5 Content Marketing Statistics to Consider as 2018 Approaches

As the end of the year approaches, you may be creating your 2018 marketing plan or even polishing up a final version to share with your employees. Whatever the case, using data from reliable marketing sources to create and/or refine your plan will ensure that you’re using the right platforms and methods to reach your target audience. Content marketing is one method to consider as you form your plan. Content marketing involves creating sharable content that doesn’t explicitly promote or sell a product, but promotes interest in a product or brand. Using content marketing in your marketing plan will help you provide customers with useful resources that position you as a reliable source of information when it comes to information about the product or service you provide.

Because content marketing is a useful marketing method, we visited Hubspot’s website to see what their research had to say about content marketing as we enter 2018. Here are five content marketing statistics to consider:

1. According to Hubspot, “53% of marketers say blog content creation is their top inbound marketing priority (HubSpot, 2017).” Do you maintain a blog for your business? If you don’t, it may be a good idea to integrate the creation of one into your 2018 marketing plan. Make sure you include developing a solid editorial calendar so you start off on the right foot, and always write ahead so the blog doesn’t get stale or stagnant. Hubspot reports that “B2B companies that blogged 11+ times per month had almost 3X more traffic than those blogging 0-1 times per month (HubSpot, 2015).”
2. Hubspot reports that “47% of buyers viewed 3-5 pieces of content before engaging with a sales rep (Demand Gen Report, 2016).” These pieces of content could be videos, product descriptions, product demonstrations, reviews, and more. Providing customers with different mediums to learn more about a product or service will help convince them it’s what they’ve been looking for.
3. “On average, B2B marketers allocate 28% of their total marketing budget to content marketing (Content Marketing Institute, 2015),” Hubspot reports. Are you allocating enough of your budget to your content marketing efforts?
4. Have you ever listened to a podcast? They’re a great way to get information when you’re doing the dishes, getting a tedious task out of the way at work, or traveling in the car. According to Hubspot, “Podcast listening grew 23% between 2015 and 2016 (Edison Research, 2016)” and “11% of marketers plan to add podcasting to their marketing efforts in the next 12 months (HubSpot, 2017).”
5. Hubspot reports that 48% of marketers plan to add YouTube to their marketing next year, while 39% plan to add Facebook video, 33% will integrate Instagram, and 20% will start using messaging apps. There are a variety of content distribution channels to consider. Make sure you check them all out and determine which are best for your business.

How will you fit content marketing into your 2018 marketing plan? Consider some of these methods or contact us to learn more about the value of content marketing.