According to Forbes, 89% of B2B marketers and 86% of B2C marketers report using content marketing to increase leads and drive their brand forward.
According to the 2017 benchmarks and trends report from Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs, more than 60% of B2B marketers reported that their content marketing strategies are more effective than one year before.
And guess what tops the 2018 list of activities marketers think will have the greatest impact: 
Source: Smart Insights
So, content marketing is now an accepted best practice, and more organizations are executing more successfully. However, when the Content Marketing Institute asked respondents to characterize the overall success of their content marketing approach, a huge 53% rated their efforts only “moderately successful,” and 21% labeled their efforts “minimally successful.” Only 24% rated their efforts “very successful” or “extremely successful.”[1]
It’s interesting to note that 94% report that social media posts are their primary type of content, while 50% name ebooks/whitepapers as the most successful types of content. Among the most successful content marketers, an even larger percentage – 62% – find more success with ebooks and whitepapers.
This suggests that organizations may be taking the path of least resistance. Social media posts are the quick & dirty of content marketing. They are short, and require neither design not optimal presentation. On the other hand, white papers, ebooks, videos, or case studies require skills in multiple disciplines.
Perhaps some of the 74% who label their content marketing efforts as adequate or less are relying too heavily on low skill social media posts, as opposed to investing in the creation of higher value content.
All content is not created equal. To gain the most from it, you have to invest in it, either from within, or through partnering with experienced content providers. There are no short cuts.
–Leonce Gaiter, VP, Content & Strategy
[1] Content Marketing Institute, “B2B Content Marketing 2018 Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends—North America
