A report from cloud services provider Spiceworks suggests that IT companies should focus a portion of their content marketing campaigns on small businesses, which have increased investment in technology by 15 percent in the last 12 months.
According to Spiceworks, SMB IT budgets have grown to approximately $152,000 per year on average. Among the largest growth areas are company-wide mobile devices as well as cloud and virtualization technology. As such, companies specializing in these services can use content marketing to appeal to SMBs looking to improve their infrastructure.
Sixty-two percent of SMBs included in Spiceworks’ poll said they have or plan to deploy tablets throughout their companies. Marketers specializing in the field can develop news content and other kinds of articles that demonstrate the value of tablets for the business.
Even with the increased spending, SMBs are heavily focused on value, and Brafton has reported in the past that website content is one of the main influences in business purchase decisions. Articles and blog posts that illustrate the ability of different kinds of technology to make businesses run smoother and save money will help vendors appeal to these prospects.
Moreover, smartphone and tablet vendors can improve their visibility among SMBs with integrated new media marketing campaigns. Using search-friendly site content, along with social media and other channels, will help vendors answer questions SMBs may have in interactive formats that cater to buyers’ preferred online channels. With so many small business owners opting to launch bring-your-own-device programs, individual smartphone vendors have a lot to gain as well.
“The results .. show that SMBs are spending more on technology across the board, from hardware and devices to cloud services and virtualization,” Jay Hallberg, co-founder and vice president of marketing for Spiceworks, said in a release. “This bodes well for technology vendors serving the SMB marketing in 2012.”
Other kinds of products drawing investment from SMBs include web hosting and web security products. Vendors of these services have substantial opportunity to boost sales with content marketing given their importance for any small business. Both are key to a strong infrastructure for any organization, but many small business owners lack the technological understanding to select, deploy and manage these services.
It seems many technology vendors may have been ahead of this trend based on reports of planned marketing investments for 2012. In 2011, Brafton reported that technology companies are especially active in producing comprehensive content marketing campaigns aimed at boosting both visibility and niche authority. Moreover, 19 percent of companies said they plan to focus their custom content initiatives at improving SERP standing.
