When crafting a content marketing strategy, industry statistics can support resource allocation and tactic choices. Reading through what’s working (and what’s not) ensures you’re tapped into viewer preferences, behavioral patterns, and trending topics. You can then craft a thoughtful and data-driven marketing plan that helps you reach your audience and improve your return on investment (ROI).

Whatever your marketing goals, the following statistics show that content marketing is an effective way to achieve them. Despite any ebbs and flows in the top-performing marketing content types, the future promises to remain bright for this stable and well-established strategy.

What’s content marketing, and why is it so effective?

Content marketing involves creating content — like articles, visual media, and audio — that cover topics related to your business’s offering. The goal of content marketing is to engage, inform, and entertain your audience so you can establish your brand as trustworthy and ultimately convert visitors. Content marketing helps your site to rank highly in organic search results, leading to more web traffic and conversions.

Thanks to Google’s increasing attention to authoritative content, content marketing has become the cornerstone of many marketing campaigns. As of 2022, Google’s search results algorithm favors websites offering knowledgeable editorial content, and companies that have successfully pivoted their strategies to content marketing have seen massive gains.

Content marketing statistics

According to a 2022 study from the Content Marketing Institute, content marketing has grown to become the most effective marketing strategy for generating leads. This points to the impact website content can make — it’s rapidly eclipsed other marketing methods like advertisements in web, TV, and print.

Explore the following comprehensive statistics to learn how content marketing helps businesses achieve top performance.

Active blogs generate more leads

Unsurprisingly, an active blog is more successful than an inactive one, but you might be surprised to learn just how stark the difference is. Explore these statistics to learn how regular blogging impacts your reach.

• Businesses that post at least 16 articles monthly generate leads 4.5 times faster. Businesses with blogs also get 55% more organic search traffic.
• 96% of surveyed businesses use blogs in their content marketing strategy.
• 51% of companies that use content marketing publish content every day.

Content marketing leads to sales

Leads generated by your content can translate directly to purchases if you provide customers with a satisfying experience. The key to converting visitors is effectively guiding them from your articles directly to making a purchase.

• 83% of business-to-consumer (B2C) marketers said content marketing is their top source of leads.
• 44% of consumers reference at least four blog articles before making large purchases.
• 58% of business-to-business (B2B) marketers successfully leveraged content marketing in 2023 to increase sales.
• 50% of marketers say content marketing builds brand loyalty with existing customers.

Social media drives traffic to your content

A robust social media presence is increasingly important as more consumers look to social media platforms for blogs, podcasts, and video content.

• 90% of bloggers use social media to promote their blogs.
• 92% of content marketers say LinkedIn is the best platform for promoting content.
• 77% of viewers reported that a short video they saw on social media convinced them to make a purchase or download.

Top search results get more engagement

Web traffic is an excellent way to measure engagement, but you need to climb the search engine results pages (SERPs) to get the most from it. Businesses that consistently hit the top slot in SERPs enjoy an incredible surge in web traffic.

• The #1 result for a Google search enjoys a 27.6% click-through rate (CTR), 50% more than the #2 slot.
• 93% of internet users begin their session on a search engine.

Google accounts for nearly 80% of all internet searches worldwide.

Stats for different marketing content types

Video marketing, infographics, and audio content are all rising in popularity as social apps gain larger shares of audience attention. Here are the primary content types marketers use and some valuable statistics about each.

Written articles

Online articles are a widely successful marketing content form, though videos are rapidly overtaking them. Still, an active blog is an essential aspect of content marketing.

• 70% of marketers say blog articles give them the best ROI in the early stages of lead generation.
• Simply updating high-performance articles in your blog can cause a 146% surge in traffic.
• 73% of surveyed individuals skim through blog articles, while 27% read everything.

Visual

Videos and original images have skyrocketed in popularity thanks to the rise of TikTok and Instagram Reels. As a result, many marketing teams partner with influencers on these platforms to market their products.

• Short-form videos are now the most viewed marketing content on the internet.
• 97% of pages at the top of SERPs feature at least one image.
• Blogs that include video marketing receive three times more inbound links than text-only articles.

Audio

Emails and social posts promoting audio clips and podcasts don’t generate the most web traffic, but audio content still makes an impact. Including audio content is a great way to add a sizable boost to your marketing efforts.

• 74% of marketers report that podcasts are most effective in the early stages of lead generation.
• 49% of marketers report using podcasts in their lead generation strategies.
• In the U.S., ad spending on podcasts is slated to reach over $2.5 billion in 2024 as more and more people listen to podcasts each year.

B2B content marketing statistics

When it comes to B2B purchases, business leaders research vendors and partners extensively before deciding to partner with them. When B2B organizations offer robust content, they have more opportunities to win over companies. Here’s how content marketing specifically impacts B2B relations.

B2B uses a wider range of marketing tactics

B2B marketing uses a broader array of marketing tactics than B2C. Generally, this is because courting enterprise customers is more involved than engaging consumers.

• 58% of marketers report that virtual events, webinars, and online courses have been the most effective tactics.
• Four of the top five marketing tactics for B2B marketers are uniquely suited to B2B marketing. Virtual events are #1, but research reports, whitepapers, case studies, and long-form articles are also in the top five.
• 90% of B2B marketers use their organization’s website to distribute their content, and more than 50% also use blogs, email newsletters, and email. And 52% use media/public relations and speaking or presenting at events to distribute content.

B2B content marketing prioritizes information over promotion

When attempting to draw businesses to your brand, your content must deliver value that appeals specifically to other businesses — not consumers. That’s because companies tend to have specific informational needs, such as how to use enterprise features or scale strategies, and they prioritize content with that information over promotional messaging.

• 87% of B2B marketers prioritize informational articles over promotional content.
• 80% of B2B marketers say content marketing has helped them achieve their brand awareness goals, which they identified as their #1 priority.
• The most common metrics B2B marketers use to assess content performance are conversions, email engagement, website traffic, website engagement, and social media analytics.
• 46% of B2B buyers consume above-average levels of content when researching potential business solutions.

Optimize your content with Webflow

These statistics confirm that combining multiple content types makes for the best content marketing strategies. It also helps to have a top-notch web design and access to the best features. Webflow offers incredible features to support your marketing strategy, like search engine optimization (SEO) enhancements, app integrations, and redirect management. Plan, create, and publish content that ensures you reach the top of SERPs.

Explore Webflow University’s informative docs, courses, and interactive lessons for better content marketing tactics that ensure your business’s success.