What do folks need? 

What do folks do?

Regardless of literal yottabytes of information continually flying round us, many entrepreneurs really feel they don’t actually perceive what their goal audiences need or do.

Supply: tes.com

And that’s troubling.

So how can we resolve this?

Merely, to determine what our audiences needs, we should perceive what they’re already doing.

Enter NetLine’s ninth annual State of B2B Content material Consumption and Demand Report—an in-depth, first-party evaluation of how professionals work together with content material and what their actions reveal about intent.

Introducing NetLine’s 2025 State of B2B Content material Consumption and Demand Report

“The extra issues change, the extra they keep the identical.” – Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr

In 2024, 7.9 million first-party registrations revealed that a lot of the identical stays true in B2B.

[ Access the 2025 State of B2B Content Consumption and Demand Report.]

Sure, purchaser behaviors are shifting, AI is reshaping our professional lives, and B2B professionals require extra from their content material than ever.

Nonetheless, 2024’s retrospective appears an terrible lot like 2023. 

  • Content material demand grew 26.9% 12 months over 12 months—a testomony to the rising urge for food for gated content material and the treasure trove of intent alerts it unlocks.
  • There’s a Catch 22. The time it takes to devour content material has widened.
    • That is referred to as The Consumption Hole, and it has grown 23.3% over the past 12 months.
  • Need to know who’s almost definitely to make a purchase order determination within the subsequent 12 months? Produce a Playbook.
    • In comparison with different codecs, customers registering for this content material are 115.1% extra more likely to make a purchase order at the moment.
  • eBooks proceed to be a very dominant format power throughout all Job Ranges, Industries, and Roles. 

However simply because what we’ve found is analogous, it doesn’t imply the takeaways are the identical.

What we found offers a roadmap for thriving in right now’s intent-driven ecosystem. 

5 Sport-Altering Insights from the 2025 State of B2B Content material Consumption and Demand Report

Beneath, we’ll discover 5 key findings that may redefine how you consider content material advertising in 2025.

1. Timing is… 

Every part.

Supply: Stephen Covey

We started by asking what folks need. 

As soon as we work our method by way of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Wants, what folks crave is time.

Cash, theoretically, is infinite. Time is finite. 

In 2024, the Consumption Hole—the delay between content material registration and consumption—reached 38.5 hours, widening by 7.3 hours 12 months over 12 months.

So, whereas content material consumption charges have by no means been greater, the pace at which content material is consumed has by no means been slower.

This metric displays greater than hesitation; it reveals the competing priorities and overload that right now’s patrons face.

The underside line? When you start your outreach, issues.

2. The Tortoise and the Hare

So what can we do with this info round timing? 

Many advertising groups nonetheless run follow-up sequences as if nothing has modified.

And it’s costing you cash.

Right here’s an instance:

Your advertising automation fires off a follow-up e-mail inside minutes of a lead hitting your CRM. Your SDR calls inside the hour.

However your prospect? They haven’t even opened your content material but.

From their perspective, they haven’t began the dialog. So when your e-mail lands—or your gross sales rep dials—it feels off. 

The timing isn’t simply flawed; it’s disruptive.

Actions like this end in:

  • Ignored emails
  • Unsubscribes
  • Decrease conversion charges

Quick follow-ups used to work. (Nonetheless, in the event that they’ve particularly requested for contact, don’t wait!) 

However right now, relevance with out readiness simply creates friction.

Advertising and marketing Aikido

What’s apparent is that our nurturing strategies must adapt. 

As a substitute of worrying in regards to the lag in consumption, we must be making the most of this conduct. Present well timed summaries and follow-ups that respect and embrace the slowdown. 

Providing these tools to your sales colleagues will likely be extraordinarily helpful and, primarily based on common B2B person conduct, will probably be appreciated by the recipient. 

For sellers, apply each warning and context to any outreach. 

Earlier than any outreach to your new registrant, overview the content material they’ve simply requested and share no matter quick-hitting synopses and actionable takeaways you will have accessible for his or her chosen asset. 

This lets you accomplish the next:

  • Say good day with none aggressive demo/gross sales request
  • Set up a reference to a registrant
  • Add extra worth

We should additionally acknowledge the function Format Intent performs for every registration. 

For instance, a person registering for a Playbook ought to be engaged extra swiftly than a person requesting an eBook. 

Why? As a result of for each Playbook request in 2024, there have been 50 eBook requests—making the registration of a Playbook an exceptionally uncommon alternative (and sometimes with vital buy intent).

[More on this in “The eBook Empire”.]

3. C-Degree Engagement Surges by 26.5%

For the primary time since 2022, C-Degree professionals ranked because the second-largest viewers, accounting for 12.7% of complete registrations. 

For advertising departments, this development must be celebrated. C-Degree attain is one thing most campaigns hope to attain. Not solely are these professionals wanting to devour, however they’re additionally seeking to devour the identical codecs as their group members. 

C-Degree professionals need entry to easy-to-consume content material. (There’s a cause why Government Summaries exist.) Their time is restricted and, subsequently, should squeeze essentially the most from any time funding.

So whereas we wish to have interaction the C-Degree due to their monetary sway, do not forget that they’re folks with the identical period of time of their day as anybody else.

4. AI Content material Demand Grew 186%

Synthetic intelligence is now a cornerstone {of professional} curiosity and manufacturing.

In 2024, demand for AI-related content material skyrocketed by 186%, led by curiosity in subjects like generative AI (up 493%) and regulatory issues amongst authorized professionals. 

Particularly, this enhance in total demand alerts a essential alternative to craft AI-focused narratives tailor-made to numerous industries—from biotech’s fascination with NLP to finance’s embrace of automation.

Supply: NetLine’s 2025 State of B2B Content material Consumption and Demand Report for Entrepreneurs, P. 14

 

“Generative AI” content material registrations grew 5x year-over-year with industries like Banking/Mortgage and Advertising and marketing driving this wave. In the meantime, Journalism’s curiosity about instruments like “ChatGPT” spotlight how professionals are leveraging AI to unlock creativity and streamline workflows.

The takeaway for entrepreneurs is to satisfy your viewers the place they’re (and the place they’re going).

Whether or not it’s chatting with Agriculture’s urge for food for “Chatbot” options or showcasing the potential of “Robotics” to Executives, the important thing to success lies in tailoring your messaging to the precise wants of your target market.

Entrepreneurs who align their methods with these pursuits is not going to solely seize consideration however set up themselves as trusted voices within the AI craziness.

5. The eBook Empire

The 2025 State of B2B Content Consumption and Demand Report paints a compelling image of the dominance of eBooks because the go-to format for B2B professionals.

Accounting for 53.3% of all demand in 2024, eBook registrations skyrocketed by 71.4% year-over-year, far outpacing another content material format. 

In comparison with Guides, eBooks outperformed the second hottest format by registration quantity by a staggering 572%. 

Furthermore, the effectivity of eBooks is unmatched.

Every asset uploaded to the NetLine platform generates a mean of 983 registrations, eclipsing White Papers’ 59.5 registrations per asset. 

These stats underscore eBooks’ distinctive capability to steadiness depth, accessibility, and person engagement.

eBooks’ dominance reveals a choice for complete assets that mix wealthy insights with comfort, making them a cornerstone of top-of-funnel consciousness campaigns. 

The caveat with this format is that its reputation doesn’t match its intent sign. In comparison with different codecs like playbooks and case research, eBooks have been 11.8% much less more likely to drive shopping for selections inside a 12 months. 

However that’s okay. 

Each format has a function. In case your ICP is requesting eBooks, that’s an excellent factor. They’re merely on the high of the funnel and simply starting their journey. Your job is to introduce your small business’s experience in these eBooks and educate all through your nurture program.

To capitalize absolutely, entrepreneurs should strategically pair eBooks with high-intent codecs of their content material arsenal, making certain their campaigns not solely spark curiosity but in addition have the chance to drive conversion.

Why Constructing Intentional Content material Experiences is Crucial

We’ve highlighted 5 of essentially the most attention-grabbing learnings from NetLine’s annual B2B content material consumption report.

So what comes subsequent?

What ought to everybody do with this info?

In (re)analyzing the whole thing of the 2025 report, one huge thought involves thoughts: 

B2B content material entrepreneurs and groups should shift their focus from merely creating extra content material to orchestrating smarter, extra intentional content material experiences.

The insights are clear—patrons are overwhelmed. 

The widening Consumption Hole (38.5 hours!) is proof that audiences want time, area, and relevance to interact meaningfully. 

For entrepreneurs, we will’t afford to deal with content material as a quantity sport. As a substitute, we should craft belongings that align with particular moments within the purchaser’s journey—content material that respects their timeline, solutions their rapid questions, and gently guides them ahead.

The dominance of eBooks and the rise of AI-related content material present that whereas curiosity abounds, buy intent usually lies deeper within the funnel. 

Codecs like Case Research and Playbooks—that are strongly tied to buy selections—remind us of the significance of balancing top-of-funnel discovery with bottom-of-funnel precision.

In 2025, groups that thrive will prioritize:

  • Smarter Comply with-Ups: Respect the time it takes to interact with the content material they’ve requested. Need to comply with up earlier than the 48-hour window? Be completely positive you will have contextually related messaging.
  • Format-Particular Methods: eBooks must be your loss-leader. They must be the content material that will get your ICP within the door. From there, use intent-rich codecs like Playbooks when concentrating on patrons near a call, whereas feeding discovery and brand-building efforts.
  • Hyper-Personalization with Intent Information: That is the 12 months of data-driven empathy. NetLine’s audience intent data provides a window into what your viewers needs—leverage it to ship customized, human-first experiences. In an AI-world, this may separate good entrepreneurs from nice ones.

Utilizing NetLine’s Analysis to Repair the Damaged Demand Era Playbook

Patrons aren’t ignoring outreach as a result of they aren’t ; they’re ignoring it as a result of they aren’t prepared. 

Pushing too quickly results in decrease response charges, extra no-shows, and elevated frustration for each patrons and gross sales groups. 

Keep in mind: your timeline just isn’t their timeline.

The best groups in 2025 received’t merely transfer sooner; they’ll transfer smarter. Precision will win over pace, and the businesses that adapt now would be the ones main the cost into the long run.

Be deliberate. 

Prioritize precise engagement behaviors, corresponding to nurturing emails that ship actionable takeaways and synopses and Gross sales monitoring actual intent alerts as a substitute of counting on outdated MQL definitions.

Totally different content material varieties mirror completely different ranges of curiosity—eBooks drive consciousness, White Papers point out deeper analysis, and Playbooks are sturdy shopping for alerts. 

Each phrase, format, and interplay ought to contribute to a considerate, empathetic content material technique that prioritizes high quality over amount and affect over noise. 

This report isn’t nearly developments—it’s a blueprint for connection in a world that desperately wants it. 

What Stunned You Most?

As you discover this 12 months’s findings, we’d love to listen to your ideas. What stunned you most? How do you propose to adapt your technique primarily based on this information?

Tag NetLine on LinkedIn along with your reflections and questions—we’re right here to collaborate and study collectively.

Able to dive deeper? Entry the complete 2025 State of B2B Content Consumption and Demand Report.


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