For senior B2B marketers, increasing content production while maintaining quality, consistency, and ensuring ROI can feel like an impossible equation.

With tighter budgets, reduced resources, and ever-increasing demands, economic uncertainty only serves to amplify these challenges.

The latest State of Digital Content report surveyed over 400 content professionals and uncovered a troubling insight—only 19% of teams managed to increase content ROI last year.

What set the small percentage of high-performing teams apart wasn't just increased output but a smarter, more strategic approach that streamlined workflows, embraced new technologies, and maximized their content's impact.

Below, we'll break down strategies based on these insights to help your team not only meet its content goals but also thrive, even in a challenging landscape.

1. Invest in quality and authenticity rather than volume

When every dollar counts, excess isn't just wasteful; it's counterproductive. High-performing teams are prioritizing quality over quantity, focusing on value-driven content that genuinely resonates with their audience.

In a recent keynote speech, SEO expert Neil Patel noted, "People want really high-quality content. And I want to clarify, when I say high quality, I'm not talking about the editing of a video or the editing of an image. I'm talking about the information that they're getting and how relevant and actionable it is to them" (Content Innovation Summit).

Rather than churning out volume, emphasize crafting content that speaks to your brand's core message and values, like thought leadership pieces, compelling storytelling, and addressing the everyday pain points your audience faces. For example, authentic storytelling can increase content engagement by up to 22% (State of Digital Content report).

Take action:

• Shift your KPIs away from output metrics, like the number of pieces produced, to indicators that measure long-term engagement and impact.
• Mine past content for the top-performing pieces. What worked well? Use those insights to guide future creations.

2. Build thought leadership to capture mindshare

Winning market share is increasingly about earning mindshare first. Authentic thought leadership content positions your business as not only a solution provider but also an expert resource.

Thought leadership goes beyond self-promotion. High-performing marketers are leveraging key experts, including CEOs and industry specialists, to humanize their brand and connect on a deeper level with their audience. And thought leadership performs better, with nearly 80% of decision-makers preferring to access information from articles rather than through ads (LinkedIn's Thought Leadership Study).

Take action:

• Collaborate with your C-suite or subject-matter experts to share their insights through blog posts, LinkedIn articles, and webinars.
• Share actionable advice with real-world applicability to your audience's challenges instead of purely promotional content.

3. Leverage AI thoughtfully to enhance efficiency

AI isn't just a tool for production; it can be the solution for resource-strapped marketing teams looking to do more with less. According to research, top-performing content teams are 1.5x more likely to use AI-based tools to boost content discovery and organization (State of Digital Content report).

Though automation can help with repetitive tasks, like tagging digital assets, AI should enhance—not replace—human creativity. When used strategically, it reduces manual workflows and frees up marketers to focus their energies on high-value, impactful projects.

Take action:

• Use AI across the content lifecycle; from SEO research to computer vision AI tools that enable fast asset discoverability, to AI-tools that optimize email and social scheduling for better organization.
• Avoid over-relying on AI for actual creation; instead, use it as a tool to supplement authentic creativity.

4. Streamline workflows with smarter systems

Disjointed tools and workflows are the bane of efficient content production. On average, marketing and creative professionals lose over three hours per week searching for digital assets (State of Digital Content). High performers streamline their content operations to eliminate inefficiencies and encourage collaboration across teams.

Teams using unified systems, such as digital asset management (DAM) platforms, are twice as likely to produce consistent results and also find repurposing content significantly easier.

Take action:

• Assess your current tool stack. Are your platforms integrated and easy to use? Consider integrating tools across your martech stack with a DAM system to reduce redundancy and the potential for manual errors.
• Standardize content processes with clear, repeatable workflows to minimize confusion and avoid missed deadlines.

5. Maximize ROI through content personalization

Your audience wants content that feels tailored to their needs and preferences. Generic, one-size-fits-all approaches no longer cut it; 77% of B2B consumers state they'll engage only with personalized messaging (Inc.com).

AI-powered segmentation makes tailored experiences scalable, allowing marketers to deliver the right message, in the right format, to the right person at the right time.

However, personalization at scale requires an organized base of assets to achieve consistent, high-quality execution.

Take action:

• Implement auto-tagging tools within your DAM to categorize and organize personalized assets in relation to your ideal customer profile or audience segments.
• Use audience insights from previous campaigns to understand what type of content resonates most, and tailor future efforts accordingly.

6. Repurpose smarter to stretch your content investment

Distributing the same piece of content across channels? That's repurposing. High-performing teams take it further by reimagining a single piece of valuable content into a continuous stream of new materials.

For example, a webinar can transform into blog posts, bite-sized social media content, and email campaign assets. This flywheel approach sustains engagement while maximizing the ROI of content creation efforts.

Take action:

• Create a streamlined method for reviewing content performance across various channels and identifying what can be reworked or repurposed.
• Focus on high-value and evergreen content that can remain relevant over time and across platforms.

7. Do more with less through technology

With uncertainty in economic conditions, investing strategically in tools that maximize impact while reducing manual effort has never been more critical. Efficiency doesn't come from adopting every new technology available but by ensuring that tools integrate seamlessly into your workflows.

High performers centralize resources, remove redundancies, and focus on building tech stacks around their existing "lifeblood" tools.

For example, for companies that sell products, combining DAM platforms with product information management (PIM) systems enables consistent brand messaging while improving content flow.

Take action:

• Prioritize tech that fills operational gaps and directly impacts productivity.
• Encourage cross-team adoption of core platforms to fully leverage integrations and platform functionality.

Digital content success depends on a strategic approach

Economic uncertainty requires marketers to work smarter—not harder. By focusing on quality over quantity, investing in AI and personalization, streamlining workflows, and repurposing wisely, your content marketing team can meet business goals despite external challenges.

High-performing teams have adopted these strategies to thrive, and the same results are entirely possible for your organization with the right approach.

With these insights as your guide, the impossible equation of modern content marketing becomes something not just solvable but repeatable.