B2B Web Strategy Blog - eMagine » Online Content Distribution: Myth vs. Reality

Online Content Distribution: Myth vs. Reality

May 16th, 2008 Posted by: Bill Gadless

Ah, the conventional wisdom. It’s what most of us fall back on when we think we’ve seen the answer “somewhere” …or flat-out just don’t know the answer, but don’t want to say so. It’s also, no doubt, a key factor in explaining the incredible persistence of myths.

The ultimate antidote to myths, of course, is research. That’s why we at eMagine track current research of importance to our work …and our clients’ success. One real goldmine (on which we’ve based several of these articles) is KnowledgeStorm and MarketingSherpa’s Connecting through Content joint study, in which we found a number of interesting and myth-debunking nuggets, mostly relating to search marketing and conversion.

We’ll bet that at least one of your favorite myths appears in their list…

Myth: Buyers never look past the first page of search results.
Reality: Over half of technology buyers scan (on average) 3-5 pages of search results.

Myth: Buyers scrutinize the organic listings but pay little attention to the paid listings.
Reality: Sponsored links are read by 53% of tech buyers “frequently” or “sometimes.”

Myth: There’s little synergy between offline and online marketing.
Reality: 80% of tech buyers say that offline marketing materials (magazine ads, direct mail, etc.) “frequently” or “sometimes” create enough interest for them to seek further info online.

Myth: If they want to learn about us, they’ll come to our site for the info.
Reality: 84% of tech buyers consider IT directory sites their primary or secondary source for registration-requiring content. Over 64% use IT pub, business pub or analyst sites.

Myth: Buyers mostly give invalid information when registering.
Reality: More than half of tech buyers say they give a valid name, email address, industry, job title and company in registering online for technology content. Less than 40% provide valid phone numbers, however – an unsurprising indication that they prefer email follow-up.

Myth: Visitors registering with a personal email address simply aren’t serious.
Reality: 43% of tech buyers give a valid personal email address when registering for content. They say they use a non-business address so as to segment information into more manageable queues.

Myth: Visitors will register for almost anything – the type or quality isn’t critical.
Reality: Over 80% of tech buyers evaluate the type of content important when deciding whether or not to register for it. Other key factors include the amount of overview information and the source of the content.

Hey, mythology is great! …for Hobbits. Letting it guide your online marketing effort is a serious mistake. If you’re unsure of how to put your program on a sound (i.e., research-based) footing, your Web marketing professionals are there to help.