Forbes has published a study "The Rise of the Digital C-Suite: How Executives Locate and Filter Business Information" that is particularly useful for b-to-b marketers who want to reach C-level executives with their content.

The report confirms, with research, several trends we've assumed to be true:

• Younger executives are more likely to use social media than the previous generations.
• The Internet has edged out print media as a trusted information source.
• Text is still king, but online video is on the rise with younger executives. Look for a shift away from KnowledgeStorm and towards YouTube.
  

There are also some surprising findings:

• C-level executives don't delegate research as much as we might think. Executives do perform their own searches, and download white papers and read blogs. That means: decision-makers do find and read good content.
• Competitor analyses are the #1 topic of research executives seek. That means: there's a payoff for companies who take a cue from social media, and adopt a content strategy that addresses competitive differentiation. A rah-rah white paper won't be as effective as one that helps the reader compare apples to apples.

This report will be helpful to marketers who know the age of the executives they want to reach. Articles and white papers will appeal to "Generation Wang," while blogs and video will be effective for "Generation Netscape."

Forbes.com requires a free registration to download the document (name and email address). Download "The Rise of the Digital C-Suite" here. Thanks to Joe Pulizzi for blogging this report.

Labels: business to business (B2B), content marketing