One of the biggest reasons that success in B2B digital content marketing has become more elusive than ever is that siloed, classic formats such as PDFs, static web pages, emails, etc. are no longer differentiating or elevating the discussion for brands.

In recent research, the PR firm Edelman and LinkedIn found that 53% of decision-makers spend meaningful time (1+ hours per week) experiencing thought leadership content. Further, 71% of these decision-makers say that thought leadership is “one of the best ways to get a sense of the type and caliber of a company’s thinking.” However, these decision-makers cannot differentiate and are very disappointed in the quality of this content. Only 17% of decision-makers said that the thought leadership they experience is “very good” or “excellent.” The lack of differentiation across similar interfaces, formats, lengths, and experiences almost certainly plays an important role in this disappointment. In fact, one of the primary recommendations made in the Edelman research is that: “B2B Marketers should be bold and imaginative in storytelling. Thought Leadership need not be limited to whitepapers. Even for well-covered topics, find creative and unexpected ways of delivering your story to create whitespace and distinguish you from competitors.” A homogenous landscape of digital content experiences that was once an advantage has now become a barrier to differentiation. Today’s successful B2B content marketers are creating new, differentiated experiences that are in a completely different context.