papers produce the most revenue. Last year’s top revenue driver, webinars, finished a close second with 37% of the vote. 

Over half of marketers are planning to increase investment in paid search this year, just slightly edging out social media and marking a two-year winning streak for the advertising channel. Most channels’ budget increases stayed relatively steady, except for display advertising, which saw nearly 35% YoY growth. If they’re not already doing so, marketers should consider testing or revisiting display in 2017 

✮  ✮  ✮  ✮ 

Social media scoots ahead of email this year as the most used digital marketing channel. While the majority of marketers employ all five channels, social media, email, and organic search are nearly ubiquitous with each topping 90%. Perhaps most notably, use of paid search and display advertising increased 11% and 17% YoY, respectively.

63% of B2B marketers say organic search drives revenue tying email at the top spot for the first time. We can surmise a couple factors playing a role in the rise of SEO-driven revenue. First, as it’s been historically tough to prove the ROI of organic search, the perceived value of the channel is inherently increasing as marketers improve their ability to measure ROI. 

Second, SEO is now a far cry from being the new kid on the block. B2B marketers have become more adept at leveraging SEO to drive leads and sales as the channel has moved from an emerging trend to digital marketing staple over the years. Also of note is the disparity between how many marketers use social media (95%) versus paid search (71%), and how many marketers find resulting revenue for each channel, 37% and 44%, respectively.

Considering paid search is the top channel for which marketers outsource agency help, it may be fair to assume B2B marketers are less comfortable managing paid search campaigns.

White papers displaced webinars this year as the top revenue driver for B2B marketers.  We saw 42% fewer respondents pick “not sure” compared to last year, again indicating a marked improvement in ability to measure content marketing ROI. That being said, it’s also important to note B2B marketers still have a long way to go in terms of optimizing their content strategy for revenue. Even though 82% of marketers participate in at least one form of content marketing, only 40% or less can attribute revenue to any given content type. 

✮  ✮  ✮  ✮ 

LinkedIn maintains its spot as the leading social channel for B2B marketers.

Twitter and Facebook place a close second and third, respectively. Surprisingly, Instagram participation doubled from last year, as 30% of B2B marketers now include the platform as part of their digital marketing mix 

LinkedIn is raking in the dough for B2B marketers, as 43% have attributed sales to the social channel this year. 
Facebook leapt to second place with about a quarter of B2B marketers reporting success in terms of revenue this year, a 150% increase YoY. Once again, we see “not sure” take a tumble to 22%, a significant drop compared to last year’s 57%. 

  

Nearly 40% of B2B marketers see 21-40% of their website traffic come from mobile. Last year, the largest segment of respondents (34%) saw less than 20% of their traffic arrive from mobile. Perhaps this shift in B2B mobile traffic was enough to nudge the increased investment in responsive design this year.

✮  ✮  ✮  ✮ 

A SIGNIFICANT UPTICK IN RESPONSIVE DESIGN, which has a seen a 53% bump since 2014.  Elsewhere, while marketers plan on INVESTING MORE IN PAID SEARCH this year, just 44% have previously netted revenue from it. Consider that although 82% of B2B marketers participate in at least some level of content marketing, only 40% or less can attribute revenue for any given content type. This suggests many content types, including white papers, the leading revenue-driver for content, could be better optimized for a stronger return. 

✮  ✮  ✮  ✮