2021 / 2022 Content Marketing Stats & Trends

As 2021 nears the end, one thing that hasn’t slowed down is content marketing. No longer considered nice to have but essential to every business, the numbers don’t lie. Check out these 2021 content marketing stats and trends to help you plan for 2022.

Marketers Moving Budget to Content

According to the Content Marketing Institute, 43% of marketers surveyed say their 2021 budgets were higher. Sixty-six percent of the group expect increases in their 2022 budget, and one in five say the increase will be greater than 9%. Marketers plan to spend their budget on paid advertising, content creation, and software.

Digital Video Becoming Essential

86% of businesses use video as a marketing tool, and 93% of marketers who use video say that it’s an essential part of their marketing strategy. The most commonly created types of videos are explainer videos (73%), social media videos (67%), presentation videos (51%), sales videos (41%), and video ads (41%).

Trust & Inclusivity Matter

According to Forbes, 96% of the top-performing B2B content marketers have said their audience views their brand as a credible and trusted source. While 38% of customers are more likely to trust brands that show diversity in their advertising, 71% of consumers say they would be willing to spend more money to support products and services from a brand they trust.

Social Media Usage: Instagram and TikTok on the Rise

According to PEW Research Center, roughly seven in ten Americans say they use a social media site. A majority of Americans say they use YouTube and Facebook, while Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok are ubiquitous among adults under 30. YouTube and Facebook continue to dominate the online landscape, with 81% and 69%, respectively.

The Social Media Examiner’s Industry Report reveals these notable changes since 2020:

• Instagram grew from 76%
• Twitter fell from 53% and moved from fourth to fifth place
• YouTube took fourth place, up from 53%
• TikTok increased from 5%

Speaking of the TikTok Craze

TikTok was the second most installed non-gaming app worldwide in January 2021, with close to 62 million installs. The countries with the largest TikTok installs were from Douyin in China at 17 percent, followed by the United States at 10 percent.

Search Engine Optimization is an important element of Content Marketing

In 2021, 69% of content marketers invested in SEO, using it for strategic keywords (70%), localization (50%), and mobile optimization (48%). Optimization is becoming more about creating the best possible tailored experience for users.

Podcasts on the Rise

Podcast Insights reports there are more than 2,000,000 podcast shows, and that number continues to grow. Podcast listeners are much more active on every social media channel (94% are active on at least one – vs. 81% for the entire population). Podcast listeners are more likely to follow companies and brands on social media, and 80% listen to all or most of each podcast episode.

Data and Research

Content marketers are investing more in gathering proprietary data and benchmarks using tools such as Google Surveys. Eighty-three percent of marketers are conducting market research, and 88% of companies use market research to make business decisions. Of those surveyed, 67% of marketers plan on increasing market research spend in the next year. The top two technologies B2B organizations use to assist with content marketing are analytics tools (86%) and email marketing software (85%).

Trends and stats are continuously evolving rapidly, so the focus needs to be on adaptability rather than certainty. See how our experienced team can help you with content development, content marketing strategy, SEO, and more.