When the pipeline slows down, the instinct is often the same: publish more.
More content. More formats. More channels. More. But volume isn’t the same as velocity, and chasing the former can stall the latter.
What’s the difference?
Volume is output. It’s counting what’s been published: 10 blog posts this month. 3 LinkedIn posts a week. A webinar every quarter.
Velocity, on the other hand, is momentum. It’s how quickly insights turn into content, how fast the team can respond to a shift in the market, and how consistently that content supports revenue. MarTech.org’s “4 V’s of B2B Marketing” — while written back in 2018 — still frames it perfectly: volume scratches the surface at the top of the funnel, while velocity accelerates prospects through with relevance and speed. The language might be from another content era, but the principle holds up and arguably matters more now than ever.
Why content volume fails to drive impact
High-volume teams often look busy, but when you dig deeper, you start to see the cracks:
- Content isn’t connected to signals – it’s built from assumptions.
- Messaging gets diluted as speed outpaces alignment.
- Sales are overwhelmed, not enabled.
- The team is burned out, but still behind C-level expectations.
McKinsey’s research on jump-starting B2B sales amid uncertainty shows exactly this: over-reliance on output metrics leads to stalled pipelines and disconnected efforts, turning volume into a drag rather than a driver.
Instead of helping the business move faster, volume becomes a drag.
What content velocity actually looks like
Velocity doesn’t mean flooding the blog. It means moving with purpose. When something changes – a new competitor, a market shift, an objection in a sales call – the content engine responds within days, not quarters.
It’s not about creating content faster. It’s about creating the right content faster.
Velocity is what happens when your system is working:
- Clear roles, so decisions don’t stall.
- Shared signals, so content aligns with real needs.
- Defined formats, so you’re not reinventing the wheel.
- AI agents embedded, so insights surface automatically.
Sales velocity – defined by CXL's B2B metrics framework as (opportunities × deal size × win rate) ÷ sales cycle – is how revenue leaders track pipeline momentum.
Content can’t change those numbers directly. But it supports every input. When a rep has the right proof point, the right narrative, the right message – exactly when they need it – the deal moves faster.
That’s where content velocity shows up: not as output, but as enablement.
Why this pitfall is so common
It’s easy to measure volume. Velocity… not so much. And when dashboards show gaps, the default is to “do more.” But more without context isn’t helpful. It’s noise.
This is where foundational systems matter: a way to triage signals, prioritize work, and scale smartly (not just quickly).
How we avoid it at Scaale
We’ve been guilty of this ourselves: over-producing when things slow down. But today, our system is built differently.
Signals from the market flow into Big Brajn – our network of AI agents that surface shifts in narrative, competitor moves, and emerging pain points.
From there, we decide what’s worth responding to. Some things get a Slack message. Others get a full content brief. Some get ignored.
The point is: we don’t equate output with progress. We look for movement in the market, and make sure our content supports it.
