Our annual content marketing research with new insights useful for 2018 budget planning and benchmarketing. This new report focuses on business-to-consumer (B2C) marketers and their content marketing benchmarks, budgets, and trends.
B2B Content Marketing 2018 - Benchmarks, Budgets & Trends - North America MarketingProfs
Our annual content marketing research with new insights useful for 2018 budget planning and benchmarketing. This new report focuses on business-to-business (B2B) marketers and their content marketing benchmarks, budgets, and trends.
Welcome to B2C Content Marketing 2019—Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends. This report presents the results from the B2C marketers who took our ninth annual content marketing survey.
Our research has consistently shown that creating brand awareness is a top goal for B2C content marketing. However, many of this year’s survey respondents also reported strong concern for using content to solidify existing relationships (see page 13).
Content that can be effective at building loyalty takes many shapes and forms today, for example:
- Videos and social media stories that entertain
- In-person events that create a sense of community and belonging
- Podcasts that inspire
- Live or virtual experiences that evoke emotion
- Articles, guides, newsletters, etc., that provide information
Obviously, the list goes on. The point is, that while driving people to content is critical, giving them reasons to keep coming back will grow long-term success!
2017 B2C Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and TrendsMarketingProfs
Our fifth annual B2C content marketing report is here. Sponsored by Hightail, this report shows where B2C marketers will spend their budget, how much budget businesses are allocating to content marketing efforts, and what kind of strategies we will see in 2017.
Research shows that marketers from large companies (1,000 employees) use more content marketing tactics and outsource content creation more frequently than their peers do. Learn more about how enterprise marketers approach content marketing.
There is a huge opportunity for marketers to get more from the content they’re developing. That’s the conclusion the Content Marketing Institute (CMI) research team came to after
conducting its first-ever content management and strategy survey.
Our team surveyed 411 marketers from the CMI audience to learn how they manage content within their organizations. Read on to see the results.
Welcome to our ninth annual B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends—North America report. We surveyed content marketers worldwide about a range of content marketing topics including strategy, audience development, technology proficiency, and content types. This report presents the data from the B2B content marketers in North America.
Although issues such as changes in SEO and social media algorithms are top-of-mind for B2B content marketers, they are accustomed to rapid changes in technology that often enable them to do their jobs faster, with better results. When the process-related components of the content marketer’s job are efficient, time is freed up to better serve the audience, discovering and developing the types of content they truly want and need.
We hope you find this research helpful as you plan for 2019!
2020 B2B Content Marketing Trends and BudgetsTheia Marketing
Here are the top content marketing trends in the B2B space for 2020. We look at organic vs. paid distribution and content marketing budgets vs. ROI on content.
B2B Content Marketing 2018 - Benchmarks, Budgets & Trends - North America MarketingProfs
Our annual content marketing research with new insights useful for 2018 budget planning and benchmarketing. This new report focuses on business-to-business (B2B) marketers and their content marketing benchmarks, budgets, and trends.
Welcome to B2C Content Marketing 2019—Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends. This report presents the results from the B2C marketers who took our ninth annual content marketing survey.
Our research has consistently shown that creating brand awareness is a top goal for B2C content marketing. However, many of this year’s survey respondents also reported strong concern for using content to solidify existing relationships (see page 13).
Content that can be effective at building loyalty takes many shapes and forms today, for example:
- Videos and social media stories that entertain
- In-person events that create a sense of community and belonging
- Podcasts that inspire
- Live or virtual experiences that evoke emotion
- Articles, guides, newsletters, etc., that provide information
Obviously, the list goes on. The point is, that while driving people to content is critical, giving them reasons to keep coming back will grow long-term success!
2017 B2C Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and TrendsMarketingProfs
Our fifth annual B2C content marketing report is here. Sponsored by Hightail, this report shows where B2C marketers will spend their budget, how much budget businesses are allocating to content marketing efforts, and what kind of strategies we will see in 2017.
Research shows that marketers from large companies (1,000 employees) use more content marketing tactics and outsource content creation more frequently than their peers do. Learn more about how enterprise marketers approach content marketing.
There is a huge opportunity for marketers to get more from the content they’re developing. That’s the conclusion the Content Marketing Institute (CMI) research team came to after
conducting its first-ever content management and strategy survey.
Our team surveyed 411 marketers from the CMI audience to learn how they manage content within their organizations. Read on to see the results.
Welcome to our ninth annual B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends—North America report. We surveyed content marketers worldwide about a range of content marketing topics including strategy, audience development, technology proficiency, and content types. This report presents the data from the B2B content marketers in North America.
Although issues such as changes in SEO and social media algorithms are top-of-mind for B2B content marketers, they are accustomed to rapid changes in technology that often enable them to do their jobs faster, with better results. When the process-related components of the content marketer’s job are efficient, time is freed up to better serve the audience, discovering and developing the types of content they truly want and need.
We hope you find this research helpful as you plan for 2019!
2020 B2B Content Marketing Trends and BudgetsTheia Marketing
Here are the top content marketing trends in the B2B space for 2020. We look at organic vs. paid distribution and content marketing budgets vs. ROI on content.
Greetings Marketers,
Welcome to B2C Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends—North America. This is the companion report to the B2B research we released in September 2017. The data presented in both reports was generated from our eighth annual content marketing survey. One of our key observations this year is that while B2C marketers reported slightly higher levels of overall content marketing success compared with last year, there was a decrease among those who agreed their organization has realistic expectations about what content marketing can achieve. A documented content marketing strategy can help, as it sets expectations for what teams should prioritize; yet, only 38% of B2C marketers reported having one.
Our annual research has consistently shown that those who document their content marketing strategy get better results than those who don’t. Another important key to success is an efficient workflow process (page 4 shows how top-performing B2C marketers rate their project management flow and other distinguishing characteristics that set them apart from their peers). We hope these research findings will be helpful as you consider which content marketing priorities to focus on in the year ahead.
[Research] The State of B2B Marketing TrainingMarketingProfs
Only 19% of B2B marketers feel very prepared for their future in marketing.
Yikes.
And only 31% feel their team is very effective in their roles. A quarter don’t think everyone on their team has a basic understanding of marketing.
A third feel burned out. And two-thirds are seeking new job opportunities.
Double, triple, quadruple (!) yikes.
These are among the key findings of the inaugural MarketingProfs State of B2B Marketing Training Report.
So what’s going on? And more importantly, how can marketing reverse these trends in 2022? (And beyond.)
Our data (and experience) shows that marketing teams are participating in training. But it’s not helping them be as effective in their roles as it should, and it’s not helping them feel confident about their future.
In other words: Offering team access to training is a good thing. But access alone just isn’t enough.
Our data shows that how marketing organizations train their teams directly impacts how prepared marketers feel. And there are many specific, actionable things marketing leaders can do to move teams from where they are… to where they need to be.
Read on to learn what the “state of the state” is in B2B marketing training.
But more importantly, learn from the marketers who are doing things a bit differently and feeling more prepared. The end of the report outlines the specific steps Marketing leaders can take right now to future-proof their own teams.
Greetings Technology Marketers,
Welcome to our annual Technology Content Marketing: Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends—North America report.
I’m pleased to announce the percentage of technology marketers that reported high levels of overall content marketing
success increased from 24% last year to 31% this year—another 50% reported moderate success. Like last year, nearly 70%
said their organization is much/somewhat more successful with content marketing compared with one year ago.
For a glimpse into how the top-performing content marketers operate, see the chart on page 4. You’ll note that these
marketers report high levels of commitment; document their content marketing strategy; are focused on building audiences;
and are given ample time to produce content marketing results, among other distinguishing factors.
Technology is rapidly changing the processes around content marketing. We look forward to watching how things progress
and reporting back to you again next year.
Welcome to our fifth annual report on the content marketing practices of manufacturers. Content Marketing Institute (CMI) has been conducting annual content marketing research since 2010, but because our data indicated that manufacturers were slower than other industries to adopt content marketing, we didn’t begin producing a manufacturing report until 2014.
It’s been exciting to watch more and more manufacturers launch content marketing initiatives with each passing year. And for those that are just starting out – or are at a standstill – there are lessons to learn from companies that are further along in their content marketing maturity.
Welcome to the Manufacturing Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends with Insights for 2022 report. This report looks back on the last 12 months and includes expectations for 2022.
This year’s research suggested that the pandemic awoke a sleeping giant – content marketing, that is. Without in-person events and face-to-face selling, many who had previously paid little attention to content marketing suddenly became aware of its power. More content marketers got a seat at the table and helped keep many businesses on their audiences’ radar. Some discovered new audiences altogether.
Videos and virtual events/webinars were big over the last 12 months with the manufacturing marketers we surveyed. In addition, 85% expect continued investment in video in 2022, making it the top area of predicted investment.
Yet manufacturing marketers continue to face content marketing challenges within their organizations: 51% said they are challenged with creating valuable content instead of sales-oriented content as well as with overcoming the traditional marketing and sales mindset. Fifty percent said they are challenged with accessing subject matter experts to create content. If manufacturing marketers can overcome these challenges, they’ll improve their odds of achieving greater content marketing success in the coming year.
Welcome to our annual Enterprise Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends report. Here we present the findings from enterprise marketers (those who work in organizations with 1,000+ employees) who replied to our 11th Annual Content Marketing Survey.
At the time of the survey, content marketers had just made it through the first half of 2020. Most reported that their organization made quick changes when the pandemic hit, most notably by changing their targeting/messaging strategy, adjusting their editorial calendar, and changing their content distribution/promotion strategy. The majority (57%) expected to spend about the same on content marketing during the second half of 2020 as they spent in the first half (17% expected a decrease).
Team size hadn’t changed drastically compared with the previous year (48% said it stayed the same); yet, another 35% reported an increase.
Overall, one-third of the enterprise respondents reported high levels of content marketing success. These top performers said the top two factors contributing to that success in the last 12 months were “the value our content provides” (79%) and “website changes” (62%).
Looking forward, 74% of respondents felt the pandemic would have a major or moderate long- term impact on their organization’s overall content marketing success. It will be interesting to see how enterprise marketers rise to the challenges in 2021.
Welcome to Technology Content Marketing 2020: Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends. This report is based on the findings from our 10th annual content marketing survey. Technology marketers continue to make progress with content marketing. Approximately one-third rate their organization’s overall content marketing as extremely or very successful, and 76% report they are much more or somewhat more successful compared with one year ago. What makes them successful? When we look at the top performers, we see they treat content marketing as a strategic business function, craft content thoughtfully, experiment with distribution, and measure their results. They use content marketing not only to create brand awareness and generate leads, but also to build loyalty and subscribed audiences.
Welcome to the sixth annual Content Marketing in Australia: Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends report. One of the most striking findings was the increased percentage of Australian content marketers who have become more focused on building an audience (85%) compared with last year’s survey results (69%). This finding was not unique to Australia; the Content Marketing Institute team observed it among all groups of content marketers studied. Building a subscriber base is a key content marketing goal. However, what you do with that list is equally as important. The quality of content you create (does it speak to your audience’s wants and needs?) … how efficiently you produce it … whether it’s credible … how/when/where you distribute it – these are just a handful of factors that impact overall content marketing success. And let us not forget the
importance of a documented strategy and a strong commitment to the approach (see page 4 for a glimpse at commitment’s influence). We wish you success with using content marketing to provide meaningful, long-term value for your audience – and business results for your organisation. If you need educational resources, please let us know.
Interactive content enables you to deliver engaging, educational,differentiated content experiences. Discover what other marketersare learning and start your climb.
While there’s a lot you could be doing, sometimes it’s hard to know which tracks to start, stop, or pause. To help you find the right mix to meet your marketing goals, we consolidated responses from the 2015 Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends research report section — “Which content marketing initiatives are you working on now, and in the next 12 months?” We broke out the results as follows:
• By priority
• By business type (B2B, B2C and nonprofit)
• By geography (North America, Australia, United Kingdom)
Part I covers two “playlists”:
Internal Processes and Content Marketing Strategy Tactics. From channels to platforms to audience segmentation, learn how you can best establish your content marketing strategy and structure your team internally for more efficient processes.
Part II: Playlist 3 (coming soon) is where you can mix things up a bit with different Execution Tactics. See how to create and deliver the best content to meet your business objectives. While some geographies and business types have similar priorities, others are finding their own unique beats — and the differences may surprise you. We hope you find the following findings insightful and inspirational as you make your plans for the year ahead.
Enjoy!
Joe Pulizzi
Welcome to our annual B2C Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends report. Here we present the results from B2C marketers who replied to our 11th Annual Content Marketing Survey. The events of 2020 have certainly reshaped how organizations conduct their marketing. At the time of this survey, content marketers were still reeling from the events that took place during the first half of 2020. As we usher in 2021, we are still facing constant change and uncertainty.
Many B2C marketers reported adjusting quickly when the pandemic hit; perhaps their companies were doubling down on digital, heavily engaging in virtual events, or trying to keep on top of rapidly changing analytics resulting from more people being at home and online. All these scenarios created the need for new content, formats, and strategies.
As we move into 2021 in a world where most gatherings are still limited, direct-to-consumer will continue to drive B2C. Successful B2C marketers will focus on creating content experiences and building relationships in the digital world.
Presentation from Joe Pulizzi from the Content Marketing Institute on 10 ways to fix your content and 10 tactical tips to implement within your content marketing strategy.
Welcome to the 11th Annual B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends report. You may notice this year’s report feels different than past years and that’s by design. A year like no other required an approach like no other.
As in past years, we fielded the survey during the summer. We asked many of the same questions as last year but added new ones to see how content marketers were faring several months into the pandemic.
Although the data did not reveal drastic reductions in content marketing resources, many respondents shared in the fill-in comments their challenges of having to do more with less. Others shared their concerns about trying to reach audiences in an overcrowded virtual world.
Nevertheless, one thing stood out: Content marketers are resilient. Most have met the challenges of the pandemic head-on: They’re adapting quickly—and they believe in the value their content provides.
For three years we’ve looked at B2B content marketing trends, and this year, we are excited to bring you these compelling B2C findings.
According to our research, both B2B and B2C marketers are still struggling with the effectiveness of their content marketing. So while we are happy that more marketers are engaging in content marketing to attract and retain customers, we also realize we have a ways to go.
Greetings Marketers,
Welcome to B2B Content Marketing 2018: Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends—North America. Our latest research indicates B2B marketers are finding content marketing success as they explore ways to work more creatively and build their audiences.
Content marketing is no longer the shiny new object. Those who have caught on are no longer asking “should we do this,” but rather “how do we really dig in and get results?” One of the most convincing pieces of evidence of this maturation? We saw an 18% year-over-year increase in respondents who say they are focused on using content marketing to build their audience (one or more subscriber bases). And that’s what differentiates content marketing from other forms of marketing – its intent is to offer valuable information so people want to hear from your business ... so they subscribe to your content because they are interested in it.
Read on for all the findings from our annual survey and consider how your organization stacks up against your peers. To take your content marketing to the next level, check out the resources on the last page of this report.
The most wanted content marketing research fruitful for every B2B marketer to effectively develop a budget plan and benchmarking strategies. Full insights in to leading B2B marketer's budgets, trends and benchmarks.
Greetings Marketers,
Welcome to B2C Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends—North America. This is the companion report to the B2B research we released in September 2017. The data presented in both reports was generated from our eighth annual content marketing survey. One of our key observations this year is that while B2C marketers reported slightly higher levels of overall content marketing success compared with last year, there was a decrease among those who agreed their organization has realistic expectations about what content marketing can achieve. A documented content marketing strategy can help, as it sets expectations for what teams should prioritize; yet, only 38% of B2C marketers reported having one.
Our annual research has consistently shown that those who document their content marketing strategy get better results than those who don’t. Another important key to success is an efficient workflow process (page 4 shows how top-performing B2C marketers rate their project management flow and other distinguishing characteristics that set them apart from their peers). We hope these research findings will be helpful as you consider which content marketing priorities to focus on in the year ahead.
[Research] The State of B2B Marketing TrainingMarketingProfs
Only 19% of B2B marketers feel very prepared for their future in marketing.
Yikes.
And only 31% feel their team is very effective in their roles. A quarter don’t think everyone on their team has a basic understanding of marketing.
A third feel burned out. And two-thirds are seeking new job opportunities.
Double, triple, quadruple (!) yikes.
These are among the key findings of the inaugural MarketingProfs State of B2B Marketing Training Report.
So what’s going on? And more importantly, how can marketing reverse these trends in 2022? (And beyond.)
Our data (and experience) shows that marketing teams are participating in training. But it’s not helping them be as effective in their roles as it should, and it’s not helping them feel confident about their future.
In other words: Offering team access to training is a good thing. But access alone just isn’t enough.
Our data shows that how marketing organizations train their teams directly impacts how prepared marketers feel. And there are many specific, actionable things marketing leaders can do to move teams from where they are… to where they need to be.
Read on to learn what the “state of the state” is in B2B marketing training.
But more importantly, learn from the marketers who are doing things a bit differently and feeling more prepared. The end of the report outlines the specific steps Marketing leaders can take right now to future-proof their own teams.
Greetings Technology Marketers,
Welcome to our annual Technology Content Marketing: Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends—North America report.
I’m pleased to announce the percentage of technology marketers that reported high levels of overall content marketing
success increased from 24% last year to 31% this year—another 50% reported moderate success. Like last year, nearly 70%
said their organization is much/somewhat more successful with content marketing compared with one year ago.
For a glimpse into how the top-performing content marketers operate, see the chart on page 4. You’ll note that these
marketers report high levels of commitment; document their content marketing strategy; are focused on building audiences;
and are given ample time to produce content marketing results, among other distinguishing factors.
Technology is rapidly changing the processes around content marketing. We look forward to watching how things progress
and reporting back to you again next year.
Welcome to our fifth annual report on the content marketing practices of manufacturers. Content Marketing Institute (CMI) has been conducting annual content marketing research since 2010, but because our data indicated that manufacturers were slower than other industries to adopt content marketing, we didn’t begin producing a manufacturing report until 2014.
It’s been exciting to watch more and more manufacturers launch content marketing initiatives with each passing year. And for those that are just starting out – or are at a standstill – there are lessons to learn from companies that are further along in their content marketing maturity.
Welcome to the Manufacturing Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends with Insights for 2022 report. This report looks back on the last 12 months and includes expectations for 2022.
This year’s research suggested that the pandemic awoke a sleeping giant – content marketing, that is. Without in-person events and face-to-face selling, many who had previously paid little attention to content marketing suddenly became aware of its power. More content marketers got a seat at the table and helped keep many businesses on their audiences’ radar. Some discovered new audiences altogether.
Videos and virtual events/webinars were big over the last 12 months with the manufacturing marketers we surveyed. In addition, 85% expect continued investment in video in 2022, making it the top area of predicted investment.
Yet manufacturing marketers continue to face content marketing challenges within their organizations: 51% said they are challenged with creating valuable content instead of sales-oriented content as well as with overcoming the traditional marketing and sales mindset. Fifty percent said they are challenged with accessing subject matter experts to create content. If manufacturing marketers can overcome these challenges, they’ll improve their odds of achieving greater content marketing success in the coming year.
Welcome to our annual Enterprise Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends report. Here we present the findings from enterprise marketers (those who work in organizations with 1,000+ employees) who replied to our 11th Annual Content Marketing Survey.
At the time of the survey, content marketers had just made it through the first half of 2020. Most reported that their organization made quick changes when the pandemic hit, most notably by changing their targeting/messaging strategy, adjusting their editorial calendar, and changing their content distribution/promotion strategy. The majority (57%) expected to spend about the same on content marketing during the second half of 2020 as they spent in the first half (17% expected a decrease).
Team size hadn’t changed drastically compared with the previous year (48% said it stayed the same); yet, another 35% reported an increase.
Overall, one-third of the enterprise respondents reported high levels of content marketing success. These top performers said the top two factors contributing to that success in the last 12 months were “the value our content provides” (79%) and “website changes” (62%).
Looking forward, 74% of respondents felt the pandemic would have a major or moderate long- term impact on their organization’s overall content marketing success. It will be interesting to see how enterprise marketers rise to the challenges in 2021.
Welcome to Technology Content Marketing 2020: Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends. This report is based on the findings from our 10th annual content marketing survey. Technology marketers continue to make progress with content marketing. Approximately one-third rate their organization’s overall content marketing as extremely or very successful, and 76% report they are much more or somewhat more successful compared with one year ago. What makes them successful? When we look at the top performers, we see they treat content marketing as a strategic business function, craft content thoughtfully, experiment with distribution, and measure their results. They use content marketing not only to create brand awareness and generate leads, but also to build loyalty and subscribed audiences.
Welcome to the sixth annual Content Marketing in Australia: Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends report. One of the most striking findings was the increased percentage of Australian content marketers who have become more focused on building an audience (85%) compared with last year’s survey results (69%). This finding was not unique to Australia; the Content Marketing Institute team observed it among all groups of content marketers studied. Building a subscriber base is a key content marketing goal. However, what you do with that list is equally as important. The quality of content you create (does it speak to your audience’s wants and needs?) … how efficiently you produce it … whether it’s credible … how/when/where you distribute it – these are just a handful of factors that impact overall content marketing success. And let us not forget the
importance of a documented strategy and a strong commitment to the approach (see page 4 for a glimpse at commitment’s influence). We wish you success with using content marketing to provide meaningful, long-term value for your audience – and business results for your organisation. If you need educational resources, please let us know.
Interactive content enables you to deliver engaging, educational,differentiated content experiences. Discover what other marketersare learning and start your climb.
While there’s a lot you could be doing, sometimes it’s hard to know which tracks to start, stop, or pause. To help you find the right mix to meet your marketing goals, we consolidated responses from the 2015 Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends research report section — “Which content marketing initiatives are you working on now, and in the next 12 months?” We broke out the results as follows:
• By priority
• By business type (B2B, B2C and nonprofit)
• By geography (North America, Australia, United Kingdom)
Part I covers two “playlists”:
Internal Processes and Content Marketing Strategy Tactics. From channels to platforms to audience segmentation, learn how you can best establish your content marketing strategy and structure your team internally for more efficient processes.
Part II: Playlist 3 (coming soon) is where you can mix things up a bit with different Execution Tactics. See how to create and deliver the best content to meet your business objectives. While some geographies and business types have similar priorities, others are finding their own unique beats — and the differences may surprise you. We hope you find the following findings insightful and inspirational as you make your plans for the year ahead.
Enjoy!
Joe Pulizzi
Welcome to our annual B2C Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends report. Here we present the results from B2C marketers who replied to our 11th Annual Content Marketing Survey. The events of 2020 have certainly reshaped how organizations conduct their marketing. At the time of this survey, content marketers were still reeling from the events that took place during the first half of 2020. As we usher in 2021, we are still facing constant change and uncertainty.
Many B2C marketers reported adjusting quickly when the pandemic hit; perhaps their companies were doubling down on digital, heavily engaging in virtual events, or trying to keep on top of rapidly changing analytics resulting from more people being at home and online. All these scenarios created the need for new content, formats, and strategies.
As we move into 2021 in a world where most gatherings are still limited, direct-to-consumer will continue to drive B2C. Successful B2C marketers will focus on creating content experiences and building relationships in the digital world.
Presentation from Joe Pulizzi from the Content Marketing Institute on 10 ways to fix your content and 10 tactical tips to implement within your content marketing strategy.
Welcome to the 11th Annual B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends report. You may notice this year’s report feels different than past years and that’s by design. A year like no other required an approach like no other.
As in past years, we fielded the survey during the summer. We asked many of the same questions as last year but added new ones to see how content marketers were faring several months into the pandemic.
Although the data did not reveal drastic reductions in content marketing resources, many respondents shared in the fill-in comments their challenges of having to do more with less. Others shared their concerns about trying to reach audiences in an overcrowded virtual world.
Nevertheless, one thing stood out: Content marketers are resilient. Most have met the challenges of the pandemic head-on: They’re adapting quickly—and they believe in the value their content provides.
For three years we’ve looked at B2B content marketing trends, and this year, we are excited to bring you these compelling B2C findings.
According to our research, both B2B and B2C marketers are still struggling with the effectiveness of their content marketing. So while we are happy that more marketers are engaging in content marketing to attract and retain customers, we also realize we have a ways to go.
Greetings Marketers,
Welcome to B2B Content Marketing 2018: Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends—North America. Our latest research indicates B2B marketers are finding content marketing success as they explore ways to work more creatively and build their audiences.
Content marketing is no longer the shiny new object. Those who have caught on are no longer asking “should we do this,” but rather “how do we really dig in and get results?” One of the most convincing pieces of evidence of this maturation? We saw an 18% year-over-year increase in respondents who say they are focused on using content marketing to build their audience (one or more subscriber bases). And that’s what differentiates content marketing from other forms of marketing – its intent is to offer valuable information so people want to hear from your business ... so they subscribe to your content because they are interested in it.
Read on for all the findings from our annual survey and consider how your organization stacks up against your peers. To take your content marketing to the next level, check out the resources on the last page of this report.
The most wanted content marketing research fruitful for every B2B marketer to effectively develop a budget plan and benchmarking strategies. Full insights in to leading B2B marketer's budgets, trends and benchmarks.
Our annual content marketing research, with this report focusing on B2C marketers and their content marketing budgets and trends. New questions, an interesting twist to our research, and valuable budgets and trends as we head into 2017 planning season.
2017 B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and TrendsMarketingProfs
The seventh annual B2B content marketing report is here. Sponsored by Brightcove, this report shows where B2B marketers will spend their budget, how much budget businesses are allocating to content marketing efforts, and what kind of strategies will see in 2017.
Welcome to the
7th Annual B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends—North
America
report. We’ve made quite a few changes to our annual survey this year to reflect the
maturing content marketing industry.
This year’s research paints a brighter picture than the last few years, indicating that content
marketing is alive and well! Content marketers are on track—with 62% reporting that their
organizations are much more or somewhat more successful with their overall content marketing
approach compared with one year ago.
Like last year, those who are further along with their approach are the most successful, while
the vast majority of the least successful are in the young/early phases of content marketing.
With time, a documented strategy, creativity, meaningful goals and metrics, a willingness to
experiment, and perhaps most importantly,
a commitment to content marketin
g, those
marketers will succeed.
Please watch for continuing editorial coverage of our research findings throughout 2017.
We hope you will find the insights useful as you prepare for the year ahead
Welcome to the 7th Annual B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends—North
America report. We’ve made quite a few changes to our annual survey this year to reflect the
maturing content marketing industry.
This year’s research paints a brighter picture than the last few years, indicating that content
marketing is alive and well! Content marketers are on track—with 62% reporting that their
organizations are much more or somewhat more successful with their overall content marketing
approach compared with one year ago.
Like last year, those who are further along with their approach are the most successful, while
the vast majority of the least successful are in the young/early phases of content marketing.
With time, a documented strategy, creativity, meaningful goals and metrics, a willingness to
experiment, and perhaps most importantly, a commitment to content marketing, those
marketers will succeed.
Please watch for continuing editorial coverage of our research findings throughout 2017.
We hope you will find the insights useful as you prepare for the year ahead
It's back! The annual Content Marketing Institute/Content Marketing research returns again to dissect content marketing benchmarks, budgets and trends for B2B marketers in North America.
Welcome to our fifth annual report on the content marketing practices of manufacturers. Content Marketing Institute (CMI) has been conducting annual
content marketing research since 2010, but because our data indicated that manufacturers were slower than other industries to adopt content marketing,
we didn’t begin producing a manufacturing report until 2014.
It’s been exciting to watch more and more manufacturers launch content marketing initiatives with each passing year. And for those that are just starting
out – or are at a standstill – there are lessons to learn from companies that are further along in their content marketing maturity (see page 4). For example,
most content marketing progress is built on a foundation of a strong commitment to the approach and a documented content marketing strategy.
Welcome to our annual B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends—North America report. We’re excited to present you with the findings from our latest content marketing survey.
Content marketing has changed a lot since we launched this research nearly a decade ago. We marketers are still focused on content creation, but our thinking about the audiences for whom we create that content has evolved. So, too, have the ways we distribute, measure, and improve upon our content marketing. Technology has played a big role, along with the knowledge we’ve gained through our content marketing experiences.
As you’ll see in this report, some organizations are more developed than others with their content marketing. But you’ll also recognize your own practices reflected in many of the findings. Where does your company stand? What do you need to get to where you want to be? If you need help, let us know!
MANUFACTURING CONTENT MARKETING 2019 Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends Andrew Flynn
Welcome to our Manufacturing Content Marketing 2019—
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Business-to-Business manufacturing marketers have made great progress over the last year with content marketing. That’s one of the key findings in the Manufacturing Content Marketing: 2017 Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends—North America report released by Content Marketing Institute, a UBM company, along with MarketingProfs. The report is sponsored by IEEE Engineering360 Media Solutions.
Our annual content marketing research with new insights useful for 2019 budget planning and benchmarking. This new report focuses on business-to-business (B2B) marketers and their content marketing benchmarks, budgets, and trends.
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B2B Content Marketing 2015 Benchmarks, Budgets & Trends - North America
Hello Content Marketers, Welcome to the fifth annual B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends—North America report. It’s hard to believe that it’s been five years since we first surveyed marketers on how they use content as part of the marketing mix. Since then, the survey has grown to reach marketers all across the globe. This year, we heard from more than 5,000 marketers—in 25 industries in 109 countries—from for-profit and nonprofit organizations. In this report, you’ll learn how the B2B marketers from North America responded. As you’ll notice, we made some changes to this year’s survey to better reflect how the industry is growing. We added new questions, changed the way we asked some of the prior ones, and even removed a few. We also asked content marketers about the initiatives they’re working on—and the list is long, as you will see… We’re thrilled to be with you on this journey.
Yours in content,
Joe & Ann
Joe Pulizzi
Founder
Content Marketing Institute
Ann Handley
Chief Content Officer
MarketingProfs
Sponsored by Brightcove
A strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience—and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action
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2. Welcome
This Year’s B2C Content Marketing Top
Performers At-A-Glance
Usage & Team Organization
Commitment & Overall Success
Content Marketing Strategy & Technologies
Content Creation & Distribution
Goals & Metrics
Budgets & Spending
Methodology & Demographics
About
3
4
5
10
16
19
34
37
38
29
2
TABLE OF CONTENTS
3. WELCOME
Greetings Marketers,
Welcome to B2C Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends—North America. This is the companion report to the B2B
research we released in September 2017. The data presented in both reports was generated from our eighth annual content
marketing survey.
One of our key observations this year is that while B2C marketers reported slightly higher levels of overall content marketing
success compared with last year, there was a decrease among those who agreed their organization has realistic expectations
about what content marketing can achieve.
A documented content marketing strategy can help, as it sets expectations for what teams should prioritize; yet, only 38% of B2C
marketers reported having one.
Our annual research has consistently shown that those who document their content marketing strategy get better results than
those who don’t. Another important key to success is an efficient workflow process (page 4 shows how top-performing B2C
marketers rate their project management flow and other distinguishing characteristics that set them apart from their peers).
We hope these research findings will be helpful as you consider which content marketing priorities to focus on in the year ahead.
Yours in content,
Lisa
Murton Beets
Research Director
Content Marketing Institute
3
Ann
Handley
Chief Content Officer
MarketingProfs
4. 4
COMPARISON CHART
Most Successful All Respondents Least Successful
Organization is extremely/very committed to content marketing 93% 60% 23%
Organization’s content marketing is sophisticated/mature 72% 36% 8%
Has a documented content marketing strategy 59% 38% 18%
Percentage of total marketing budget spent on content marketing (average) 26% 22% 18%
Expects organization to increase content marketing budget in the next 12 months 35% 37% 45%
Ratesprojectmanagementflowduringcontent-creationprocessasexcellent/verygood 56% 36% 11%
Always/frequently delivers content consistently 82% 60% 16%
Agrees that organization has realistic expectations about what content marketing
can achieve
82% 55% 40%
Agrees that leadership team gives ample time to produce content marketing results 80% 56% 36%
Always/frequently focuses on creating content for audience versus brand 84% 68% 43%
Always/frequently prioritizes delivering content quality over content quantity 87% 70% 46%
This Year’s B2C Content Marketing Top Performers
At-A-Glance
2018 B2C Content Marketing Trends—North America: Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs
Chart term definitions: A top performer (aka “most successful”) is one who characterizes his or her organization’s overall content marketing approach as extremely or very successful.
The “least successful” characterize their organization’s approach as minimally or not at all successful. Base: B2C content marketers.
5. 5
USAGE & TEAM
ORGANIZATION
B2C CONTENT MARKETING
When compared with all respondents, enterprise marketers (1,000+
employees) were more likely to report their organization has a
centralized content marketing group (40% vs. 23%).
Thirty-six percent of respondents said their organizations are in the
sophisticated/mature phase of content marketing; 28% are in the
adolescent phase; and 36% are in the young/first steps phase.
Approximately half (49%) of B2C marketers surveyed outsource content
creation activities (e.g., writing, design, video production).
6. 6
USAGE & TEAM ORGANIZATION
2018 B2C Content Marketing Trends—North America: Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs
Does your organization use content marketing?
Content marketing is defined as “a strategic
marketing approach focused on creating
and distributing valuable, relevant, and
consistent content to attract and retain a
clearly defined audience — and, ultimately,
to drive profitable customer action.”
Base = All B2C respondents.
Yes
No
Percentage of B2C Respondents
Who Use Content Marketing
86%
14%
7. 7
USAGE & TEAM ORGANIZATION
2018 B2C Content Marketing Trends—North America: Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs
How would you describe your organization’s
content marketing maturity level?
HowB2CMarketersAssessTheirOrganization’sContentMarketingMaturityLevel
SOPHISTICATED MATURE ADOLESCENT YOUNG FIRST STEPS
7% 29% 28% 26% 10%Providing accurate
measurement
to the business,
scaling across the
organization
Finding success,
yet challenged with
integration across the
organization
Have developed
a business case,
seeing early success,
becoming more
sophisticated with
measurement
and scaling
Growing pains,
challenged with
creating a cohesive
strategy and a
measurement plan
Doing some aspects
of content, but
have not yet begun
to make content
marketing a process
Base: B2C content marketers; aided list.
8. 8
USAGE & TEAM ORGANIZATION
2018 B2C Content Marketing Trends—North America: Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs
How is content marketing structured
within your organization?
Base: B2C content marketers; aided list.
B2C Content Marketing Organizational Structure
23%
10%
11%
55%
Centralized content marketing group
that works with multiple brands/product
lines throughout the organization
Each brand/product/department has
its own content marketing team
Both: a centralized group as
well as individual teams
throughout the organization
Small (or one-person)
marketing/content marketing team
serves the entire organization
9. 9
USAGE & TEAM ORGANIZATION
2018 B2C Content Marketing Trends—North America: Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs
What content marketing activities does your
organization outsource?
Content Marketing Activities B2C Marketers Outsource
49%
26%
17%
10%
4%
Content Creation
(e.g., writers, designers,
video production)
Do not outsource any
content marketing activities
Content Promotion/Distribution
Content Marketing Measurement
Content Marketing Strategy
Other
38%
Note: More than three out of five
(62%) of respondents outsource
at least one of the content
marketing activities listed.
Base: B2C content marketers.
Aided list; multiple responses
permitted.
SPONSORED BY
10. 10
COMMITMENT &
OVERALL SUCCESS
B2C CONTENT MARKETING
Like last year, 60% of B2C marketers said their organizations are
extremely/very committed to content marketing.
When compared with last year, a higher percentage of B2C marketers
reported their organization’s overall content marketing approach is
extremely/very successful (28% vs. 25%) or moderately successful
(50% vs. 45%). The percentage reporting minimal success decreased
(19% vs. 27% last year).
The percentage of B2C marketers that agreed their organization has
realistic expectations about what content marketing can achieve
decreased from 69% last year to 55% this year.
11. 11
COMMITMENT & OVERALL SUCCESS
2018 B2C Content Marketing Trends—North America: Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs
How would you describe your organization’s
commitment level to content marketing?
Base: B2C content marketers; aided list.
42%
8%
1%
31%
18%
B2C Organizations’ Commitment to Content Marketing
Extremely
Committed
Very Committed
Somewhat
Committed
Not Very
Committed
Not At All
Committed
12. 12
2018 B2C Content Marketing Trends—North America: Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs
COMMITMENT & OVERALL SUCCESS
How would you characterize the success
of your organization’s current overall
content marketing approach?
Base = B2C content marketers; aided list.
Note: The survey defined success as
achieving your organization’s desired/
targeted results. This report defines the
Top 2 respondents (extremely/very) as
“most successful” or “top performers,”
and the Bottom 2 (minimally/not at all)
as “least successful.”
50%
19%
3%
23%
5%
How B2C Marketers Rate the Success of Their
Organizations’ Overall Content Marketing Approach
Extremely
Successful
Very
Successful
Moderately
Successful
Minimally
Successful
Not At All
Successful
13. 13
2018 B2C Content Marketing Trends—North America: Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs
COMMITMENT & OVERALL SUCCESS
How does the success of your organization’s
current overall content marketing approach
compare with one year ago?
Base: B2C content marketers; aided list.
How B2C Marketers Rate Their Organization’s
Content Marketing Success Compared
With One Year Ago
23%
43%
25%
5%
0%
5%
Much More
Successful
Somewhat
More
Successful
About the
Same as
One Year
Ago
Somewhat
Less
Successful
Much Less
Successful
Does Not
Apply
(program less than
one year old)
14. 14
2018 B2C Content Marketing Trends—North America: Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs
COMMITMENT & OVERALL SUCCESS
To what factors do you attribute your organization’s
increase in overall success with content marketing?
Base:B2Ccontentmarketerswhosaidtheirorganization’soverallcontentmarketing
approachismuchmoreorsomewhatmoresuccessfulcomparedwithoneyearago.
Other factors cited: Content
Marketing Technologies/Tools (28%);
More Budget for Content Marketing
(25%); We Have Given Our Efforts
Time to Bear Fruit and Are Now
Getting Results (24%); Content
Marketing Training/Education (21%);
Changes in Our Target Audience(s)
(12%); Assistance of Outside
Expertise (10%); and Other (5%).
Note: Due to the low number of
B2C respondents who said their
organization’s content marketing
success had decreased compared
with one year ago, this report does
not include a chart showing factors
contributing to decreased success.
Factors Contributing to B2C Marketers’ Increased
Content Marketing Success Over the Last Year
75%
72%
53%
46%
Content Creation (higher
quality, more efficient)
Strategy (development
or adjustment)
Content Distribution (better
targeting, identification
of what works)
Content Marketing Has
Become a Greater Priority
Spending More Time on
Content Marketing
Management/HR (organizational
changes, staffing, new content
marketing roles)
Content Measurement
(growing in ability to
show results)
47%
39%
39%
15. 15
OPINIONS ABOUT CONTENT MARKETING
2018 B2C Content Marketing Trends—North America: Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs
Indicate your level of agreement with the following statements
concerning content marketing in your organization.
Base: B2C content marketers; aided list.
B2C Marketers’ Opinions About Content Marketing
85% 9% 6%
79% 13% 8%
56% 25% 19%
14%
22%23%
33%
55%
53%
51% 27% 22%
20% 32% 48%
Our organization is focused on building
audiences (building one or more subscriber bases)
Our organization values creativity and craft
in content creation and production
Our leadership team gives us ample time
to produce content marketing results
Our organization has realistic expectations
about what content marketing can achieve
We are discontinuing specific content marketing
activities that we’ve found to be ineffective, so
we can concentrate on those that yield the best results
Over the last year, it has become increasingly
difficult to capture our audience’s attention
We are creating less content than one year
ago, but that content is driving greater results
■ Agree ■ Neither Agree Nor Disagree ■ Disagree
16. 16
B2C CONTENT MARKETING
The percentage of respondents that reported their
organization has a documented content marketing
strategy is nearly the same as last year (38% vs. 40%).
Respondents said their organizations use an average of four digital
technologies specifically for managing content marketing efforts.
The two types of technology with the highest reported use are analytics
tools (85%) and email-focused marketing technology (78%).
CONTENT MARKETING
STRATEGY & TECHNOLOGIES
17. 17
CONTENT MARKETING STRATEGY & TECHNOLOGIES
2018 B2C Content Marketing Trends—North America: Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs
Does your organization have a
content marketing strategy?
Base: B2C content marketers; aided list.
36%
6%
38%
20%
Percentage of B2C Marketers Who Have
a Content Marketing Strategy
Yes, and it is
documented
No, with no plans
to have one within
12 months
Yes, but it is not
documented
No, but plan to have
one within 12 months
18. 18
2018 B2C Content Marketing Trends—North America: Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs
Which types of digital technologies does your organization
use specifically for managing its content marketing efforts?
Base: B2C content marketers. Aided list; multiple responses permitted.
Other technologies used:
Video Tools/Platforms (19%);
Content Collaboration/
Workflow Software (17%);
Content Promotion/
Distribution Software
(17%); Webinar/Online
Presentation Platforms (17%);
Content Planning/Creation
Software (13%); Digital Asset
Management (DAM) System/
File Storage (12%); Content
Optimization Software (5%);
and Other (7%).
Technologies B2C Marketers Use to Manage
Content Marketing Efforts
(Top 4)
85%
Content Management System
Email Marketing Technology (email-focused)
Analytics Tools
78%
59%
35%Marketing Automation Software
(automation-focused)
AVERAGE NUMBER USED:
Most Successful.................. 4
All Respondents................. 4
Least Successful................. 3
CONTENT MARKETING STRATEGY & TECHNOLOGIES
19. 19
CONTENTCREATION
&DISTRIBUTION
B2C CONTENT MARKETING
When asked how well content-creation projects flow within
their organizations, 36% of respondents rated the flow as
excellent/very good; 38% rated it as good; and 26% rated it as fair/poor.
Among the content types, distribution formats, and social media platforms
that respondents use, they rated social media posts, email, and Facebook as
most effective in helping their organizations achieve specific objectives.
86% of respondents said they use email for content marketing purposes;
automated confirmation emails (e.g., a welcome email) is the type of
email they use most often (58%).
20. 20
CONTENT CREATION & DISTRIBUTION
2018 B2C Content Marketing Trends—North America: Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs
How often do you take the following concepts into
account while creating content for your organization?
Base: B2C content marketers; aided list.
How Often B2C Marketers Consider
Various Concepts While Creating Content
90%
79%
72%
70%
68%
68%
60%
47% 36% 17%
27% 13%
26% 6%
28% 4%
26% 4%
17%
23% 5%
4%
10%
Ensure that our content is
fact-based and/or credible
Consider how our content impacts the overall
experience a person has with our organization
Prioritize delivering content quality
over content quantity
Focus on creating content for our
audience versus our brand
Differentiate our content from
our competition’s content
Prioritize providing the right content to
the right person at the right time
Deliver content consistently
(e.g., on a defined, regularly scheduled basis)
Craft content based on specific
points of the buyer’s journey
■ Always/Frequently ■ Sometimes ■ Rarely/Never
21. 21
USAGE & TEAM ORGANIZATION
2018 B2C Content Marketing Trends—North America: Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs
21
CONTENT CREATION & DISTRIBUTION
2018 B2C Content Marketing Trends—North America: Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs
How would you rate the project management flow during the
content creation process (from concept through completion)
within your organization?
Base: B2C content marketers; aided list.
How B2C Marketers Rate the Project Management Flow
During the Content Creation Process
EXCELLENT VERYGOOD GOOD FAIR POOR
6% 7%30% 38% 19%
Thevast
majorityofour
projects move
alongefficiently
Most of our
projects
move along
efficiently
Some of our
projects move
along efficiently,
but we face
bottlenecks
Most of our
projects are
held up by
bottlenecks
Many of our
projects
move along
efficiently
22. 22
2018 B2C Content Marketing Trends—North America: Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs
CONTENT CREATION & DISTRIBUTION
Which types of content does your organization use
for content marketing purposes?
Base: B2C content marketers. Aided list; multiple responses permitted.
Other types of content used:
Case Studies (30%); Videos (live-
streaming) (22%); Research
Reports (20%); Mobile Apps (17%);
Podcasts (13%); Film/TV (e.g.,
documentaries, short films) (8%);
Virtual Reality/Augmented Reality
(VR/AR) Experiences (4%); and
Other (8%).
Types of Content B2C Marketers Use
for Content Marketing Purposes
(Top 6)
96%
Illustrations/Photos
Infographics
Videos (pre-produced)
Social Media Posts – excluding videos (e.g., tweets, pins)
76%
67%
59%
38%
35%Ebooks/White Papers
Interactive Tools (e.g., quizzes, assessments, calculators) AVERAGE NUMBER USED:
Most Successful.................. 6
All Respondents................. 5
Least Successful................. 4
23. 23
CONTENT CREATION & DISTRIBUTION
2018 B2C Content Marketing Trends—North America: Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs
Of the content marketing types you use, which three
are the most effective at helping your organization
achieve specific objectives?
Base: B2C content marketers who use the types listed. Maximum of three
responses permitted. Results shown based on response frequencies.
Top 3 Most Effective Types of Content B2C Marketers Use
for Content Marketing Purposes
ALL RESPONDENTS
MOST SUCCESSFUL
LEAST SUCCESSFUL
Videos (pre-produced)
Illustrations/Photos
Social Media Posts – excluding videos (e.g., tweets, pins)
Videos (pre-produced)
Illustrations/Photos
Illustrations/Photos
Infographics
Social Media Posts – excluding videos (e.g., tweets, pins)
Social Media Posts – excluding videos (e.g., tweets, pins)
71%
59%
68%
29%
24%
43%
37%
45%
29%
24. 24
CONTENT CREATION & DISTRIBUTION
2018 B2C Content Marketing Trends—North America: Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs Base: B2C content marketers. Aided list; multiple responses permitted.
Which formats does your organization use to distribute
content for content marketing purposes?
Other formats used:
Separate Content Hubs (e.g.,
microsites, resource centers)
(27%); Webinars/Webcasts/
Virtual Events (19%); Online
Presentations (17%); Print
Magazines (17%); Digital
Magazines (12%); and
Other (3%).
Formats B2C Marketers Use to Distribute
Content for Content Marketing Purposes
(Top 5)
89%
In-Person Events
Print (other than magazines)
Blogs
Social Media Platforms (e.g., LinkedIn, Twitter)
Email (e.g., newsletters, welcome emails) 86%
70%
34%
42% AVERAGE NUMBER USED:
Most Successful.................. 4
All Respondents................. 4
Least Successful................. 3
25. 25
CONTENT CREATION & DISTRIBUTION
2018 B2C Content Marketing Trends—North America: Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs
Of the formats you use to distribute content, which
three are the most effective at helping your organization
achieve specific objectives?
Base: B2C content marketers who use the formats listed. Maximum of three
responses permitted. Results shown based on response frequencies.
Top 3 Most Effective Formats B2C Marketers Use to
Distribute Content for Content Marketing Purposes
ALL RESPONDENTS
MOST SUCCESSFUL
LEAST SUCCESSFUL
Email (e.g., newsletters, welcome emails)
Blogs
Social Media Platforms (e.g., LinkedIn, Twitter)
Email (e.g., newsletters, welcome emails)
Blogs
Social Media Platforms (e.g., LinkedIn, Twitter)
Email (e.g., newsletters, welcome emails)
Social Media Platforms (e.g., LinkedIn, Twitter)
Blogs
72%
74%
68%
45%
37%
50%
50%
In-Person Events 35%
61%
47%
26. 26
CONTENT CREATION & DISTRIBUTION
2018 B2C Content Marketing Trends—North America: Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs
Which social media platforms does your organization
use as part of its content marketing efforts?
Base: B2C content marketers who use social media platforms to distribute content.
Aided list; multiple responses permitted.
Social Media Platforms B2C Marketers
Use for Content Marketing Purposes
(Top 6)
97%Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
YouTube
Instagram
Pinterest
84%
69%
63%
43%
66%
Other social media
platforms used: Google+
(37%); Snapchat (11%);
SlideShare (8%); Medium
(5%); and Other (8%).
AVERAGE NUMBER USED:
Most Successful.................. 6
All Respondents................. 5
Least Successful................. 4
27. 27
CONTENT CREATION & DISTRIBUTION
2018 B2C Content Marketing Trends—North America: Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs
Of the social media platforms you use, which three
are the most effective at helping your organization
achieve specific objectives?
Base: B2C content marketers who use the social media platforms listed. Maximum
of three responses permitted. Results shown based on response frequencies.
Top 3 Most Effective Social Media Platforms B2C Marketers
Use for Content Marketing Purposes
ALL RESPONDENTS
MOST SUCCESSFUL
LEAST SUCCESSFUL
YouTube
Twitter
Facebook
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
LinkedIn
Facebook
Twitter
88%
90%
74%
29%
26%
49%
33%
YouTube 33%
37%
29%
28. 28
CONTENT CREATION & DISTRIBUTION
2018 B2C Content Marketing Trends—North America: Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs
Which types of email does your organization use
as part of its content marketing efforts?
Base: B2C content marketers who use email to distribute content for content marketing
purposes. Aided list; multiple responses permitted.
58%
55%
52%
48%
45%
36%
36%
Types of Email B2C Marketers Use for
Content Marketing Purposes
(Top 7)
Lead Nurturing
Automated Confirmation Emails
(e.g., a welcome email)
Ad hoc Newsletters
(i.e., no set schedule)
Drip Campaigns (e.g., welcome series)
Promotional Emails
Event Emails
Monthly Newsletters
Other types of email used:
Bi-weekly Newsletters (every other
week) (20%); Weekly Newsletters
(17%); Partnership Emails (15%);
Daily Newsletters (3%); and Other
(4%).
29. 29
GOALS&METRICS
B2C CONTENT MARKETING
More than half of respondents (53%) said their organization
does an excellent, very good, or good job in terms of aligning metrics with
content marketing goals; however, another 31% rated their organization as doing
a fair or poor job.
Respondents who do not measure content marketing ROI (34%) cited the
top reason, by far, as “we need an easier way to do this” (45%).
Nearly 80% of respondents reported they can demonstrate, with metrics,
how content marketing has increased audience engagement.
30. 30
GOALS & METRICS
2018 B2C Content Marketing Trends—North America: Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs
What type of job does your organization do in terms
of aligning metrics with content marketing goals
(i.e., are you measuring the “right things”)?
Base: B2C content marketers; aided list.
How B2C Marketers Rate Alignment of
Their Metrics and Content Marketing Goals
EXCELLENT VERYGOOD GOOD FAIR POOR
6% 9%14% 33% 22%
TOOSOONTOTELL DON’TUSE CONTENT
MARKETINGMETRICS
UNSURE
5%8% 3%
31. 31
GOALS & METRICS
2018 B2C Content Marketing Trends—North America: Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs
Does your organization measure the return on
investment (ROI) of its content marketing efforts?
34%
43%
23%
Percentage of B2C Marketers Who
Measure Content Marketing ROI
Unsure
No
Yes
Base: B2C content marketers; aided list.
32. 32
GOALS & METRICS
2018 B2C Content Marketing Trends—North America: Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs
Why doesn’t your organization measure the return on
investment (ROI) of its content marketing efforts?
Base: B2C content marketers whose organizations do not measure
content marketing ROI. Aided list; multiple responses permitted.
45%
34%
26%
25%
21%
4%
Why B2C Marketers Don’t
Measure Content Marketing ROI
We need an easier way to do this
No formal justification required
We don’t know how to do this
Too time-consuming
Other
Unsure
33. 33
GOALS & METRICS
2018 B2C Content Marketing Trends—North America: Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs
Indicate your level of agreement with each statement
concerning the content marketing metrics
used in your organization.
Base: B2C content marketers who use metrics to determine content marketing results. Aided list.
B2C Marketers’ Metrics Agreement Statements
79% 12% 9%
65% 21% 14%
58% 25% 17%
34% 36% 30%
I/my team can demonstrate how content marketing has…
Increased audience
engagement
Increased our
number of leads
Increased our
organization’s sales
Decreased our cost of
customer acquisition
■ Agree ■ Neither Agree Nor Disagree ■ Disagree
34. 34
BUDGETS&SPENDING
B2C CONTENT MARKETING
Last year, B2C top performers reported their organizations spent,
on average, 38% of their total marketing budget on content
marketing vs. 26% this year.
37% of all respondents said they expect their organization’s content
marketing budget to increase in the next 12 months.
When broken out by overall content marketing success rates, the least
successful respondents were most likely to indicate they will increase their
content marketing budget in the next 12 months (45%).
35. 35
BUDGETS & SPENDING
2018 B2C Content Marketing Trends—North America: Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs
Approximately what percentage of your organization’s
total marketing budget (not including staff)
is spent on content marketing?
Base: B2C content marketers; aided list.
Percentage of Total Marketing Budget Spent
on B2C Content Marketing
2% 2%
5%
10%
17%
27%
32%
5%
100% 75-99% 50-74% 25-49% 10-24% 1-9% 0% Unsure
AVERAGE SPENT:
Most Successful.............26%
All Respondents............22%
Least Successful............18%
36. 36
BUDGETS & SPENDING
2018 B2C Content Marketing Trends—North America: Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs
How do you expect your organization’s content
marketing budget to change in the next 12 months?
Base: B2C content marketers; aided list.
46%
4%
14%
37%
B2C Content Marketing Spending
(Over Next 12 Months)
Increase
Remain
the Same
Decrease
Unsure
37. 37
METHODOLOGY/DEMOGRAPHICS
2018 B2C Content Marketing Trends—North America: Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs
B2C Content Marketing: 2018 Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends—North America was produced by Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs.
The eighth annual content marketing survey, from which the results of this report were generated, was mailed electronically to a sample of marketers using
lists from Content Marketing Institute, MarketingProfs, The Association for Data-driven Marketing & Advertising (ADMA), WTWH Media, and Technology for
Marketing (TFM).
A total of 2,190 recipients from around the globe—representing a full range of industries, functional areas, and company sizes—responded to the survey
during June and July 2017. This report presents the findings from the 195 respondents who indicated their organization is for-profit in North America,
primarily selling products/services to consumers (B2C) or to both businesses and consumers (B2B and B2C), with the percentage of B2C business exceeding
50%.
Note: The B2C content marketers referred to in the base lines and bullet points in this report are respondents who indicated their organization uses content
marketing.
B2C Industry
Classification
Size of B2C Company
(by Employees)
B2C Organization 2016
Total Annual Revenue
B2C Job Title/
Function
22%
25%
28%
■ Small (10-99 Employees)
■ Micro(Fewerthan10Employees)
■ Midsize (100-999 Employees)
■ Large (1,000+ Employees)
■ Retail/E-Commerce
■ Agency (Advertising, Digital Marketing,
Content Marketing, PR, Marcom)
■ Education
■ Financial Services
■ Insurance
■ Professional Services
■ Travel/Tourism/Hospitality
■ Other
7%
2%
7%
■ Marketing/Advertising/
Communications/PR Management
■ Content Creation/Management
■ Corporate Management
(Owner/President, CEO, CMO)
■ Marketing – Staff/Support
■ General Management (GM, VP)
■ Consultant
■ Other
■ More than $1 Billion
■ $500,000,001 - $1 Billion
■ $100,000,001 - $500,000,000
■ $50,000,001 - $100,000,000
■ $10,000,001 - $50,000,000
■ $1,000,000 - $10,000,000
■ Less than $1,000,000
■ Unsure
25%
44%
18%
14%
8%
13%
12%
4%
12%
15%
21%
20%
3%14%
9%
8%
8%
8%
8%5%
40%
38. 38
ABOUT
Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs thank all the survey respondents and survey
distribution partners who made this research possible.
About Content Marketing Institute (CMI)
Content Marketing Institute is the leading global content marketing education and training organization, teaching enterprise brands how
to attract and retain customers through compelling, multichannel storytelling. CMI’s Content Marketing World event, the largest content
marketing-focused event, is held every September in Cleveland, Ohio, USA, and the Intelligent Content Conference event is held every spring.
CMI publishes the bi-monthly magazine Chief Content Officer, and provides strategic consulting and content marketing research for some of
the best-known brands in the world. Watch this video to learn more about CMI. To view all research and subscribe to our emails, visit
www.contentmarketinginstitute.com.
Content Marketing Institute is organized by UBM plc. UBM is the largest pure-play B2B Events organizer in the world. Our 3,750+ people, based
in more than 20 countries, serve more than 50 different sectors. Our deep knowledge and passion for these sectors allow us to create valuable
experiences which enable our customers to succeed. Please visit www.ubm.com for the latest news and information about UBM.
About MarketingProfs
MarketingProfs offers real-world education for modern marketers. More than 600,000 marketing professionals worldwide rely on our free
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