What stats show about Content Marketing

15 Mind-Blowing Stats About Content Marketing

by Giselle Abramovich
Senior & Strategic Editor
CMO.com

Content marketing is all the rage. Little wonder, given that social media is only growing in importance, and brands need content to engage fans in that environment.

So how effective has content marketing been thus far? CMO.com did some research for the answer. Here’s what we’ve found:

1. B2B content marketers in North America are making strides: 42 percent consider themselves effective, up from 36 percent last year.

2. Forty-four percent of B2B content marketers have a documented content strategy, and 73 percent have a person who oversees content marketing strategy.

3. Only 10 to 20 percent of a company’s Web site content drives 90 percent of its Web traffic, and only half a percent of a Web site’s content drives more than 50 percent of its traffic.

4. Nearly three-quarters (73 percent) of digital marketers agree that “brands are becoming publishers.”

5. Increased engagement is the most commonly cited objective for content marketers, with 52 percent of in-house marketers and 58 percent of agency marketers listing it as one of their top three business objectives.

6. Ninety-three percent of B2B organizations are marketing to customers and prospects with a range of content-based tactics, and 73 percent are producing more content than they did one year ago.

7. Sixty-eight percent of content marketers say their top content marketing objective is engaging customers and prospects.

8. Eighty-seven percent of content marketers say they create their own original content to reach Web users.

9. Sixty-six percent of content marketers say their biggest content marketing challenge is producing targeted, relevant online content to engage audiences.

10. Fifty-three percent of marketers say they’re failing to create enough content to resonate with readers.

11. Ninety-one percent of B2B marketers now use social media for content marketing.

12. LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube, respectively, are the four most popular channels B2B marketers are using for distributing content.

13. Content marketing spend–on production and distribution–rose to $43.9 billion this year, up 9 percent from a year earlier.

14. Of the average overall marketing, advertising, and communications budget, 39 percent of funds are dedicated to content marketing.

15. Online content has a 10 to 20 percent chance of successfully driving traffic.