Ready for another refreshing blast of cold, hard content marketing facts? In last month’s post,I talked about how content marketing is more than a passing fad, and gave you the numbers to prove it. But amazing data on content marketing just keeps pouring in. Marketers are using content to generate more leads, close more deals and they’re doing it more efficiently (and cost effectively) than ever before.

If you’re still dubious about whether or not content marketing is worth the investment (or if you’re dealing with management that just doesn’t understand) take a look at these stats. I promise they’ll at least give you something to think about.

79% of marketers report their organizations are shifting to branded content.

(Source: Forrester)

Well ladies and gentlemen, that settles it. Content marketing has officially graduated from the latest marketing trend to the right way to do modern marketing. Content marketing works, and the results people are seeing are incredible. For the first time, the internet has allowed marketers to make meaningful connections and have repeated interactions with their leads. It’s no wonder that marketers everywhere are scrambling to shift their focus towards creating content.

72% of Marketers think that branded content is more effective than magazine advertisements, 69% say it’s superior to direct mail and PR.

(Source: Custom Content Council)

Still don’t believe that interruption marketing is dying? Maybe this stat will sway your thinking. When a solid majority of marketers are admitting that traditional marketing techniques are flat out inferior to content marketing, you know you’re looking at a real change in thinking. Until recently, those old techniques were the best we marketers could do. But new technology has changed the way people shop for and buy products, and marketers need to change their strategies and messages accordingly.

People spend more than 50% of their time online looking at content.

(Source: AOL & Nielsen)

Your buyers are spending over half their time online (and people these days spend a lot of time online) reading, and engaging with content. Not only that, but another 30% of their time is spend on social networks, where they can share and discuss content. Your target audience is hungry for content and is out there searching for it right now. Making sure that they can find your brand’s is more important than ever.

27,000,000 pieces of content are shared each day.

(Source: AOL & Nielsen)

That’s a lot of content! The internet has allowed consumers to find, share, and discuss information like never before. And content from sources that people view as reliable is the content that’s shared the most. That means you can’t just write a few “helpful” articles that are really just sneaky ways to pitch your product and call it content marketing. If you want your content to be shared (and you do), you have to write solid, useful, and interesting content that will help you position your brand as an authority in your chosen niche.

90% of consumers find custom content useful, 78% believe the organizations behind the content are interested in building good relationships.

(Source: Custom Content Council)

Not only are people spending their time online reading and engaging with content, they’re also learning to trust the organizations providing it. And people prefer to buy from brands they know and trust. This makes perfect sense. After all, who would you to hire to rebuild your roof, a complete stranger or the helpful carpenter who taught you how to patch it up when it first started leaking? That’s exactly how content marketing works. By establishing yourself as a trusted authority on a topic, you ensure that customers look to your brand for solutions when they have a problem they can’t handle alone.

Organic search leads have a 14.6% close rate, while outbound marketing leads have a 1.7% close rate.

(Source: Hubspot)

Let’s think about what this stat means for a minute. It’s telling us that people who found your company through a keyword search are over 8 times more likely to buy your product than people who responded to an ad. Not too surprising when you put it that way, is it? Of course the people who are searching for a solution you provide are more likely to invest in your product. What that means for your brand, though, is that you’ve got to be out there for them to find.

Content creation is ranked as the single most effective SEO tactic, by 53%.

(Source: Marketing Sherpa)

What SEO means has changed dramatically over the years, but there’s no question that ranking high for your best keywords is still a terrific driver of traffic. Therefore, anything you can do to help your search rankings is worthwhile. And it turns out that content creation is the best way to get better search engine rankings. Just another reason content marketing is at the top of any savvy marketer’s priority list these days.

The average return on email marketing investment is $44.25 for every dollar spent.

(Source: iContact)

Innovations in email marketing like marketing automation have turned email into one of the most effective channels for reaching your audience. By combining great, targeted content, with intelligent, dynamic, automated campaigns, you can give your audience a chance to tell you exactly what their looking for. All you have to do is make sure you’re listening.

Still not satisfied? There’s a lot more where those came from. As content marketing continues to gain traction in the marketing world, you can expect to see even more compelling data in the future. Stay up to date with the latest content marketing stats by checking out our new page, Cold, Hard, Content Marketing Facts. We’ll keep it updated with the latest and most interesting stats on content marketing.