During his presentation as part of the Demand Gen Summit track at the B2B Content2Conversion Conference, Jason Hekl — VP and Group Director of SiriusDecisions — described the concept of “small-net fishing,” in which marketers proactively target narrowly defined groups of new prospects.

His remarks mirrored the strategies of many speakers and attendees who are moving toward micro-campaigns and more targeted messaging to smaller subsets of their databases.

Many of the speakers at this year’s B2B Content2Conversion Conference noted that the buyer’s journey doesn’t always follow the path that marketers intend.

Marketers rely on campaigns to move buyers through the funnel, but Ardath Albee, CEO of Marketing Interactions, stated they can sometimes hinder the journey. “Campaigns are a company construct, not your buyer’s agenda,” she said. (Coverage of her session here).

The more than 450 B2B marketers who will be gathering in Scottsdale, AZ next week for the Content2Conversion and Demand Gen Summit events will be getting something of a wake-up call from the top analysts presenting. Despite the increased investments in content marketing, there is still a considerable disconnect in creating messaging that is relevant and compelling to buyers.

“B2B organizations spend hundreds of thousands — if not millions — of dollars on content every year, both for content marketing and for ‘traditional’ marketing,” said Erin Provey, Service Director for Strategic Communications Management at SiriusDecisions, who will be presenting the keynote session. “Our research shows that a whopping 60-70% of content is never used by anyone (sales reps, prospects, customers, etc.). Think about the waste that represents! Content marketers have the potential to optimize both process and quality, increasing the potential of that content to contribute value to the business.”

Compelling content that entertains and educates its target audience can often be more successful than other generic content shared during a campaign. It is crucial that content marketers align with their buyers and bring context to the content that they are providing prospective buyers. Without this alignment, their content marketing initiatives will never have a major impact on buying decisions.

Laura Ramos, VP and Principal Analyst at Forrester Research, will be diving into the topic of adding contextual storytelling into content marketing initiatives during her session at the B2B Content2Conversion Conference, taking place February 16-18 in Scottsdale, Arizona.