Wistia’s new survey results reveal stark changes in the way marketers look to leverage content in 2020 and beyond
Wistia yesterday released results of a new survey  indicating SMB marketers are accelerating investments in content creation (including a fast pivot to podcasting) despite significant budget cuts and other constraints. The 2020 State of SMB Marketing & Content Creation Report, an SMB marketer survey commissioned by Wistia and conducted by Qualtrics, examined content creation priorities and challenges during the pandemic, as well as a general outlook for the industry in the coming year. The survey included 311 responses from SMB senior-level marketers, including CMOs, directors, and vice presidents of marketing, and uncovered trends that have developed as a result of COVID-19.
While 68% of marketers experienced budget cuts by an average of 19%, original content creationOpens a new window has increased as finding new customers has become a bigger priority during the pandemic. Additionally, 73% of SMB marketers are hopeful and expect budgets to increase in 2021.
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“Despite budget cuts, marketers are not slowing down content creation and are even accelerating the development of new content across new platforms,†said Chris Meador, VP, marketing at Wistia. “During these tumultuous times, marketers are recognizing the value of their owned channels. They are creating more content than before the pandemic, and are finding new, effective ways to tell their brands’ stories.â€
Marketers Look To Rekindle Growth Across Owned Digital Channels
While increasing organic traffic and growing a digital presence were marked as top priorities, marketers are struggling with finding ways to reach new customers and growing their customer base. 49% of respondents said increasing organic traffic is their number one or two priority over the next 12 months. Yet one of the biggest challenges facing marketers is finding new ways to reach customers, with 59% of respondents saying this was their biggest challenge. 33% of respondents ranked growing their digital presence as their first or second priority for the next year.
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Marketers Are Increasing Investments in Original Content Creation
Even with budgets shrinking, original content creation is on the rise and is seen as a necessity to increase customers in this increasingly virtual world. Nearly a quarter of respondents (24%) did not create any original content, including videos, podcasts, or other assets pre-pandemic, but that has dropped to 11% during the pandemic. Marketers know they need to reach audiences in new ways and are prioritizing new tactics, including 55% saying they have utilized virtual events and 53% saying video content. Video content is the most popular form of content being created, with 51% of respondents having created product and webinar videos pre-pandemic and 59% of respondents saying they have recently created product videos. Podcast launches have also increased. Pre-pandemic, only 14% of respondents had created a podcast, which has risen to 29% who have now launched one.
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Podcasts Become the Preferred Channel for Marketers To Drive Brand Recognition
Almost all respondents (87%) are considering launching a podcast in the next 12 months, with many having reported already launching one. Respondents reportedly launched a podcast primarily to increase brand awareness, with 69% of respondents ranking this as their first or second priority. Highlighting company culture (45%) and reaching a specific audience (28%) were also noted as the main reasons for launching a podcast. Nineteen percent ranked podcasts as a necessary marketing channel for their industry as a primary reason for launching one. Challenges to launching a podcast included 47% ranking it not being on their radar as their top first or second barrier, followed by 41% thinking their company is too small and 35% who are not sure how to get started launching one.
Wistia also announced that it had launched a new suite of podcast hosting and marketing features into its existing platform. The addition of podcasting to Wistia’s existing video capabilities gives marketers the option to choose audio or video in distributing their brand messages. Wistia’s Podcast product is the first to be able to turn listeners into valuable, retargeting, lead-scoring, and audience-building data for acquisition, audience development, and nurture campaigns. Performance insights track each episode’s download, listen, and where the stream is coming from to help marketers make informed decisions. Marketers can choose to distribute to major podcasting apps, like Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and more. The podcast product is included as part of Wistia’s subscription offering, with access now open to advanced customers and opening to general availability on October 27.