59 Killer Content Marketing Stats: 2023 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:
- 93% of B2B marketers use content marketing, a 2% increase over 2012. (Source: CMI)
- Content marketing costs 62% less than traditional marketing and generates about 3 times as many leads. (Source: DemandMetric)
- 60% of marketers create at least one piece of content each week. (Source: eMarketer)
- 42% of B2B marketers say they’re effective at content marketing. (Source: CMI)
- 78% of CMOs believe custom content is the future of marketing. (Source: DemandMetric)
- 57% of marketers report custom content is their top marketing priority for 2023. (Source: Altimeter)
- Year-over-year growth in unique site traffic is 7.8x higher for content marketing leaders compared to followers (19.7% vs 2.5%). (Source: Aberdeen)
- Website conversion rate is nearly 6x higher for content marketing adopters than non-adopters (2.9% vs 0.5%). (Source: Aberdeen)
- 44% of marketers have a documented content strategy. (Source: CMI)
- 48% of smaller organizations have a documented strategy, compared to only 41% of larger organizations. (Source: CMI)
- B2B marketers with a documented strategy are more likely to consider themselves effective. (Source: CMI)
- 73% of organizations have someone in place to oversee their content strategy. (Source: CMI)
- 86% of highly effective organizations have someone in charge of content strategy. (Source: CMI)
- 72% of marketers think that branded content is more effective than magazine advertisements. (Source: CCC)
- 69% of marketers say content is superior to direct mail and PR. (Source: CCC)
- 73% of B2B marketers are producing more content than they did a year ago. (Source: CMI)
- 32% of marketers are producing significantly more content than they did a year ago. (Source: CMI)
- 82% of marketers who blog see positive ROI for their inbound marketing. (Source: HubSpot)
- The average B2B marketer uses 12 different content marketing tactics. (Source: CMI)
- The most common content marketing tactic is social media, used by 87% of marketers. (Source: CMI)
- 76% of B2B marketers blog, and 73% publish case studies. (Source: CMI)
- Gamification is the least common content marketing tactic; with only 10% of marketers using it. (Source: CMI)
- While 63% of marketers create whitepapers, only 34% publish full-length eBooks. (Source: CMI)
- Only 32% of marketers say they are effectively executing enough content. (Source: Aberdeen)
- 27% of B2B marketers say they are effectively tracking content utilization metrics.(Source: Aberdeen)
- The most effective B2B marketers believe blogs are the most powerful content marketing tactic. (Source: CMI)
- The majority of B2B marketers believe in-person events are the most effective marketing tactic. (Source: CMI)
- Brands that create 15 blog posts per month average 1,200 new leads per month. (Source: HubSpot)
- The average B2B marketer engages in content promotion on 6 social media platforms. (Source: CMI)
- Slideshare, Instagram, and Google+ have experienced the biggest growth in usage among platforms for content promotion. (Source: CMI)
- B2B marketers believe LinkedIn is the most effective social media network for content promotion. (Source: CMI)
- B2B marketers believe Google+ is the least effective social media network for content promotion. (Source: CMI)
- 49% of small businesses believe Slideshare is highly effective for content promotion. (Source: CMI)
- Customers who receive email newsletters spend 82% more when they buy from the company. (Source: iContact)
- Brand awareness is a content marketing goal for 82% of organizations. (Source: CMI)
- Only 45% of organizations consider sales a content marketing goals. (Source: CMI)
- The top 5 content marketing goals in 2023 are brand awareness, lead generation, customer acquisition, thought leadership, and engagement. (Source: CMI)
- 63% of marketers use website traffic as an indicator of content marketing success. (Source: CMI)
- Top indicators of content marketing success are traffic, quality leads, social shares, and SEO. (Source: CMI)
- Marketers are least likely to use cost savings, cross-selling and increased customer loyalty as indicators of content marketing success. (Source: CMI)
- Articles with images receive 94% more views. (Source: Jeff Bullas)
- 58% of B2B marketers will spend more on content in 2023. (Source: CMI)
- Only 1% of B2B marketers will decrease spending on content in the next year. (Source: CMI)
- The average organization spends 30% of their marketing budget on content. (Source: CMI)
- The most effective B2B marketers spend 39% of their marketing budgets on content. (Source: CMI)
- 72% of large organizations, and 33% of small companies, outsource their content creation. (Source: CMI)
- B2B marketers are most likely to outsource writing, with 64% seeking outside help. (Source: CMI)
- B2B marketers are least likely to outsource buyer persona creation, with only 5% seeking outside help. (Source: CMI)
- Design, content distribution, editing, and analytics are also among the most commonly outsourced content marketing duties. (Source: CMI)
- 95% of B2B marketers use some form of content segmentation. (Source: CMI)
- Trends are the most common form of content segmentation, followed by profiles and buying cycle stage. (Source: CMI)
- 69% of content marketers feel a lack of time is their greatest challenge. (Source: CMI)
- Nearly half of marketers struggle with producing enough content, and producing content that engages. (Source: CMI)
- Only 23% of marketers struggle to gain buy-in for content marketing. (Source: CMI)
- 50% of consumer time online is spent engaging with custom content. (Source: HubSpot)
- 73% of consumers get frustrated by irrelevant web content. (Source: HubSpot)
- 70% of consumers prefer to get to know a company through original articles. (Source: ContentPlus)
- 90% of consumers find custom content useful, 78% believe the organizations behind the content are interested in building good relationships. (Source: McMurray/TMG)
- 27,000,000 pieces of content are shared each day. (Source: AOL)
Want to dive a little deeper into some of the latest content marketing stats and research? Check out 28 Indispensible Research Reports and Case Studies for #SmallBiz Strategy!