NewsCred has teamed up with eMarketer to present a new Content Marketing Roundup for 2015, jam-packed with articles, interviews, and helpful insights that promise to bring any pro up to speed on the ever-evolving world of content. Brimming with valuable information pulled from studies near and far by Salesforce, the Content Marketing Institute, MarketingProfs, and others, the report is an essential document for anyone in the industry looking to keep abreast of what’s new, changing, and challenging in crafting a content marketing strategy today.
By now it’s clear that the field is no passing phase, with investments in content teams growing across the board and marketers in B2C and B2B alike approaching these efforts more seriously. These days, brand awareness, lead generation, and engagement are among top goals for those in the business around the world, while social posts, e-newsletters, videos and articles are the most common kinds of content produced. It’s an industry that’s still relatively new, however, and the challenges that go along with that are real and rife. Proving ROI continues to be complicated, as is securing funds for things like paid promotion while overseeing an always-expanding array of assets and team members – thanks to those increased investments.
So how are they measuring success? Mainly via website traffic, sales, and conversion rates, although gauging accuracy and effectiveness remains a struggle. Even more surprising is that only one fifth of B2B marketers report having a dedicated mobile strategy, which means that a shocking 80% of respondents haven’t thought this through. With mobile responsible for over half of all Internet usage, no one needs to be reminded just how vital it is to optimize messaging for on the go users. In this day and age, it’s just common sense.
And that’s just one of the things standing in the way of major success. Lack of resources, budget, and overall strategy were found to be the biggest burdens for marketers worldwide, along with the fact that many have no plan in place when it comes to auditing past content for effective reuse and repurpose. That’s just the kind of focus that helps stretch budgets and resources, and highly important to keep in mind moving forward.
The report goes on to highlight the specific activities as well as challenges facing UK marketers in particular – such as the startling fact that just over half have no documented strategy in place at all, making it all the more difficult to keep track of anything. Then there’s the remarkable rise of Instagram, with 77.6 million Americans and counting – projected at 100 million by 2018 – logging on to scroll through their feeds every single month, and what posting images versus videos, for instance, means for brands (hint: one drives more engagement than the other).
Rounding out the collection is a spotlight on how nonprofits use content to boost awareness and engagement, as well as three interviews with marketing leaders that shed light on today’s pressing topics, like using social media platforms in innovative ways, the correlations between original content and the growth of mobile commerce, and, of course, how senior marketers go about measuring the success of content marketing efforts.
Read the free report here to learn more about the key differences between B2C and B2B efforts, what kind of content marketers find to be most effective, the main blockers between marketers and consistent messaging, and more vital stats to ensure successful content marketing for you and your team in the years to come.