Katie Martell, former Executive Director, Boston Content
In late November, we surveyed Boston’s growing community of content professionals to understand more about our city, this industry, and what’s top of mind heading into 2020. Here’s what we learned.
About this community
The majority of content professionals surveyed are in marketing (86%) with other representation from producers, creatives, analysts, and operations. We see strong representation from brand-side marketers working in manager-level roles (42%).
Q: Job Level
Proving the ubiquity of content, our survey revealed a large number of industries represented, though the majority of content professionals here are fueling Software / SaaS organizations (38%):
Software / SaaS
IT
Advertising / PR
Business Services
Construction
Doctor/Dentist
Healthcare
ECommerce
Banking/Insurance
College/University
Retail
Telecom
Transportation
Staffing
Private Equity
Med Device
Media
Manufacturing
Nonprofit
Pharma
Content outsourcing
A majority of content professionals (56%) currently outsource content creation to contractors and/or freelancers, with an additional 8% planning to in 2020. The remaining 36% manage content creation in-house.
Q: Do you outsource any content to contractors and/or freelancers?
Top content challenges in 2020
When asked what content challenges they foresee for 2020, a majority (69%) of our survey responded that scaling content creation would be their #1 challenge.
56% felt that the quality of content produced posed the top challenge, while just over half of businesses say proving the value of content will be a challenge next year.
In addition, 45% of respondents expect to struggle to find writers with subject-matter expertise.
Q: What content challenges do you foresee for 2020? Check all that apply
Other challenges expected include:
Content operations
Adapting to new publishing tools (e.g. CMS)
Chasing after writers to meet their deadlines (….as a writer, I feel this.)
Meeting demand gen demands for content that is just a vehicle for keyword stuffing (ouch)
SEO
Writing content that converts leads organically
Breaking through the noise since so many companies create similar content (Amen)
Securing creative resources for video and design work
Proving the value of related technology (web analytics, marketing automation, etc.)
Content-related spending for 2020
Where are most teams INCREASING their content-related spending next year?
On content creation, mostly, according to 56% of our respondents. The rest of the pack will spend more in design (36%), marketing staff (34%), and marketing technology (30%) than this year. Paid distribution will see more investment from 23% of our respondents, while other teams expect to increase their spend on:
SEO consultants
UX writing staff
Freelancers
New website design
Q: Where do you anticipate increasing your content-related spend in 2020? Check all that apply.
Content goals
Why invest in content and content marketing?
According to our respondents, for brand awareness (57%), thought leadership (50%), and building trust with audiences (45%).
Q: What are your top goals for content in 2020?
Other stated goals for content in 2020 include:
Customer retention / renewal (42%) showing the impact of content after the initial sale
Site traffic (40%)
Driving net-new names to our marketable database (38%)
Accelerate sales process (34%)
Engage target accounts (ABM) (31%)
Thank you to everyone who participated in our Content 2020 survey!
About the Survey
The survey was conducted by Boston Content between November 20th - 27th, 2019. 77 individuals completed the study, the majority based in Boston Massachusetts, US, and surrounding communities.
About Boston Content
Boston Content is the city's largest non-profit community for content marketers, producers, and strategists offering tips, tools, networking, workshops, job opportunities, and events to cultivate a fast-growing profession in a city of innovation. Join here.
About the Author
Katie Martell is the former Executive Director of Boston Content, and is known as an “unapologetic marketing truth-teller” and “one of the most interesting people in B2B marketing.” With a distinct opinion and independent perspective, Katie is a frequent speaker and emcee at marketing, technology, business, and digital conferences in the US and internationally. Follow her on Twitter @KatieMartell and subscribe to The World’s Best Newsletter at Katie-Martell.com.