64 new stats for a killer end-of-year strategy

It seems like we blinked and we’re halfway through 2022, especially considering how long the past two years have felt.   

In recent years, it has been difficult to find positives in light of the global pandemic and a host of other issues, but somehow I did — at least in the professional sense. You see, early on, I found a new sense of importance in my job creating content. 

With social distancing in effect across much of the globe, gatherings, hugs, and handshakes became taboo, dangerous even. Having business meetings and conversations face-to-face felt like a distant memory. 

So, many of our interactions with others turned digital; in fact, they relied on online content.

Unfortunately, today, a whopping 72% of marketers report their content marketing efforts range from unsuccessful to only moderately successful.

Great content marketing isn’t easy. 

A great marketer and friend of mine once wrote, “Everything the light touches is content” — and she’s right. Turn back the clock to 2008 and when you heard the term “content marketing,” people were most likely referring to blogs and long-form content like white papers. But the landscape has expanded and evolved dramatically in the past decade.

Today, content takes the form of video, imagery, quizzes, social media stories, PDFs, Google Ads, printed posters, and even words across a T-shirt. Thanks to the rise of the smartphone, content for mobile users is more important than ever. Both B2B and B2C marketers need to create engaging content that meets internet users where they are.

There are so many mediums to stay apprised of, ways to evaluate it, and ultimately strategize it, that it’s no wonder many marketers aren’t more confident or seeing the results they need. 

With this in mind, in this article I’ll share:

• Statistics about the impact of the pandemic on content marketing
• Content marketing strategy statistics
• Statistics on content marketing mediums and tactics
• Video content marketing statistics 
• Statistics on consumer content marketing behaviors and preferences
• Key trends from the statistics you should know

The pandemic’s impact on content marketing strategies

1. 77% of B2B marketers report that their content strategy is different now than it was pre-pandemic. 55% said this adjustment was moderate to extreme. (B2B Content Marketing 2022 Report)

What did they change in their marketing efforts?

2. 70% reported changing their targeting/messaging strategy, 64% adjusted their editorial calendar, and 53% changed their content distribution/promotion strategy. (B2B Content Marketing 2021 Report)

3. In 2021, only 2% reported decreasing the size of their content marketing team for pandemic-related reasons. (B2B Content Marketing 2021 Report)

4. 43% of marketers say video was made necessary by new challenges, including the pandemic. (State of Video Marketing 2022 by Wyzowl)

However…

5. Only 50% of marketers expect the pandemic to affect their video marketing in 2022. This is down from 63% last year. (State of Video Marketing 2022 by Wyzowl)

6. Over 90% of B2B marketers believe the pandemic will have a long-term impact on their content marketing efforts. About 65% said this would be “moderate” or “major.” (B2B Content Marketing 2021 Report)

In fact…

7. 52% of B2B content marketers surveyed reported that “adapting to changes brought forth by the pandemic” contributed to their success in the last 12 months. (B2B Content Marketing 2022 Report)

Content marketing strategy and ROI statistics

8. In 2021, “content marketing examples” and “content marketing strategy” were tied as the most popular Google search related to content marketing. (The State of Content Marketing 2022 by SEMrush)

9. However, searches for the phrase “content marketing strategy” fell by 33% from the previous year. (The State of Content Marketing 2022 by SEMrush)

That being said…

10. Only 40% of B2B organizations reported having a documented content marketing strategy. That number jumps to 62% among the most successful content marketers. (B2B Content Marketing 2022 Report)

11. About 66% of marketers expected to increase their content marketing budget in 2022. (B2B Content Marketing 2022 Report)

12. In 2020, the top five content marketing areas people planned on investing in during 2021 were: content creation (70%), website enhancements (66%), events (digital, in-person, hybrid) (48%), organic content distribution (46%), and social media management/community building (39%).  (B2B Content Marketing 2021 Report)

13. In 2020, 75% of content marketers reported that organic search (aka SEO) was the most effective content marketing tactic they implemented during the year. That was followed by updating and repurposing existing content, a strategy used by 61% of respondents. (The State of Content Marketing 2020 by SEMrush)

14. About 50% of all B2B marketers said they outsource content marketing activities, and 65% said their biggest challenge is finding partners with adequate subject matter expertise. (B2B Content Marketing 2022 Report)

15. 59% of companies reported having 1-5 employees dedicated to content marketing. Only 32% of B2B marketers said they didn’t have even one. (B2B Content Marketing 2022 Report)

16. The top five areas of investment for 2022: video (69%), events (digital, in-person, hybrid) (61%), owned-media assets (57%), paid media (55%), social media management /community building (39%).  (B2B Content Marketing 2022 Report)

17. The five most common content marketing goals in 2021: creating brand awareness (80%), building credibility/trust (75%), educating audiences (70%), building loyalty with existing customers/clients (60%), and generating demand/leads (60%). (B2B Content Marketing 2022 Report)

18. In the past 12 months, most B2B marketers reported content marketing being most effective in creating brand awareness (80%), building credibility/trust (75%), and educating audiences (70%). (B2B Content Marketing 2022 Report)

19. The five most common content marketing challenges in 2021: creating content that appeals to multi-level roles within a target audience (44%), accessing subject matter experts to create content (42%), internal communication between teams/silos (38%), creating valuable content instead of sales-oriented messaging (36%), and differentiating our products/services from competitors (35%). (B2B Content Marketing 2022 Report)

20. Of marketers surveyed, 83% measure the success of their content based on website engagement (69%), conversions (67%), website traffic (65%), email engagement (64%), or social media analytics (51%). (B2B Content Marketing 2022 Report). 

Content marketing mediums and tactics

21. The top five B2B organic (non-paid) social media platforms that produced the best results in the last 12 months: LinkedIn (77%), Facebook (37%), Instagram (27%), YouTube (21%), and Twitter (17%). (B2B Content Marketing 2022 Report)

22. More than half (58%) of B2B content marketers said virtual events/webinars/online courses produced the best results for their content marketing in the last 12 months. Those who are most successful agreed (66%). (B2B Content Marketing 2022 Report)

However…

23. Long articles/posts stood out as an area where those who are most successful reported better results than respondents overall (43% vs. 32%). (B2B Content Marketing 2022 Report)

Looking at this, it’s safe to assume that more successful organizations are doing a better job with their written blog posts. 

24. On average, content marketers reported that 69% of the content they create is for the top of the funnel. Only 43% of the content they create is for the middle of the funnel, 20% for the bottom, and 18% for retention. (The State of Content Marketing 2020 by SEMrush)

25. The most popular unpaid content distribution channels that content marketers used in 2021 were: media/public relations (52%), speaking/presenting at events (52%), guest posts/articles in third-party publications (43%), collaborative social spaces (33%), and guest spots (32%). (B2B Content Marketing 2022 Report)

Looks like after a year of social distance, in-person and collaborative mediums saw a huge boost. At the same time, paid social media distribution remained a popular tactic. In fact… 

26. 76% of B2B marketers reported increasing (45%) or maintaining (31%) their paid content distribution investment in the past 12 months. (B2B Content Marketing 2022 Report)

27. Social media remains the most popular with 77% of content marketers using paid distribution on various platforms as part of their content strategy. (B2B Content Marketing 2022 Report)

28. LinkedIn is the social media platform most frequently used for B2B content distribution (75%), followed by Facebook (69%) and Instagram (30%). (B2B Content Marketing 2022 Report)

LinkedIn was also the platform credited with producing the best paid social media results in the last 12 months. 

29. Furthermore, LinkedIn is the platform where B2B buyers are most likely to share professional content. (Demand Gen Report 2021 Content Preferences Survey Report)

30. Articles with seven or fewer words in their H1 average 36% more organic traffic than those with 14 or more words. (The State of Content Marketing 2022 by SEMrush)

31. Posts with more than seven images get 116% more organic traffic than articles containing just text. (The State of Content Marketing 2022 by SEMrush)

32. In 2022, 86% of businesses use video as a marketing tool. (State of Video Marketing 2021 by Wyzowl) This number was consistent in 2021 but has grown from 85% in 2020, 81% in 2018, 63% in 2017, and 61% in 2016. 

Video content marketing statistics

33. 93% of content marketers believe that video converts the same or better than other forms of content. (State of Video 2022 by Vidyard)

34. Articles with videos get 83% more traffic than those without. In fact, articles with more than three videos generated 55% more backlinks than those with none. (The State of Content Marketing 2022 by SEMrush)

35. 82% of marketers reported that video has become more important than ever as a medium. (State of Video 2022 by Vidyard) 

36. A business’ website and social media tied as the most popular places to use video. (State of Video 2022 by Vidyard) 

In sales and customer conversations (59%) and YouTube (54%) followed in the second and third spots. 

37. 51% of B2B marketers reported webinars/webcasts/web series delivering the best results for them in the past 12 months. (B2B Content Marketing 2022 Report)

38. A whopping 92% of marketers who use video say that it’s an important part of their content marketing strategy. (State of Video Marketing 2022 by Wyzowl)

39. 46% of marketers say video has become easier to create in-house. (State of Video Marketing 2022 by Wyzowl)

40. 86% say video has helped them generate leads. (State of Video Marketing 2022 by Wyzowl)

41. 49% of video marketers say video has reduced the number of support calls they’ve received — up 6% from last year. (State of Video Marketing 2022 by Wyzowl)

42. 94% say video has helped increase user understanding of their product or service. (State of Video Marketing 2022 by Wyzowl)

43. 81% of video marketers say video has directly helped increase sales, and 87% of video marketers say video gives them a good return on their investment. (State of Video Marketing 2021 by Wyzowl)

44. An overwhelming 92% of video marketers feel the level of noise and competition has increased in the last year. (State of Video Marketing 2021 by Wyzowl)

Why so much competition? Well, though the pandemic enforced social distancing…

45. 88% of people say they’ve been convinced to buy or download a piece of software or app by watching a video. That number jumps to 96% when asked if a video convinced them to buy a product or service. (State of Video Marketing 2021 by Wyzowl)

Both of these numbers are up from last year!

46. About 91% of marketers say their webinars have been a success, making it the most effective video marketing channel, according to State of Video Marketing 2021 by Wyzowl.

47. YouTube remains the most widely used video platform for content marketers, with 88% of video marketers planning to use it in 2022. (State of Video Marketing 2022 by Wyzowl)

48. The number of marketers using TikTok as a marketing tool has increased 13% from last year to 33%. (State of Video Marketing 2022 by Wyzowl)

49. About 74% of B2B consumers are only willing to spend 10 minutes or less watching video content, while 44% won’t spend more than 5 minutes. (Demand Gen Report 2020 Content Preferences Survey Report)

50. About 35% are willing to watch 30-60 minutes if it is a webinar. (Demand Gen Report 2020 Content Preferences Survey Report)

Audience behavior and preferences

51. 55% of respondents said they relied even more on content to research and inform purchase decisions than they did in 2021. (Demand Gen Report 2022 Content Preferences Survey Report)

52. A majority of B2B buyers (62%) said they engage with 3-7 pieces of content before connecting with a salesperson, and 11% said they typically consume more than seven pieces of content. (Demand Gen Report 2022 Content Preferences Survey Report)

53. When asked how they’d most like to learn about a product or service, 73% of respondents said they’d prefer to watch a short video than read a blog post, view an infographic, or watch a webinar, among other things. (State of Video Marketing 2022 by Wyzowl)

54. People are twice as likely to share video content with their friends than any other type of content, including social media posts, blog posts, and product pages. (State of Video Marketing 2022 by Wyzowl)

55. 51% of B2B buyers reported that “using data and research to support claims” made content more memorable and more likely to trigger a sales call for them. (Demand Gen Report 2022 Content Preferences Survey Report)

56. 39% of B2B buyers reported that B2B vendors could improve their content by curbing sales messages. (Demand Gen Report 2022 Content Preferences Survey Report)

57. 37% of B2B buyers reported that B2B vendors could improve their effectiveness by creating shorter content. (Demand Gen Report 2022 Content Preferences Survey Report)

But…

58. Long reads of 3000+ words get 138% more traffic than those with fewer than 500. (The State of Content Marketing 2022 by SEMrush)

78% of articles with fewer than 500 words haven’t been shared, period. 

59. 41% of B2B buyers reported putting more emphasis on the trustworthiness of the source of content. (Demand Gen Report 2022 Content Preferences Survey Report)

60. About 43% of people said they find research/survey reports to be most valuable when researching B2B purchases. (Demand Gen Report 2022 Content Preferences Survey Report)

61. 52% of B2B buyers report that they would like to see content organized by topic according to issue/pain point, 51% by topics, 46% by industry/vertical, and 42% by business role. (Demand Gen Report 2022 Content Preferences Survey Report)

62. In the early stages of their buyer’s journeys, 81% of B2B buyers report enjoying listicles, 72% infographics, 66% blogs, and 62% videos. (Demand Gen Report 2021 Content Preferences Survey Report)

63. In the mid-stage of their buying journey, 50% want to see assessments, 49% research and reports, and 46% case studies. (Demand Gen Report 2021 Content Preferences Survey Report)

64. Case studies (35%), third-party reports (31%), and assessments (18%) are preferred in the late stages. (Demand Gen Report 2021 Content Preferences Survey Report)

So how should you adapt your content marketing efforts?

Content marketing is more important than ever before. In the age of social distancing, it is one of the most effective ways to connect and stay top of mind with your audience. 

So, don’t phone it in! Use the statistics above to inform and guide some game-changing content marketing experiments in the next few months and end 2022 with a bang. Based on these numbers, here are a few key takeaways to remember:

• If you’re still feeling the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in your content marketing, you’re not alone. Changes are likely to be long term, so embrace them rather than avoid them.
• Invest in video. Like publishing blog posts, video marketing is becoming a must to conquer content marketing and also deliver what customers are looking for. It can help you boost engagement and sales. The Selling 7 and assignment selling can help. 
• Buyers are more concerned about trust than ever before. Using content can help you share and showcase why you’re trustworthy so you can build the deeper relationships customers seek. 

Need to find a powerhouse content manager to help you get it all done? Check out our course “How to Hire a Content Manager” in IMPACT+ for everything you need to know to find them!