Stats and trends your marketing team should know: The content marketing outlook
As a CMO or member of a marketing team, you know the content marketing outlook changes on a near-daily basis. What worked last year, and sometimes last week, won’t necessarily work today.
So, how do you plan your marketing strategy to build on what’s working now, but also stay ahead of the curve on new trends and consumer behavior? It helps to look at the current landscape for clues about what’s propelling brands forward.
What’s resonating best with potential buyers?
Content Marketing Stats 2018
Here’s a quick snapshot of the state of content marketing in 2018:
- 90 percent of businesses use content marketing
- 80 percent of B2C marketers have measurably improved audience engagement with content marketing
- Content marketing produces leads for 41 percent less than paid search
- 70 percent of people want articles rather than ads when learning about a company
- 49 percent of marketers build content around the buyer’s journey
- 87 percent of business “visionaries” and 81 percent of “leaders” (as defined by ContentStandard) consider content the central component to marketing
- 96 percent of business visionaries focus on engagement and conversions to measure content marketing success
(Sources: Social Media Today, Content Standard, Business2Community)
Content Marketing as a Relationship-building Tool
Five of the seven bullets above relate to engagement or customer relationships, and that remains the most important function of content marketing, in our opinion.
Let’s take a closer look at one of those stats:
“70 percent of people want articles rather than ads when learning about a company”
Today’s consumers do their research before making a buying decision, and the Internet makes that easy. They reach out to their favorite online sources for information, from review sites to social media. They want easily accessible information as soon as possible.
As a marketer, you might be quick to assume that “relationship” means “live conversation” (aka a sales call), but have you considered what it might mean to the consumer?
As Hubspot write Kipp Bodnar observed in a recent post about the buyer’s journey:
“…many consumers choose shopping methods based on how quickly they can procure products, and the extent that they just don’t want to talk to anybody.”
Your buyer, whether you are a B2C or B2B company, might be looking for a relationship with your company, but not a phone call from you. Your content can do a lot of relationship-building for you by giving the buyer the information he or she wants.
When a prospect interacts with your blog, Facebook post or latest live video, she wants to know if your company can solve her immediate need or pain point. She also wants to know more about your brand and whether that brand fits her lifestyle and/or values. You can answer these questions easily, and begin building that relationship, with your content.
Types of Content
So, you know you should be producing in-depth and informative content. You also know you should focus on the buyer’s point of view and needs to help build a relationship with him or her.
But how? While static website pages serve a purpose, you need more channels and more types of content to meet buyers where they are – and how they want to receive information.
Use a multi-channel strategy and use a variety of content types to increase your brand’s reach. Types of content to consider:
Blogs
While blogs shouldn’t be your sole content channel, they still carry a lot of weight:
“According to Hubspot, companies that blog have 434% more indexed pages than businesses without blogs. As you publish more content, Google will continue to increase your page rank, making it easier for customers to find you.”
Live video
Facebook Live and other live-video formats capture people’s attention and foster engagement:
“…Facebook Live is watched three times longer than regular videos, is commented on 10 times more than regular videos, and the search popularity for “Facebook live stream” is up 330 percent.”
Recorded video
Forty-five percent of people watch an hour of video each day, and 60 percent of viewers are looking for informative content (entertaining and funny videos capture attention as well).
Social media
Many customer relationships begin on social media, so don’t neglect your social channels. Also take the time to research which platforms best match your target audience.
Voice search
More people are connecting with content, and new brands, using voice-activated devices. Smartphones, Siri, Alexa, Echo, Dot and many others filter information for consumers.
Today’s consumers are savvy and in search of information, and it pays to understand their point of view when developing your content marketing strategy.
Campfire Digital has been recognized as a one of the top Inbound Marketing Companies on DesignRush. To learn more about how Campfire Digital can help your brand expand its reach through content marketing, digital marketing and more, contact us.