These 5 Charts Show The State Of Content Marketing Today

To better understand the content marketing landscape, Ascend2 recently surveyed 219 marketing influencers about what they are doing to achieve success.

Nothing grabs people’s attention like a good story. That’s why businesses today are increasingly concentrating their efforts, and shifting their advertising strategies, to craft brand stories that—everyone hopes—will captivate the hearts and minds of consumers.

As a result, content marketing is all the rage these days, and never mind that the term means many different things to different brands and CMOs. To better understand the landscape, Ascend2 recently surveyed 219 marketing influencers about what they are doing to achieve content marketing success.

The following are the top five learnings—in chart form—from Ascend2’s report:

Learning #1: Engagement Is A Top Measure Of Success

According to Ascend2, increasing lead generation and customer engagement are the top priorities for companies investing in content marketing. The idea is that someone who is engaged with your content is more likely to convert.

Learning #2: Barriers Still Remain

When asked the most significant barriers to content marketing success, marketers lamented a lack in strategy and resources.

Learning #3: Most Marketers Consider Themselves Above Average

Ascend2’s research found that 66% of companies believe they are successful content marketers. Just 16% consider themselves “best-in-class.”

Learning #4: Research Is Top-Performing Content Type

Fact-based content, such as research reports, are at the top of the list for most effective types of content, according to Ascend2. Posting content on a blog is also a well-established method for the continuous engagement of prospects and customers.

Learning #5: Marketers Are Getting Better At Content

A whopping 89% of companies said their content marketing programs are more effective now than in years past.