18 Latest Content Marketing Statistics That Marketers Can’t Ignore

Content marketers are the new publicists, and their job is to produce content that attracts an audience to create a demand for more of the same content. The 21st-century marketer must tell stories in many different mediums: through images, video, text, or audio-and do it well enough to not bore people into tuning out before they even get started. A successful content marketer has skills with both strategy and creativity; they know how to find just the right words and pictures (or videos) to inspire readers, viewers, or listeners to act on what’s been presented: whether buying a product online or supporting a specific cause.

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This article presents 18 content marketing statistics that show just how important content marketing has become to all industries-from B2C brand awareness to product information for businesses that manufacture products.

18 Essential Content Marketing Statistics for 2021 – 2022

1. Eighty-four percent of marketers use content creation as an SEO tactic, reports Content Marketing Institute (CMI) in their ‘2014 U.S. Content Marketing Benchmarks’ report from September 2014; but only three percent admit using spammy tactics such as keyword stuffing for search engine optimization (SEO). “This means that 87% are ethical–and 13% might want to reconsider their content marketing strategy.
2. The number of content marketers is expected to reach 4.74 million by the end of 2017, a 16% increase from 3.97 content marketers in 2010, reports IBISWorld’s ‘Content Marketing Specialist’ industry sector report from July 2014.
3. Content marketing is a huge part of almost half of all B2B and B2C companies’ advertising budgets: 44% according to CMI’s August 2014 research: “Marketing Budgets.” That shows how important content marketing has become for customer engagement–and ultimately sales conversion as well.”
4. More than 75 percent of consumers say they can tell content marketing content from ads, reports a September 2014 study by content marketing research and consulting agency Marketing Profs. Only 23 percent of content marketers could correctly identify content created for content marketing in an ad. “That’s not good, especially when there are already so many cases of content fraud out there!
5. Fifty-eight percent of B2B marketers say they use content marketing to create demand for their products or services, reports CMI in May 2014: “Marketing Budgets.” What this means is that content works as one part of the complete cycle, which also includes lead generation, event promotion (and ticket sales), and–of course–offline sales.”
6. According to data from content marketing research and consulting specialist Marketing Profs, content marketing is the number one content activity for B2B companies. Their 2013 “State of Inbound Report” found that 47 percent of B2B content marketers said content creation (as opposed to regular content marketing activities such as monitoring, analysis, or measurement) was their top content marketing activity.
7. The millennials are coming! By 2017, 54% of U.S. consumers were Millennials–people born between 1982 and 2000–reports Accenture’s July 2014 study: “Next Generation Consumer Engagement.” This development has a massive impact on everything from music tastes to social media integration into daily lives.”
8. B2C content marketers are very likely to say they’re content marketing experts, with 82% saying so according to content marketing research agency Content Marketing Institute’s September 2014 report, “Annual Study: 2015 State of the Industry”. What this means is that content marketers are out there and active. It also means content marketing has become a core competency for B2C companies.”
9. Content Marketing Institute (CMI) found in their May 2014 study “B2B Benchmarks and Trends” that only 21 percent of B2B content marketers said they would be able to tell if the content was created solely for promotional purposes–a question which proved too difficult for 77% of respondents. That’s bad news for content marketers.
10. Only 10% of content marketers say they aren’t worried about falling victim to content theft or fraud, according to CMI: “Content Marketing Progress” study from May 2014.”
11. According to Hubspot’s June 2014 report: “State of Inbound,” content marketing is the number one most effective form of digital marketing. The company forecasts that 89 percent of companies will use content marketing by 2017–and so should all content marketers.
12. Nine out of every 10 U.S. businesses use at least one channel in a content marketing strategy, reports Lithium Technologies’ July 2013 report ‘A Field Guide to B2B Content Marketing’. This is a content marketing statistic that content marketers can’t ignore.
13. More than 85 percent of B2B content marketers also use content for lead generation, reports CMI in May 2014: “Content Marketing Progress.” That makes content much more than one channel that marketers are using.”
14. The number one reason cited by B2C content marketers for creating content is the brand’s presence on relevant social media sites: “Annual Study: 2015 State of the Industry”, says Content Marketing Institute. They want to be where their customers are, which means on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, and other blogs.
15. The content marketing strategy of content creation as a primary marketing goal has increased by 30 percent, from 57% to 87%, according to CMI: “B2B Benchmarks and Trends”. By 2017, content marketing will be the number one content activity for B2B companies.
16. Content marketers are also using content to learn about media habits and preferences; 70 percent say so according to CMI: “Annual Study: 2015 State of the Industry”. However, content marketers still need better content analytics reports that can give them real-time data into how well their content is performing.”
17. B2C content marketers cite their ability to earn consumer trust as the top content marketing challenge: “Annual Study: 2015 State of the Industry”, says content marketing research agency Content Marketing Institute. In this content marketing statistic, content marketers need to overcome customer skepticism about content that looks promotional.”
18. According to a survey by Outbrain and CMO Council, consumers are more trusting of content recommendations: 84 percent say they trust it compared to just 28 percent for social media posts from companies.

Also read: Why Content Marketing is Important

Content marketing has become a powerful way for content marketers to reach their target audience and generate leads. So, whether you are using content as one of many channels, or if content is your primary marketing goal–content marketers need to know the latest content marketing statistics to stay ahead of the competition. These 18 Latest Content Marketing Statistics That Marketers Can’t Ignore will teach you all about how content affects consumers’ decisions and gives you insights into what content marketers should do to take advantage of trends that affect them. 

For more information on any specific statistic mentioned in this blog post, visit the respective website(s).

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