Marketing automation software company Eloqua demonstrates that content marketing delivers qualified leads. The firm recently reported millions of dollars in sales attributed to decision makers' engagement with its branded content.

Marketing automation software company Eloqua demonstrates that content marketing delivers qualified leads. The firm recently reported millions of dollars in sales attributed to decision makers’ engagement with its branded content.

Eloqua’s vice president of content marketing, Joe Chernov told MarketingSherpa that content efforts have helped attract qualified leads to the company’s site. Since implementing a content marketing strategy, 17 percent of site visitors have a title of vice president (or higher).  High-level business decision makers are especially likely to discover the brand via content; 25 percent of all visitors who find the site through content are at or above vice president-level.

Qualified leads are more likely to convert, and Eloqua offers proof that content drives sales. The company found that visitors who first find the site via content pieces are 21 percent more likely to view sales demos. Eloqua generated $2.5 million in sales in the second half of 2010 from clients who downloaded content, and it boasts another $3.2 million in contract stages from consumers who first downloaded exclusive content.

One of the secrets to Eloqua’s content success may be that the company works with a content marketing journalist. Chernov explains the decision to work with a journalist as an opportunity to reach the 90 percent of the market that remained untapped. Indeed, Brafton has reported that B2B firms are turning to journalists to write engaging content and attract relevant audiences.

Another platform marketers might use to draw qualified leads is LinkedIn. Eloqua found customers who engage the company via social channels are 450 percent more likely to be brand advocates. Plus, as Brafton reported experts suggest that LinkedIn offers optimal access relevant audiences, with 45 percent of users being business decision makers.

Katherine Griwert is Brafton's Marketing Director. She's practiced content marketing, SEO and social marketing for over five years, and her enthusiasm for new media has even deeper roots. Katherine holds a degree in American Studies from Boston College, and her writing is featured in a number of web publications.