7 of the scariest content marketing stats for small business owners

If you’re a small business owner, chances are content marketing is one of your top priorities. After all, content is an important part of any digital marketing strategy. But with so much content being published every day, standing out from the crowd is a tall order. And if you’re not careful, your content marketing efforts could end up falling flat.

 

To help you avoid that fate, we’ve compiled a list of 7 scary content marketing stats — showing just how competitive the content landscape is and why it’s so important to have a solid strategy in place. Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered with tips to avoid falling in to these same traps.

 

1) Only 35% of B2B companies have a documented content marketing strategy

Having a documented content strategy helps your content marketing efforts run smoother, while enabling you to measure the effectiveness of your campaigns. While many companies may follow some sort of strategy, it’s troubling that only 35% of B2B companies have a documented content marketing strategy (Content Marketing Institute).

Why is this the case? Some businesses may not fully understand what they need to develop a formal strategy, or their team may not have enough time to create one. But having a clear content plan and strategy to keep everyone on track can assist with consistency and better tracking of key performance indicators (KPIs) to link your efforts to results more easily.

Documenting your content strategy doesn’t have to be complicated. Start by sitting down and writing out what your goals are, who your target audience is, what types of content you’ll create, and how you’ll promote your content. Once you have a plan in place, it’ll be much easier to measure your success.

2) 4.4 million new blogs are published online everyday

This statistic (from Envisage Digital) is pretty mind-blowing — it amounts to a lot of content being created, edited, and published daily that your business needs to compete against for your audience’s attention. Don’t let this content marketing fact scare you too much, though. With over 4.95 billion people (yes, that’s billion with a “b”) using the internet each day, all you need is to capture the tiniest fraction of that audience to be successful. Content marketing comes down to finding your niche and focusing your content efforts on your ideal customer profile so that you get the attention of the right people who are interested in what you’re offering.

3) The average blog post is 1,142 words long

Yikes! Writing one blog post over 1,000 words can be terrifying, especially if writing doesn’t come naturally to you. And without the time or resources to produce long-form content on a regular basis, exceeding the 1,142 word average blog length (Orbit Media) may feel impossible. But don’t let this number intimidate you—the key is quality, not quantity. You can still produce compelling blog posts without writing a novel each time. Just focus on creating helpful, well-written, and well-researched articles that provide value to your readers. On topics where you have more to say, make those blog articles longer—which will also work in your favor for organic SEO.

4) 71% of B2B decision-makers start their research with a search engine

If your organization hasn’t put much effort into SEO, this could be a particularly hair-raising stat (from Think With Google). Optimizing your website for search engines is the part of any strong digital marketing strategy, and SEO should play a central role in all of the content you produce. Beyond making sure your website is mobile-friendly and easy to navigate, do keyword research and incorporate relevant keywords that potential customers are searching for into your blog articles and web content.

5) 47% of buyers viewed 3-5 pieces of content before engaging with a sales rep

This stat (via Curata) is proof that content marketing works—but it can also be intimidating for business leaders who feel like they need to produce an endless stream of high-quality content to generate leads. Again, quality trumps quantity here. Focus on creating material that’s genuinely helpful and informative, and you’ll be on the right track. When brainstorming ideas for content, always look to your existing customers to see what they’re talking and worrying about. Sales calls are a great source for content ideas that will be of interest to your target customer.

6) The average person consumes over 100,000 words of content every day

Or 34 gigabytes of content a day, found a study out of the University of California, San Diego. Now that’s a lot of content! If your goal is to break through the noise and get noticed online, the best way to do it is through extremely targeted content. And that all starts with a solid content strategy to guide the type of content you’re producing.

7) Every minute, nearly 175 new websites are created

And counting! Seriously, by the time we publish this article, that number (via Siteefy) will probably have gone up. With so much new content being published every minute of every day, how can you possibly hope to distinguish yourself?

What you can do: To make your mark online, focus on creating content that speaks to your specific audience—not just any old website visitor who happens to stumble upon your site. By zeroing in on a particular group of people and understanding their needs, wants, and desires, they’ll be much more likely to engage with your brand and want to learn more.

Content marketing shouldn’t be overwhelming

Content marketing can be a scary proposition for small business owners—but it doesn’t have to be! By focusing on quality over quantity and having a solid plan in place, you can avoid these scary statistics and set your business up for success. If you want to learn more about how we can help improve your content marketing efforts, we’d love to talk.