Spoiler Alert: B2C Content Marketers Should be Ready for More Responsibility in 2021

Content Marketing Institute (CMI) just released its 11th annual B2C content marketing research report, which includes insights into how content marketers have adapted since the pandemic hit. The 11th Annual B2C Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends: Insights for 2021 report is produced by CMI along with our friends at MarketingProfs.

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The events of 2020 certainly reshaped how organizations conduct their marketing. Most of the B2C content marketers in our survey felt their organization made quick and effective pandemic-related changes and expect the changes they made to stay in effect for the foreseeable future.

Here are more highlights of the report:

• 82% agree their organization made quick changes due to the pandemic with 80% feeling the changes were effective
• 84% expected some of the changes to stay in effect for the foreseeable future
• 63% changed their targeting/messaging strategy, while 54% adjusted their editorial calendars and 46% changed their content distribution and promotion strategy
• Of the 73% who have a content marketing strategy, 68% made major or moderate adjustments to their strategy due to the pandemic
• When asked to select the top five areas of content marketing they thought their companies would invest in during 2021, 61% said content creation, 54% said social media management/community building and 53% said website enhancements

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“As we move into 2021 in a world where most gathering is still limited, direct-to-consumer will continue to drive B2C,” says Robert Rose, Chief Strategy Advisor, Content Marketing Institute. “Successful B2C marketers will be focused on creating content experiences and experimenting with new formats and new strategies that not only get them in front of digital audiences but that build lasting relationships with them.”

“B2C marketers, like all marketers, continue to adapt to a rapidly shifting digital landscape,” shares Ann Handley, Chief Content Officer, MarketingProfs, and author of Everybody Writes. “The most successful will embrace the fundamentals, like injecting personality into their content, consistently engaging with audiences, and building and deepening long-term relationships.”