It can be difficult to find positives in light of the COVID-19 pandemic — but I have, at least in the professional sense.
You see, in the past few months, I’ve found a new sense of importance in my job of creating content.
With social distancing still in effect across much of the globe, gatherings, hugs, and handshakes have become taboos, dangers even.
Having business meetings and conversations face-to-face feel like a distant memory.
So many of our interactions with others have turned digital; in fact, they rely on online content.
A great marketer and friend of mine once wrote, “everything the light touches is content” — and she’s right.
Turn back the clock to 2008 and when you heard the term “content marketing,” people were most likely referring to written blogs, but the landscape has expanded and evolved dramatically in the past decade.
Today, content takes the form of video, imagery, quizzes, social media stories, PDFs, Google Ads, printed posters, and even words across a t-shirt.
If your organization isn’t investing in content in one form or another, it’s very much putting itself at a competitive disadvantage.
According to The State of Content Marketing 2019 by SEMrush, 91% of marketers surveyed across 39 countries are investing in content marketing.
In fact, the “B2B Content Marketing 2020” Report from Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs found 81% of companies planned on maintaining or increasing their content marketing investment in 2020.
Despite challenges from SEO/search (61% of marketers said they’re concerned about these in 2019), social media algorithm changes, and hurdles turning content into a revenue stream (noted by 41% in 2019), the industry is only growing.
With this in mind, below I’ve gathered 63 new and eye-opening content marketing statistics to give you insight into the current competition and help end 2020 with a strong content strategy.
Content marketing strategy statistics
1. in 2019, “content marketing strategy” was the most popular Google search related to content marketing. (The State of Content Marketing 2019 by SEMrush)
2. Despite its popularity, only 42% of companies consider their content marketing efforts “mature” or “sophisticated.” (B2B Content Marketing 2020 Report)
3. Only 41% of content marketers have a documented content marketing strategy. That number, however, jumps to 69% among top performing organizations. (B2B Content Marketing 2020 Report)
4. 78% of companies report only having 1-3 content marketing specialists on their team. (The State of Content Marketing 2019 by SEMrush)
5. The three most popular roles they reported having were a content writer/creator (52%), a social media manager (36%), and SEO content manager (34%) (The State of Content Marketing 2019 by SEMrush)
6. 54% of companies reported generating quality leads to be their biggest challenge with content marketing. (The State of Content Marketing 2019 by SEMrush)
7. The top 3 content mediums for B2B marketers are social media content (95%), blog posts/short articles (89%), and email newsletters (81%). (B2B Content Marketing 2020 Report)
These are also considered the top three free content distribution channels.
8. 86% of B2B marketers think their audience views their organization asa credible and trusted resource. (B2B Content Marketing 2020 Report)
9. On average, marketers reported that only 22% of the content they create is for the middle-of-the-funnel, 14% for late stage, and 11% for post-sale audiences. (B2B Content Marketing 2020 Report)
10. Only 54% of B2B marketers are using content to “delight” and build loyalty with existing clients/customers. (CMI & MarketingProfs)
11. 54% of marketers feel they’re not maximizing their use of Instagram to achieve their goals. (Contently & Libris)
12. 64% of B2B marketers place importance on building relationships with influencers (i.e. brand advocates, journalists, etc.) (CMI & MarketingProfs), and 65% of B2B buyers prefer credible content from industry influencers (Demand Gen Report 2018 Content Preferences Survey Report)
Yet…
13. Only 24% of B2B marketers are actually partnering with others to expand their audience reach. (CMI & MarketingProfs).
14. In 2019, 75% of content marketers reported using technology to gain insight into how their content is performing, while only 56% used it to gain insight into audience preferences and behavior. (CMI & MarketingProfs)
15. 85% of companies report leveraging website analytics tools in their content marketing strategies. (The State of Content Marketing 2019 by SEMrush)
16. In 2019, 90% of the most successful B2B content marketers claimed to prioritize their audience’s informational needs over their own sales/promotional message. (CMI & MarketingProfs)
However…
17. Only 42% of B2B content marketers are actually spoke to customers to understand their needs when it came to content. (CMI & MarketingProfs)
Content marketing ROI statistics
18. At the end of 2019, 81% of companies planned on maintaining or increasing their content marketing investment in 2020. (B2B Content Marketing 2020 Report)
19. When asked if they’re tracking their content marketing ROI, 56% of marketers either said “no” or “unsure.” (B2B Content Marketing 2020 Report)
But…
20. Of those who do measure it, 59% rate their ability to do so as “excellent” or “very good.” (B2B Content Marketing 2020 Report)
21. 76% of marketers surveyed measure the success of their content based on organic traffic. — 62% measure it based on leads, 60% by page views or sessions, and 47% by conversion rate. (The State of Content Marketing 2019 by SEMrush)
22. The top 3 goals of content marketing in 2020 are to generate more quality leads, attract traffic to company websites, and improve brand reputation. (The State of Content Marketing 2019 by SEMrush)
23. 95% of video marketers plan to increase or maintain their spend on video in 2020. (State of Video Marketing 2020 by Wyzowl)
Content marketing mediums and tactics
24. 84% of B2B marketers report using paid distribution channels for their content marketing. 72% of that group use paid or promoted social media posts. (B2B Content Marketing 2020 Report)
25. LinkedIn was the most popular social media channel to invest in paid promotion with 76% of B2B marketers reporting using it in the past 12 months. (B2B Content Marketing 2020 Report)
26. 95% of B2B marketers report using LinkedIn for organic content marketing, the highest out of the the major social media platforms. — Twitter came in at 86%, Facebook at 83%, YouTube at 53%, and Instagram at 46%. (B2B Content Marketing 2020 Report)
27. Listicles get the most shares and traffic (up to 2x more than other types of blog posts), followed by guides and “how to” articles. (The State of Content Marketing 2019 by SEMrush)
28. 62% of marketers use stock photography/videography for their content. (Contently & Libris)
29. Only 7% of B2B marketers report using chatbots in their marketing; Only 4% are using AI. (CMI & MarketingProfs)
30. 87% of marketers are using still email to nurture their audience, while only 45% are using storytelling. (CMI & MarketingProfs)
31. Only 23% of marketers are incorporating interactive features into their content; That number only rises slightly to 37% among top performers. (CMI & MarketingProfs)
32. 70% of marketers reported that content incorporating visuals assets performed better than those without. (Contently & Libris)
33. In 2019, 33% of marketers reported custom video driving the most engagement out of all visual content for them, but only 6% reported live video specifically (*TRIVIA ANSWER*). (Contently & Libris)
34. 64% of B2B marketers increased their use of audio/visual content in the past year, but only 43% of marketers overall actually used/developed video snippets. (CMI & MarketingProfs)
This may be because…
35. 81% of respondents claim video is still the hardest type of content to produce (Contently & Libris) (Note: Pst… We can help with that.)
36. 20% of non-video marketers say they don’t use video for marketing as it is too expensive. (State of Video Marketing 2020 by Wyzowl)
However…
37. 85% of businesses use video as a marketing tool. This was 87% in 2019,81% in 2018, 63% in 2017 and 61% in 2016. (State of Video Marketing 2020 by Wyzowl)
Video content marketing statistics
38. 92% of marketers who use video say that it’s an important part of their marketingstrategy. (State of Video Marketing 2020 by Wyzowl)
39. 87% of marketers say video has increased traffic to their website, while 80% say it has helped increase sales. (State of Video Marketing 2020 by Wyzowl)
40. 83% say video has helped them generate leads. State of Video Marketing 2020 by Wyzowl)
41. 59% of non-video marketers say they expect to start using video as a marketing tool in 2020. (State of Video Marketing 2020 by Wyzowl)
42. 74% of people say they’ve been convinced to buy or download a piece of software or app by watching a video. That number jumps to 84% when asked if a video convinced them to buy a product or service. (State of Video Marketing 2020 by Wyzowl)
43. YouTube remains the most widely used platform for video marketers, with 85% of video marketers having used it in 2019. (State of Video Marketing 2020 by Wyzowl)
However…
44. Facebook has become more effective with just 79% of video marketers using it, but 85% of those people say it’s been a success. (State of Video Marketing 2020 by Wyzowl)
45. In 2019 LinkedIn has emerged as the most successful channel for video marketers, with an overwhelming 87% of LinkedIn video marketers describing it as an effective channel. (State of Video Marketing 2020 by Wyzowl)
46. 64% of B2B consumers are only willing to spend 10 minutes or less watching video content. 63% are willing to watch 20-60 minutes if it is a webinar. (Demand Gen Report 2019 Content Preferences Survey Report)
Audience behavior and preferences
47. 85% of adults consume content on multiple devices at the same time. (Think With Google)
48. 59% of B2B buyers strongly agree that companies should make it easier to access their content, by using fewer form fields, better mobile optimization, etc.(Demand Gen Report 2019 Content Preferences Survey Report)
yet…
49. In the era of smartphones, more than half of blogs’ traffic still comes from desktop. The only exceptions are in the leisure-related industries — Travel (49.6%) and Jewelry (41.2%). (The State of Content Marketing 2019 by SEMrush)
50. 71% of buyers/readers say they were turned off by content that seems like a sales pitch. (Economist Group’s “Missing the Mark”)
In fact…
51. 96% of B2B buyers reported that B2B vendors could improve their content by curbing sales messages. (Demand Gen Report 2019 Content Preferences Survey Report)
52. 73% of B2B consumers reported consuming between three and seven pieces ofcontent before speaking with a salesperson. (Demand Gen Report 2019 Content Preferences Survey Report)
53. 92% of B2B buyers noted they give more credence to peer reviews and user-generated feedback than that of brands. (Demand Gen Report 2019 Content Preferences Survey Report)
54. 97% of B2B buyers reported putting more emphasis on the trustworthiness of the source of their content. (Demand Gen Report 2019 Content Preferences Survey Report)
55. 86% of B2B buyers reported preferring interactive content that they can access on-demand. (Demand Gen Report 2019 Content Preferences Survey Report)
56. 93% of B2B buyers prefer shorter format content. (Demand Gen Report 2019 Content Preferences Survey Report)
But…
57. Long reads of 3000+ words get 3x more traffic, 4x more shares, and 3.5x more backlinks than articles of average length (901-1200 words). (The State of Content Marketing 2019 by SEMrush)
58. 68% of B2B buyers report they would like to see content organized byissue/pain point by B2B vendors, 59% by industry/vertical, 47% by business role. (Demand Gen Report 2019 Content Preferences Survey Report)
59. 52% of buyers strongly agree that if brands packaged relevant content together, it would help expedite the research phase. (Demand Gen Report 2018 Content Preferences Survey Report)
60. Roughly 84% of buyers said they either frequently or occasionally access business-related content on their smartphone. (Demand Gen Report 2018 Content Preferences Survey Report)
61. In the early stages of their buyer journeys, 78% of B2B buyers report enjoying infographics, 76% listicles, and 61% ebooks. (Demand Gen Report 2019 Content Preferences Survey Report)
62. In the mid-stage of their buying journey, 51% want to see webinars, 50 % want interactive content, and 47% enjoy webinars. (Demand Gen Report 2019 Content Preferences Survey Report)
63. ROI calculators (42%), user reviews (49%), and case studies (34%), are preferred in the late stages. (Demand Gen Report 2019 Content Preferences Survey Report)
End 2020 with a bang!
Content marketing is more important than ever before. In the age of social distancing, it is one of the most effective ways to still connect and stay top of mind with your audience.
So, don’t phone it in! Use the statistics above to inform and guide some game-changing content marketing experiments in the next few months and end 2020 with a bang.
Read more: impactbnd.com