Knowledge with out context is ineffective. 

Whereas I’m exceptionally happy with the work we do with our annual B2B consumption report, I acknowledge there’s extra to be accomplished in truly respiration context into the insights, statistics, findings, and even suggestions we offer.

That’s why, initially 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 revealed work in contrast and contrasted with NetLine’s 2025 content consumption data 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 Consumption: Inspecting B2B 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 here are the panel’s greatest insights, courtesy of Andy Crestodina, Mark Schaefer, and Zontee Hou.

  • Construct momentum by iterating on one robust 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. Protected = invisible. The Audacity Index reminds us that competence gained’t minimize it; originality earns consideration. (Mark Schaefer)

The B2B Consumption Paradox: Ship Worth Quicker

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 go between content material request and consumption.

Patrons are elevating their palms, however they’re not appearing immediately. 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 can 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.

Patrons are curious however busy. When there’s almost a 39-hour delay between obtain and determination, silence kills momentum. Content material should 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 have to be extra proactive about ensuring that we’re reminding individuals 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 truly needs to have interaction 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. If you happen to ship speedy 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 if you happen to’re not utilizing the info?

From NetLine’s perspective, we definitely need your finest content material to be gated. However we aren’t zealots about it. 

Think about ungating your skimmable model. Share it throughout your social media platforms, particularly LinkedIn. This manner, you may ship quick and nurture later.

It’s price noting that Andy is an advocate for gated content material. Orbit Media’s 2021 research proves this.

That concept echoes among the philosophies Jay Baer espoused in his 2013 ebook, Youtility:
“If you happen to promote one thing, you make a buyer right this moment, however if you happen to genuinely assist somebody, you create a buyer for all times.” In Baer’s framing, advertising needs to be “so helpful, individuals would pay for it.” 

Which means making a gift of your finest insights with out worry. We do that with the whole lot we gate, too. Simply because probably the most invaluable items get externalized doesn’t erode the worth of the asset.

Not the whole lot must be hidden behind a kind. Generally, the quickest solution to earn belief is to let the worth circulation freely.

Mark added a tactical word: deal with the primary 24 hours as sacred. Worth decays rapidly. If a prospect downloaded your information yesterday, they’re nonetheless fascinated about you right this moment. 

Tomorrow? Perhaps not. Tomorrow’s duties outweigh yesterday’s yearnings. 

Reply with relevance earlier than they overlook they even registered.

Format Indicators Intent—And Shapes It

Codecs are extra than simply containers by which your content material lives and is delivered. To the groups paying consideration, they’re vital sources of alerts. 

Patrons usually make snap judgments primarily based on what a format guarantees. If you happen to don’t imagine that, then take note of the way you devour the subsequent 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 identify, 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 shocked to see the curiosity in ebooks. Individuals 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 figuring out how entrepreneurs and the overall B2B inhabitants sees the format, nonetheless, it’s clear that the general public sees eBooks as a common content material format.

eBooks are the last 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 need to scientific research, designed to current knowledge and different important info as straight as doable.

Guides are primarily positioned to ascertain authority, strolling readers by way of a subject or process step-by-step from begin to end.

Merely goes to indicate that no matter what we expect (and even what a separate set of knowledge shares), our personal experiences and perceptions will all the time take precedent. 

Takeaway: Rename and restructure to affect habits.

In case your eBook is performing, nice. However don’t draw back from testing it as a Information or a Playbook. 

The format isn’t what really 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 overlook sharable bridges: infographics constantly outperform for socialization and inner distribution. They rework passive downloaders into lively evangelists.

That is additionally the place Andy’s Content Chemistry comes alive. 

His “Periodic Table of Content” reminds us that each piece serves a distinct perform.

Some codecs appeal to (resembling 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 cruel 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 way of this lens, codecs are much less about deliverables and extra about chain reactions. Every asset ought to join logically to the subsequent, constructing momentum by way of a pure content material chemistry that shapes intent and accelerates outcomes.

Personalization = Usefulness + Context

Keep in mind when personalization meant seeing your first identify on an e-mail? These have been the times… 

At present, 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 person they want to interact: “What’s in it for me?”


Gathering intent alerts through form-fills is an effective way to find out what must be in it for “them.”

Nevertheless it needs to be used correctly.

As Andy shared earlier, his query of, “Why gate in any respect if you happen to’re not utilizing the info?” 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 accumulating friction, not perception. Each subject 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 exhibits patrons you have been listening. 

Mark warned: “Personalization has turn out to be impersonal.” Use knowledge to be useful, not creepy. Andy added: if you happen to’re not utilizing what you accumulate 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 transient 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. 

Patrons 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 customers to do their jobs higher in live performance with AI. 

“It’s gonna be about among the skills to synthesize info, analyze info, automate info, take info that exists, and make it extra accessible to our audiences,” she stated. “And I believe 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 way of. “Patrons 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 hold iterating and updating continuously. 

“The primary downside we’ve got is consciousness,” he stated. “Even high-quality content material is more durable to get seen.” 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.

In the end, 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 definately’re ignorable,” he stated. “About two-thirds of B2B and B2C advertising creates no emotional response with clients in anyway. We need to be stimulated, entertained, see one thing we’ve by no means seen earlier than. We would like you to earn our consideration by simply attempting one thing completely different.

Takeaway #2: Do what AI can’t.

As Andy shared, AI can’t produce unique knowledge. It could’t take a stand. Till it may, this stays our benefit. A perspective is what makes content material each memorable and defensible.

Zontee instructed mining your individual aggregated knowledge. Flip inner insights into market-ready content material, resembling Spotify Wrapped. It doesn’t have to be massive; it simply must be proprietary.

Mark’s closing problem: break one thing. The narrative. The format. The voice. Memorable doesn’t require a large funds, nevertheless it does require nerve. 

NetLine, as an illustration, vehicles round a 300-pound mascot to B2B occasions throughout the nation. Why? Effectively, as a result of it’s enjoyable, definitely, however extra so as a result of it’s about resonance, originality, and impression.

Disrupt expectations in small however significant methods.

Methods to Create Your Personal Momentum

Phew. There’s loads to digest right here. So, what comes subsequent?

Right here’s a solution to pressure-test these concepts immediately that you simply and your staff 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 may 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)
    • Function-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 may see the place friction exists, which variations pull patrons ahead, and the way properly personalization lands. It’s momentum you may repeat each quarter.

Remaining Thought

From generic to particular, from secure to daring, from passive to proactive, constructing momentum in trendy advertising isn’t merely about marketing campaign optimization. It requires a mindset shift, as an alternative; giving your viewers one thing they didn’t anticipate however all the time wanted.

Whenever you package deal 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 subject… It doesn’t need to be costly, nevertheless it needs to be a little bit audacious.”

Particular thanks as soon as once more to our panelists, Andy, Mark, and Zontee. You could find their newest revealed works under:




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