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You know content marketing is popular and that more and more brands are using it. But just how popular is it? And what types of content are proving to be the most effective? To find out, take a peek at the 2018 content marketing statistics.

2018 Content Marketing Statistics

Content Marketing Usage Statistics 2018

One of the most prominent of the 2018 content marketing statistics is the ubiquity of content marketing usage.

  • 91 percent of B2B marketers (Content Marketing Institute)
    • 54 percent of B2B marketers who didn’t use content marketing had plans to start in 2018.
    • 4 percent of B2B marketers who weren’t currently using content marketing had done so in the past, but stopped.
    • 9 percent of B2B marketers who use content marketing describe their “maturity level” as “sophisticated.”
    • 25 percent considered their maturity level “mature.”
    • 31 percent considered their maturity level “adolescent.”
    • 25 percent considered their maturity level “young.”
    • 9 percent said that they were taking their “first steps.”
    • 36 percent of B2B content marketers are “very committed to content marketing.”
  • 86 percent of B2C marketers (Content Marketing Institute)
    • 7 percent of B2C marketers considered their maturity level “sophisticated.”
    • 29 percent considered their content marketing maturity level as “mature.”
    • 28 percent considered themselves “adolescent.”
    • 26 percent considered themselves “young.”
    • 10 percent said that they were taking their first steps.
    • 42 percent of B2C content marketers are “very committed to content marketing.”

Content Marketing Creation Statistics 2018

2018 Content Marketing Statistics show that outsourcing of content creation is on the rise.

  • Brands often outsource content marketing activities:
    • 56 percent of B2B content marketers outsource at least one part of their content marketing. (Content Marketing Institute)
    • 62 percent of B2C content marketers outsource at least one part of their company’s content marketing activity. (Content Marketing Institute)
    • Outsourcing content creation being the most popular.
      • 49 percent of B2C marketers outsource content creation.
      • 47 percent of B2B marketers outsource content creation.
      • Around 57 million people in the US work as freelancers. (UpWork)

2018’s Most Popular Content Types

2018 Content Marketing Statistics show the face of content marketing is changing. More and more content marketers look towards video and other visual forms of content. (2017 State of the Creator Economy)

  • Most popular types of content (B2C)
    • Social media posts
    • Videos
    • Illustrations/Photos
    • Infographics
    • Interactive content (quizzes, etc.)
  • Most popular types of content (B2B)
    • Social media posts
    • Case studies
    • Videos
    • Ebooks/White papers
    • Infographics

2018 Video Content Statistics

If the 2018 content marketing statistics show anything, it’s that video is the go-to tool for content marketing.

  • Video traffic made up 73 percent of all internet traffic in 2016. It’s expected to increase to 82 percent by 2021. (Cisco)
    • Use of live video will increase 15-fold by 2021. (Cisco)
    • 72 percent of B2B marketers use video content. (Content Marketing Institute)
    • 76 percent of B2C marketers use video content. (Content Marketing Institute)
    • 86 percent of YouTube users watch videos to learn something new. (Google)
    • More than 70 percent of YouTube users watch videos to “solve a problem” with their studies, job, or hobbies. (Google)
    • How-To videos are the most popular video category on YouTube. (Google)

2018 Augmented and Virtual Reality Statistics

AR & VR are emerging as powerful tools to drive greater audience engagement, according to 2018 Content Marketing Statistics.

  • Use of virtual and augmented reality will have a compound annual growth rate of 82 percent, increasing 20-fold between now and 2021. (Cisco)
  • Up to 70 percent of consumers see a benefit to using AR in their daily lives. (Motley Fool)

2018 Mobile Use Statistics

2018 content marketing statistics show mobile is slowly but surely overtaking desktop as the primary source of content.

  • 52 percent of all web traffic will be generated by mobile devices in 2018. (Statista)
  • Mobile drives around 40 percent of revenue to B2B brands. (Google)
  • 50 percent of B2B searches are performed on a smartphone. (Google)
  • 63 percent of internet traffic will be from mobile devices in 2021. (Cisco)
  • People spend less than 2 seconds with a piece of content on a mobile device. (Facebook)
  • 50 percent of adults in the US look at their mobile device around 30 times daily. (Facebook)

2018 Social Media Statistics

According to 2018 content marketing statistics, the face of social media marketing is changing.

  • 69 percent of all adults in the US use at least one social media site. (Pew)
  • 88 percent of all adults aged 18-29 in the US are on social media. (Pew)
  • 2.13 billion people use Facebook each month. (Facebook)
  • 330 million people use Twitter monthly. (Hootsuite)
  • 800 million people use Instagram monthly. (Instagram)
  • 25 million businesses are on Instagram. (Instagram)
  • 80 percent of Instagram users follow a business account. (Instagram)
  • 96 percent of B2C content marketers use social media posts (Content Marketing Institute)
  • 94 percent of B2B content marketers use social media posts (Content Marketing Institute)

Now you know which types of content are the most popular. Plus, you have an understanding of how people navigate content and where most people hang out on social. You can use this information to create a 2018 content marketing strategy that helps you reach your goals.

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