In the present day it may be quite hard to fathom but content marketing wasn’t always the way to communicate and engage the consumer. There were many methods of marketing in the past that shone brightly for a short period but faded just as quickly. Content marketing is now the most important and effective way of reaching out and connecting with the consumer. It is how you will be noticed, how you will be found, the driving force behind engagement and interaction with the consumer.
Modern day consumers are a canny bunch; they know what they want and where they want it. They need and demand content that will aid them in solving a problem and to alleviate or prevent pain points in their lives. Businesses with their fingers on the pulse recognize this need, and opportunity, to engage with the consumer by the provision of the content that satisfies their needs.
Image courtesy of Webdam
There can then, be little doubt relating to the importance of content marketing within your overall strategy and KPI, content marketing has to carry out four main tasks:
• To be shared
• To get comments
• To generate leads
• To make sales
With this in mind, in today’s blog we are going to explore some content marketing statistics to include in KPIs for the year ahead.
• In 2014, 58% of businesses plan to increase their content marketing budget! (Content Marketing Institute) Tweet this stat! Tweet
• Online presence is a must for businesses, as 93% of online research starts with a search engine, and 68% of consumers check out companies on social networking sites before buying. (Brandpoint) Tweet this stat! Tweet
• A huge 93% of B2B organizations rely on content marketing for brand building and demand generation. (Content Marketing Institute) Tweet this stat! Tweet
• Out of all organizations leveraging content marketing programs, 48% say their efforts are resulting in engagement with customers and prospective clients, and 41% are seeing an increase in brand awareness. (Marketing Land) Tweet this stat! Tweet
• 61% of consumers feel better about a company that delivers custom content (Brandpoint) Tweet this stat! Tweet
• 63% of readers are more likely to be influenced by blogs than magazines when deciding on a purchase. (Marketing Query) Tweet this stat! Tweet
• Content marketing costs 62% less than traditional marketing and generates about 3 times as many leads. (DemandMetric) Tweet this stat! Tweet
• 57% of marketers report custom content is their top marketing priority for 2014. (Altimeter)
Tweet this stat! Tweet
• Out of all organizations leveraging content marketing programs, 48% say their efforts are resulting in engagement with customers and prospective clients, and 41% are seeing an increase in brand awareness. (Marketing Land) Tweet this stat! Tweet
• 72% of marketers think that branded content is more effective than magazine advertisements. (CCC) Tweet this stat! Tweet
• Blogs convert readers into buyers. In fact, 42% of consumers look to blogs for information about potential purchases; 52% say blogs have impacted their purchase decisions; and 57% of marketers have acquired new customers with their blogs. (LeadersWest Digital Marketing Journal) Tweet this stat! Tweet
• 86% of highly effective organizations have someone in charge of content strategy. (CMI)
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• 87% of buyers say online content has a major or moderate impact on vendor preference and selection; but 43% say “blatantly self-promotional” content is a major turn off. (B2B Marketing Insider) Tweet this stat! Tweet
• The most common content marketing tactic is social media, used by 87% of marketers. (CMI) Tweet this stat! Tweet
• 27% of B2B marketers say they are effectively tracking content utilization metrics. (Aberdeen) Tweet this stat! Tweet
• The average B2B marketer engages in content promotion on 6 social media platforms. (CMI) Tweet this stat! Tweet
• Customers who receive email newsletters spend 82% more when they buy from the company. (iContact) Tweet this stat! Tweet
• By providing exclusives such as articles, offers, and videos to only a privileged few (thousand), marketers will be looking to heighten trust signals, quality and value during 2014. (Business2Community) Tweet this stat! Tweet
• Articles with images receive 94% more views. (Jeff Bullas) Tweet this stat! Tweet
• Nearly half of marketers struggle with producing enough content, and producing content that engages. (CMI) Tweet this stat! Tweet
• 78% of CMOs think custom content (articles, white papers, blogs, etc.) is the future of marketing. (Webdamsolutions.com) Tweet this stat! Tweet
• 90% of consumers find custom content useful, 78% believe the organizations behind the content are interested in building good relationships. (McMurray/TMG) Tweet this stat! Tweet
• 66% of the most effective content marketers have a “documented content strategy” and 86% have a dedicated person or team managing that strategy. (Webdamsolutions.com) Tweet this stat!
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• 69% of content marketers feel a lack of time is their greatest challenge. (CMI) Tweet this stat! Tweet
• Design, content distribution, editing, and analytics are also among the most commonly outsourced content marketing duties. (CMI) Tweet this stat! Tweet
• Nearly half of marketers struggle with producing enough content, and producing content that engages. (CMI) Tweet this stat! Tweet
It seems like a lot to take on, and it can be. The marketer’s job of continuously sourcing and creating content can be an arduous and uphill struggle. We here at 3D Issue have recognized this need and have come up with a solution.
That solution is called Content Hubs.
Content Hubs is a software solution for publishers and marketers which enables them to convert their online marketing collateral into a mobile web format. This single format works across all devices, resolutions and platforms. Content Hubs aggregates live content from multiple online web pages, feeds, CMS systems and social platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and SlideShare. This content is then outputted into an auto-updating responsive magazine that instantly adjusts to suit the resolution of any device that a user chooses to consume the content on.
3D Issue Content Hubs collects and centralizes online content and converts it into mobile web applications that can be viewed on any tablet, eReader or Smartphone. Content hubs scrapes content from social platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, Instagram and LinkedIn.
Why not try it out today and watch as it makes a positive difference to your content marketing efforts and the quality of it, in the year ahead.
Need some help in creating a hub using Content Hubs?
We have a blog relating to that very subject right here!
By Charlie Gallagher