90% of B2C marketers are using content marketing in 2014, up from 86% in 2013.
34% of B2C marketers say they are effective at content marketing in 2014, up from 32% in 2013.
The most effective B2C content marketers have a documented content strategy (60%), have someone who oversees content marketing strategy (85%), use an average of 14 tactics, use an average of 7 social media platforms, spend 32% of their marketing budget on content marketing, and are challenged with a lack of budget (36%) and a lack of knowledge and training (14%).
B2C content marketing usage by tactic in 2014:
- 88% Social Media – Other than Blogs
- 78% Articles on Your Website
- 76% eNewsletters
- 72% Blogs
- 72% Videos
- 65% In-person Events
- 61% Articles on Other Websites
- 46% Mobile Content
- 43% Microsites
- 41% Case Studies
- 40% Infographics
- 39% Mobile Apps
- 39% Online Presentations
- 37% Branded Content Tools
- 37% Print Magazines
- 31% Whitepapers
- 30% Annual Reports
- 30% Digital Magazines
- 30% Webinars/Webcasts
- 29% Print Newsletters
- 28% Research Reports
- 25% Licensed/Syndicated Content
- 24% Books
- 23% eBooks
- 19% Podcasts
- 18% Virtual Conferences
- 17% Games/Gamification
B2C marketers rate the most effective tactics they use:
- 74% In-person Events
- 73% eNewsletters
- 65% Videos
- 63% Social Media – Other than Blogs
- 58% Articles on Your Website
- 58% Webinars/Webcasts
- 56% Mobile Content
- 56% Online Presentations
- 55% Blogs
- 54% Case Studies
B2C marketers use the following social media platforms to distribute content:
- 89% Facebook
- 80% Twitter
- 72% YouTube
- 71% LinkedIn
- 55% Google+
- 53% Pinterest
- 32% Instagram
- 19% SlideShare
- 18% Flickr
- 18% Tumblr
- 16% Foursquare
- 16% Vimeo
- 13% StumbleUpon
- 13% Vine
B2C content marketers use an average of 6 social media platforms to distribute content in 2014, up from 4 in 2013.
B2C marketers rate the most effective social media sites for content distribution:
- 62% Facebook
- 52% YouTube
- 50% Twitter
- 42% LinkedIn
- 42% Vimeo
- 37% Pinterest
- 34% Instagram
- 27% SlideShare
- 24% Tumblr
- 23% Google+
B2C organizations’ goals for content marketing in 2014:
- 79% Brand Awareness
- 71% Customer Acquisition
- 65% Customer Retention/Loyalty
- 64% Engagement
- 62% Website Traffic
- 51% Sales
- 50% Lead Generation
- 33% Thought Leadership
- 28% Lead Management/Nurturing
B2C marketers monitor the following analytics for content marketing success in 2014:
- 66% Web Traffic
- 52% Social Media Sharing
- 46% Time Spent on Website
- 44% Direct Sales
- 43% Qualitative Feedback from Customers
- 41% SEO Ranking
- 40% Increased Customer Loyalty
- 35% Subscriber Growth
- 29% Benchmark Lift of Company Awareness
- 27% Benchmark Lift of Product/Service Awareness
- 27% Inbound Links
- 27% Sales Lead Quality
- 23% Sales Lead Quantity
- 14% Cross-selling
- 11% Cost Savings
60% of B2C marketers in 2014 plan to increase their content marketing budget over the next 12 months. The most effective B2C marketers spend 32% of their budgets on content marketing.
B2C marketers segmented their content in some or all of the following ways in 2014:
- 56% Profile of Individual Decision Makers
- 44% Industry Trends
- 40% Stage in the Buying Cycle
- 38% Personalized Content Preferences
- 33% Company Characteristics
- 12% Competitors’ Content
- 8% None
Only 43% of companies have a content marketing strategy executive, who is critical for a best-in-class content strategy.
Source: Curata 2014 Content Marketing Tactics Planner (Respondents 53% B2B / 12% B2C / 28% both)
The average desired content marketing mix is 61% created, 27% curated and 12% syndicated.
Source: Curata 2014 Content Marketing Tactics Planner (Respondents 53% B2B / 12% B2C / 28% both)
39% of marketers plan to increase their investment on curated content in 2014 to complement created content and better leverage content marketing resources.
Source: Curata 2014 Content Marketing Tactics Planner (Respondents 53% B2B / 12% B2C / 28% both)