20 Statistic-Backed Tips For Succeeding at Content Marketing

According to a survey from Content Marketing Institute, 86% of B2B marketers use content marketing, but only 38% believe they're good at it. 

While there are many factors that contribute to the performance of our content marketing initiatives, a sound strategy remains necessary across the board. 

To help the other 62% of marketers start feeling good about their efforts, we've collected 20 statistic-backed tips that will help you shape a more effective strategy. 

To ensure that they stick, we encourage you to read 'em, tweet 'em, and bookmark 'em as you see fit.

Blogging

1. Blogs give websites 434% more indexed pages and 97% more indexed links. (Source: ContentPlus) [Tweet this]

With more indexed pages come more leads, visitors, and authority for your business. To ensure you're getting the most out of this added SEO juice, check out this webinar on growth hacking your blog posts for SEO.

2. Articles with images get 94% more views over those without an image. (Source: Jeff Bullas) [Tweet this]

Let's face it, people always have and always will judge a book by its cover. While your title acts as a major selling point to encourage people to click and read your article, a high-quality image is equally as important. If you have a hard time finding royalty free images to use on your blog, check out this post. 

3. 60% of consumers feel more positive about a company after reading custom content on its site. (Source: Content Plus) [Tweet this]

Did you know that the average buyer engages with more than 10 pieces of content before making a purchase decision? According to Content Marketing Institute's Joe Pulizzi, “if your content is not part of that mix, odds are you will be left out of that process.”

4. Only 16% of people read your blog post word for word. (Source: Nielsen Norman Group) [Tweet this]

To avoid alienating those who skim, be sure to break up large blocks of text with headers and bullet points. This will help to make the content more easily digestible. 

5. There are more than 164 million blogs. More than 50% are inactive. (Source: Social Triggers) [Tweet this]

Sure, it's easier to give up on your blog than it is to persevere when it feels like no one is reading. Considering that you and I both know you're not a quitter, check out these three good reasons why you shouldn't let low readership stunt your potential.

Email

6. 64% of decision-makers read their email via mobile devices. (Source: TopRankBlog) [Tweet this]

While many emails employ multi-column layouts for desktop, the single-column approach is far more mobile-friendly. Additionally, be sure that your buttons are large enough to be seen and accessed. (There's nothing worse than struggling to maneuver stubby fingers on a small screen.)

7. Business users send and receive on average 121 emails a day in 2014. (Source: The Radicati Group) [Tweet this]

When writing emails, use this overwhelming statistic to your advantage. Check out how we addressed it on our recent blog subscribe email: "I get it. The thought of another email in your inbox seems like overkill. Typically I’d agree. But this isn’t just another email in your inbox. (HubSpot didn't name us Best Inbound Content for nothin'.)"

8. 48% of consumers say email is their preferred form of communication with brands. (Source: iMedia Connection) [Tweet this]

Give the people what they want. While this statistic applies to many businesses, be sure that you reference your buyer personas to ensure that you're adhering to their preferred form of communication. The more in-tune you are with their preferences, the better results you'll see. 

9. 33% of email recipients open email based on subject line alone. (Convince & Convert) [Tweet this]

According to MailChimp, “the best subject lines tell what's inside, and the worst subject lines sell what's inside.” To ensure that your emails get opened, focus on being as explicit as possible. 

10. Personalized emails improve clickthrough rates by 14% and conversion rates by 10%. (Source: Aberdeen) [Tweet this]

Personalization in the subject line (whether it be first name or company name) helps to engage recipients by conveying a unique email experience that makes them feel less like a nameless, faceless number in your database, and more like a friend. 

Webinars

11. 92% of people reported that they find webinar Q&As useful. (Source: GoTo Webinar) [Tweet this]

Use your time wisely. To avoid running out of time to answer questions at the close your webinar, be sure to run through it several times in advance to prepare. If you can't get to all of the question, make note of them and follow up with an email or blog post that aims to answer them all. 

12. The most popular day of the week to host a webinar is Tuesday. (Source: GoTo Webinar) [Tweet this]

While Tuesday was reported to be the most popular day, nothing beats testing out different days yourself. You may find that you're competing with too many other webinars on Tuesday. If that's the case, try Wednesday (it came in second.)

13. According to the study below, 25% of registrants view the replay. (Source: Right Mix Marketing) [Tweet this]

Don't limit your promotion to just the live webinar. While you should email out a recorded version of your webinar to those who registered, you can also create a landing page for the recorded version to generate even more leads.

14. 32% of people reported that they prefer to attend webinars at 11 AM, 26% at 10 AM, 15% at 9 AM, 9% at 12 PM, and just 7% after 12 PM. (Source: GoTo Webinar) [Tweet this]

When it comes time to pick a time for your webinar, lean towards the morning hours as opposed to the afternoon. 

15. 61% of B2B marketers rate webinars as the most effective content-marketing tactic. (Source: CMI / MarketingProfs) [Tweet this]

Haven't hosted a webinar yet? What are you waiting for? 

Social media

16. 44% of people are most likely to engage with branded content on social media that has pictures. (Source: Performics) [Tweet this]

The investment in high-quality visuals is worth every penny. We use both Shutterstock (paid) and Canva (free) to ensure that our tweets are accompanied by something pretty. 

17. Shorter social media posts (those less than 70 characters) do much better in terms of engagement than longer posts. (Source: Vitrue) [Tweet this]

When it comes to social, keep it simple. The average length (with spaces & a shortened link) of our most-retweeted tweets from this year was 110 characters. While this is a bit longer than the recommended70 characters, there was still plenty of room for retweeting and added commentary. 

18. Fewer than 3% of customers directly "@ mention" brands on Twitter. (Source: Conversocial) [Tweet this]

To ensure that you're not missing out on compliments or complaints, consider employing a social media monitoring tool. We use HubSpot's Social Inbox to monitor mentions of our brand that we haven't been tagged in to avoid leaving any outreach undiscovered.

19. Customers who encounter positive social customer care experiences are nearly 3x more likely to recommend a brand. (Source: Harvard Business Review) [Tweet this]

Respond to everyone. Whether you're answering questions or thanking people for sharing your content with their audience, every engagement matters. 

20. 46% of web users look towards social media when making a purchase. (Source: Go-Gulf) [Tweet this]

In the discovery phase, prospects often turn to social media to make judgments about a brand. When they land on your account, make sure they you're giving them something worth their while. A consistent stream of both your own resources and articles that you've found helpful should do the trick.