Content Marketing

Benchmark Summary Report

The most challenging obstacles to content marketing success in the year ahead
and how marketers plan to overcome them.

Ascend2 Research
Client Connection Conducted
Research™ in Partnership
conducted by Ascend2with Leading Partner]
and [Research Marketing Solution Providers.
Content Marketing Benchmark Summary Report
Ascend2 Research Conducted in Partnership with Leading Marketing Solution Providers.

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Table of Contents

Content: an essential component of marketing 4

Most important content marketing objectives 5
Rating content marketing success 6
Most challenging obstacles to success 7
Premium content usage 8
Most effective types of content used 9
Most difficult types of content to execute 10
How effectiveness and difficulty compare 11
Content campaign creation resources 12
Content marketing software usage 13
Most effective content marketing channels 14
Types of sales cycle encountered 15
Research methodology 17
Survey demographics 18
About Ascend2 19

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Content: an essential component of marketing
Content is essential to attracting, engaging and acquiring customers today. Yet only 13% of
respondents believe their content strategy is “very successful” at achieving important objectives.
What will be the most challenging obstacles to content marketing success in the year ahead and
how will marketers overcome them? To find out, Ascend2 and our Research Partners fielded the
Content Marketing Survey and completed interviews with 521 marketing and sales decision-
makers and practitioners from around the world. We thank these busy professionals for sharing
their valuable insights with you.
The charts in this edition of our study, titled the Content Marketing Benchmark Summary Report,
represent the average of all market segments responding to the survey. Other research segments
are reported on exclusively by our Research Partners.
This research has been produced for your use. Put it to work in your own marketing strategy
planning and presentation materials. Clip the charts and write about them in your blog or post
them on social media. Please share this research credited as published.

Sergio Balegno
Chief Strategy Officer

4
Lead generation has become the top objective of the
content marketing strategy. Increasing website visits and
improving organic search rankings drive lead generation.

5
Nearly three-quarters of companies consider their
content marketing efforts only “Somewhat successful”.
However, 13% have achieved “Very successful” status.

6
Creating content is time-intensive and a major challenge
for companies with limited resources. Curating and
repurposing existing content requires fewer resources.

7
Premium content is a tactic that often requires some
form of registration to generate leads. eNewsletters,
white papers and videos are the most frequently used.

8
Next to email-driven newsletters, webinars, white papers
and videos are the most effective types of premium
content used.

9
Achieving studio quality videos in-house is very difficult
for resource-starved companies. Research reports often
require specialized expertise and third-party validation.

10
When it comes to deciding on the types of premium
content to use for marketing purposes, “fast and easy”
often trumps effectiveness.

11
Nearly half (48%) outsource all or part of their content
marketing campaign creation and implementation,
gaining higher levels of expertise and performance.

12
There are many marketing software solutions available to
automate and manage the content marketing process.
However, 40% of companies have yet to use them.

13
Email is the most effective channel used to reach
prospects and customers with content. Websites – a
repository for content – follows closely behind.

14
The buying stages and buyer personas involved in a
long and complex sales cycle are definable, so content
can be created and targeted for each.

15
Notes

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Research methodology

Ascend2 Research Surveys are conducted online from a panel of more than 50,000
US and international marketing and sales decision-makers and practitioners
representing a range of contact roles, company types, sizes and geographic regions.
The questionnaire used is standardized to incorporate these methodologies across all
studies while maintaining our proven 3-Minute Survey format. Survey findings are
examined in a quantitative context by experienced analysts and reported objectively.

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Survey demographics

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About Ascend2

Research-Based Demand Generation for Marketing Solution Providers

Marketing software firms and marketing agencies partner with Ascend2 to reliably
generate new business opportunities. Our integrated research, content creation and
demand generation programs are transparent – putting the spotlight on your brand
and the interests of your audience.
Learn more at www.Ascend2.com

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Ascend2 generates demand and produces white label
research reports exclusively for our Research Partners.
White label research reports contain 12-18 pages of
research that features your brand and the interests of
your target market. To become a partner, all you do is:
1. Choose the topics of interest to your target market:
• Content Marketing • Website Optimization
• Email Marketing • Inbound Marketing
• Video Marketing • Paid Search (PPC)
• Organic Search (SEO) • Lead Generation
• Mobile Marketing • Social Media
• Brand Marketing • Marketing Database
2. Choose an exclusive research segment for each marketing topic:
• Benchmarks for Success [A comparison of Very Successful and Not Successful segments]
• Benchmarks by Channel [A comparison by or targeting of B2B and/or B2C segments]
• Benchmarks by Company Size [A comparison by or targeting of SMB and/or Large Enterprises]
• Agency Benchmarks [The Agency perspective based on a wide-range of client experience]
• Benchmarks by Resources [A comparison of Outsourced and In-house campaign segments]
• Benchmarks for Europe [The European perspective on marketing practices and performance]
• Benchmarks by Sales Cycle [A comparison of Short/Direct and Long/Complex sales cycle segments]
• Benchmarks by Software Use [A comparison of performance by Software Usage segments]
• Benchmarks by Revenue Attainment [A comparison of performance by Revenue Targets Attained]
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