10 Fast Facts To Consider In Your Content Marketing Plans

Article was originally published by Forbes

Content marketers understand how long-form content, SEO, social media and video help raise brand awareness and build a loyal audience, but others in our orbit  sometimes need convincing. That’s when having the right data comes in handy. Recent research shows why today’s brands continue to prioritize content in their marketing mix. When making your business case, keep these industry stats and insights in mind.

Content Strategy & Platform Trends

1) Sponsored articles that include brand mentions sparingly get better reader engagement than those with frequent brand mentions. (Pressboard Brand Publishers Study 2018)

2) 90% of the most successful content marketers prioritize educating their audience over promoting their company’s sales message, compared with 56% of those who describe their content marketing efforts as unsuccessful. (B2B Content Marketing 2019)

3) 61% of marketers surveyed publish content several times per week; 89% of those respondents reported content marketing produced higher quality leads than other forms of marketing. (ContentWriters)

4) 82% of CMOs expect to increase their digital budgets by about 50% in 2019. (Nielsen 2018 CMO Report)

5) Over the past two years, direct mobile traffic to publishers’ websites has grown by 30%, surpassing referral traffic from Facebook. (Chartbeat/ MediaPost)

6)  In a survey of 500 digital marketers, 88% said their marketing strategy includes blogging, and most posts they publish have at least one visual. (Venngage)

Consumer Habits

The most successful content marketers recognize content marketing as an opportunity to build trust. Once your brand becomes a source of useful, reliable information, you won’t have to chase customers—they’ll come to you.

7) 82% of consumers have made a purchase based on a company’s online content marketing. (Clutch Survey)

8) 96% of the top-performing B2B content marketers say their audience views their brand as a credible and trusted source. (B2B Content Marketing 2019 by Content Marketing Institute)

9) 71% of consumers say they would be willing to spend more money to support products and services from a brand they trust. (Readers’ Digest Most Trusted Brand Survey 2018)

10) 38% of buyers visit at least four sites to research prior to making a first-time B2B purchase. (e-tailing group’s B2B Buyer Behavior)

Each piece of content your brand publishes is an opportunity to leave readers with a positive impression. Creating content that’s thoughtful and informative gives visitors a reason to engage and the motivation to continue exploring what your brand has to offer. Ultimately, this builds the foundation of trust needed to turn prospects into customers.