31 Content Marketing Statistics to Help You Drive your Marketing Strategy in 2023
Table of Contents
Whether you’re a seasoned content marketer or a newbie, you can’t stay atop your game unless you know the trends that shape the industry. However, it’s a huge task to keep abreast of the goings-on in the industry, which is known for being extremely competitive. So, here we are with 31 content marketing statistics 2023 to drive your marketing strategy. From the type of content you should create and distribute to the platforms where you should promote it, you have it all in this curated list.
Blogging
1. Bloggers Who Update Older Content are 74% More Likely to Report Better Results
Source: Orbit Media
Google loves fresh content and so does your audience. But, obviously, writing fresh content every day can be time-consuming. So, instead of starting from scratch, it’s a good idea to dig up your old, top-performing blogs and revamp them. HubSpot does this all the time and the results are definite. According to them, 75% of their blog views and 90% of blog leads come from old posts.
2. 55% of Marketers say Blogging is their #1 Inbound Marketing Priority
Source: 99Firms
Most internet users perceive blogs as an accurate source of information. This is why companies that blog receive 97% more links to their website. In addition, blogs are also 3x more likely to achieve a positive ROI on their efforts. Doesn’t this tempt you to start blogging regularly too?
3. B2B Companies that Blogged 16+ Times Per Month had Almost 3.5 More Traffic Than that Blogging 4 Times Per Month or Less
Source: 99Firms
The more you blog the higher are your chances of being found by search engines and the more fodder you create for your blog visitors and social pages. Take HubSpot, for instance. When they started publishing more blog posts they saw an increase in both traffic and inbound leads.
4. Small Businesses with Blogs Get 126% More Lead Growth Than Those Without a Blog
Source: Impact
A blog is the starting point of your interaction with your target audience. It is where you start building relationships by telling your brand’s story. Given that a blog is such a melting pot of ideas that boosts growth, you should start your own blog as well. It guarantees that you stay ahead of your competitors as you will receive 67% more leads than those who don’t blog at all!
5. Long Form Blog Content Performs Better Than Short Form
Source: HubSpot
Google favors in-depth, lengthy content over the short format. Reason? A long article is an indicator of quality and the amount of research that has gone into it. Neil Patel is the master of long-form, well-researched, and evidence-backed blogs. All his articles are 4000+ words and bring good traffic to his website too. He has even written a blog with examples of brands which, like him, have been able to boost website traffic by writing longer posts.
Interactive Content
6. Interactive Content Generates 2x More Conversions Than Passive Content
Source: Kapost
Buyers crave experiences. They want to know as much about your brand’s products and services before making a purchase decision. Which means that if you want to gain their attention you will have to go beyond the one-dimensional pieces of information like blogs, e-books, and whitepapers. Wow them with interactive content as it gives them the opportunity to impact the outcome and be better involved with your business.
7. In March 2017, 4 Top Performing Content on BuzzFeed were Quizzes
Source: NewsWhip
The fact that quizzes sell like hotcakes is because they are high on the fun quotient and provide instant gratification.
8. 93% of Marketers Think Interactive Content is Somewhat or Very Effective at Educating the Buyer, Versus Just 70% for Static Content
Source: Inc
Interactive content gives you a competitive edge and is an excellent opportunity for you to generate better-quality leads. You can learn plenty about your targeted audience and gain in-depth knowledge of who’s really consuming content you create, what exactly they are interested in and what more do they expect.
9. 79% of Marketers Agree that Interactive Content can Have Reusable Value, Resulting in Repeat Visitors and Multiple Exposures
Source: CMI
Interactive content like quizzes and online surveys has a longer shelf-life. It can be used over and over again without much intervention from your end. Clearly, it’s an attractive proposition you need to be spending time on.
10. 88% of Marketers Strongly Feel That Interactive Content Helps Them Stand Out From Their Competitors
Source: Business2Community
According to a recent report by the Content Marketing Institute (CMI), interactive experiences enhance the retention of brand messaging when combined with traditional marketing techniques. The cherry on the cake is that it also gets you more views. Definitely, one of the many advantages you would want to leverage, right?
11. 51% of B2B Buyers Rely on Content to Research Their Buying Decisions, and They Want Shorter, Interactive Content that Educates Rather Than Sells
Source: DemandGen
Buyers want to be better prepared and sure about their future purchases. So, they end up doing in-depth research and reading as much as they can. Keeping in line with their expectations you can surprise them with interactive content (which they love!) when your peers are still sending cold pitches. You will definitely grab their attention and gather more quality leads and ultimately increase sales
Related Read – Why Interactive Content is the Future of Digital Marketing
Visual Marketing
12. Adding Images to Your Blogs Generates 94% More Views
Source: Jeff Bullas
In 2017, 30% more bloggers used multiple images than they did in 2016. This is due to the fact that images are processed 60,000 times faster than text. Moreover, visuals are engaging, memorable and effective and help people retain information more quickly than plain text. So, if you want your message to be conveyed, use visual cues.
13. Infographics are Shared 3x More Than Any Other Content Type
Source: HubSpot
Content marketing statistics for 2023 say that infographics continue to be one of the most popular content pieces. They work because they present complex information to users in a condensed, easy-to-understand format. Being rich in colors, it increases people’s willingness to read them by 80%! Have a look at one of the infographics we created on what makes content pieces go viral.
14. 74% Marketers Use Visuals in Their Social Media Content
Source: Social Media Examiner
A tweet with images gets 150% more retweets than text-only tweets. On Facebook, posts with images get 2.3x more engagement than posts without them. Infographics can generate over 350,000 readers per month on a blog. 88%It’s quite evident that visual content boosts engagement on social media. No reason why you shouldn’t spend time posting photos, graphics, memes etc. on your business page.
15. 69% of Companies Report Their Video Marketing Budget is Increasing
Source: DMA
People are hungry for video content. It is engaging and viewers tend to retain 95% of the message when they watch a video as compared to 10% when they read a text. What’s more – it is expected that the global internet traffic from videos will make 80% of all internet traffic!
16. Live Internet Video Will Account for 13% of Internet Video Traffic by 2023
In 2016, Buffer ran a survey where they found out that 42% marketers want to create more live videos. The reason is pretty simple. On Facebook, users spend 3x more time watching live videos than when it’s no longer live. Even a Livestream survey revealed that live videos are going to trend because respondents preferred it over social media posts and blog posts. What more proof do we need, eh?
Content Marketing ROI
17. Content Marketing Costs 62% Less Than Traditional Marketing
Source: DemandMetric
Inexperienced marketers propagate a myth that content marketing is expensive when the opposite is true. However, the good news is that not only is it a cheaper option but it also generates 3x as many leads as traditional marketing!
18. Conversion Rates are Six Times Higher (2.9%) For Companies and Brands Using Content Marketing Than Those That Aren’t (0.5%)
Source: Aberdeen Group
Marketing goals can’t be achieved overnight. Marketers understand that their content marketing efforts will pay off through increased leads and revenue if they adopt a more holistic approach and align content to both the buyer’s persona and the stage buyers are at in their journey. You should follow the suit and don’t give up too soon. It’s only after a period of time that you will familiarize your prospects with your brand and increase conversion rate.
Email Marketing
19. Every $1 Spent on an Email Brings $38 in ROI and Offers Massive Reach
Source: CampaignMonitor
According to a Mckinsey report, an email beats social by 40x with regard to customer acquisition! If you want even better results, make your emails interactive i.e. trigger an event within your email. It makes the user journey faster with fewer risks of drop-offs. You can read how MailChimp managed to double conversions delivering interactive elements straight to a user’s inbox!
20. Personalized Email Messages Improve CTR by an Average of 14% and Conversions by 10%.
Source: Aberdeen
Being sensitive to what recipients would like to read improves customer retention. To top this, if you personalize the email subject line as well, these emails are 26% more likely to be opened.
21. 56% Brands use Emojis in Their Email Subject Line
Source: Experian
We all <3 emojis! They add character to an email and make you stand out in an inbox that is crammed with thousands of emails! Someone who spots an emoji in the email subject line will obviously then – out of curiosity – click on your email. As a word of caution, however, we would like to say that don’t overuse them. Use emoticons that are relevant to the content of your email and your brand.
22. 80% of Marketers Believe That Email Marketing Drives Customer Acquisition and Retention
Source: Emarketer
There are 77% consumers who prefer marketers contacting them via email. So, don’t just blog and distribute content on social media hoping that it will alone bring results. Start creating segmented campaigns and send them emails using a marketing automation software. It will save your time and help you nurture the leads, turn them into customers and influence them to make repeat purchases.
Content Distribution
23. 87% of Marketers Publish and Distribute Content on Social Media
Source: IAB
Marketers turn to social media because it increases both exposure and traffic. They also publish content there because it helps them earn loyal fans and gain marketplace intelligence. However, if you want to successfully market your content on social media then avoid being salesy. Stick to being social and interactive by encouraging participation from your Instagram followers. Think of quizzes as they work like a charm. BuzzFeed gets 75% of its website traffic from social media!
24. 94% B2B Marketers Use LinkedIn to Distribute Content
Source: LinkedIn
Studies show that 80% B2B leads come from LinkedIn. It’s a clear hint that the audience that will respond to your content and business is present on LinkedIn. The same study also revealed that the other popular channels for content distribution include Twitter (87%), Facebook (84%), YouTube (74%) and Google+ (62%).
25. The Most Preferred Advertising Method Used by B2B Marketers is SEM (67%)
Source: Content Marketing Institute
The use of search engines is on the rise and the number of searches on Google every day is 3.5 billion! It doesn’t come as a surprise that B2B marketers are increasingly using search engine marketing. Moreso, they think that SEM is a more effective method for promoting and distributing content as compared to social ads (45%) and print and offline promotion (31%).
Miscellaneous
26. 73% B2B Marketers Publish Case Studies Because it is a Powerful Example of Social Proof
Source: Content Marketing Institute
Start making your success stories public in form of case studies. According to DemandGen Report – 2017 Content Preferences Survey, 78% people read case studies when researching purchases in the past 12 months (vs. 72 percent in 2016). The facts and figures in case studies stand as a testimony of how your prospect’s peers benefited from your business solutions, products, and services. The whole idea is to create enough social proof so that you can influence your prospects and turn them into buyers.
27. 78% of CMOs Believe Custom Content is the Future of Marketing
Source: Demand Metric
According to the Custom Content Council, 61% of consumers feel better when a company delivers custom content and 90% find it quite helpful and end up making a purchase. Let’s say it’s time you begin focusing equally on existing customers. You can learn more about custom content in this blog by Neil Patel.
28. 53% Effective Marketers Have a Documented Content Marketing Strategy
Source: Content Marketing Institute
In 2015, only 32% marketers had a documented content marketing strategy. As of now, it sits at 53%. The percentage increase in two years time shows that more and more marketers prefer having a documented strategy. Why not start documented yours? Overall, you will fare better than your peers who don’t have a strategy at all!
29. 11% of Marketers Plan to Add Podcasting to Their Marketing Efforts in the Next 12 Months
Source: HubSpot
Content marketers’ increasing interest in podcasting can be attributed to the rise of mobile phones. In 2017, 66% people heard a podcast on their mobile phones. Besides, the fact that it is less competitive compared to blogging add to its popularity. Unlike reading a blog which can’t be done at all times, a podcast can be easily heard whether one’s driving or gymming or running errands. Podcast has become so popular now that according to Social Media Examiner survey, 28% of marketers even want to learn more about the art of podcasting. Are you one of them?
30. The Top Three Goals of Content Marketing are Lead Generation (59%), Thought Leadership/Market Education (43%), and Brand Awareness (40%)
Source: LinkedIn Technology Marketing Community
Without leads, any business will cease to exist. In fact, lead generation is so critical that, according to HubSpot, 53% marketers admit to having allocated half of their budget for it. But, if you find lead generation challenging like 61% of your peers then this blog is a good starting point to help you create effective lead magnets.
31. 64% of Users Use Ad Blocker Because They Believe Ads are Annoying or Intrusive
Source: HubSpot
Adblocker Plus, the most popular ad-blocking application, has already surpassed 300 million downloads worldwide. It certainly proves that consumers hate intrusive ads. So, if not ads then how can you reach out to your prospects? CMI says through blogging. 80% of business decision-makers prefer to get company information through a series of articles than ads. Bottom line: market yourself through valuable content.
What do you make of these content marketing statistics of 2023? We feel you should keep them in mind when you draft your content marketing strategy for 2023. Understand what your customers want and figure out what is bringing you results. The only way forward is to keep experimenting.
Bon Courage!