Combined, owned content (32%) and earned media and social sharing (20%) represent the majority of areas marketers are prioritizing for budget allocation heading into 2026.
The concentration of budget in owned and earned channels signals a strategic pivot: B2B organizations are prioritizing narrative control and credibility over transient reach, particularly in sales enablement and long-cycle buying environments.
Thought leadership is nearly universal (96%) in terms of marketers who say they “create” it, according to a recent Content Marketing Institute report on trends. Yet 36% rate such programs as “established” and even fewer rate themselves as “advanced” (7%) or “leading” (4%).
Trust: A Leading KPI
Trust is becoming a measurable KPI for B2B executives, media consultants, content marketing and public relations teams.
According to Forrester, it’s been predicted that ungoverned use of generative AI will cost companies $10 billion. More buyers will look to experts for validating insights and answering the complex questions.
Evidence increasingly suggests that proof-oriented, human-forward formats outperform generic brand messaging when evaluated against trust, buyer engagement, and downstream influence.
Email marketing for customer nurturing and acquisition is not going anywhere. Newsletter development ranks high, as well as use of LinkedIn, speaking engagements and webinars, all rated among the most effective channels.
With owned media, all collateral is under your control, from websites and blogs to email, social media accounts and third-party content hubs, as durable and versatile assets.
White papers and editorials, combined with media pitching and outreach, go toward earning placements that support trust-building through sharing experience, learnings and insights. Putting forth consistent streams of objective information adds value to editors and readers of leading B2B trade journals and niche industry publications.
Meanwhile, LinkedIn’s 2025 marketing benchmark report indicates that 78% of B2B marketers use video, with short-form social content, brand storytelling, customer testimonials, and product demonstrations consistently cited among the highest-ROI formats.
Google’s advice? An SVP with the company was recently quoted in Search Engine Land on the topic of optimization when the conversation turned to traditional SEO (search engine optimization) versus the new AI search visibility.
The verdict? Each are optimized the same way.
Build a great site, build great content.
Strong Content Vs. Brand Recognition Alone
For companies, thought leadership and brand storytelling programs stand out in niche B2B spaces when content strategy, white hat public relations, custom publishing, and consistent outreach are combined.
A 2025 Edelman report on the impact of thought leadership provides actionable insights regarding the type of content that decision makers value.
They also draw attention to what content can do to help buying groups better align, noting that in addition to the front line decision makers, other stakeholders tend to remain just out of view.
This group, with 71% having little to no interaction with sales, is also highly active, some 63% of so-called “hidden buyers” spend over an hour a week consuming thought leadership.
According to Edelman’s findings:
- 95% say it makes them more receptive to outreach
- 79% more likely to advocate during RFP if a vendor consistently produces high-quality thought leadership
- 53% say strong content can outweigh brand recognition alone
For 2026, influence distribution will be increasingly defined by combining quality design and creative execution with data analysis, leveraging empirical evidence and visual storytelling, sharing subject-matter expertise, and earning the right media attention.
Owning It: Content Strategy, Implementation
With marketing dollars under closer scrutiny, content is increasingly evaluated by its ability to influence buying decisions and support revenue outcomes, reducing risk associated with spend that cannot be tied to business performance.
Organizations that align owned media, disciplined measurement, credible exposure and proof-based storytelling are better positioned to reduce risk and convert content marketing effort into measurable sales enablement outcomes, the results they want and need.
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