5 Reports That All B2B Technology Marketers Must Read

It seems as though I get a new report in my inbox every day. Many of them aren’t relevant, but every once in a while, someone sends me intriguing statistics that I just have to share.

Without further ado, here are five reports that can give you valuable insights into B2B technology buyers and where you should focus your marketing efforts:

Connecting Conversations to Content: How to Drive Engagement Through Social Media 2014

IDG surveyed B2B technology buyers to find out how they are using social media. This is a must-read if you’re using social media to engage IT buyers and drive them to your content. I thought that the most interesting finding was that Facebook is the most popular network for IT buyers, as they use it throughout every stage of the buying process. I’ve always questioned whether Facebook was valuable for B2B marketing, but these results are eye opening. The report also highlights the types of content that IT buyers want to see promoted on social media.

2014 State of IT Budget Report

According to this Spiceworks survey, IT professionals are going to increase their budgets and spend an average of $302,000 on hardware, software, cloud and managed services this year. The report breaks down its findings in each major spending category and also highlights what resources IT buyers are using to research products and select vendors.

B2B Content Marketing: 2014 Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends – North America

This annual Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs report is a must-read for all B2B marketers. It has the usual information on how much B2B marketers are spending on content marketing, what channels they are using and where they are seeing the most results. However, this year’s report separates “best-in-class” B2B content marketers and lets you know exactly where they are focusing their content marketing efforts and what they are doing to come out on top.

The Pure360 Open Rate Landscape

Pure360’s report outlines the best and worst times to send B2B emails and could help you get better results from your email marketing. The most intriguing thing about the findings is that Pure360 broke them down by vertical. For example, the best time to email technology professionals is between 12pm – 3pm, while you should email the financial sector between 7am – 10am.

B2B Lead Generation Marketing Trends – 2013 Report

Ask any B2B marketer what their biggest concern is and they will likely say, “generating more high-quality leads”. This report was conducted by the B2B Technology Marketing community on LinkedIn and offers valuable insights into the state of lead generation today. It lists the most and least effective lead generation strategies, as well as what’s working in B2B email marketing. Hint … if you’re into content marketing, it shouldn’t come as a surprise.

Have you read any good reports lately? Please let us know in the comments section below.