New Research Shows Engagement and Conversion are Top Content Marketing Initiatives

BOSTON, October 1, 2014 - A new study from the Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs, and sponsored by Brightcove (NASDAQ: BCOV), shows that B2B marketers want their content to drive stronger results, with a specific focus on engagement and conversion. The study shows that 69% of B2B marketers rank creating more engaging/higher-quality content as their top initiative, with better website conversions right behind at 63%. According to the study, creating engaging content has been the top challenge for marketers year-over-year.

"As content marketing evolves, B2B marketers are learning that it’s not just about producing any type of content; more thought needs to go into it to be effective," said Joe Pulizzi, founder of the Content Marketing Institute and author of Epic Content Marketing. "Without a strategy it is difficult to determine the best direction, but our research shows B2B marketers are refining their thinking around content marketing and that will pay off in increased effectiveness."

"It's an interesting time in marketing as there’s a clear shift in thinking from if content marketing should be implemented to how we can do it better," said Steve Rotter, vice president of digital marketing solutions at Brightcove. "With engagement and conversion as top initiatives, and video’s immense success in driving these two factors, Brightcove will be a key partner to companies looking to be successful in this next stage of content marketing."

According to the study, 86% of B2B marketers use content marketing, but only 38% say they are effective at it. High percentages of B2B marketers cite the following goals for content marketing: brand awareness (84%), lead generation (83%), engagement (81%), and sales (75%). Steady with last year, B2B marketers use an average of 13 content marketing tactics, with social media - other than blogs (92%) remaining the top tactic and marketers using an average of six platforms. Other tactics include eNewsletters (83%), articles on a company’s website (81%), blogs (80%), in-person events (77%), case studies (77%), and videos (76%).

B2B marketers also use on average three paid advertising methods to distribute/promote content, with 80% using at least one. Of the paid advertising methods used, B2B marketers have the most confidence in search engine marketing (SEM - 52%). Next in terms of effectiveness is promoted posts (e.g. promoted Tweets - 41%), social ads (e.g. LinkedIn ads - 38%), and content discovery tools (e.g. Outbrain, Taboola, nRelate - 36%). And while 49% of marketers use traditional online banner ads, only 26% find them effective.

Other interesting findings from the report include:

• 70% of B2B marketers are creating more content than they were one year ago
• Although the majority (83%) say they have a strategy, only 35% have it documented. The 35% who have documented their strategy are more effective in all aspects of content marketing than those who have not
• Infographics continue to grow in usage jumping to 62% this year from 51% last year
• Website traffic has been cited as the most often looked to content marketing metric for five consecutive years
• 55% of B2B marketers plan to increase their content marketing budget in the next 12 months
• Google+ was the social media platform with the biggest rise in usage growing 9 percentage points to 64%
• 42% of B2B marketers publish new content multiple times per week or daily

B2B Content Marketing: 2015 Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends -- North America reports on the findings gathered from the fifth annual content marketing survey conducted by the Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs about content marketing. The research was sponsored by Brightcove. More than 1,800 B2B marketers in North America from diverse industries and a wide range of company sizes responded to the survey in July and August 2014. Download the full report today.

About Content Marketing Institute (CMI)
Content Marketing Institute (CMI) is the leading global content marketing education and training organization. CMI teaches enterprise brands how to attract and retain customers through compelling, multi-channel storytelling. CMI’s Content Marketing World event, the largest content marketing-focused event, is held every September, and Content Marketing World Sydney, every March. CMI also produces the quarterly magazine Chief Content Officer, and provides strategic consulting and content marketing research for some of the best-known brands in the world. CMI is a 2012, 2013 and 2014 Inc. 500 company.

About MarketingProfs
MarketingProfs offers real-world education for modern marketers. More than 640,000 marketing professionals worldwide rely on our free daily publications, virtual conferences and more to stay up-to-date on the most important trends in marketing—and how to apply them to their businesses. Visit MarketingProfs.com for more.

About Brightcove
Brightcove Inc. (NASDAQ:BCOV) is a leading global provider of powerful cloud solutions for delivering and monetizing video across connected devices. The company offers a full suite of products and services that reduce the cost and complexity associated with publishing, distributing, measuring and monetizing video across devices. Brightcove has more than 5,500 customers in over 70 countries that rely on the company’s cloud solutions to successfully publish high-quality video experiences to audiences everywhere. To learn more, visit www.brightcove.com.

Press Contacts
Jim Crook
InkHouse for Brightcove
781-966-4103
jim@inkhouse.com

_This press release may include forward-looking statements regarding anticipated objectives, growth and/or expected product and service developments or enhancements. Such forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of the following words (among others): "believes," "expects," "may," "will," "plan," "should" or "anticipates," or comparable words and their negatives. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees but are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the expectations contained in these statements. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, see "Risk Factors" in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent annual report on Form 10-K. Brightcove assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this press release in the event of changing circumstances or otherwise, and such statements are current only as of the date they are made.
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