Knowledge with out context is ineffective.
Whereas I’m exceptionally pleased with the work we do with our annual B2B consumption report, I acknowledge there’s extra to be performed in really respiratory context into the insights, statistics, findings, and even suggestions we offer.
That’s why, at the beginning of this summer time, I invited three of B2B advertising’s boldest thinkers: Andy Crestodina, Mark Schaefer, and Zontee Hou to speak about how their very own printed work in contrast and contrasted with NetLine’s 2025 content material consumption knowledge and what it means for entrepreneurs attempting to maneuver the needle.
The result’s a pointy, fast-moving dialog that may be considered in its entirety right here:
The 2025 State of B2B Content material Consumption: Inspecting B2B Advertising and marketing with Andy Crestodina, Mark Schaefer, and Zontee Hou
This text options a few of my favourite takeaways from the panel.
TL;DR: Past you gained’t discover within the 2025 knowledge itself, listed below are the panel’s greatest insights, courtesy of Andy Crestodina, Mark Schaefer, and Zontee Hou.
- Construct momentum by iterating on one sturdy asset, not by cranking out extra quantity.
- From knowledge to utility. Recast insights into codecs that journey — worksheets, visuals, or 3-minute summaries that assist groups act instantly. (Zontee Hou)
- Get particular. “AI for RevOps Managers in Fintech” isn’t too area of interest; readability beats generality. (Andy Crestodina)
- Be daring. Secure = invisible. The Audacity Index reminds us that competence gained’t minimize it; originality earns consideration. (Mark Schaefer)
The B2B Consumption Paradox: Ship Worth Sooner
Going into the dialog, I already knew we had one main space to cowl first.
I’ve written about it many occasions, however right here is the gist:
- Curiosity is excessive.
- NetLine noticed ~8M content material registrations in 2024 (+27% YoY).
- Engagement is delayed.
- On common, 38.5 hours move between content material request and consumption.
Consumers are elevating their palms, however they’re not appearing straight away. It tells us curiosity (and probably even intent) exists, however urgency doesn’t. It additionally tells us that worth delayed is worth diminished.
That delay—what we name the Consumption Hole—is our enemy and our alternative.
So how will we take that delay and switch it into momentum?
Takeaway: Shorten time-to-value.
That is the place advertising aikido is available in: redirecting the client’s vitality to our benefit.
Consumers are curious however busy. When there’s practically a 39-hour delay between obtain and determination, silence kills momentum. Content material have to be positioned not simply to draw consideration, however to be instantly actionable.
Zontee Hou emphasised the significance of delivering purposeful content material rapidly. Skip the 20-minute demo ask.
“We do should be extra proactive about ensuring that we’re reminding folks of the content material that we’re producing,” she stated. “And offering them alternatives to additionally get that backside line model of that content material. Being actually strategic about how we actually take a look at the content material that we ship, and the way our viewers really needs to interact with it—that’s a part of our remit as entrepreneurs. And now, once more, extra important than ever as a result of this timeline has shifted.”
Assume: dopamine hit, not PDF archive. In case you ship fast perception, you’re a part of the client’s subsequent transfer, not yesterday’s noise.
To Gate or To not Gate?
Andy pushed us additional: Why gate in any respect for those who’re not utilizing the information?
From NetLine’s perspective, we actually need your finest content material to be gated. However we aren’t zealots about it.
Take into account ungating your skimmable model. Share it throughout your social media platforms, particularly LinkedIn. This fashion, you’ll be able to ship quick and nurture later.
It’s price noting that Andy is an advocate for gated content material. Orbit Media’s 2021 analysis proves this.
Don’t hate the gate.
Do you’ve gotten an issue with gated content material?
Do you assume your guests don’t like them?Truly entrepreneurs are extra squeamish about gated content material than guests!
It is a preview. Full report goes dwell subsequent week… pic.twitter.com/GoYes0RBV1
— Andy Crestodina (@crestodina) March 17, 2021
That concept echoes among the philosophies Jay Baer espoused in his 2013 ebook, Youtility:
“In case you promote one thing, you make a buyer immediately, however for those who genuinely assist somebody, you create a buyer for all times.” In Baer’s framing, advertising ought to be “so helpful, folks would pay for it.”
Which means gifting away your finest insights with out worry. We do that with all the pieces we gate, too. Simply because probably the most invaluable items get externalized doesn’t erode the worth of the asset.
Not all the pieces must be hidden behind a kind. Typically, the quickest strategy to earn belief is to let the worth movement freely.
Mark added a tactical notice: deal with the primary 24 hours as sacred. Worth decays rapidly. If a prospect downloaded your information yesterday, they’re nonetheless excited about you immediately.
Tomorrow? Perhaps not. Tomorrow’s duties outweigh yesterday’s yearnings.
Reply with relevance earlier than they neglect they even registered.
Format Indicators Intent—And Shapes It
Codecs are extra than simply containers during which your content material lives and is delivered. To the groups paying consideration, they’re vital sources of alerts.
Consumers typically make snap judgments based mostly on what a format guarantees. In case you don’t imagine that, then take note of the way you eat the following time you request third-party content material.
It’s why eBooks nonetheless dominate demand (53% of all downloads, +71% YoY), however playbooks are 115% extra probably to correlate with a shopping for determination. An eBook carries little (perceived) dedication. Playbooks, nonetheless, even in title, really feel like they assign intent.
As Andy put it, “eBooks sound like homework. Guides sound helpful.”
It’s price noting right here that the primary time Andy reviewed NetLine’s 2025 report, his response was, “I’m actually stunned to see the curiosity in ebooks. Folks need ebooks greater than guides or webinars?”
I undoubtedly agree with Andy about Guides. And earlier than I started working at NetLine, I most likely would have agreed with him about eBooks, too. Now understanding how entrepreneurs and the final B2B inhabitants sees the format, nonetheless, it’s clear that the general public sees eBooks as a normal content material format.
eBooks are the final word utility in content material advertising providing a variety of makes use of and have room to be informal.
White Papers are the closest issues Content material Entrepreneurs should scientific research, designed to current knowledge and different important info as instantly as potential.
Guides are primarily positioned to ascertain authority, strolling readers by means of a subject or process step-by-step from begin to end.
Merely goes to point out that no matter what we predict (and even what a separate set of information shares), our personal experiences and perceptions will all the time take precedent.
Takeaway: Rename and restructure to affect conduct.
In case your eBook is performing, nice. However don’t shrink back from testing it as a Information or a Playbook.
The format isn’t what actually issues; it’s about what it implies. A “playbook” alerts path and actionability. An “eBook” is a cardboard field that might be completely something. Naming alone can set off curiosity and make clear worth.
Construct development into your content material:
- eBook → Information → Playbook → Case Research
Every asset turns into a checkpoint, guiding the client towards extra severe consideration. Don’t neglect sharable bridges: infographics constantly outperform for socialization and inner distribution. They rework passive downloaders into energetic evangelists.
That is additionally the place Andy’s Content material Chemistry comes alive.
His “Periodic Desk of Content material” reminds us that each piece serves a distinct operate.
Some codecs appeal to (equivalent to weblog posts, infographics, and movies), others work together (like guides, webinars, and playbooks), and others convert (together with case research, demos, and ROI calculators).
The tough actuality is that there isn’t any “finest” format or one assured to transform. No such magic bullet exists.
You possibly can, nonetheless, sequence codecs in order that the specified response (closed-won enterprise) takes place. When all goes proper (ideally), an eBook attracts a reader in, a Information clarifies, a Playbook drives motion, and a Case Research seals conviction.
By this lens, codecs are much less about deliverables and extra about chain reactions. Every asset ought to join logically to the following, constructing momentum by means of a pure content material chemistry that shapes intent and accelerates outcomes.
Personalization = Usefulness + Context
Bear in mind when personalization meant seeing your first title on an e mail? These have been the times…
In the present day, personalization is about relevance in motion. It’s the deliberate mirroring of the intent alerts offered to a enterprise and that enterprise answering the implied query of each consumer they want to interact: “What’s in it for me?”
Accumulating intent alerts through form-fills is an effective way to find out what must be in it for “them.”
But it surely needs to be used correctly.
As Andy shared earlier, his query of, “Why gate in any respect for those who’re not utilizing the information?” is one which Zontee fairly agrees with. She was a bit extra blunt, nonetheless.
“If kind knowledge doesn’t change the expertise,” she stated, “you’re amassing friction, not perception. Each area you ask for ought to translate into a better, extra related follow-up.”
For instance, let’s say you’re constructing follow-up paths by position:
- C-Suite → Motion memos
- Particular person Contributors → Worksheets, inner sell-in kits
This isn’t a tactic; it’s a service. It reveals consumers you have been listening.
Mark warned: “Personalization has grow to be impersonal.” Use knowledge to be useful, not creepy. Andy added: for those who’re not utilizing what you gather to form what comes subsequent, you’re simply adorning emails with dynamic fields.
Right here’s a template price stealing: “You downloaded the [Topic] Information — right here’s a 5-minute model to temporary your VP.”
To Differentiate, Be Audacious
The quantity of AI content material has outpaced its relevance.
AI-related consumption grew 186% in 2024. However generic “AI for everybody” content material is fading.
Consumers are within the “So what?” part, the place relevant, job-specific use instances matter.
Takeaway #1: Concentrate on roles and workflows.
Zontee reminded us that probably the most invaluable use instances aren’t about ChatGPT prompts. As a substitute, content material ought to stay a utility, permitting shoppers to do their jobs higher in live performance with AI.
“It’s gonna be about among the talents to synthesize info, analyze info, automate info, take info that exists, and make it extra accessible to our audiences,” she stated. “And I feel actually educating your viewers about what does that truly, particularly imply for you—that’s the place our energy can come from.”
Andy underscored specificity: “AI for RevOps Managers in Fintech” isn’t too area of interest. Granularity breaks by means of. “Consumers don’t need to examine the way forward for AI, they need to know what AI means for subsequent Tuesday.”
Mark’s recommendation was to not coast on early traction. When the machine by no means stops, we, too, might want to maintain iterating and updating consistently.
“The primary downside we now have is consciousness,” he stated. “Even high-quality content material is more durable to get observed.” The half-life of first-mover benefit is shrinking.
In case your content material doesn’t provoke curiosity, pressure, or curiosity, it’s invisible. Mark refers to this because the Audacity Index. Competence alone doesn’t win consideration anymore. Originality does.
Finally, Mark shared that he wrote Audacious as a result of he needs companies to cease being ignorable.
“If what you’re doing is competent, then you definitely’re ignorable,” he stated. “About two-thirds of B2B and B2C advertising creates no emotional response with prospects in any respect. We need to be stimulated, entertained, see one thing we’ve by no means seen earlier than. We wish you to earn our consideration by simply attempting one thing totally different.
Takeaway #2: Do what AI can’t.
As Andy shared, AI can’t produce authentic knowledge. It could’t take a stand. Till it may well, this stays our benefit. A standpoint is what makes content material each memorable and defensible.
Zontee recommended mining your personal aggregated knowledge. Flip inner insights into market-ready content material, equivalent to Spotify Wrapped. It doesn’t should be large; it simply must be proprietary.
Mark’s closing problem: break one thing. The narrative. The format. The voice. Memorable doesn’t require an enormous finances, however it does require nerve.
NetLine, for example, vehicles round a 300-pound mascot to B2B occasions throughout the nation. Why? Effectively, as a result of it’s enjoyable, actually, however extra so as a result of it’s about resonance, originality, and influence.
Disrupt expectations in small however significant methods.
Learn how to Create Your Personal Momentum
Phew. There’s loads to digest right here. So, what comes subsequent?
Right here’s a strategy to pressure-test these concepts straight away that you simply and your crew can start within the subsequent two weeks.
Week 1: Reframe the Core
Begin with one top-performing asset and run an experiment to see how far you’ll be able to stretch it.
- Repackage that asset right into a Playbook with a 60-second skim model.
- Add one fast POV perception — even a single chart or stat works.
- Write two role-based follow-ups: Executives and Particular person Contributors.
Week 2: Layer It Out
- Create a visible bridge from the identical content material (infographic, flowchart, or worksheet).
- Hyperlink it ahead by pointing to a related case research or purchaser’s information.
- Measure three alerts on this asset:
- How lengthy till first engagement (24–48 hours)
- Position-fit replies (Executives vs. Particular person Contributor)
- Format shift (What number of customers adopted from eBook → Playbook?)
Why This Works
As a substitute of making extra content material, you’re studying extra from the content material you have already got.
By stretching one asset throughout codecs and roles, you’ll be able to see the place friction exists, which variations pull consumers ahead, and the way effectively personalization lands. It’s momentum you’ll be able to repeat each quarter.
Last Thought
From generic to particular, from protected to daring, from passive to proactive, constructing momentum in trendy advertising isn’t merely about marketing campaign optimization. It requires a mindset shift, as a substitute; giving your viewers one thing they didn’t anticipate however all the time wanted.
If you bundle with precision, lead with relevance, personalize with care, and publish with braveness, you don’t simply interact — you earn consideration.
The market doesn’t want extra content material. It wants content material that strikes. Momentum belongs to the entrepreneurs keen to earn it.
Or as Mark Schaefer put it: “Consciousness is the massive concern… It doesn’t should be costly, however it needs to be a bit of audacious.”
Particular thanks as soon as once more to our panelists, Andy, Mark, and Zontee. Yow will discover their newest printed works under:
