32 Insane Statistics of Content Marketing

by Adam Oakley | Mar 11, 2014 | Content Marketing

Who here has not once been intimidated by at least one facet of today’s content marketing? If you haven’t, then you’re obviously an extremely knowledgeable, confident, and masterful guru of content marketing. If you have, then you’re absolutely not alone.

Many of us have felt intimidation when staring down the barrel of the latest and great content marketing trend or shift. In some cases, the intimidation factor has been so strong that it has stopped us from jumping on board with a new trend. As a result, we lose out on prime opportunities. And sometimes we drop the ball. It happens to the best of us.

Every year we see blogs and articles about the new trends in social media, content marketing, and search engine optimization. But when is the last time you saw a compilation of statistics all about content marketing?

Content Marketing Statistics That Will Blow Your Mind

In the past few years, content marketing has weathered some pretty dramatic changes. Many of us have watched trends rise and sink, sometimes wishing we’d jumped on board, and other times thanking our lucky stars that we didn’t. We’ve snooped around the Internet and found some eye-opening stats that might boggle or change your mind about content marketing:

1. On an average, marketers spend over one fourth of their marketing budget on content marketing. (B2B Marketing Insider)
2. 93 percent of marketers are using social media, yet only 9 percent of marketing companies have full-time bloggers. (Search Engine Journal)
3. 78 percent of Internet users conduct product research online. Your website will likely be your potential customer’s first impression. Says HubSpot, “[This] means your new business card isn’t a business card—it’s Google.” (HubSpot)
4. Companies that outsource are doing bigger projects, spending an average of more than $1 million lat 2013 with a 5.5% increase from 2012. (Adweek)
5. Over 10 million Facebook “apps” exist. (Search Engine Journal)
6. 61 percent of consumers claim to feel better about a company that delivers custom content. They are more likely to buy from such a company. (Custom Content Council)
7. 78 percent of business people opt to use a mobile device to check email. (HubSpot)
8. 80 percent of all Pinterest pins are actually re-pins. (Search Engine Journal)
9. Interesting content is one of the top three reasons why people choose to follow a brand on social media. (Content+)
10. Companies that opt to build a blog and post content regularly receive 55 percent more web traffic. (HubSpot)
11. The 55 to 64 year age bracket is the fastest growing demographic on Twitter. It has grown by 79 percent since 2012. (Search Engine Land)
12. The Facebook and Google+ 45 to 55-year age bracket demographic have grown by 46 and 59 percent, making it the fastest growing social media demographic. (Search Engine Journal)
13. In as few as two years, the number of marketers who believe Facebook is “important” or “critical” to their business has increased by 83 percent. (HubSpot)
14. The +1 button on Google+ is hit at least 5 billion times per day. (Search Engine Journal)
15. Blog and social media websites reach 8 out of 10 U.S. Internet users and account for 23 percent of all time spent online. (Content Marketing Institute)
16. Since debuting in 2010, Instagram has seen more than 16 billion photos uploaded, which equates to approximately 5 million photos being uploaded every day. (Search Engine Journal)
17. Thanks to blogs, websites get 434 percent more indexed pages and 97 percent more indexed links. (Content+)
18. 91 percent of mobile Internet access is for social media activities with approximately 73 percent of smartphone users accessing their networks via apps at least once per day. (Search Engine Journal)
19. Inbound marketing costs about 62 percent less per lead than outbound, traditional marketing. (HubSpot)
20. LinkedIn produces more leads for B2B companies thanks to Twitter, Facebook or blogs, individually. However, only 47 percent of B2B marketers say they actively use LinkedIn, versus 90 percent on Facebook. (Inside View)
21. During every minute of every day, there are 684,478 pieces of content shared on Facebook; 3,600 new photos posted in Instagram; 2,083 check-ins made on Foursquare. (Search Engine Journal)
22. 67 percent of B2C and 41 percent of B2B companies have acquired a customer via Facebook. (HubSpot)
23. B2B companies that blog produce an average of 67 percent more leads per month than companies that choose not to. (Social Media B2B)
24. YouTube has over 1 BILLION unique visitors per month, and managed to reach the desirable 18-34 demographic more than any other cable network. (Search Engine Journal)
25. When deciding to make a purchase, 46 percent of web users will look toward social media. (Search Engine Journal)
26. While in-store shopping for an item, approximately 40 percent of U.S. smartphone owners compare prices on their mobile device. (HubSpot)
27. Ever wonder about the male versus female ratio of social media users? Facebook is 60 percent female, 40 percent male. Twitter is 60 percent female, 40 percent male. Pinterest is 79 percent female, 21 percent male. Google+ is 29 percent female, 71 percent male. LinkedIn is 55 percent female, 45 percent male. (Search Engine Journal)
28. 57 percent of businesses acquire customers via their company blog. (HubSpot)

A Shocking Drop of the Ball

Based on the stats above, it’s no secret that blogs are important to content marketing. So when did you last update your blog? How often do you add new content to your blog? Be honest! Here’s an even better question: how important do you think blogging is for your company or brand on a scale of 1 to 10? Did your opinion change after reviewing the stats above? Well, here are a few more blog specific statistics that might shock you:

29.   According to HubSpot, 57 percent of companies gain new customers from their blog.
30.   61 percent of online consumers in the United States decide to make a purchase based on blog recommendations. (HubSpot)
31.   67 percent MORE leads are generated via B2B marketers’ blogs. (HubSpot)
32.   60 percent of consumers have a more favorable outlook on a company after reading their blog. (Hubspot)

Obviously, blogging is important to content marketing and to any successful brand or business seeking to continue their success. Surprisingly, NAPW goes on to say, “one third of blogs are left inactive.”

Royal Pingdom published “Internet 2012 in numbers,” in January of 2013. While the 2013 version has yet to be compiled and published, we can glean some useful information from the 2012 statistics. When it came to blogs, in 2012 Royal Pingdom tallied the following:

• • 87.8 million Tumblr blogs
  • 59.4 million WordPress sites

We can extrapolate that out of approximately 147.2 MILLION blogs in 2012, one third (approximately 48.5 million), were left inactive. That’s 48.5 million blogs missing out on the statistics presented by HubSpot. The number of blogs likely grew in 2013, meaning the number of inactive grew as well. Is your company blog one of them? If so, it’s time to jump-start your way out of the negative inactive statistic. How?

Kick Starting Your Blog in 2014

Blogging is not for the faint of heart. It’s one of those things that if you half bake it, you’ll never reap all of the juicy benefits available. And as we’ve seen, blogs hold a ton of potential for generating web traffic, sales conversation and credibility. Luckily, NAPW gives us 10 awesome ways to blog and blog well:

1. Listen and respond to your audience. When a client or prospective client asks a question on your blog, you are presented with a prime opportunity to show that you care about their questions, comments, and opinions. Use your blog to answer. Respond to comments, questions, and opinions. Encourage your readers to leave comments. If you leave the preverbal door open, someone is bound to walk in and strike up a conversation.
2. Educate your audience. NAPW calls this “inform[ing] without the hard sell,” and says to, “Explain your product as it relates to your blog theme without blatantly ‘advertising’ your product.” Use your blog to produce educational, informative content about your product, service, or mindset. Don’t hard sell by being an annoying advertiser. Instead, slip in a reference to your specific offerings here and there. They trick is to keep it low key and relevant to your blog theme.
3. Increase revenue through interaction. Encourage your readers to share feedback, whether good or bad. Start and promote an active dialogue that promotes interaction. Your credibility will increase and the interaction will create audience action. As the stats we covered earlier showed, people like custom content and are more likely to buy from companies that provide it. You can use social interaction as an unlimited breeding ground for new, in-demand custom content.
4. Create a “culture club.” NAPW says to “think of your blog as a club [filled with] like-minded people.” Appeal to them to contribute, maybe even guest blog. You will be offering your readers varied styles and opinions. The more of a cultural melting pot you provide, the more of a diverse audience you will attract AND please.
5. Use images. Enhance your posts with relevant, tasteful images. NAPW reports “blog posts receiving the most shares almost always combine images with text, with this trend expected to increase.” Whatever you do, don’t use images that feature inappropriate content, lack relevancy to the written post or overwhelm and overpower the post. Images are accents. Their purpose is to catch the eye, not anchor it. You can even use image tags to build in a little more search engine optimization.
6. Don’t neglect the need to edit. It’s easy to write a longwinded blog because you have a lot to say. Write it all, but reread it and cut the fluff! It’s important to stay on topic. Be precise. Stay concise. And preserve your unique creativity. Also, format your posts so that they are easy for the eye to float over and scan. Most of your readers are busy bees. By giving them an easily scan-able piece, you’ll entice them to check back often and scan through more of your content.
7. Consistency matters; don’t be part of “the one third.” This is where NAPW says it, “One third of blogs are left inactive.” Maintaining a steady stream of new blog content will make a good impression and increase your bottom line. Whatever you consistency timetable is (daily, weekly, bi-weekly), STICK TO IT through thick and thin, in sickness and in health. You’ll see monumental results.
8. Ask for shares. It’s not rude! If you want your audience to share a blog, ask them. Promote shares of your posts by add social media buttons. This makes it wickedly convenient for your audience and servers as a secondary reminder to share and share alike!
9. Promote you blog posts. Every time you publish a new blog, post it to your social media feeds. NAPW says to “entice readers to visit your blog with a catchy headline or teaser-style copy lines.” It doesn’t hurt to remind your audience to check your site often because “you are the ‘expert’ resource they need.” You can post little reminders via your social media channels, and slide in links on your promotional material.
10. Establish your unique “voice.” Your blog gives you the opportunity to establish your “voice” and let it shine. Be entertaining and make an impact with your message. Avoid the stuffy, formal, lecture hall style of writing. Once you find your “voice,” avoid dramatically changing it down the road. You’ll risk losing your audience and depreciating your overall credibility, authority, and uniqueness. Consistency is key!

Low on topic ideas? Don’t worry. We’ve got your back! Learn how to make the most of your non-blog content in our blog about how to create blog content from webinars and more, or get a boost for your thinking cap with another of our blogs entitled, 20 Topic Ideas for a Steady Content Flow.