We get it: You wonder if you’re using content marketing to its fullest potential. You have many questions, such as:
- How are other businesses using content in their marketing campaigns?
- Is it wise to invest in content production?
- Is content marketing difficult to get right?
To help set the facts straight, we compiled a list of some of the top content marketing statistics from around the industry:
Only 8 percent of B2B marketers assess their content marketing maturity level as sophisticated, meaning they are able to provide accurate measurement to the business and can scale across the organization. (Source: CMI)
Twenty-four percent of marketers consider themselves mature (successful, but challenged to integrate across the organization); 29 percent adolescent (have a developed business case and are becoming more sophisticated in their efforts); 27 percent young (they experience growing pains and can’t effectively strategize and measure); and 11 percent have no real process in place. In other words, content marketing is hard—and most professionals lack the training and experience to hit the ground running.
Blog content creation is the top inbound marketing priority for 60 percent of companies. (Source: HubSpot)
Maintaining a consistent blog is critical for nurturing leads, growing SEO and developing brand awareness. A blog should educate and instruct readers about a company and its industry. It’s also a great place to demonstrate thought leadership and creativity.
Ninety-two percent of top marketing performers today share an editorial calendar for planning marketing initiatives. This figure falls to 11 percent for those who are not at all effective. (Source: Kapost)
Having a shared editorial calendar is critical for ensuring that all parties are aligned and generating relevant messaging. Calendars should be a working collaboration among marketing, sales, customer support and the C-suite.
Sales and marketing misalignment costs businesses $1 trillion annually in decreased sales and wasted marketing efforts. (Source: HubSpot)
This is why it’s so important to make content marketing a companywide initiative. Content should never be siloed within the marketing department. Team members need to work together to create accurate and informed messaging.
Seventy percent of all companies generate content that focuses on products. Sixty-three percent of companies generate content that focuses on buyer personas. (Source: Curata)
The vast majority of companies are creating content that focuses on their own products, as well as the needs of their buyers. Companies are also generating content based on where customers are in the buying cycle (44 percent), on specific verticals (38 percent), by geography (30 percent) and by individual accounts (30 percent).
Some 47 percent of buyers view three to five pieces of content before engaging with a sales representative. (Source: Demand Gen)
It’s vital to have a robust library of information to nurture leads. In doing so, you will keep readers on your website and away from Google Search when they have questions. A website needs to be sticky like a spider web; in other words, once readers enter, you don’t want them to leave until they make a purchase.
As many as 88 percent of B2B companies and 76 percent of B2C companies are using content marketing. (Source: CMI)
All signs indicate that content marketing will remain a top marketing initiative heading into 2017. So, your business would be wise to invest in the necessary resources for building a high-quality storytelling strategy.
Any further questions? Contact Content Boost today for more information.
