If you’re a marketer, you’re probably familiar with this struggle: putting a bunch of thought, energy and effort into a great campaign that succeeds initially but rapidly tails off in performance, only to be soon forgotten.
Lasting power is very difficult to achieve in an environment where attention spans are short, content churn is constant and buyers are shifting between channels. This is why, at TopRank Marketing, we’ve found original research to be such an indispensable investment — both for our clients and our agency.
Here are some real stories and examples that show how conducting and publishing research as a brand delivers enduring value — from earned media to high-intent inquiries — and how you can unlock it.
The curse of the short-term campaign
B2B marketers are feeling the pressure to prioritize short-term campaigns, in search of quick-hitting results that are easy to report on. These types of campaigns are important components of a well-rounded strategy, but the urge to show straightforward ROI often leads to over-indexing on the lower funnel and paid media. Ultimately, it’s not a cost-efficient way to grow.
Research from TopRank Marketing and Ascend2 found that 97% of B2B marketers believe thought leadership is critical to full-funnel success, but only 43% extend those efforts beyond acquisition, leaving a lot of long-term impact on the table.
Enter: original research. When conducted in a credible, transparent way and packaged in engaging formats, research drives influence throughout the funnel and across channels. This is best answer content at its essence, providing clear audience value through proprietary insights while qualifying a relevant audience through the subject matter. Better yet, it lends itself to being shared, cited and analyzed.
93% of B2B marketers using original research say it is effective at driving engagement and leads, with nearly half rating it as “very effective.” (State of B2B Thought Leadership 2026)
Why original research delivers compounding value and ROI
Launching a research support isn’t just a tactic that lives on its own. The investment can, and should, turn into an integral strategic asset — foundational to brand, demand and lead generation content.
Here are a few ways this impact comes to fruition:
- The research report itself is a powerful draw. It can be gated or not, depending on your goals, but if you’re uncovering unique new insights that matter to your audience, these assets are built to break through at a time where buyers are hungry for context, benchmarks and data-backed guidance.
- You can take your main research report, drill down and repurpose it into different formats like infographics, social media content, blog posts, or mini-guides. Building these out into your content calendar over the course of several months can give continued life to the research while zeroing in on different subtopics, challenges, or audience segments.
- In addition to creating specific content highlighting your data and findings, these first-party insights can be incorporated into broader content, adding authority and unique value in the eyes of users, search engines and LLMs. The data can also be a jumping-off point for influencer collaborations or content co-creation.
- Original research also has the ability to get picked up and featured in third-party sources, furthering your brand’s authority signals while also generating valuable backlinks and market credibility.
The ongoing impact of original research in action
We believe in the enduring power of original research that can power visibility, credibility and decision confidence over long periods of time because we’ve seen it proven out repeatedly, for both our clients and own marketing efforts. For example, our 2025 B2B Influencer Marketing Report, first published in November of 2024, was recently featured in January 2026 alongside research from LinkedIn and Demand Gen Report in an ANA article published at MediaVillage three months later. We’re still spinning up valuable blog angles for our audience from the data, and will continue to do so.
As another example, TopRank Marketing and Ascend2 published the State of B2B Thought Leadership 2026, which has been mentioned and discussed on sites such as:
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These citations and features don’t happen on their own — orchestrating influencer collaboration, media outreach and marketing partnerships are essential and central to the Trust System within our Best Answer Marketing framework. The benefits are boundless: extended reach, bolstered credibility and powerful authority via third-party trust signals. It’s no coincidence that if you search “b2b thought leadership” on Google, our report shows up on the first page.
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Building a research-driven content strategy for long-lasting ROI
To maximize the long-term value of an investment in original research, up-front planning is essential. Against the backdrop of TopRank’s distinct Best Answer Marketing approach, here are five steps to ensure you’re getting the most out of your research investment in the short and long term.
Plan beyond the launch moment
Original research delivers the most value when it’s treated as a long-term asset, not a one-time campaign. That means planning for PR, partnerships and distribution before the research is even in the field. Identify the publications, communities and collaborators who will care about the insights — and shape your research questions with those audiences in mind.
Make research the backbone of your content strategy
Design your extended content calendar around the research from the start. Blog posts, social content, webinars, sales enablement, and thought leadership should all ladder back to the same foundational insights, reinforcing your narrative over time.
Integrate insights everywhere, not just in research content
Your first-party data shouldn’t live only in research-focused assets. Weave it into broader POV pieces, evergreen guides, category explainers, and even product or solution content. This compounds authority by consistently signaling originality and expertise to buyers, search engines and LLMs alike.
Orchestrate earned media intentionallyCitations and coverage don’t happen by accident. Proactive outreach, embargoed previews and strategic partnerships with trusted third parties dramatically increase the chances your research will be cited, discussed, and referenced long after launch.
Work with partners who know how to unlock compounding returns
Original research is a significant investment. Experienced partners help ensure it pays dividends by guiding everything from methodology and positioning to PR activation, content integration and long-term reuse. The mutual value created can compound the credibility, reach and longevity of your research investment.
Tap into the lasting power of original B2B research
At TopRank Marketing, we have a distinct system along with the experience, expertise and partnerships to bring a full-fledged B2B original research strategy to life. In addition to our own long history of publishing research, we’ve been engaged by numerous top brands such as Sprinklr, LinkedIn and HubSpot to support end-to-end research driven content marketing strategies that paid (and continue to pay) long-term dividends.
For example, here’s an example of our original research powered marketing work for Sprinklr and Linkedin that generated 4.6 million targeted impressions, a 370% better engagement rate and 1,100 qualified leads.
Develop proprietary insights, contextualize them with clarity for your audience and agents, and prove why you are the Best Answer for overwhelmed buyers. Reach out today and we’ll show you how.
About the author
Nick Nelson is our friendly neighborhood writer-man. As the Associate Content Director at TopRank Marketing, he is on a mission to energize brand narratives with smart, fun, sharp wordplay. In his free time, Nick enjoys basking in the misery of Minnesota sports fandom, making cringeworthy puns, and smothering all types of food in buffalo sauce.
