Wait two days before following up with IT prospects, marketers urged

B2B marketers should leave at least two days before following up with IT buyers who have requested content, NetLine has advised.

A report published by the lead generation technology business found IT buyers take an average of 24 hours between asking for a piece of content and opening it. This increased to 30 hours for senior leaders. Leaving sufficient time before approaching the prospect is important to ensure an effective conversation, the company said.

NetLine also suggested marketers widen the range of people their content is targeting. Mid-level professionals, such as managers, accounted for 37% of engagement with content compared with less than 15% by senior leaders.

In addition, the majority of content produced by marketers was classified as top of the funnel (92%). Just 6% was middle of the funnel, and even less – 2% – was aimed at the bottom of the funnel. According to the firm there is an opportunity to implement a more diverse approach.

The most popular form of content among IT professionals were eBooks, although whitepapers were the most used by marketers to generate leads. IT management was the most popular topic for content (27%), followed by IT infrastructure (19%) and data infrastructure (18%).

Desktop computers – 83% – are still the most common place to consume content, with 14% using smartphones and 3% tablets. Senior IT buyers consume more on non-desktop devices than their less senior counterparts.

Robert Alvin, CEO at NetLine, said: “The IT department is under pressure to support organisations from all sides – each requiring a unique set of skills, knowledge and experience. Now more than ever IT professionals need to be more informed; there is a higher thirst and voracity for a variety of pertinent content.”

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