59 Killer Content Marketing Stats: 2024 Edition

Content marketing moves incredibly fast. So fast that just a decade ago, most of us had never heard of it – today, the tactic is used by 93% of marketers. There’s been a world of changes between then and now, which is why fresh research is crucially important. Whether you’re creating a blog or a presentation to prove to your boss just why original articles are the future, you’re in luck. We’ve curated 59 of the most powerful content marketing stats from the latest, high-quality research reports.

Topics covered range from content marketing usage to consumer preferences, and far beyond. Buckle your seatbelts, because this is going to be epic:

1. 93% of B2B marketers use content marketing, a 2% increase over 2020. ¹
2. Content marketing costs 62% less than traditional marketing and generates about 3 times as many leads. ²
3. 60% of marketers create at least one piece of content each week. ³
4. 42% of B2B marketers say they’re effective at content marketing. ¹
5. 78% of CMOs believe custom content is the future of marketing. ²
6. 57% of marketers report custom content is their top marketing priority for 2024. ⁴
7. Year-over-year growth in unique site traffic is 7.8x higher for content marketing leaders compared to followers (19.7% vs 2.5%). ⁵
8. Website conversion rate is nearly 6x higher for content marketing adopters than non-adopters (2.9% vs 0.5%). ⁵
9. 44% of marketers have a documented content strategy. ¹
10. 48% of smaller organizations have a documented strategy, compared to only 41% of larger organizations. ¹
11. B2B marketers with a documented strategy are more likely to consider themselves effective. ¹
12. 73% of organizations have someone in place to oversee their content strategy. ¹
13. 86% of highly effective organizations have someone in charge of content strategy. ¹
14. 72% of marketers think that branded content is more effective than magazine advertisements. ⁶
15. 69% of marketers say content is superior to direct mail and PR. ⁶
16. 73% of B2B marketers are producing more content than they did a year ago. ¹
17. 32% of marketers are producing significantly more content than they did a year ago. ¹
18. 82% of marketers who blog see positive ROI for their inbound marketing. ⁷
19. The average B2B marketer uses 12 different content marketing tactics. ¹
20. The most common content marketing tactic is social media, used by 87% of marketers. ¹
21. 76% of B2B marketers blog, and 73% publish case studies. ¹
22. Gamification is the least common content marketing tactic; with only 10% of marketers using it. ¹
23. While 63% of marketers create whitepapers, only 34% publish full-length eBooks. ¹
24. Only 32% of marketers say they are effectively executing enough content. ⁵
25. 27% of B2B marketers say they are effectively tracking content utilization metrics. ⁵
26. The most effective B2B marketers believe blogs are the most powerful content marketing tactic. ¹
27. The majority of B2B marketers believe in-person events are the most effective marketing tactic. ¹
28. Brands that create 15 blog posts per month average 1,200 new leads per month. ⁷
29. The average B2B marketer engages in content promotion on 6 social media platforms. ¹
30. Slideshare, Instagram, and Google+ have experienced the biggest growth in usage among platforms for content promotion. ¹
31. B2B marketers believe LinkedIn is the most effective social media network for content promotion. ¹
32. B2B marketers believe Google+ is the least effective social media network for content promotion. ¹
33. 49% of small businesses believe Slideshare is highly effective for content promotion. ¹
34. Customers who receive email newsletters spend 82% more when they buy from the company. ⁸
35. Brand awareness is a content marketing goal for 82% of organizations. ¹
36. Only 45% of organizations consider sales a content marketing goals. ¹
37. The top 5 content marketing goals in 2024 are brand awareness, lead generation, customer acquisition, thought leadership, and engagement. ¹
38. 63% of marketers use website traffic as an indicator of content marketing success. ¹
39. Top indicators of content marketing success are traffic, quality leads, social shares, and SEO. ¹
40. Marketers are least likely to use cost savings, cross-selling and increased customer loyalty as indicators of content marketing success. ¹
41. Articles with images receive 94% more views. ⁹
42. 58% of B2B marketers will spend more on content in 2024. ¹
43. Only 1% of B2B marketers will decrease spending on content in the next year. ¹
44. The average organization spends 30% of their marketing budget on content. ¹
45. The most effective B2B marketers spend 39% of their marketing budgets on content. ¹
46. 72% of large organizations, and 33% of small companies, outsource their content creation. ¹
47. B2B marketers are most likely to outsource writing, with 64% seeking outside help. ¹
48. B2B marketers are least likely to outsource buyer persona creation, with only 5% seeking outside help. ¹
49. Design, content distribution, editing, and analytics are also among the most commonly outsourced content marketing duties. ¹
50. 95% of B2B marketers use some form of content segmentation. ¹
51. Trends are the most common form of content segmentation, followed by profiles and buying cycle stage. ¹
52. 69% of content marketers feel a lack of time is their greatest challenge. ¹
53. Nearly half of marketers struggle with producing enough content, and producing content that engages. ¹
54. Only 23% of marketers struggle to gain buy-in for content marketing. ¹
55. 50% of consumer time online is spent engaging with custom content. ⁷
56. 73% of consumers get frustrated by irrelevant web content. ⁷
57. 70% of consumers prefer to get to know a company through original articles. ¹⁰
58. 90% of consumers find custom content useful, 78% believe the organizations behind the content are interested in building good relationships. ¹¹
59. 27,000,000 pieces of content are shared each day. ¹²

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Sources

1. iab.com
2. DemandMetric
3. eMarketer
4. Altimeter
5. Aberdeen
6. Custom Content Council
7. HubSpot
8. iContact
9. Jeff Bullas
10. ContentPlus
11. McMurray/TMG
12. AOL