Content marketing stats: 35 of them with a touch of @funnelholic -ism

I had to do a content marketing stats post. There are already a lot of content stats posts out there, so I did pause for a minute. Here is what makes mine different:

1. My two-year old got on my computer and typed a bunch of stuff in that I have had to extract.

2. I added my own take..some takes are funny. In others I think I am funny, but you likely don’t agree. But I tried.

If you can’t tell, I am having a blast with content marketing lately on the blog. I am going to cap this content rush with our Keys to Content Marketing Summit on August 14 starting at 9AM PDT. I don’t know you, but I really think you should come. (:

Also, props to the Inbound Marketing Agents and Kapost blogs where I borrowed most of these stats.

Lets move on to the stats after this really cool picture of numbers.

1. Spending on content marketing, video  marketing, and social media will increase by 15.1% in 2013 to a total of $118.4 billion. (eMarketer)  – My take: That’s a lot of cheddar. We are just getting started in content marketing and as the field gets increasingly competitive…spend will need to increase to keep up. 
2. Nine in 10 organizations market with content. (Content Marketing Institute) — Alternative title: 1 in 10 organizations have no idea what they are doing
3. 79% of marketers report their organizations are shifting to branded content (Forrester) — My Take:  The age of competitive content is upon us. Similar stat to #2…re-confirmation that “it’s on”.
4. According to 37% of marketing managers, the most important way to engage customers is content-led websites (The CMA)  –Alternative Title: US scientists to study 63% of marketing managers to understand what they are thinking. Maybe they still lead people to brochure-ware sites or discount offers?
5. 78% of chief marketing officers think custom content is the future of marketing. (Hanley-Wood Business Media) –Alternative Title: 22% of CMO’s will be fired in the future.
6. The use of video content has risen from 52% in 2011 to 70% in 2012. (Content Marketing Institute and Marketing Profs) — Take: This is exciting. Unfortunately, 30-40% of those using video content are creating really boring, contrived customer success stories or scripted interviews. Fine, I’ll be nice — video is about to get big.
7. The use of mobile-optimized content marketing has risen from 15% in 2011 to 33% in 2012. (Content Marketing Institute and Marketing Profs) – Alternative Title: 67% of marketing organizations in 2012 think people still use Blackberry to check email.
8. Companies with fewer than 10 employees typically allocate 42% of their marketing budget to content. (Content Marketing Institute and Marketing Profs) – Take: My all time favorite quote on content is from Jon Miller: “We wrote our first blog post before our first line of code”. Every young company should be parallel processing — getting leads for immediate impact while building content relentlessly which will pay off down the line.
9. Companies with over 1,000 employees typically allocate 24% of their marketing budget to content. (Content Marketing Institute and Marketing Profs)  – Take: Actually, that seems right…for big companies. Sorry to bore you on this one.
10. Lack of human resources (42%) and lack of budget (35%) are key barriers to content marketing. (eConsultancy and Outbrain) — Take: Quote overheard at numerous corporate meetings: “Lets make content! – Ok, you over there – add this to your list of things to do and figure it out. “
11. Creating original content was seen as the biggest challenge for 69% of content marketers. (Curata) – Take: It’s like driving to Vegas from LA. It is an exciting idea, filled with hope…but 2.5 hours in, you realize it’s farther than you think. Content is hard but for many it takes “doing it” to realize that.
12. Companies with 10,000 or more employees use an average of 18 different content marketing tactics. (Content Marketing Institute and Marketing Profs)  – Take: The real question is “How many of these tactics do you use to support one idea?”. The real scale in content marketing is to take one idea or raw content material and create multiple pieces from it.
13. The average marketer made 145 website content updates in 2012. (Custom Content Council) — Note to self: This number should be 260 as in EVERY business day.
14. Content marketers use unique visitors (88%), pageviews per visitor (76%) and total pageviews (71%) as their main metrics. (Econsultancy and Outbrain) — See take below in #14
15. 60% of B2B marketers use web traffic to measure effectiveness of content marketing. (Content Marketing Institute and Marketing Profs)  – Take: Great start but content marketing is not just for blogs – it should be used and measured across the funnel (lead management, nurturing, and sales). So, start at the top and work your way down…if you are doing content marketing right…everything increases.
16. B2B companies that blog generate 67% more leads per month than those who do not blog. (Social Media B2B)  – see take below in #17
17. Marketers with more than 15 blog posts per month average 1,200 new leads per month (Hubspot) – Take: I used to not believe that blogs would be this powerful of medium from driving demand. Now, I have seen the power of the blog. It is the foundation for content marketing and inbound marketing and all things marketing. Who knew? (Well some people did just not me)
18. Organic search leads have a 14.6% close rate, while outbound marketing leads have a 1.7% close rate (Hubspot) – Take: Guy finds you while searching Google versus guy who gets an email from you out of the blue. Search will win. Most people know that, it’s just that in most cases, the search demand generation numbers wont be enough to fill the funnel. Ultimately, both will have to exist to hit your demand generation goals.
19. Articles with images get 94% more views. (Jeff Bullas) — Take: Great post on this on the TOPO blog on this topic: 15 Ways Images can Improve Conversion Rates.  Why do images convert better? I am not the guy to answer this, but I know that if it works, then do it.  I certainly find myself drawn to posts with great pictures.  Net-net: Please take note of this trend. It’s very important for conversion.
20. 64% of B2B marketers believe case studies are the most effective content marketing tactics. (Content Marketing Institute and Marketing Profs) — Tip: First understand your buyer and how they buy, then create case studies.  Even great content marketing organizations fall back into old school content creation bad-habits when it comes to case studies. Remember, content should be designed to move buyers from one stage to the other. Case studies can be a powerful tool across many areas in the buying cycle. The case studies should be stories focused on how your customers solved problems and challenges not just advertisements. That’s when case studies really work. 
21. 79% of B2B marketers use content marketing to achieve brand awareness goals. (Content Marketing Institute and Marketing Profs)   — Take: But they underfund and understaff it? (Stat #9) That must mean there are a lot of companies suffering in the brand awareness department.
22. Only 38% of brands have a defined content marketing strategy. (Econsultancy and Outbrain) — Take: So a bunch of companies are doing it, but they have no strategy, underfund it and understaff it (see Stat #9 again). Sounds like a winning formula. (Sarcasm intact)
23. 86% of B2C marketers use content marketing. (Content Marketing Institute) — Take: There are some great b2c content stories to learn from. Check out OK Cupid! for example.  Also: With b2b and b2c creating content like it is going out of style, I can’t wait to see what the internet will look like in the next couple years.
24. The use of research reports has risen from 25% in 2011, to 44% in 2012. (Content Marketing Institute and Marketing Profs) — Take: Data and research are great ways to create differentiated content versus writing the 87th version of “10 reasons that…”
25. 80% of business decision-makers prefer to get company information in a series of articles versus an advertisement. (Source: Content Marketing Institute) — Take: Very good to know. I liked this stat . I am just not sure who likes advertisements? Does this mean 20% prefer ads? From the immortal worlds of Will Ferrell in Old School: “You’re crazy man, you’re crazy”.
26. 70% of consumers prefer getting to know a company via articles rather than ads. (Source: Content Plus) — Take: Oh, they do too?
27. 68% of consumers are likely to spend time reading content from a brand they are interested in. (Source:The CMA) — Take: In this use-case, content may not have drawn them to your web site but now content is the way to keep them coming back for more.
28. 70% of consumers say content marketing makes them feel closer to the sponsoring company. (Source:Content Marketing Institute) — Take: See take above in #27.
29. 82% of consumers like reading content from brands when it’s relevant. (Source: The CMA) – Take: Simple, yet daring.
30. 60% of consumers feel more positive about a company after reading custom content on its site. (Source:Content Plus) — Take: Another “great to know” stat. Content builds relationships with consumers when you aren’t even talking to them. That is a beautiful thing. That’s called “Marketing and Selling in your sleep” which is the best kind.
31. 90% of consumers find custom content useful, and 78% believe that organizations behind the content are interested in building good relationships. (Source: TMG Custom Media) — Take: Great stat but I am sure you are tired of me talking about it.
32. 72% of marketers think that branded content is more effective than magazine advertisements, 69% says its superior to direct mail and PR (Custom Content Council) — Take: Considering that last 4-5 stats say the buyers feel that way, it’s good to see marketers following suit.
33. Blogs give websites 434% more indexed pages and 97% more indexed links. (Content+) — Take: Boom.
34. Interesting content is one of the top 3 reasons people follow brands on social media. (Content+) — Take: I have a buddy who is doing all the Twitter tricks in the world and not picking up (legit) followers at the pace he wants. His problem: He does not create his own content. I have seen the effect of original content on social following first hand. If you create your own great content, they will follow. When I stalled on creating content, so did my Twitter follower numbers. When I create content on a regular basis, it grows like bamboo.
35. 27,000,000 pieces of content are shared each day (AOL and Nielson) — Take: Holy moly.

If you have more stats for me, then let me know in the comments section below.

Keys to Content Marketing Success Virtual Summit - August 14th at 9am PDT. — Learn, have fun, interact with experts on the art and science that is (drum roll) content marketing.
Craig Rosenberg is the Funnelholic and a co-founder of Topo. He loves sales, marketing, and things that drive revenue. Follow him on Google+ or Twitter

Photo credit: Håkan Dahlström via Creative Commons