As the landscape continues to change, so should content marketing strategy. The businesses that survive and thrive will be those that are most in tune with the latest trends. Knowing where and how to spend content budget effectively is a must.
To help keep you informed, we’ve put together a rundown of all the top content marketing statistics and trends that you need to know moving forward.
Click on a statistic to get a closer look.
CHAPTER 1
Content Marketing Trends
Content strategy is hard, but understanding a few content marketing trends and statistics can help you put together a strategy that yields more traffic and conversions.
54% of businesses who spend $2,000+ on a piece of content report a very successful strategy.Siege Media + Clearscope
Those who spend less than $15,000/mo on their content strategy are 74% more likely to see lower performance.Siege Media + Clearscope
When businesses dedicate 10%-50% of their content efforts towards content design, they are 33% more likely to report successful results.Siege Media + Clearscope
19% of businesses who use AI content generation tools report a very successful content strategy.Siege Media + Clearscope
24% of businesses who do not use AI content generation tools also report a very successful content strategy.Siege Media + Clearscope
36.7% of marketers report that creating engaging visual content consistently is one of their top struggles.Venngage
Businesses that incorporate link building report a 45% higher success rate than those that don’t.Siege Media + Clearscope
33% of marketers who don’t use automation or artificial intelligence (AI) plan to in 2022.HubSpot
The top three roles marketing leaders will prioritize hiring are content creators, content marketing managers and content strategists.HubSpot
Only 12% of marketers are currently using voice search tactics as part of their strategy.HubSpot
38% report their industry to be very competitive while 19% report experiencing a hyper-competitive industry.Siege Media + Clearscope
36% of content marketers currently incorporate interactives as part of their content strategy.Siege Media + Clearscope
90% of content marketers leverage websites and blogs the most in their content strategy.Siege Media + Clearscope
Businesses that incorporate link building into their content marketing strategy report a 45% higher success rate.Siege Media + Clearscope
B2B businesses are 24% more likely than B2C to use AI content generation tools.Siege Media + Clearscope
Interactive content, behind-the-scenes information, and content relating to brand values are the top three types of content.HubSpot
54% of content marketers report that their content marketing budget will increase in the next year.Siege Media + Clearscope
74% of businesses who spend under $1,000 on a piece of content report an underperforming to unsuccessful strategy.Siege Media + Clearscope
29% of businesses report no outsourcing of content creation.Siege Media + Clearscope
Production volume is the biggest stated content challenge across businesses regardless of industry (28%).Siege Media + Clearscope
7% of businesses report a content marketing budget of $45,000/month and note a very competitive industry.Siege Media + Clearscope
CHAPTER 2
Mobile Statistics
Now that everyone carries a computer in their pocket, a website optimized for mobile search is non-negotiable, as these statistics show.
53% of mobile users will close a website if it takes more than three seconds to load.Think With Google
57% of users report they wouldn’t recommend a business with a poorly designed mobile site.Form Stack
3 in 4 smartphone owners turn to search first to address their immediate needs.Think With Google
U.S adults spend an average of 3 hours and 10 minutes per day on their smartphones.Insider Intelligence
97% of U.S. adults report owning a cellphone.Pew Research
Mobile ad spending is reported to be $341 billion in 2021, and expected to be almost $500 billion by 2024.Statista
92.1% of internet users report accessing the internet on a mobile phone, compared to 71.2% who use a computer.Hoot Suite
CHAPTER 3
B2B Content Marketing Statistics
B2B e-commerce was valued at $6,883 billion in 2021 and is only projected to grow. To stand out in such a competitive market, quality content marketing that delivers results is a must.
64% of B2B businesses currently execute link building in their content marketing efforts.Siege Media + Clearscope
Virtual events produced the best results for B2B marketers in 2021, with 58% of content marketers reporting strong outcomes.Content Marketing Institute
63% of content marketers use their content strategy to build loyalty with their existing clients.Content Marketing Institute
33% of B2B content marketers expect to increase their digital event budgets.Content Marketing Institute
37% of small organizations, 54% of medium-sized organizations, and 75% of large organizations report outsourcing part of their content marketing efforts.Content Marketing Institute
Only 66% of B2B marketers frequently prioritize their audience’s needs over their sales message when creating content. Of the most successful content marketers, 88% do.Content Marketing Institute
40% of marketers who use automation leverage chatbots.HubSpot
64% of B2B buyers report that podcasts were helpful at the beginning of their buying journey.DemandGen
40% of B2B buyers said they engaged with at least 3 pieces of content before they contacted a sales rep.DemandGen
50% of B2B e-commerce companies prefer blogging as their primary marketing strategy.Finances Online via Siege Media
The majority (80%) of B2B decision-makers prefer learning about a potential vendor through content-like articles.WB Research
B2B businesses devote an average of 33% of their marketing budget to content marketing.Smart Insights
52% of B2B buyers are "definitely" more inclined to make a purchase after viewing content.
Marketing Charts
CHAPTER 4
B2C Content Marketing Statistics
Globally, the B2C market is worth $3.67 trillion, with an expected compound annual growth rate of 9.7%. Content strategy for B2C markets differs from B2B markets, as these statistics show.
36% of B2C businesses currently execute link building in their content marketing efforts.Siege Media + Clearscope
B2C marketers dedicate an average 26% of their total marketing budget towards content marketing. The most successful content marketers dedicate 40%.Content Marketing Institute
Only 33% of B2C content marketers reported always utilizing data in their distribution strategies.Conductor
62% of B2C marketers plan to use influencer marketing.HubSpot
CHAPTER 5
Email Marketing Statistics
When texting first came onto the market, a few Debbie downers predicted the death of email. Fortunately for marketers, that didn’t happen. Instead, email marketing statistics show the value of a content marketing strategy that effectively leverages emails.
There are 4,140,000,000 email users worldwide.Statista
Personalized subject lines in email outreach increased the unique open rates by 27% and lead to an 11% higher click-to-open rate.Experian Marketing Services
Segmented email campaigns achieve 14.31% higher open rates than non-segmented email campaigns.MailChimp
72% of consumers report that they are more inclined to open an email that offers a discount.Campaign Monitor
86% of professionals prefer to use email when communicating for business purposes.HubSpot
Email marketing revenue worldwide is reported to be more than $8,490,000,000.Statista
There are more than 319,000,000,000 emails sent per day worldwide.Statista
Open rate is the most frequently tracked email metric (95%), while only 55% of businesses track conversions from email marketing.HubSpot
CHAPTER 6
Video Marketing Statistics
Video is only gaining in popularity thanks to social networks like TikTok and YouTube. Whether animation or live action, video production can level up your content marketing efforts.
Articles containing video content get over 80% more traffic than articles without.Semrush
Most companies with video marketing strategy (49%) use a mix of in-house and agency-created production to create their videos.HubSpot
Social media experts predict that YouTube shorts are not an area you should focus on.Social Media Examiner
YouTube is the consumer’s leading source of video content in the U.S. at 75%, followed by Facebook at 64%.HubSpot
97% of consumers and online marketers report that video helps customers understand their product.Wyzowl
When purchasing online, consumers ranked video as the #1 most useful type of content.Animoto
93% of consumers thought watching a product-related video was useful during the buyer journey.Animoto
In one study, 94% of the respondents reported using video to make a purchase decision.Lemonlight
94 out of 100 marketers reported that paid video ads had a positive ROI for their company.Animoto
In one survey, 99% of respondents said they enjoy watching video content from brands online.Lemonlight
Quality over quantity: Nearly 65% of brands who create marketing video content release 1-4 videos a month.Lemonlight
89% of global marketers plan to spend the same or more in short form video.HubSpot
More than 9 in 10 marketers plan to include video in their upcoming marketing strategies.Lemonlight
86% of businesses use video as a marketing tool, which is a 63% increase over the past three years.Wyzowl
The top three social channels for video content ROI are YouTube (33%), Facebook (26%), and Instagram (33%).Animoto
Of the marketers looking to increase overall engagement, 60% state that video marketing helped them achieve their goal.Motioncue
74% of content marketers think their company needs to invest more in video.Content Marketing Institute
Video thumbnails appear in over 25% of search results and have a click-through rate of over 60%.Milestone
35% of content marketers say that video is the top content type they’d pursue if given more resources.WordPress VIP
Nearly 70% of sellers report that video outperforms any other content type they use.Vidyard
One-half of millennials and Gen Z state that they “don’t know how they’d get through life” without video content.Think with Google
CHAPTER 7
Blogging Statistics
Perhaps the most famous component of content marketing, blogging, will never go out of style. What will change, though, is the type of content you publish on your blog. For a more detailed look at all things blogging, check out the latest blogging stats here.
38% of bloggers who spend more 6+ hours on writing a post report “strong results.”Orbit Media
The average blog post published in 2021 is 1416 words long. Bloggers who write 3000+ words (36%) report the “strongest results.”Orbit Media
In 2021, 22% of bloggers published new posts on a weekly basis.Orbit Media
Marketers who prioritize marketing efforts (e.g. making blogging a serious priority) are 13 times more likely to see positive ROI.HubSpot
47% of bloggers typically include two or three images in their posts. Only 3% report of including ten or more.Orbit Media
55% of marketers say blog content creation is their number one inbound marketing priority.HubSpot
Long-form content (3000–10,000 words) gets shared more than short-form content.OkDork
90% of typical blog posts contain images, while only
60% contain lists and
59% statistics.Orbit Media
60% contain lists and
59% statistics.Orbit Media
There are 600,000,000 blogs on the internet today.WebsiteSetup.org
Each year, bloggers spend more and more time creating content. In 2021, bloggers reported spending 4 hours on average for a blog post.Orbit Media
76% of bloggers create how-to articles, the most common content type.Orbit Media
CHAPTER 8
Podcast Statistics
While no one can agree on who exactly invented podcasting or what the first podcast actually was, content marketers can agree that podcasts are a powerful tool for building brand awareness, establishing your business as a thought leader in the industry, and growing your business.
Consumers from ages 35–54 are the most common monthly podcast listeners.Edison Research
The popular listening brand is Spotify at 31%, followed by Pandora at 18%.Edison Research
Over the past two years, the number of podcast titles and episodes has surged by approximately 200%.Nielsen
27% of monthly podcast consumers (18+ years old) have attended a four year college. 34% have attained some grad school or advanced degree.Podcast Insights
17% of marketers plan to incorporate podcasts into their content marketing strategy.State of Inbound
43% of monthly podcast users listen to an entire podcast episode.Edison Research
CHAPTER 9
ROI Statistics
It’s no secret that quality content marketing has one of the most significant marketing ROIs out there. Don’t take our word for it — these content marketing ROI statistics speak for themselves.
Businesses that blog see lead growth of 165% compared to companies that don't, which only see a 73% lead growth.HubSpot
Businesses that spend the least on content marketing struggle to succeed in publishing volume, lead generation, and measuring ROI.Siege Media + Clearscope
21% of content marketers report that measuring ROI is the biggest challenge when developing content.Siege Media + Clearscope
Companies with successful content marketing strategies focused on improving content quality (55%), optimizing for SEO (46%), and including video and other visual content mediums (41%).Semrush
35% of content marketers report their content strategy to be mildly successful, while 21% report it to be very successful.Siege Media + Clearscope
Most report that their content budgets will not go down this year, with over half reporting an increase.Siege Media + Clearscope
CHAPTER 10
SEO Statistics
It doesn't matter how great your content is if the search engines aren't seeing it. Poor SEO can keep great content in the bowels of the internet, and great SEO can help launch it to new heights.
The average page-one-ranking content for popular keywords has been updated within the last 1.31 years, on average.Siege Media
Google's top result typically has 3.8 times more backlinks than results 2-10.Backlinko
Direct traffic accounts for 22% of all website traffic in 2022. Organic search (17%) and social media (16%) make up the rest of the top three website traffic sources.HubSpot
Position on the SERP matters: in comparison to a page in position #10, the #1 organic result is 10 times more likely to be clicked.Backlinko
Pages whose title tags are between 40-60 characters have an 8.9% higher CTR than pages whose title tags are shorter.Backlinko
The higher the target Keyword Difficulty, the more often it needs to be refreshed and updated. KD between 0-10 are last updated within 1.73 years, while KD in 90+ range are last updated less than 1 year ago (0.87 years), on average.Siege Media
CHAPTER 11
Social Media Marketing Statistics
Social media started as a way to connect to family and friends but it’s grown into an entertainment and information platform businesses may ignore — at their peril. Focus your social media strategy where your customers are rather than trying to be present on every channel.
Use these social media marketing statistics to guide your strategy, whether you’re a pro or just getting your feet wet, and watch traffic and conversions grow.
Content marketers report the top three most effective types of content on social media to be funny (80%), interactive (77%), and authentic/behind-the-scenes (68%).HubSpot
In American companies with over 100 employees, 91.9% expect to use social media marketing.Business of Apps
Social media marketing was either somewhat or highly effective in 2021 according to 77% of social media marketers.HubSpot
According to 82% of B2B marketers, LinkedIn brings in more leads than any other social media platform.LinkedIn
LinkedIn accounts for more than 46% of all social media traffic to business websites.LinkedIn
Facebook, YouTube, Whatsapp, Instagram, WeChat, and TikTok are the top five most-used social media platforms.Hoot Suite
76.1% of internet users report using a social media platform for brand or product research.Hoot Suite
CHAPTER 12
DEI Marketing Statistics
For any business looking to succeed, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) is more than just a buzzword: It is a do-or-die marketing strategy according to the latest research.
70% of Gen Z are more likely to trust brands that feature diversity in their advertising.Microsoft Advertising
Of younger millennials, 54% believe retailers have a duty to address social and political issues related to diversity.Accenture Holiday Shopping Survey
57% of consumers are loyal to companies that actively seek to correct social injustices in their business practices.Deloitte
An overwhelming majority (93%) of marketers feel inclusive marketing is crucial to business success.iProspect
67% of ethnic minorities report they trust a company more when they see themselves in their marketing campaigns.Microsoft Advertising
The majority of people (71%) expect businesses to showcase inclusivity and diversity in online advertising.Meta Research
94% of Gen Z expects businesses to speak out on social issues.Deloitte
Despite the fact that consumers are seeing more inclusivity in ads, 54% of them still believe their culture is not adequately represented in online marketing and 64% wish to see more diversity.Meta Research
