7 Powerful Stats That’ll Make You Better At Content Marketing

2014 was a great year for content marketers. We saw our social feeds fill up with everything from blogs, infographics and e-books, to white papers, podcasts and videos.

We created and posted more content than ever before, which has resulted in 93% of organizations now using content to market their brand.

As a fellow content marketer, I understand that you need stats to help you create powerful content that actually works. Data driven content is the only thing that people care about. It makes people sit up and listen, it adds value, and above all, it encourages people to action.

So here’s 7 stats that you need to know, if you want to be better at your job….

1. 82% of marketers who blog see positive ROI for their inbound marketing

(HubSpot)

I’m sure I don’t have to tell you how powerful blogging can be for your business, and if it’s having an impact on your ROI then it’s definitely one to be focused on in 2015.

But if you’re struggling to see the results then what can you do?

Blog content often fails to perform because it’s not something your audience is searching for. You can’t just guess at what is going to work, it needs to be relevant to your buyer personas.

Top tip: Find out what your audience is searching for in Google and use that as the topic of your blog post.

2. 70% of consumers want to get to know a company through articles, rather than ads

(ContentPlus)

You may find it difficult to create new content, but it can really help to engage with your audience. It’s good news for your marketing budget too because it means you don’t have to spend as much on ads.

So what should your strategy be?

It’s all about telling the story of your brand. Put a schedule in place to keep creating unique content that lets your audience know what you’re all about.

3. Content costs 62% less than traditional marketing, and generates 3x as many leads

(DemandMetric)

There’s not really much else that needs to be added to this stat is there? If you want to increase your leads then start increasing the amount of content you create.

If your boss isn’t convinced of content marketing then feel free to use this one to back up your case.

4. Visual content generates 94% more views than text based posts

(DMP)

Adding images or videos to your content can have a serious impact on the amount of views you get. Whether we don’t have the time, or we’re just plain lazy, it seems we’d rather share visual content ahead of anything else.

If you don’t have already, create an Instagram account for your brand. It’s a really easy-to-use app, it makes your photo’s look great and it’s incredibly engaging.

Top tip: Start creating posts with a mix of images and videos. If you don’t have an in-house designer then leverage your Instagram snaps.

5. By 2017, 87% of internet device sales will be smartphones and tablets

(Forbes)

The rise of mobile over the past 5 years has been incredible, but how much effort do you spend making sure that your content is responsive across all devices?

Blasting your email list with a monthly newsletter is a great way to engage, but if you’re not taking into account mobile users, then you’ll quickly increase your unsubscribe list.

Top tip: Use an email marketing platform that can help you create responsive templates for your content.

6. 69% of marketers cite a lack of time as the biggest challenge when creating content

(CMI)

It’s true, if you want to create valuable, actionable content that actually works then you’re going to need quite a bit of time to do it. It’s not just about creating your content either, you’ve also got to spend time thinking, researching and planning.

The answer?

If you really don’t have the time to spend on your content in-house then you need to source a content marketing agency that can help take the load off your hands. After-all, it’s too important not to.

7. An incredible 27,000,000 pieces of content are shared each day

(AOL)

Now that’s a lot of content, and the more people come to realize how powerful content marketing is, the more that number is going to increase.

So how do you stand out from all the noise?

You need to truly get to know your audience. Create a buyer persona and find out what they want to read. Make your content data-driven, actionable and shareable.

Are you tired of re-using the same old stats?

So are we. That’s why we’ve put together a survey to see what the state of content marketing is like in 2015.

But we need your help.

We want to know what your opinion is on content, how well does it perform for you? Will you be using it in 2015? What type of content do you use?

If you want to help the industry understand how content is being used then enter our survey today.

We’ll give you the stats before anyone else so you can use them in your content – and you could even win $100 Amazon vouchers for doing so!

7 Powerful Stats That’ll Make You Better At Content Marketing