Content to play more important role

A new study by a leading marketing specialist has found that enterprises could transform their content campaigns and results if they merely raised their budgets slightly to match other marketing channels. Eight out of ten agencies expect content to play a much more important role in marketing in the coming months.

Over 300 marketers, creatives and agencies were interviewed to determine the best publishing schedules and content strategies for long-term success. While content is becoming critical to brand awareness and engagement, the majority of respondents are focusing on quality rather than quantity, as 43 per cent publish blog articles, news and videos just once every week.

Only 13 per cent said that they adhere to a schedule of multiple posts, while 35 per cent said that they publish content on a daily basis. This suggests that brands should worry less about falling behind in their content endeavours, though almost two-thirds admitted that they want to increase their publication rate in the future.

When it comes to content types, blog posts are by far the most popular, as 92 per cent said that they produce these regularly. This appears to be an effective strategy, as separate research shows that consumers deem blog articles to be the most useful for informing buying decisions and gathering information. They are also more likely to be palatable to a wider audience.

Content is king, but marketing budgets appear to be acting as a hindrance on the returns for content campaigns. More than a quarter of enterprises spend less than $5,000 (£4,000) on content marketing every year, and 60 per cent admit that this budget is currently smaller than that of other channels. The report notes that just a small increase in budgets could do wonders for content frequency and driving traffic.

Content agencies also opened up about some of the obstacles that they face when producing high-quality content for clients. A third said that the biggest challenge is getting to grips with client expectations, while 15 per cent said that scaling production is an issue. Finally, when all respondents were asked what they want from their content marketing efforts, 43 per cent said increased sales and revenue, 35 per cent said better rankings in SERPs and 13 per cent claimed that they want to foster a more loyal community and encourage repeat traffic.