You may not be able to beat Tom Brady on the football field, but with a little investment in planning and inbound marketing strategies, you have the ability to be an all-star athlete within the marketing industry - according to a recent study from Optify.
The inbound marketing software provider announced the findings of its first annual survey on the B2B marketing athlete, which are individuals who have mastered multiple channels, tactics and techniques to become successful within the marketing industry. The survey found that 47 percent of marketers were labeled as "Star Performers," because these marketers consistently met their lead-generation goals by investing more time per week on planning, as well as exhibited the highest scores for attitude and focus.
According to the study, marketing athletes tend to be very productive - with 82 percent reporting that they spend the majority of their time on activities important to their business. The most time-consuming task is content creation and management, with 30 percent of respondents claiming to spend more than 15 hours per week on these tasks and 40 percent spending between 5-15 hours. To break down tasks even further, the areas that occupy the most of marketers' time include content (30 percent), lead generation (17 percent) and website management (16 percent).
The study also found that star performers tend to invest more time and effort into inbound marketing tactics such as content creation, PR, SEO and social media. However, when it comes to tactics, social media is undoubtedly the most popular choice - with 91 percent of respondents claiming that they are social media experts. In fact, more marketers spend at least 15 hours per week on social media than any other tactic, and only 16 percent report spending no time on social media. On the other hand, paid search is the least popular tactic with 57 percent of marketers not spending any time in this area.
It is also important to note that even though 73 percent of respondents claim to spend less than five hours per week on planning, it seems as though this is a very important task that shouldn't be overlooked. This is because 42 percent of star performers report spending more than five hours per week on planning, while 14 percent report spending more than 15 hours per week on this task.
"Marketing athletes are the unsung heroes of B2B marketing, and this survey puts into perspective the amount of work and knowledge they possess," said Rob Eleveld, CEO of Optify. "The study confirms our many discussions with customers and prospects; marketing athletes work across multiple channels to achieve their aggressive goals. We are building Optify to help them manage and track all their marketing campaigns in one single place."
Other findings from the study reveal that most marketing athletes handle key marketing activities in house. However, a large percentage of respondents also outsource expertise-heavy and labor-intensive tasks to contractors and digital marketing agencies, such as Web design and maintenance (45 percent), SEO (35 percent) and PR (33 percent).
To sum up the study, key factors that set star performers apart from their peers included more time spent on planning and execution in areas directly related to generating revenue, and less time spent in non-productive areas like administrative work. Additionally, star performers tend to have a more positive attitude and focus more time in vital areas like lead generation and content development.