What makes content material successfully stand out for the purchasers {of professional} providers corporations in at present’s unstable financial and geopolitical panorama? A brand new analysis examine from strategic communications agency Greentarget and consulting agency Zeughauser Group finds that government resolution makers nonetheless favor conventional media and different editorial-filtered sources, however C-suite execs and in-house counsel have additionally deepened their digital focus since COVID-19, and are looking for extra enterprise intelligence and interactions on-line.
The newly launched 2022 State of Digital & Content material Advertising and marketing Survey, the primary iteration of the survey since 2019 and the tenth general, reveals necessary findings concerning the preferences of resolution makers who’re the meant shoppers of content material from skilled providers corporations—at a time when the blistering tempo of reports and sheer quantity of knowledge on-line is making it more durable than ever to interrupt by means of to these crucial audiences. The researchers additionally uncovered new enterprise priorities for in-house counsel and C-suite execs, together with a robust deal with variety, fairness, and inclusion (DEI) that’s driving demand for extra content material in that space.
“The occasions of the previous three years have modified how authorized and government resolution makers hunt down and eat data—and strengthened what they discover most useful about that content material,” mentioned John Corey, Greentarget’s president and founding companion, in a information launch. “DEI is new floor for this analysis, and we’re excited to deliver these findings to mild and facilitate a considerate dialog concerning the want for steerage and insights on these pressing subjects.”
The survey examines the content material selections and tendencies of 200 in-house counsel and C-suite members, two teams that exert sturdy affect over hiring of regulation corporations and consulting, accounting and different skilled providers corporations. As in previous iterations, this 12 months’s report additionally compares their views with these of chief advertising and marketing officers {of professional} providers suppliers, to establish white area between what content material these resolution makers crave, and the extent to which their exterior regulation and advisory corporations are satisfying these wants.
Key findings embrace:
Choice makers proceed to worth trusted editors and established retailers to sift by means of the noise and inform what issues most for them and their companies
Each in-house counsel and C-suite members discover conventional media practically as worthwhile in 2022 as they did in 2019, with the class rating No. 1 for the previous group, and No. 2 for the latter group, behind publications and web sites overlaying their occupation. Legislation agency entrepreneurs are shifting gears accordingly: in 2022, 94 % of CMOs mentioned conventional media was an necessary distribution channel/supply for advertising and marketing their agency, up from 67 % in 2019.
Utility stays essentially the most worthwhile attribute for content material, demonstrating the continued significance of content material that tells busy executives what they should know—and what to do with that data
Each teams desire articles above all different content material varieties. Conferences/webinars and analysis experiences additionally cracked the highest three for every group, with resolution makers favoring content material that’s instructional, related, and straightforward to learn and entry.
The pandemic accelerated the digital shift documented in our earlier analysis.
Choice makers more and more favor digital occasions and webinars, with C-suite members putting extra worth on video and podcasts than in-house counsel. The pandemic additionally drove new priorities for time-crunched executives working in largely distant environments, placing a premium on video content material that’s simple to view and transient.
Most notably, LinkedIn’s reputation has surged amongst government resolution makers
The enterprise networking web site is making inroads each as a content material supply, and likewise as a valued distribution platform for in-house counsel and C-suite members who more and more see the networking web site delivering data curated to their wants and pursuits.
Thought management and credentialing exercise, carried out nicely, is more and more necessary to resolution makers when researching exterior regulation {and professional} providers corporations for potential rent
In-house counsel and C-suite members are more and more visiting thought management web sites and blogs. Seventy % of in-house counsel mentioned these on-line retailers have been a worthwhile supply of content material in 2022, up from 57 % in 2019. Amongst C-suites, 63 % cited them as worthwhile, in comparison with 50 % earlier than the pandemic. Greater than two-thirds of respondents (71 % of in-house counsel; 69 % of C-suite members) cited articles and speeches from thought leaders as a crucial issue relating to researching regulation corporations {and professional} service suppliers for potential rent.
“CMOs and their groups are ingesting from a firehouse relating to content material–after three years of historic upheavals in enterprise priorities and communications,” mentioned Mary Okay. Younger, a companion with Zeughauser Group, within the launch. “From the continued significance of conventional media to thought management content material that showcases your corporation, there are classes right here for entrepreneurs and the corporations they service that may assist them adapt to this modified world–with the last word purpose of accelerating the ROI on their efforts.”
