What we learned from this year’s CMI B2B content marketing report
The 2025 issue of the annual Content Marketing Institute (CMI) B2B Content Marketing Outlook report has been eagerly awaited here at Collective Content, and by many others too. That’s not just because we like stats, but it’s true that the CMI report is no slouch when it comes to using numbers to underpin useful insights into many aspects of content marketing.
Before you jump into the report, we wanted to highlight what jumped out at us. You’ll see that the main challenge for content marketers is in creating content that produces the desired outcomes. When it comes to blockers and barriers to this, many cite a lack of resources, with effective measurement another major concern.
Success factors – understanding above all
Of most interest – in our view – were the behaviours of “top performers”. In other words, the things the most successful content marketers do that are worthy of emulation. And the number one success factor here, is the ability to understand your audience, with 82% of respondents pointing to this as the most important element.
Items like content quality and industry expertise were identified as important but secondary to understanding the audience/client/company/business/challenge. And this should give us pause for thought.
If your content isn’t delivering, it may simply be that the content you are producing doesn’t speak to your customers or to their most pressing concerns. Perhaps that’s because you don’t understand what they are, or how they manifest themselves in their organisation. And that’s important.
When your audience feels understood and its needs are met in what you are communicating, you are more likely to build trust. And trust is everything in marketing. It’s what sparks interest in potential buyers to come to you and it’s what keeps customers coming back to you.
Time to catch the AI train?
More than half of CMI survey respondents see the use of AI-powered automation as a key priority for 2025. The report’s findings suggest that many of us are still at the R&D stage with AI, with just 19% stating that they’ve integrated the technology into business processes.
But guess which group is using AI effectively? That’s right, it’s those top performers. This group is more likely to have developed their own AI use guidelines, which is encouraging in a world of questionable AI-generated copy – not to mention biases and hallucinations. Top performers are focusing on using AI automation for content optimisation and to improve the efficiency of their workflows. This can be particularly useful for SEO enhancement, trend analysis and keyword research, to name just a few positive ways that AI is being harnessed in B2B content marketing.
Video: winning the battle for eyeballs
Content format alone does not a successful content marketer make, with the one possible exception being video. While video’s popularity has changed little since last year’s CMI survey, it has nudged out case studies (now 53%) as being the most effective content type, with 58% of marketers considering video to produce the best results. We are also likely to see a continued year-on-year increase in video production investment, with the majority of respondents (61%) citing video as a key part of their overall content spend in 2025.
With the battle for eyeballs becoming ever more intense, it’s even more necessary to zero in on what makes your content successful.
So, again, understanding your customers and what makes them tick is number one in getting your content assets to hit the mark. And keep track of their changing needs. Nothing is static in the world of content, particularly now, as the CMI trends demonstrate. That goes for your customers’ needs, desires and concerns, too.
