140+ Statistics on Content Marketing in Europe

While close in proximity, the dynamics involved with characterizing a topic like content marketing for a large group of countries like Europe is more than ambitious.

However, the demand and interest for information about content marketing in Europe is high and there are a small number of studies available to better understand how European businesses currently�view content marketing as part of the digital marketing mix.

Tapping into reports from CMI/DMA UK, Adobe/Econsultancy and HubSpot/SmartInsights as part of my research for a keynote presentation at Content Marketing Conference Europe this week, I’ve pulled together these statistics (Handy for presentations, tweets and blog posts):

Top 5 Priorities for Global and European Marketers in 2014 -�Adobe/Econsultancy

36% content marketing36% social media engagement32% Targeting and personalization31% Conversion rate optimisation28% Mobile optimisation

73% of marketers say consistency of message across channels is very important – Adobe/Econsultancy

71% of European companies� adoption of content marketing has been inconsistent or worse – HubSpot/Smart Insights

49% of marketers in Europe spend 0-20% f their marketing budget on content marketing – HubSpot/Smart Insights

55% of European marketers are increasing their spend on internal headcount in 2-14 – HubSpot/Smart Insights

69% of European marketers are increasing their investment in promoting content though earned media (social and PR) – HubSpot/Smart Insights

49% of European marketers have seen a return on their investment in content marketing – HubSpot/Smart Insights
44% say ROI measurement is limited

58% of European marketers found their content to be much more effective with a strategy in place – HubSpot/Smart Insights

Content Marketing Assets That Generate Leads or Sales for European Marketers -�HubSpot/Smart Insights

42% Blog posts or articles37% Enewsletters or online magazines25% Own community or forum25% Animated explainer videos23% Branded engagement and videos23% Whitepapers or eBooks21% Infographics20% Mobile specific apps or engagement tools19% Industry or consumer research reports19% Webinars19% Competitions15% Calculators and interactive tools10% Quizes7% Games

Top Challenges for European Content Marketers -�HubSpot/Smart Insights

15% Measuring ROI and effectiveness15% Strategy – Choosing quality content to engage15% Creating sufficient quality content15% Developing sufficient quantity of content10% Budgeting and gaining buy-in9% Forming and managing partnerships to share content8% Integrating content marketing into other activities8% Lack of specific content marketing skills

56% of European marketers don�t have any kind of defined content strategy in place – HubSpot/Smart Insights
(32% do have content marketing integrated into overall inbound strategy)

58% of European marketers rate strategy as a top priority for 2014 – HubSpot/Smart Insights

42% of European marketers plan content on a campaign or quarterly basis – HubSpot/Smart Insights
(29% plan day to day or week to week and 20% plan a year in advance)

94% of UK marketers use content marketing – CMI/DMA UK

UK marketers use an average of 13 content marketing tactics�- CMI/DMA UK

Top Content Marketing Tactics in the UK��- CMI/DMA UK

90% Articles on Your Website90% Social Media (Other Than Blogs)85% eNewsletters83% Case Studies78% Blogs74% In-Person Events74% Articles on Other Websites69% Videos54% Research Reports52% White Papers47% Microsites45% Branded Content Tools45% Infographics44% Print Magazines41% Mobile Content40% Webinars / Webcasts35% Mobile Apps33% Annual Reports33% Digital Magazines31% Print Newsletters29% Books25% eBooks25% Licensed/Syndicated Content22$ virtual Conferences21% Podcasts15% Games / Gamification

Most Effective Content Marketing Tactics in the UK�- CMI/DMA UK

68% Case Studies (63% US)66% Research Reports (56% US)62% eNewsletters (59% US)61% In-person Events (67% US)61% Webinars / Webcasts (60% US)60% Mobile Apps (42% US)60% Videos (60% US)59% Mobile Content (44% US)58% White Papers (56% US)57% Digital Magazine (42% US)54% Social Media Content (53% US)52% Microsites (49% US)50% Articles on Other Websites (49% US)50% Articles on Your Website (54% US)

Top Social Media Platforms for Content Promotion Used by UK Marketers�- CMI/DMA UK

82% Twitter78% LinkedIn76% Facebook57% YouTube33% Google+24% Pinterest17% Slideshare13% Flickr12% Vimeo7% Tumblr6% Instagram4% Foursquare4% StumbleUpon2% Quora

Top Marketing Goal for UK Content Marketers�- CMI/DMA UK

78% Brand Awareness75% Customer Acquisition71% Engagement69% Customer Retention / Loyalty63% Lead Generation63% Website Traffic54% Thought Leadership38% Sales34% Lead Management / Nurturing

Top Measurement Criteria for Content Marketing by UK Marketers�- CMI/DMA UK

62% Website Traffic48% Social Media Sharing47% Sales Lead Quality45% Search Ranking42% Qualitative Feedback from Customers42% Direct Sales40% Time Spent on Website40% Quantity of Sales Leads30% Increased Customer Loyalty29% Inbound Links29% Readership / Subscribers20% Cross-selling20% Benchmark Lift of Company Awareness17% Benchmark Lift of Product/Service Awareness9% Affiliate Sales5% Cost Savings

64% of UK marketers plan to increase their content marketing budget over the next 12 months�- CMI/DMA UK

27% of marketing budgets in the UK are allocated to content marketing�- CMI/DMA UK

55% of UK companies outsource content creation�- CMI/DMA UK

How UK Content Marketers Customize Content -�CMI/DMA UK

56% By profile of individual decision makers55% According to industry trends54% By company characteristics41% By customer stage in the buying cycle31% Personalized content preferences17% By competitor�s content

Top Challenges UK Content Marketers Face�- CMI/DMA UK

57% Producing enough content49% Producing the kind of content that engages39% Producing a variety of content38% Inability to measure content effectiveness35% Lack of integration across marketing33% Lack of budget30% Lack of knowledge, training and resources21% Lack of buy-in, vision12% Finding trained content marketing professionals

39% of UK marketers believe they are effective at content marketing�- CMI/DMA UK

Of course these are just raw stats, so I’ll be sharing connections, correlations and insights from these reports at the Content Marketing Conference Europe event on Tuesday 10 June, 2014 in Antwerp. I hope to see you there.

Digital and Content Marketing Reports for the UK and Europe�(Direct links to pdf)

1. CMI and DMA UK Content Marketing in the UK: 2013 Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends

2. HubSpot and Smart Insights: Driving Content Marketing Success in 2014, European Edition�

3.�Econsultancy and Adobe Quarterly Digital Intelligence Briefing: 2014 Digital Trends
(63% of survey respondents were from the UK or continental Europe.)

If you are aware of digital marketing research in any region of Europe that focuses on Content Marketing, please share where we can find it in the comments.

Image: Shutterstock

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